The New year is a perfect time for resolutions and fresh starts; it's also when the social schedule is quieter after the holidays. So it's a great time to look at your house in a new way and declutter. Here are our top tips for clearing out that unnecessary junk from your home and your garage - with an accompanying playlist to help you keep up the momentum.

Go minimal

Many recent studies suggest that clutter can have a considerable detrimental effect on your wellbeing from your inability to get things done, to find something, and be able to think. Think Marie Kondo, the master of minimalism; she's helped many families look hard at what they own and decide if those items are essential. Streamlining is the answer, and this doesn't just apply to hoarders; most homes could benefit from a cull of possessions that are overcrowding the available space. Your clutter can be affecting your life satisfaction and your perceptions of your home as a relaxing haven.

“Streamlining is the answer, and this doesn’t just apply to hoarders; most homes could benefit from a cull of possessions that are overcrowding the available space”

The hallway and stairs

When you greet your guests, your hallway is the first impression they have of your home, so it's one of the first essential spaces to clear. And this goes for you also. A cluttered hall adds to the anxiety from your day when your home should be relaxing. Removing the hallway excess creates a better flow through your house. Set yourself guidelines for your hallway items, put reasonable storage solutions in place for things that keep landing there, and question if other items need to be stored here or kept at all. If you need more items than the hall can handle, create storage space in one section alone rather than the length of the hallway, this will give more of an impression of space and better for your mental wellbeing as you enter your home.

The living room

The way we live has changed considerably over time. Many families opt for open-plan living rooms and kitchens; this can add to a sense of disorganization as clutter from one room runs into another. Overfilled open spaces can create a feeling of being overwhelmed if left over time. If you have too many large pieces of furniture, one tip is to remove one, resell it and use the space to create a toy zone. Aim to keep surfaces clear and declutter all extra ornaments and things you don't need for a clearer mind and a more relaxing space to unwind.

Entertainment clear-out

Have a look at your T.V. entertainment system; you'll likely have old unused devices still sitting in there amongst the system.

Ensure that you have deleted any passwords or personal information and remove all batteries as they will need to be recycled separately. Did you know that 25 U.S. states have specific legislation regarding e-waste? Make sure you know your state's legislation here: https://www.ecycleclearinghouse.org/contentpage.aspx?pageid=10

games console xbox — Louis Phillipe Poitras

Organize consoles

Most families will have a games console as kids are increasingly into online gaming; as technology constantly changes, some items might be redundant. This applies to video games, including consoles, controllers and joysticks, and headsets, portable electronic toys and games, videos and games that you play on your smartphone or tablet - these too can be part of a digital declutter!

Here's how kids can enjoy these electronics without being overwhelmed with clutter:

Think about which games your kids no longer or never play.
Games they haven't played within six months to a year
Broken or scratched games
Old or out of date consoles or games
Disks for older consoles

A good cleanup will leave the area free of space, with the games you enjoy being easy to find!

The Kitchen

Good ergonomics and a tidy kitchen will create a homely and relaxing place to gather, cook and eat together. Keep surfaces clear so that you can cook efficiently. If you are low on space, you could optimize by using space above the cabinets but try to declutter utensils and appliances that you never use. There's no point keeping them as the over-clutter kitchen will be a stressful place for your daily cooking.

Clear the Bathroom

It's so easy to accumulate toiletries, shampoo, shower gel, etc., all around the bath and shower. Many toiletries have a short shelf life of 6 months, so it's easy to sort through them. Sort the old items, and the rest can be distributed between a cupboard or storage basket or a cady in one part of the bathroom. In the shower, another wall caddy is ideal rather than standing items on the floor where mold can accumulate. Keep a sponge and wipe in the bathroom so that you can easily give it a quick clean to avoid soap, dirt, calcification, and mold building up.

The Bedroom

If you are struggling with a lack of space in what should be one of your home havens, then it's time to sort through your bedroom and remove some of the excess clothes and other items that are creating chaos. Chairs can be a place for clutter to accumulate; if this is the case in your bedroom, take the chair out of the room as it's not helping with a serene space. Try to keep bedside tables clear so that it's easy to clean your bedroom and keep it relaxing. Many people use guest rooms as excess storage areas. Ensure that you reserve space for your guests to hang their clothes, and you can use the rest to store other items. Take time to look through and ensure you do need everything in here. Likely, you don't use it often, so be ruthless and clear out any unwanted pieces.

“If you take time once a week to look through and clear through clothing, it will only need 10-15 minutes, and you’ll keep everything in order.”

Declutter your closet

Now for the big one - those that many people struggle with, their closet. Does yours have many items that you continually look at but never wear? Do you struggle to remember or find what you have? Then it might be time to clear your closet so you can start enjoying more of your wardrobe. Here are some tips for a decluttered closet.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I love it?
Do I wear it?
Have I used this over the last two years?
Does it make me feel good and project the image I want?
Is it comfortable to wear?
Do my shoes hurt, rub or pinch my toes?
Is it moldy or stained?
Does it still fit?

You could spend an evening with a friend, to go through and get them to give you an honest opinion. Find a suitable charity or organization to donate your clothes to.Have your chosen organization in your mind, check opening times and times that they are accepting donations, so you can bag up your unwanted items and take them away as quickly as possible, so you don't change your mind! Even better, keep a donation box or basket in your closet, so you can clear as you go. Also, if you take time once a week to look through and clear through items, it will only need 10-15 minutes, and you'll keep everything in order.

As the seasons move on, there will be items that you'll no longer wear as trends and tastes change. Use the seasonal wardrobe change as a chance to look through and assess what you will continue to wear.

