Posts tagged organizing
Leap into Decluttering: 29 Tasks for a Fresh Start in February

Make the most of February's 29 days this year with this decluttering guide! Tackle these 29 easy-to-declutter items and create a fresh, organized space to enjoy the extra day (and move into spring with a clean space!).

Conquer Counters

1. Mismatched Tupperware or containers without lids

  • Sort through your storage containers, recycling or repurposing ones without mates or lids.

2. Unused kitchen gadgets

  • Donate gadgets you rarely use to free up valuable kitchen space.

3. Outdated or expired food and spices

  • Check pantry items for expiration dates, discarding anything past its prime.

4. Chipped dishes, mugs, and glassware

  • Replace or repurpose damaged items; declutter your kitchen essentials.

Untangle Tech

5. Tech cord clutter

  • Organize cords using cable organizers or ties to reduce visual and physical clutter; delete duplicates or unused items.

6. Digital clutter (duplicate photos, unopened email, unused apps, outdated software)

  • Dedicate time to delete redundant photos, off-load unneeded apps, and update software for better device performance.

Funnel Fashion

7. Broken jewelry

  • Repair or repurpose, or consider donating pieces you no longer wear.

8. Extra hangers

  • Keep only what you need, recycling or donating excess hangers.

9. Worn out clothes, underwear, or socks

  • Declutter your wardrobe by discarding worn-out items and making space for new essentials.

10. Tired shoes and sneakers

  • Toss or donate shoes that have seen better days.

 Filter Funtimes

11. Dried-up or expired art supplies

  • Refresh your artistic space by discarding dried-up supplies and organizing the rest.

12. Travel-size toiletries and makeup you never use

  • Streamline your beauty routine by donating unused items to local thrift shops or shelters.

13. Exercise and sports clutter

  • Evaluate your sports equipment, donating or selling items you no longer use.

14. Expired sunscreen or skincare products

  • Ensure your skincare items are within their use-by dates for maximum effectiveness.

15. Board games or puzzles with missing pieces

  • Declutter entertainment spaces by recycling incomplete games or puzzles.

16. Toys your children or grandchildren have outgrown

  • Donate toys to clear space and bring joy to others.

Household Havoc

17. Expired warranties or guarantees

  • Dispose of expired warranties and guarantees, freeing up space in your files.

18. Expired coupons or promotional materials

  • Organize your coupons and promotional materials, discarding outdated ones.

19. Unused manuals or instructions

  • Digitize manuals or store only essential hard copies.

20. Old receipts

  • Shred old receipts, keeping only those necessary for potential returns or warranties.

21. Burnt-out candles

  • Repurpose candle jars or discard safely.

22. Dead plants

  • Refresh your living space by removing dead or dying plants.

23. Expired or unneeded medications

  • Safely dispose of expired medications following proper guidelines.

24. Paper clutter

  • Go through paperwork, recycling or digitizing documents to reduce paper clutter.

25. Magazine clutter

  •  Consider canceling subscriptions or recycling old magazines.

26. Books you'll never read again (or never started)

  • Donate or sell books that no longer serve a purpose in your collection.

27. Old greeting cards with no sentimental value

  • Keep only meaningful cards, recycle or donate the rest.

28. Outdated travel brochures or maps

  • Organize travel materials, discarding outdated brochures and maps.

29. Empty gift boxes and tissue paper

  • Store only a few versatile boxes and discard excess, freeing up storage space.

So grab this year’s Leap Year decluttering guide (download an easy-to-read copy), roll up your sleeves, and conquer your clutter as we move into spring!

5 Key Benefits of Hiring a Senior Move Manager

Hiring a Senior Move Manager can bring numerous benefits, especially when it comes to assisting older adults with the often complex process of downsizing and relocating. Here are five key benefits of hiring a Senior Move Manager:

1. Expertise and Experience

Senior Move Managers possess extensive knowledge and experience in helping seniors transition to new living arrangements. They understand the unique challenges and emotional aspects involved and can provide expert guidance throughout the process.

2. Stress Reduction

Moving can be an incredibly stressful experience, particularly for older adults who may have lived in their current homes for many years. Senior Move Managers can alleviate much of this stress by taking care of the logistics, planning, and organization, allowing seniors to focus on adjusting to their new environment.

3. Customized Support

Senior Move Managers offer personalized services tailored to the specific needs and preferences of their clients. They can provide assistance with sorting and downsizing belongings, arranging for packing and unpacking, coordinating with movers, and even setting up the new living space to ensure a smooth and efficient transition. A Simpler Life Now can create personalized floor plans to make sure what you take fits as you expect it to.

