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How To Declutter Your Home For The New Year: Set Yourself Up For Success

Declutter your home for the New Year

February 13, 2024

Productivity

What if you could go into this New Year without all the clutter and baggage in your mind, and your home, from all the things you did last year? What if your desk wasn’t full of files and your kid’s’s toy box wasn’t overflowing? Here’s how to declutter your home for the new year and set yourself up for success all year long.

Listen Below For The Entire Episode On The Systemize Your Life Podcast

How To Prepare Your Home For The New Year

Each year, we expect a fresh start. We envision a year full of blessings. All your dreams are supposed to come true.

Your health is supposed to be better. You’re supposed to be skinny. Your house is going to be magically clean all the time—even your laundry will always be done. And those kitchen cupboards? Beautifully organized. We set these grandiose dreams and goals but how in the world are you ever going to fit all of that in? Especially when you can’t even deal with what’s already lying around today? 

The truth is, you can’t make room for the new if you don’t let go of the old. It’s impossible to fit more than a gallon of water into a gallon jug. The same goes for this next year of your life. It’s impossible to make room for growth in your life if there isn’t space for it.

You’re going to have to open up space in your life for peace, abundance, joy and growth. These decluttering tips will help you get rid of all that stuff you don’t need and let go of the mess and stress. Let’s make space for all the blessings the new year has in store for you!

Step One To Declutter Your Home: Identify The Areas That Need The Most Attention

The first step to declutter your home is to decide which areas need your attention first. As much as we want to do everything all at once, we can’t.

Ask yourself: 

  • What’s failing you the most? 
  • Is there something that’s making your life more complicated? 
  • What are you struggling with daily?
  • What’s causing you stress every time you go to do something? 

Start there. Start with the areas of your home that make you feel bad for one reason or another.

Stand in front of that area of your home and ask yourself:

Why isn’t this working?

Are there items in there that you don’t use? Immediately get rid of or donate them.

What isn’t serving a purpose? Get rid of that clutter.

Is there something there you thought you were going to use for a specific purpose but you’re not? Great news! That can go too.  

Let Go Of The Old To Make Room For The New 

Now, think about your goals for the new year. If you want a new wardrobe, you’re going to have to get rid of some of the clothes you have in your closet.

If you want an office space that’s clean and efficient you’re going to have to get rid of old papers, paper clips, pens and whatever else is cluttering up your desk area.

Perhaps you’re dying to see your kitchen sink empty every single night before bed. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could just make that happen? What would it be like if there were never any dishes in the sink in the morning when you woke up? It would be like a fresh start every day!

Well, if that is what you want, you’re going to have to get rid of all the storage containers that don’t have lids and the 12 straws that don’t have cups. You’re also going to need to get rid of all 25 water bottles that you have laying around. Last but not least, you might want to listen to this episode about how I make sure the dishes don’t pile up at our house.

If you want to prepare your home for the new year, donate or give away all the stuff you’re not using. Just let it go. I promise, you will feel less stress the minute you do.

Make Your Home A Clean Slate

Focus on what you can get rid of. If you truly want to prepare your home for the new year, you need to reduce the amount of physical stuff you’ve got all around you. Especially the stuff that’s been taking up space without any real purpose.

You know what I mean, the canned goods that are past their expiration date, the skin care items you don’t use, the cleaning supplies that have been sitting half-empty on your shelf for five years. Those things are hindering you and impacting your mental health more than you realize.

People tend to save things because they are afraid they might need it later. Here’s the truth, if you need it later, you can go get another one.

Right now is the time in your year when things are wrapping up, things are coming to a close. It’s the perfect time to prepare your heart and your mind to let go of things that you don’t need. It’s time to cleanse and declutter your home, to lighten up your space and your thoughts.

Your thoughts are so heavily connected to the space that you live in. I promise you that once you start decluttering your home, your headspace is going to open up dramatically. This really can be that simple.

Declutter Your Home Step Two: Ask “What Would It Look Like If This Space Was Serving Me?”

