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5 Things To Declutter Right Now

Monday, October 12, 2020

We've been in a strange limbo since going under contract on our house. Our engines are reving, but there are still some hoops to jump through to make sure the sale actually happens. It's made me very hesitant to pack because it's not over until the fat lady sings, ya know? Plus, our house looks it's best with our cute stuff in it, and I want it to look it's best for the appraiser, home inspector and potentially if we have to put it back on the market if something falls through. 

One thing I've decided to focus on is preparing to pack. I don't mean just collecting boxes! If you've been following along here for some time, you know that I have been working on decluttering our house for years now! We went through a big declutter, and then more 'maintenance' declutterings since. Honestly, I didn't think I'd find much else!

Moving definitely helps you reassess! I noticed there are quite a few places in the home that tend to collect clutter and require multiple visits. I thought I'd share those today, and maybe inspire you to check your own junk drawer for things to part with.



One | Medicines

How do you store your medications? We store our collection in a skinny rubbermaid under the guest room sink. Because we rarely get sick, I wasn't even sure what was in there. Plenty! Take a look in your medicine stash, because you are likely to find things have expired or are unnecessary. 

Personally, I found several medications that were expired and I was able to organize our bin better. Who knew we had what seems like dozen different sizes of band-aids. 

(Pharmacies can help you dispose of prescriptions responsibly!) 


Two | Make Up

Did you know makeup has a shelf life? You'll find out what it is on the packaging or label. I guarantee you've had that blush for longer than 18 months.  I found a couple of items that were getting old, and several I decided I no longer used or wanted. 

There might be something in your collection that is almost new, but maybe for some reason you don't reach for it. Consider giving it to a friend or family member! No need for it to go to waste in your cabinet or bag. 


Three | Nail Polish 

Typically, I save professional manicures and pedicures for special occasions. So, I do my own nails! That means I've collected a pretty sizeable amount of nail polishes. This was actually an area I had already decluttered in the past, but I found several polishes that were well past their prime. I still liked the colors, but you can definitely tell the difference between a new nail polish and a thick, goopy old one. 




Four | Your Spice Cabinet 

If I'm being honest, I really thought I was good at keeping our spice cabinet minimal. We really don't buy those one off spices that a random recipe calls for. I either try to substitute it or go without if it's something unusual. While going through our kitchen, I decided to quickly cull our spices as well and ended up finding 8! spices that were out of date. 8 might not seem like a lot, but it is when I probably only had 15 spices on the shelf total! 



Five | Kitchen Items You Think You 'Should' Have

If you go back a couple of years here on the blog, you might remember our when I shared details about our kitchen transformation. While it doesn't look quite the same today, you can clearly see we have a small kitchen. The size has forced us to keep it simple when it comes to the gadgets and other things we keep. Unless we use it on a weekly basis, it's really taking up valuable real estate. 

Again, this was an area I thought I really had under control. The prospect of moving however, let me look at the kitchen with new eyes. I can't believe all the things I decided to part with after deciding to keep them before. 

A couple of things I put in the yard sale pile:
- A pie dish (I've never made a pie in my life.)
- Some attachments for our food processor (never used and never will.)
- Old dish towels 
- Bakeware (I went from a large variety of 12 baking pans to 6!)
- Food storage without matching lids
- Duplicate wine glasses (We received a great set of wine glasses as a wedding gift, but there were several sizes and we only ever used some of them. After 10 years, we know what we like and use!) 
- Canisters I always hated. (Ok, so I replaced these with something else, but why hold on to something you hate?!)
- Some cups (How do we end up with so many cups!?) 
- Ramekins (I bought these literally 10 years ago to make lava cake, and used them once.)


I know I have a long way to go, but getting started felt so nice! I can't say I'm looking forward to packing, but I am looking forward to our move! Mostly, I'm ready for it to be over. Maybe this post provided a little inspiration, and you can find something tucked away that you can say goodbye to. Sound off in the comments below and give me your suggestions! Let me know where you tend to collect clutter, or maybe some place that you think I should take a look at in our house. 

Other posts on this topic you might like: 

9 Ways to Simplify Your Life or My Favorite Decluttering Principles


-Kristen

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Hello!

Hi friends! I'm Kristen, and this is the Life and Style of an early 30's Floridian living the Best Life Ever, with her husband and three pugs. Runner | Avid Reader | Small Shop Owner

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