4. Access to Resources

Senior Move Managers often have a network of resources and contacts within the senior living industry, including real estate agents, moving companies, donation venues, cleaning services, auctioneers, and other relevant professionals. This network can be invaluable in ensuring that the entire moving process is well-coordinated and streamlined.

5. Emotional Support

Moving from a long-time residence can evoke strong emotions and sentimental attachments. Senior Move Managers are trained to provide compassionate support and guidance, helping seniors and their families navigate the emotional aspects of this major life transition. Their empathetic approach can make the process more manageable and less emotionally taxing for the seniors involved.

Our team at A Simpler Life Now is ready to help you navigate the downsizing and moving process. Give us a call today, (732) 887-0095, — or use our contact form — to sign up for a free consultation to see how we can help take the hassle and stress out of your move.

7 Ways for Organizing Your Paperwork
Color-coded file folders

Here are some of the best ways for organizing paperwork in your home.

1. Keep everything in one place:

Designate a specific area in your home where you keep all of your important paperwork. This can be a drawer, a folder, or a binder. Keeping everything in one place makes it easier to find what you need when you need it. When your mail arrives, immediately sort through it and recycle the junk mail before you have the opportunity to place it in that designated space.

2. Sort your paperwork:

Separate your paperwork into categories, such as medical records, financial documents, insurance policies, and personal correspondence. This makes it easier to find what you need and prevents important documents from getting lost.

3. Get rid of unnecessary paperwork:

Go through your paperwork and get rid of anything that is no longer needed. This can include old bills, receipts, and expired documents. Shredding or recycling these documents can help free up space.

4. Use color coding:

Consider using different colored folders or labels for different categories of paperwork. For example, you could use red for medical records, blue for financial documents, and green for insurance policies. This can make it easier to quickly identify what you need.

5. Label everything:

Label your folders, drawers, and bins with clear and concise descriptions of what is inside. This can help you quickly find what you need without having to sort through everything.

6. Utilize technology:

Think about digitizing important documents such as insurance policies, bank statements, and medical records. This can make it easier to access these documents from anywhere and free up space in your home. If you’re not feeling tech-savvy, consider asking a family member to help (this can give the family member access to essential documents as well, which can be a life saver in case of an emergency).

Woman with organized desk and paperwork

7. Keep up with maintenance:

Make it a habit to go through your paperwork regularly and get rid of anything that is no longer needed. This can prevent clutter from building up and make it easier to manage your paperwork in the long run.

By following these tips, you can organize your paperwork and make it easier to find what you need when you need it. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. There are many resources available to help you to organize your paperwork.

Organize. Declutter. Downsize. Event at The Delaney

Join The Delaney of Bridgewater and Cecilia Beislier for a seminar designed to make the process of organizing, decluttering, and downsizing easy.

It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Come see for yourself with a presentation by expert Senior Move Manager Cecilia Beisler, founder of A Simpler Life Now. She assists older adults and their families with the physical and emotional aspects of moving. Learn how to manage your “stuff” and make your next move to The Delaney with ease.

Event Details

Get the right advice for rightsizing:

Saturday, March 25 • 1 to 3 p.m.

The Delaney of Bridgewater

901 Frontier Road
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
TheDelaneyofBridgewater.com

RSVP by March 22 to (732) 253-4101

Hurry, space is limited.
Refreshments will be served.

Please feel free to download the flyer and spread the word!

Downsizing is Like Getting A Life Coach for your Home

Marie Kondo made it official.

She now calls herself a “life coach.”

But if you talk to most home organizers, senior move managers, and downsizers, we all have a lot of life coaching in our practices. 

The New York Times says that Kondo suggests we look at the world from an object’s perspective, to understand how it might feel crushed or smothered in an undifferentiated heap of possessions. But that’s old news. In her new book, she shows photos of pristine rooms “Instagram-worthy” photographs that are serene, minimalist, sleek, and crisp.

The book’s editor says that her goal is to help readers determine what style works for them. 

What’s Your Style?

What do you think your style looks like?

There is no right answer.

That’s where the life coaching comes in.

When I work with my clients, the first thing we do is talk. We delve into how you live now, and what your expectations are for your new place. What things are most important to you, and what you are ready to let go of.

We know it can be an extremely difficult process to part with items that have been part of your life for decades. We’ll listen to the importance and history of your things, and will help you create a plan to determine what you need to part with because it just won’t fit, and what you might be able to keep.  

