It’s that time of year again: time to change old bad habits, get healthy, and get organized. A new year brings new beginnings, so it’s time to design a home that reflects the new you. By cleaning and decluttering, you can create bright, open spaces to start fresh, so here are 5 resolutions to get you started.
ORGANIZE YOUR STORAGE SPACES
If you’re opening your closet and find it’s overflowing, it’s time to pull everything out and see what’s in there. Once everything is removed, wipe down the closet with a good-smelling disinfectant. If you need to deodorize or reduce moisture, buy fresh, new produce to accomplish this.
Now, take everything you have taken out of the closet and sort it into three piles:
1. Always use.
2. Sometimes I use.
3. Never use it.
Mark the items in the ‘never use’ pile. If any of these are damaged or unusable, throw them away. Other items can be recycled at your local charity shop.
Your ‘use sometimes’ stack is probably the largest. You’ll have to be really critical here and split this stack in two. A stack contains damaged, obsolete, or duplicate items. This battery will go to recycling.
Pack all remaining items neatly in your wardrobe. You may want to purchase some storage containers for this.
‘SPRING CLEANING
A “spring” cleaning should be done more often than once a year, and ringing in the new year is a great time to clean your home thoroughly.
To start, have a bucket of hot soapy water and a container with your cleaning products and cloths. Start in one room and clean everything you can see; shutters, windows and rails, walls and furniture. Move furniture away from the wall and clean behind it. Open drawers and cabinets and clean the interior by going through the cleaning process if necessary.
In the kitchen, take food out of the cabinets and put it on the bench and clean the cabinet doors and shelves. Check food to see if it has an expiration date and throw it away if it’s old. Give your oven and refrigerator a good cleaning too.
REVIEW OLD DOCUMENTS
If you have filing cabinets or storage bins full of old paperwork, now is a good time to go through this and see what you don’t need. For example, in Australia you only need to keep tax receipts for seven years, so if you find anything older than that, you can throw it away. You may also want to archive receipts older than a year in a storage container so that only the most recent documentation is accessible.
Organize your paperwork in labeled folders or filing cabinets under headings like ‘electricity’, ‘phone’ and ‘rates’ etc. or whatever header works for you.
HOUSE MAINTENANCE
It’s time to do all those little home maintenance items you’ve been ignoring for months. If there is any damage around the house, such as broken appliances, burned out light bulbs, or paint touch-ups, now is the time to fix them.
Marks and holes can be repaired by taking a sample to your local paint retailer for color matching. Fixing small problems in your home will make you feel much better in your environment and help you focus on other aspects of your life.
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
The exterior of your home also needs attention, particularly as it is the first thing you see when you arrive home. Make sure all hedges and plants are neatly trimmed and the lawn is mowed. It’s time to go out and remove all the weeds from your garden and maybe add a few extra plants where needed. Add your favorite plant varieties to your garden as a reward for all the hard work you’re putting in.
Get a ladder and check the gutters for dead leaves. Remove all yard waste directly to the local landfill once you have completed your work. Compost yard waste that can be recycled into mulch.