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Reduce your clutter — and your stress — and start the new year off in the best possible way by following these simple decluttering tips.
Most of us will be making those annual New Year’s Resolutions – if you are like me you are already making the list -and if one of yours will be to live a little greener in 2023 you can combine those good intentions with another great way to get a new year off to a good start – decluttering your home!
We all still rely on things like paper towels and plastic packaging that we can’t (or don’t) recycle, so our lifestyle isn’t entirely sustainable for most of us.
However, if you’re serious about living a more sustainable lifestyle in 2023, one of the best places to start is with the clutter that inevitably accumulates in one’s home. Clutter is bad for the environment, but it can also be bad for your mental health. Here are my top five sustainable decluttering tips.
- Donate, Reuse, Recycle
When it comes to decluttering in a sustainable manner, the old adage “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” still holds true. Since the goal of decluttering is to reduce the number of items in your home, we’ll replace it with a more environmentally friendly option: donating. Rather than sending your old clothes, towels, appliances, and toys to the landfill, consider donating them.
To avoid Goodwill or your local thrift store sending your bags of baby clothes to the landfill on your behalf, make sure you choose your donation recipients carefully and sort your donations ahead of time.
- Develop a Decluttering Habit
Decluttering is only beneficial if you can maintain the habit rather than immediately re-cluttering your home. Turning something into a habit involves these steps:
Precontemplation: You recognize a problem but lack the motivation to address it.
Contemplation: You don’t have a plan in place to solve the problem, but you’ve realized that something needs to change.
Preparation: You begin researching methods for decluttering. You’ve devised a strategy and started making small steps toward your long-term goal over the next 30 days.
Action: You’ve gone through every room of your home and gotten rid of as much clutter as you can. You’ve followed through on your strategy and made a change.
Maintenance: You’ll want to keep an eye on your home to make sure it doesn’t get cluttered again. This is often the most difficult stage, but it is necessary if you want to turn your decluttering project into a habit.
You avoid the stress of having to declutter again six months or a year later by making it a habit. The most long-term method of decluttering is to keep your home clutter-free in the first place.
- Sort And Compost
As Houston has a recycling program, you may already sort your home’s waste into separate piles — plastics, paper, organics, glass, etc. Take it a step further and don’t throw away any organic waste to be more sustainable. Save it and add it to a compost pile or barrel instead. This not only keeps organic waste such as egg shells, coffee grounds, and vegetable peelings out of landfills, but it also provides natural fertilizer for your garden in the spring.
- Upcycle Whenever You Can
Before purchasing new storage or decorative pieces, get creative and see if you can repurpose anything you currently own. This can help you limit your consumption and plastic use while also adhering to one of the most important decluttering rules: stop buying so much stuff!
For example, instead of purchasing a jewelry box, you could hang jewelry on an old bulletin board. Other ideas include repurposing wine boxes as bookshelves, repurposing glass sauce jars as vases, and recycling shoe boxes as storage containers.
No more space in your soon to be organized home? One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, but in today’s upcycling economy, that phrase has gone from cliche to fact. Bows, wrapping paper, and ribbons can all be repurposed to wrap new gifts or make something sparkly. Even old electronics can be turned into clocks, trinkets, and other fun items. Get inspired by other crafters, and then show off your creations to encourage others! And hey, if you get really good, you could even become an Etsy entrepreneur!
- Prevent Clutter In The First Place
Every day, we bring a lot of clutter into our homes as a society. We receive paper bills and junk mail. Many of us still have plastic grocery bags stashed away in our cupboards. Even if we try to avoid it, many of the items we purchase are wrapped in plastic or stuffed into a box filled with foam to ensure their safe arrival.
Avoiding clutter in the first place is the most sustainable way to declutter.
Opt-in to receive electronic billing instead of paper bills in the mail. Take your reusable shopping bags to the store. If you shop online, many sites offer “frustration-free packaging,” which is made of recyclable or compostable materials and contains no plastic. Tell the takeout place to skip the plastic forks when they pack your order.
Need help kick-starting your new decluttering habit? Contact us here, and let’s chat about how Just Organized By Taya’s decluttering ‘junkies’ can help you.
Working with Taya and her team is easy. You can book an appointment easily on her website, or contact her directly at 832-271-7608
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