There are so many factors to consider, namely whether or not you want your smaller quarters to replicate your current home as much as possible, or if you want a fresh new look, even mixing up what you currently have and repurposing your things to serve you in new ways. 

For example, that server in your dining room might be beautiful in your entryway if you no longer have a formal dining area.  

How Move Managers Help You

We will help you:

  • Sort items to sell, gift, donate, or recycle

  • Organize and downsize your kitchen, bathroom, pantry, and closets

  • Sort and organize your basement, attic, and garage

  • Sort paperwork

  • Coordinate the removal or donation of the unwanted contents of your home

Marie Kondo writes that a big obstacle to having a tidy home is the gap between the way we live our lives and our ideal lifestyles.

Downsizing with A Simpler Life Now helps solve that problem, as we envision what you want your home to look like and what purpose each area should serve.

Reach out to us to begin your transformation.

A Midsummer Night’s Organizing
Woman wearing floppy hat to protect her face from sun on the beach

Don’t forget your floppy hat and sunglasses when heading to the beach!

“It’s hot out there!”

“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.”

“You can fry an egg on the sidewalk.”

Those cliches are cliches for a reason. Not much else to say about the summer heat other than these tried and true.

Think about using these dog days of summer to organize everything you need for a day in the sun.

Going to the beach? 

If shore excursions are a regular event in your house, keep a bag packed with the essentials:

  • Fill a ziploc bag with sunscreen, mosquito repellant, and after-bite solution.  

  • Pack floppy hats for every family member, as well as sunglasses, and water shoes. 

  • If children will be in tow, pack a separate tote with a mesh bottom filled with sand toys, pails, and shovels. Shake it out when play is done to minimize sand in the car. 

  • A picnic basket that has disposable plates, cups, napkins, and utensils makes beach eating easy. Just restock it when you get home and you’ll be ready to go. 

Having the family over for a barbecue?

  • Keep all the grilling tools together. Consider using a bucket or a pail if yours did not come in a box. 

  • Use a wire brush to clean the grill while it is still hot to get rid of burnt-on food. 

  • Consider spraying the backyard for mosquitoes before guests arrive. You can contract with exterminators to keep your yard pest free all summer.  

  • Keep forks, knives, and spoons in a pretty caddy that can sit right on the table. 

How does your garden grow?

A lush summer garden filled with fruits and vegetables is a true warm-weather joy and a thing of beauty. It can also be a well-organized haven!

  • If you have a garden shed, make use of the walls and even the ceiling to hang tools. Hang your shovels and other long-handled tools on a rack. You can buy one at Home Depot or Lowes, or make one easily from an old pallet.

  • Shelving is your friend! Both free-standing units and those affixed to the walls can make a big difference in how organized everything is. You might even consider repurposing old cabinets from a kitchen remodel to use in your shed.

  • Use clear bins to organize seeds and smaller items.  

  • Create a tool silhouette. Once you have hung all your tools on a pegboard, trace their outline so you know if an item is missing. When items are put back in their appropriate space, they are easier to find the next time you need them.

  • Get a reel for your garden hose.

On the road again?

There’s nothing like exploring the country on a summer road trip. 

  • Buy or make an organizer for the back of the seats. The roomy pockets can hold everything from toys, a first-aid kit, snacks, drinks, cards, writing implements, sunscreen, and more. 

  • We know to pack lots of snacks; put them in individual-sized Ziploc bags for easy grabbing. 

  • Pack plastic bags for wet or soiled items.

  • Amazon sells devices that will allow you to charge multiple devices — phones, iPads, AirPods, etc. — with one car lighter or USB port. This can be a lifesaver!

Whether your time is spent on the road, or at home on a “staycation,” these tips for organizing are sure to take stress out of your summer days. No matter what you do, don’t forget the sunscreen!

Spring Cleaning: How Often to Clean Everything In Your Home
Dust furniture and vacuum your upholstered sofa and pillows..

Ah, spring.

The flash of color from early flowers. The smell of freshly cut grass.

The sound of sneezes as everyone around quickly states emphatically, “It’s just allergies…”

Spring means lots of things to many people. Growth, rebirth, fresh start. But to many of us, it means spring cleaning! 

Let’s delve into spring cleaning, and look at how often you should clean many items in your home.

Everyday Cleaning

Let’s begin with things that should get some attention every day. That’s making your bed, doing the dishes, washing out the coffee pot, and cleaning out the kitchen sink. You also should wipe down the kitchen table and counters. 