This is a great opportunity to ask yourself: 

“What would it look like if this space was serving me?” or “What would it look like if this area of my home was working at max capacity?” 

Instead of just sitting and thinking about it, get up and go stand in front of the area. Focus on decluttering as you look at the space.

Think about what you would need to move so that everyone can easily access the things they use in that space. Give everything a specific space or place. Get rid of the smaller items you don’t use or the things that no longer fit.

When you’re done, let everyone know what goes where. There is no point in spending time decluttering if you aren’t going to set up a system or expectations around how to keep the clutter from coming back.

Declutter With Me For The New Year  

Here’s a super oversimplified but really good example of this. Behind the couch in my living room, there’s this small nook of space. For the last few years, we have kept a cardboard box that my oldest daughter was obsessed with sitting and painting in. From time to time she gets it out when she wants to paint in there. Recently, I’ve also been keeping some props behind there for photography, like the boards that I lay down to take some of the styled images I put on my Instagram feed

Whenever I go to take these photos, I have to fight with this box to get out my flat lay boards. It’s not a huge mess and it only takes me a couple extra minutes, but when I think about having to do it, I’m annoyed. It’s a nuisance. It keeps me from wanting to do those styled shoots that I want to be doing. I know that simply looking at that space and getting rid of this box would free up the space. If I decluttered this space in my home, it would free up space for my creativity. 

“If you truly want to clean out your space, you need to reduce the stuff, especially the stuff that’s just been taking up space.”

Clean Out Your Fridge To Help Reach Your Goals

If you have a goal surrounding anything to do with food you need to take a look at your fridge. Even if you don’t have nutrition related goals, address your fridge anyway. This is the one space in your home that holds all your fresh food. We all know how easily it can get disorganized.

Just like before, go stand in front of your refrigerator, open up the doors and take a good look at what is inside. What’s been in there for a long time? How many condiments are past their expiration date? How many do you have multiples of? Is there a drawer that won’t open? What’s not working? Is there a space in there that annoys you that you can potentially make work better for you?

Now, clear it out. Throw away any expired food. Get rid of anything in there you know no one is going to use. Get rid of the junk you don’t want anymore.

Declutter Your Fridge To Make It Work For You

Now, start making a plan—how can you make your fridge more functional for everyone in the house? Decide where all of the produce goes, where the greens go, where the meat goes, where the eggs go.

Do you need containers to put things in? Or do you need bins to help organize things and make smaller items easier to find? What do you need for this to be serving you better? Do you need space for fresh fruits and veggies so your kids can grab them easily? Maybe a shelf for prepped meals? Or a spot for lunch boxes?

Go down to the dollar store, or whatever store you like, and get what you need. Look at that space in your refrigerator and think “What do I need for this to be serving me better?” Make a plan for what will make it work better and start implementing it.

If you’d like my system for keeping our fridge organized, you can get all the details here.

Organize Your Desk And Command Center

A key location to consider when decluttering your home is your desk, command center, or wherever you tackle home management tasks. This is the space where you take care of things like bills, running your side business, working from home, online courses, kids homework, etc. People tend to struggle with these areas because they so easily become overwhelming and disorganized.

Just sit down and start getting rid of things. Don’t think about it, just do it. You won’t regret it. 

If there have been sticky notes sitting there for more than a couple of weeks, get rid of them. Compile them and write down the important things if you need to – in one notebook. Go listen to Episode #2 – How To Do A Brain Dump if you need help developing a better system. 

Decluttering Tips For Your Office Space 

Stand or sit in your office area and figure out what sections are causing the most chaos. Is your desk so cluttered that you don’t have room to work on it? Do you need shelves to store things like stationary and craft supplies? Could you use a container to hold all your pens and pencils? What do you need for this to function efficiently and comfortably for you? 

Think about all the tasks you usually do when you sit down at your desk. What do you need for each of them? Make sure those items are there and easily accessible. At the same time, the goal is not to add more stuff. Remember to get rid of what is in the way and no longer needed first.

