Maybe you like to hoard... I mean collect certain things, perhaps it’s been years since you’ve gone through your kids belongings. Whatever your circumstance, we all need to go through a purge!
If you are like me, you try to keep up with your “inventory” of belongings by purging 2 times per year. Or you know you need to go through “that box” but feel overwhelmed at the thought of diving into such a project.
Hopefully these purging tips and tricks will ease you into it!
Closets
I have touched on this subject in an earlier Blog Post: "Cluttered Closets." But lets revisit a few pointers when it comes to purging out these spaces!
Go through all of your clothing and shoes. When was the last time you wore certain items? Create an "expiration date" for your clothing and shoes. I like to give myself a year from the day I purchased it. A great trick is to flip your hangers. If at the end of the year any number of items are not touched, you donate them!
We had board games piled up in our coat closet, games that we hardly played. Feel free to go through all of your closets and get rid of extra items that are lying around. Extra (or expired) sunscreen and bugs spray, extra towels, or even things that could be stored as back stock.
If after one year, certain items do not have a logical "home" I donate them. Homeless items cause clutter, if you can't categorize these items, it might be time to donate.
Garage
Another section we have already tackled; The Garage. For me it is just another closet where we like to shove things aside to be dealt with at another time. And inevitably becomes a neglected place that turns into a whole weekend project!
One thing that happens, over time, is items stored improperly can become broken. Move your cars out and as you are sifting through your garage items, set aside those that have been broken. We ordered a big dumpster to toss these pieces into.
Most of us store extra miscellaneous items in our garages. Go through these uncategorized items and try to give them a home that makes sense. As mentioned with the miscellaneous items found in a closet, I tend to donate garage items that also don't fit in any sensical category.
Kitchen
I have also touched on this area of our home in this Post. Kitchens are the MOST lived in space. There isn't a single day we aren't whipping something up, even with all the meal prepping I do at the beginning of the week!
As far as purging goes, we always start with removing expired foods. Even if an item looks fine, we still open up and take that nauseating sniff, to help determine an items shelf life.
Maybe you are also making some lifestyle changes and need to read through the ingredients on the back of your condiments, sauces and cans. If the ingredients don't line up with your new way of living, it's time to toss it! This also goes for takeout items. Besides it's probably causing that smell that can stench up your refrigerator.
Storage
Let's purge out your filing cabinet! Are you holding on to old documents? We all do it, we need to hang on to certain pieces of paper, some of which we can never dispose of. However there are other papers clogging up our cabinets that are 20+ years old and are unimportant now, shred them up and you'll be amazed with how fast you can find your current important documents!
Putting on weight is the PITS! But we all hold on to those "smaller" clothing items, in the hopes we will some day fit back into them. I'll be the first to rip the band-aid... donate your smaller clothes. They are probably stored in a large plastic container labeled "Goal Clothing." A trick I use is to pick out 2 outfits from that box (that you've had stored for the last 2+ years). Those 2 pieces can be your goal outfits, the rest of that box needs to be donated.
I am an extremely sentimental person. I find high value in items passed down through generations. But there is a time and place for purging your keepsake items. I was just given a HUGE box of artwork from my childhood. I don't have a use or space for everything I ever created as a kid. So I picked out a very small collection to keep or the things I was proud of. I like the tip from Marie Kondo. If it doesn't spark joy, toss it!
Bedrooms
Bedrooms are another great place to purge, we don't often think of it but here are some of my tips for you on things to purge in your bedrooms:
You buy a book, you read a book, it was a nice story but you won't ever read it again. Purge it. There are series of books that we are more than welcome to keep, and there are our most favorite books that we are allowed to hold onto, because we read it every year. But those other books need to be added to your donate pile.
If you have kiddos, they accumulate an enormous amount of toys. If you are planning on having more kids, store the age appropriate toys into a storage container, to bring out for your future babies. But if all of your kids are grown, or grown out of a toy you might need to plan a trip to a donation center. You could even consider having your kids create a keep and donate pile themselves. They know which toys they are no longer interested in and you could encourage them by sharing how many kids have no toys at all.
While you're at it grab those old home décor pieces, that don't go with your new decorations! Or maybe you thought a cute piece would look nice in your room but it didn't end up fitting the rest of your aesthetic, add it to the donation pile.
I know purging can seem like a difficult task, we all tend to become attached to our belongings (except, maybe the stinky takeout food 😋)
But it feels so much better once you have created more space and have made someone else's day through your donations!
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