Pro tip: wipe up messes in the oven and the microwave as soon as they happen. It’s much easier to clean them when they are fresh rather than when they are baked on. 

In the bathroom, it’s a good idea to disinfect your faucets, the toilet handle and seat, and wipe down shower walls with a squeegee.

A Few Times a Week

Give some attention to your floors. Dust mop those made of hardwood, sweep or vacuum entry mats, and vacuum any high-traffic areas, particularly if there are pets, kids, (or messy spouses!) in the house.   

Once a Week

It’s usually enough to go through the kitchen and wipe down the appliances weekly. Also, inspect the fridge and throw out expired food items (and those pesky, unidentifiable things that tend to get put back in until you’re sure they are bad. C’mon, no one is really going to ever eat those things!)

In the bathroom, sanitize surfaces. Dust furniture and vacuum those pieces that are upholstered. Change the sheets and pillow cases on beds that have been used. 

Vacuum or sweep and mop floors. 

Every Three to Four Months

You should clean your oven, whether it’s a self-cleaning model or one you have to buy oven cleaner for. Give the dishwasher a good cleaning — that means checking the filter for gunk and running it through with a vinegar cycle. Clean the lint out of the dryer vent as buildup can be a fire hazard. Wash the comforter living inside your duvet cover. Throw the bed pillows into the washing machine. Wash the range hood filter, this is where grease can really build up. Dust your ceilings and walls. Move the heavy furniture and vacuum underneath it. 

Twice a Year

Give some love to the gutters, whether you do them yourself or have them cleaned out professionally.

Annually

You can clean out your fireplace in the spring, after the fire season. (Have the chimney inspected in the fall before you start up again.)

Steam clean or shampoo carpets and furniture.

By no means is this little list exhaustive; there are many other items in the house that deserve the Cinderella treatment, from the pet bed and toys, to draining sediment from the water heater, your lampshades and curtains, the furnace filters, refrigerator coils, the windows, garage and basement, the handrails on the staircase, and the cup your toothbrushes sit in. 

What item is on your spring-cleaning list that you are about to get to?

Be Clutter Free This Year

And here we are again — the beginning of a new year.

If you have been following some of my advice in this blog space, then many areas of your house have been streamlined, either in preparation for a downsize or just so you can live more comfortably in your space.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to assess your living areas, including your kitchen. Look around — has some of that clutter snuck back up on you?

It is just so easy for this to happen — please don’t think ANYONE is immune, including me.

Why do we let the clutter build up, and what should we do about it?

Keeping things we like around us is comforting, even if we have way, way too much of it. Cozy throw blankets. Aromatic candles. Well-loved books. Kitchen gadgets. These are the things that soothe us. But when the sheer amount of our loved items gets out of control and starts living in piles, the comfort becomes stress.

And then there are all those holiday gifts. Ones where the gift giver was so spot on, that it was something you just bought for yourself. Or ones where you might think that the gift giver never actually met you before!

We discussed the boxes of holiday decor that never make the cut. Resist the urge to pack it away again. Make an appointment right now for a local charity — like the Vietnam Vets — to come and retrieve these and other things you can part with. Just chose a date from their interactive calendar and set the stuff out early that morning. They will even leave you a receipt for tax purposes.

Pat yourself on the back for using all the at-home time during the pandemic to attack those junk drawers, scary closets, and seemingly bottomless attic and basement areas. Goodbye lidless Tupperware! Even the fridge was a project we took on together. Begone, soup greens from the Bush administration. (No judging if it was even the first Bush!)

But don’t rest on those laurels. This next go round should be a bit easier since you have gone through it all recently.

Start with the “what-if-I-lose-those-10-lbs” wardrobe items, and progress into the heels that were oh so cute — and expensive — but hurt each time they were worn. Gift or donate. Have you again accumulated take-out containers? Update some stained ones and recycle the rest.

There’s no need to fill up all your storage areas 

People tend to fill up their storage area with as much as it can handle. This makes it harder to find exactly what you are looking for, whether it is that purple scarf hiding among dozens of other scarves, or the warranty information for the smart TV.

So why do we have three unopened ketchups in the pantry and four packages of new panty hose (when was the last time that we actually wore pantry hose)? Is the fear of “running out” of something so great? Is it because the sale price was too good to walk away from? What would actually happen if we ran low on extra toothbrushes?

Is it because we just know that as soon as we get rid of something we will discover we need it? Right away?

It’s probably a little bit of all of that. And developing a reasonable approach to tackling the clutter is the only way it will get reduced.