Reassess your storage solution; perhaps there are better closets and storage out there that are better suited to your needs. Also, add extra shelving if you have the space to help you categorize your items.Organize your wardrobe by color, fabric types, and season to help you quickly find items and piece palettes together.

Ask yourself if you are hoarding, are you just keeping items because they are sentimental, or do you think you'll wear them one day. Find a storage space for special items, and then be realistic with the rest.

The home office - get shredding!

As life is fast-paced and we live in a semi online world, you'll likely have a build-up of paperwork and old bills unless you have plenty of time. Focus on filing all necessary documentation, try to scan-read, and get them sorted into types. If you have time, old paperwork could be scanned and digitized, but don't overwhelm yourself, and be honest, if you don't need it, shred it! Divide your work up into items that need looking at this month, and you can separate the rest into another pile for later cleanups.

Tech clearout

Tech is such a big part of our lives that we can quickly end up accumulating excess tech that has no actual use, especially cords; check your devices; is there any device that this fits? If not, get rid of it! Some are useful, like SATA, 2-prong power cord, USB 3 Micro-B, USB A to B, 3.5mm auxiliary Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort, and mini-USB as some devices still use these cables, so keep one in your drawer, just in case. That goes for micro-USB, which smartphones can use on smartphones, tablets, and other streaming devices. Probably a good idea to keep a few of these! Items like Apple's 30 pin, DVI, VGA, RCA/Composite, S-Video, Coaxial.

Playroom

After Christmas, the playroom will likely be filled with many new toys and games. If not looked after, games can end up with missing pieces and then be unusable. If you find yourself in this situation, get the kids to help you sort, put tiny pieces into sandwich bags but don't waste too much valuable time trying to match everything up in one go, you could break this up over time. If you find some games have completely lost pieces, then it's time to say goodbye and reclaim the space, and when you're done, you can all play together in a much more fun, relaxing environment! Encourage children to play with toys, especially games, and then put them away before starting with the next one; this will avoid a cluttered jumble of lost pieces and other items.

Sort through holiday items

You may have an accumulation of Christmas decor from decades past, some perhaps handed down over the generations. Though some may have sentimental value, before you take them down and pack them into your loft again, ask yourself if some of them can go. Many will have become outdated and never used, so as you clear your tree and surrounding area, take time to check the holiday box and be ruthless! Santa would approve!

Declutter books

We've all found ourselves starting and never completing books; some stories aren't for us. In a bid for a tidier bookshelf, ask yourself:

Do I like this book? If it's a no, you'll probably never read it - time to resell!
Would I ever reread it? If you aren't going to get back to that story, find a website, organization, or friend who might like to read it.
Does it have sentimental value? Don't be ruthless with books handed down by family; these are keepers!
Is it of value? There are plenty of places to resell your book and make some extra money. If you aren't going to read it, let it make extra dollars for you instead!
Have I already read it? If you've never gotten around to reading the book, chances are you never will either donate or resell depending on the potential value.

Once you have decided which books to keep and which to let go of, separate them into organized piles; some people like to do this by the color and others by the author; it's your bookshelf, let it work for you. And for the rest, you can use this app to determine if your book is worth reselling or giving away with this cash generator.

Cash Generator: https://www.ziffit.com/en-us/sell-my-books

Organize your garage

Your garage is the ultimate storage space, but that also means it can also quickly turn into a disorganized mess! Many families struggle to fit their car in the garage because it is so full of stuff!

It's easy to put items like old bikes, unused toys, and unloved furniture into the garage and forget about them. So take some time to clear out that garage, and you could leave space for items that are not needed directly in the home, making your house even more of a haven. Ask yourself, do you want it, use it regularly, need it? If not, throw it out.

With the items you are clearing, you can:

Hold a garage sale
Donate items to charity
Put a curb alert on Craigslist
Give things to friends or family
Take other junk to the dump

As you declutter the house, make sure you don't jump into throwing away all of your partner's things. Everyone keeps items for different reasons, so better to leave those to your partner to declutter themselves.

Add shelving

You can organize many of your garage items with shelving; many home shops will sell metal or plastic shelving. And so you can use so you can declutter your floor space and make more room to move around your garage. A cheaper solution is to buy shelving brackets and make shelves out of wood. Any shelving solution will leave you more organized.

Garage bins

Garage bins can organize your stuff perfectly, and if you store your things in clear garbage bins, it will be straightforward to find everything. They are also highly affordable, and many shops regularly have them on offer, so stock up when there is a deal!

Label up

Whether you organize your things in cardboard boxes or in garage bins, labels will make your life much easier. Having to search through boxes is a waste of time and frustrating.

Zone your garage

At places like Home Depot, it's easy to find what you are looking for because everything is organized into zones. So plan your garage in the same way, and then each zone will be easy to manage and easy to find items.

Garbage cans as storage

Sports items like balls and frisbees, bats, hockey sticks, rackets can make a real mess, so purchase a garbage can for these types of things; it will keep them all in one cheap storage solution and keep them dry so that they don't rot.

Regular declutter

Once you have your garage in good working order, set yourself regular slots to go back and reorganize throughout the year. A regular reorganize will keep things in order and be a lot less painful to manage.

Use Yellowsack for your sort

As you find items that won't work for a garage sale, charity, or gifts for others, place waste items in our Yellowsack dumpster bags. Coming in two different sizes, they will help you manage source separation of any unwanted junk. If your project is small, our smaller bag will save you money rather than using a huge dumpster, you can keep the bag as long as you want, and when you have finished your declutter, use our app or website to book collection, and we'll be with you in a few short days, maximum. You can order Yellowsack's dumpster bags on our website or through our app, and we'll deliver directly to your door. They'll be your perfect companion as you declutter your house.

So happy decluttering, happy new year, and happy listening!

Sounds of New Year