How To Keep Your Home Organized

Here’s the big question—you spend all this time focused on decluttering your home and then what happens two weeks from now? The clutter comes right back, doesn’t it? It just comes right back and you know why? Because of habits and the decisions we make. The reason behind what we’re doing is the key here. 

Once you get rid of everything that you don’t use it feels so good. It’s refreshing. It stinks when all the stuff piles back up again. So, let’s spend a little bit of time talking about it. I truly believe that figuring out the reason behind our behaviors is what the key to success.

You can organize. You can buy fancy containers and do all the things. It’s all going to pile right back up again if you don’t address your behaviors—the reasons why you’re making the decisions that you’re making.

To Make Decluttering Last, Figure Out The Why Behind The Clutter

The number one way that you can make sure that the spaces in your home cause less stress is to look at why the build-up is happening. 

Sometimes, the reason is simple. Maybe there’s something in the way or something isn’t functioning properly (like that box in the corner of my living room). Sometimes, the reasons why spaces are cluttered are going to pull on your heartstrings a little bit more than that.

Sometimes, it’s not just about physical space but more about something that you’re hiding and avoiding emotionally. Especially for those things that we’re trying to get rid of that are related to pain or shame or blame that’s been put on us.

I know that you’re here today for this very reason because you need to hear this. You need to know that amazing things are going to come into your life. All you have to do is make room for them. 

Get Rid Of Clutter To Make Room For Progress

If you have a business you’re trying to grow and your desk space is a cluttered mess, it’s time to face that. You can create a space that brings fresh ideas to your mind and encourages you to sit down every day and work on your business.

If you’re the mom who’s trying to lose a little bit of weight and get your eating on track, you can tackle that. Whatever areas you decide to work on when you set out to declutter your house, know that you can make them beautiful, functional spaces that are truly functional for you and your family. 

The Key To Decluttering Your Home Is Letting Go

Take whatever it is that you’re just storing, the clutter that is holding you back from what God wants to bring into your life, and remove it. Sit down and have a short conversation with yourself. Figure out why these pain points and these problem areas in your home have been holding you back. Figure out why the build-up is happening and then address it head-on. You can get through this! 

I know you can make room for amazing things in the year ahead of you. As you declutter your home for the New Year, I challenge you to let go of, donate and sell anything that no longer serves you. Discover how good it makes you feel.

Find Inspiration To Declutter Your Home This New Year

I cannot wait to hear what happens when you guys start doing this. If you’re a Pinterest junkie like me, I highly encourage you search for the Marie Kondo or the Konmari method. This is where I get most of my decluttering inspiration.

If you want an easy to follow method to declutter your entire home, even when you’re super busy, you need to get inside Systemize Your Life. Part of my plug-and-play home management system is what I call the ESCAPE method. It is a simple system I set up to help busy moms declutter spaces in their home in a matter of minutes. All you have to do to get it is join us inside Systemize Your Life!

declutter your home to set yourself up for a successful new year chelsijo

Frequently Asked Questions

I want to declutter my home but I don't know what to do first?

Start by choosing one area that’s bothering you. Go with the one that’s overflowing or makes you sigh in frustration whenever you have to go near it. Then, pick out the stuff that you can get rid of. Start removing anything that no longer belongs or is no longer useful. As you create space, even in small amounts, you will feel inspired and motivated to keep going.

How often should I declutter my home?

It honestly depends on how much clutter you have in your home. I teach mom’s to make decluttering something they can do quickly. It doesn’t have to be this big overwhelming task that you have to be feeling inspired to do. If you’ve got a lot of things to sort through, you could even make decluttering your home part of your daily routine for a while. Once you have things in order, I recommend cleaning things out seasonally but it truly depends on where you are at with your decluttering goals.

Where can I find more decluttering tips?

If you search “declutter” in the podcast vault, you can find all the episodes I have about decluttering your home. We also do periodic decluttering challenges in the free Facebook group. Join us there to see how other work from home moms are making time for decluttering in their busy lives!

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declutter and refresh how to prepare your home for the new year chelsijo

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