Whether you do a room at a time or focus on a category like books or purses is up to you. Don’t start too large. Doing one dresser, or even one drawer in a dresser, is a perfectly good starting place. 

The professionals at A Simpler Life Now are really, really good at helping you figure out what to keep and what you really don’t need anymore. Please let us know if we can help with your projects.

Take Back Your Space and Regain Control — More Things to Dispose of Throughout the House

Back in May, we ran a blog called 20 Items You Can Trash Right Now. It was about those things that take up  much needed space in our homes, making things look messy and overrun. And, yet, we keep them.

Maybe it’s because we want to be prepared “just in case.” Maybe it’s for sentimental reasons. 

The sad truth is, that often even though we have a supply closet full of those items, we often buy something new when we need it either because it is just a bit off, or because we don’t know exactly where to find it. 

This month’s blog is a follow up to that one, with some more specific ideas — because so many of you reached out to tell me that you wanted more. 

What? You haven’t done the first round yet? Well, start with either list and then migrate to the other. 

More things you can dispose of right now that you will never miss, but that, with their absence, will give you a lot more space and a sense of control.

This time, we break it down into five main areas of concern: your closets, the kitchen, the kids, bedroom stuff, and media.

In the Closets

Sheet sets. Oh, you were saving some to use as drop cloths? Your painter will bring his own. What, you wanted some extras if anyone needs to go camping? Is anyone really going camping? You are saving some for when you rent a shore house? Didn’t that last shore house come furnished with sheets and towels already? Keep one extra set for every bed, and maybe one extra “just-in-case” set for each size. That is it. 

Extra blankets. Let’s say you had guests come one winter and there was a blackout. Everyone needed to bundle up with an extra blanket. Keep one extra stored for every bed in the house and enough for a guest or two. It’s not going to get worse than that. 

Unused holiday decorations. Those broken ornaments. And the ones you really don’t like but bought because they were on sale. Get rid of them. Keep what you put out, the sentimental ones, and special ones the kids made. Get rid of the rest.

The lampshades and curtain rods. Getting rid of all the extras will bring you back valuable space. No one is going to need the old candelabra chandelier shades.

In the Kitchen 

Cell phones. Flip phones might be making a comeback, but not those kinds of flip phones. You can donate these in bulk.

Paper clutter. Takeout menus. Phone books. Address books. Everything is available online. Use up the old extra napkins and plates from kids' birthday parties. 

Extra mugs that are from old companies. You have your favorites that you use. You can save enough for all that company who are visiting during that winter blackout and who all need a mug of hot chocolate to warm up at the same moment. You don’t need the rest. Donate.

Expired stuff. Suntan lotion. Spices. Even coffee. Use up anything that will expire soon before you buy more. Replenish your pantry from the back so that you reach for older stuff first. 

Jars — Mason and otherwise. Canning those summer cucumbers sounded like such a good idea, but if another summer passed and you still haven’t gotten to it, donate some of those jars. People are always looking for canning jars on the free-community based websites.

Drawers of power cords and chargers. You probably got rid of many of the items that they were supposed to charge long ago. If you can find the cords that go to those flip phones, pair them up.

Water bottles. You will be shocked at how many of these have declared residency in your kitchen. Get rid of all but the ones you use. 

Freebies. The chopsticks, condiments, napkins, and plates that have exploded. If you never use them, then stop saving them.  

Used sponges and toothbrushes. Are you saving them for cleaning? You really only need one of each, and you can keep updating it when you change out your current ones. 

Cleaning rags. Keep one bucketful in the basement, get rid of the rest.

Reusable bags, shopping bags, boxes. If you bring your own bags to the grocery store that is wonderful. Check them to make sure they haven’t gotten grungy and change them out if they have. Repurpose old Amazon boxes. You can cut them down to resize larger ones to mail your own packages. Save a few in each size — you know they will mysteriously replenish themselves in just a week or two! 

Kitchen toys: The panini maker, the vegetti, the fondue pot, the ice cream maker, the avocado slicer, the watermelon baller, the fat separator, the onion goggles, the fun-shaped ice cube maker, the popcorn popper, possibly even the air fryer and the Instant Pot? Everyone’s list of kitchen gadgets that they don’t use will look different, but everyone has one. If yours is in good shape (even brand new, maybe?), pass it along.  

Wedding gifts. The things you put on your wedding registry way back when sounded great. But did you really think you were going to use them? If they are still brand new in the box, or have not been used since the Clinton administration, donate.

