Do you ever feel that a second opinion on what to dump would seriously help your decluttering efforts? Well, we’ve got words of wisdom from the Clutter Police to guide your toss-it-out efforts.
Read on for the gospel on what to get rid of, and when!
Clothes and shoes you haven’t touched in two years
Opinion is divided whether the threshold here should be one year or 18 months. But the fact is that some winters aren’t as cold as others, or certain springs as wet, so a true cycle to test whether or not you’re done with an item is two years. After that time, your excuses have run out: you have to admit that, acts of nature and fashion aside, it’s time to throw away the albatross in question. Now find a good consignment shop to make some money on that past fashion, or donate what you just can’t sell.
Paper, paper and more of it
If there’s a single type of item gumming up our homes and lives, it’s paper. Why not get rid of old magazines that you’ve been swearing you’ll cut articles from for years, and shred financial records and receipts past their required “keep date”? Go through your kids’ art work and select just a few favorites you can’t part with – then get rid of the rest to make room for their next great creations.
Books you will never read
This one can be tricky for those of us who hate, on principle, to part with a book we were once sure would be great. Start by purging college novels and texts you haven’t looked at since your school years. Now remove any book you bought in the last three years that you pass over every time you go to reach for your next read. Be brave! And keep in mind that many book stores carry used inventory and will take books for store credit, if not cash.
Old vitamins, medicines and makeup
We all have shelf and drawer clutter that we just stop seeing after a while. Go through old items you store away like medicine bottles and makeup, checking for expiration dates. For makeup, two years is a reasonable throw-away date for most items. (Mascara has the shortest lifespan, at three months.)
Project paraphernalia
Whether you’ve been an aspiring beader or have a dozen “fix-it” items in your closet, it may be time to say goodbye to good intentions that just aren’t going to bear creative fruit. If you have a craft that you’ve neglected for several years or just never picked up, pass on the supplies to someone in your family who will really use them, or donate it all to a senior facility to people who will appreciate the gift.
These areas are just a few that will benefit from your courageous clutter management efforts. Go forth into your apartment, find the areas that are clogging up, and get rid of what’s not being used. Before long, you’ll channel the Clutter Police as you confidently throw away whatever’s been weighing you down!
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Source: apartmentguide.com