All the vases from flowers. How nice that people keep sending you flowers! Donate some of those vases to the flower shop at the hospital or back to the florists.

Used candles. Name one dinner party you had where you didn’t put out fresh candles?

Your Kids Stuff — And Stuff for Your Kids

Whether those “kids” are just starting their college applications, or are having children of their own, they have left behind a lot of stuff.

Much of the stuff they used as a baby is not even up to code anymore. The crib bumpers — possibly even the crib itself — might be considered dangerous. 

Do save some special well-made toys that your children enjoyed that you might want to play with your grandchildren, but boxes of puzzles with pieces missing and electronic toys where the battery exploded and are now rendered useless do nothing but take up valuable closet space. 

Some of their sports equipment — cleats, bats, frisbees, sticks — could be brought to sports consignment shops or donated. 

Separately, your treasured items, whether they are ornate antiques, heavy furniture, or delicate China service, might not be of interest to your children in their streamlined lifestyles. If they say they really won’t want it, begin to check with antique dealers or even try listing a few items on eBay. This includes the stuff you inherited from your own parents and grandparents. 

In Your Bedroom

In your closet? Skinny jeans? Or your boyfriend jeans? Or high-waisted jeans? It’s hard to keep track of what is considered in style these days. Whatever the trends, if it doesn’t fit, donate it. Including those expensive mistakes. As for all that stuff that is “sure to come back in fashion,” even if it does, it will be tweaked just enough that you will want to buy the updated version of it.

Same goes for the stuff you are saving for 70s and 80s costume parties. Save a couple of things, and donate the rest. 

Ditto exercise clothes.

Edit your entire inventory of nearly empty perfume bottles and get something new that you love.

Media

The last category to clean out is all the media that is taking up space.

Old Jane Fonda tapes. No explanation necessary. Again, YouTube videos.

This goes for all the old albums, CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, and more that you probably couldn’t even play even if they are in great shape. Check around for dealers and collectors who might be interested in what you have.  

As for the VHS tapes, Netflix is your friend.

Cookbooks? Save the few you actually use. You can find recipes for anything online.

I look forward to hearing about some of the great things you have done with all the space in the areas that you have reclaimed in your homes. There is so much benefit to be had from living A Simpler Life Now.

Organize Your Home — 20 Items You Can Trash Right Now
Man sorting through his prescription medications looking for ones that have expired

Most people have too much stuff, and, honestly, a lot of it is, well, garbage! 

Do you have a complete set of House Beautiful magazines from the 1990s? How about the turmeric that you bought for a curry recipe you never got around to making a few years ago? 

The first step in getting ready to sell your home, or even just to organize it for you to live more comfortably yourself, is to pack up and toss some of the items that have outlived their usefulness.

This list is a great starting place to identify items that are eating up valuable real estate in your closets, kitchen cabinets, garage, attic, and basement. The amount of space you can find by just tossing out excess bags and boxes can be so rewarding. 

20 Items To Toss Now

  1. Twist ties

  2. Supermarket plastic bags

  3. Old magazines

  4. Bags of socks that don't match

  5. Books of matches

  6. Take out plastic containers and mismatched other Tupperware

  7. Bags, bags, and more bags 

  8. Old trophies 

  9. Expired medications, sunscreen, and makeup

  10. Old expired spices 

  11. Outdated college books 

  12. Old paint cans (by the way if the paint is dried up, the paint can go in your trash —  if not dried up, open lid, add cat litter and then toss when dried up)

  13. The drawer full of Bed Bath & Beyond (or other expired) coupons

  14. Duplicate or fuzzy photos

  15. Bank statements and utility bills that you will never need to refer to

  16. That yellowed pile of recipes that has been growing but you never look at

  17. Everything that has been sitting in the “to-be-fixed” pile: the broken mug, the costume jewelry with the broken clasp, the sunglasses with the missing arm

  18. Pens that dried up

  19. All the cheap, branded stuff you picked up along the way but won’t really use, particularly because you have better versions of it, like tape measures, frisbees, sewing kits, magnifying glasses

  20. Craft projects that you started but will never resume — the half-hooked rugs, pieces of tile for the mosaic project, assorted colored sand — you get the idea!

Why wait until you are ready to move to reclaim all this space? Do it now: pack up all these items and don’t look back when you dispose of them.

It’s hard getting rid of sentimental items and articles of clothing. But some stuff in our closets holds no sentimental value at all. Even still, sometimes it is hard to recognize items that should be trashed. Give me a call if you want some professional help.