5 Quick and Easy Decluttering Tasks to Reset Your Home
Happy New Year! January is a time to reflect and set intentions for the year. Simplifying and decluttering your home may be one of those intentions, and if you are in St. Louis, I would love to help you meet that goal. Decluttering can bring a sense of calm and order to your home, reduce stress, and even save you time and money. If you want to build momentum and get wins under your belt, here are some quick & easy decluttering projects I recommend:
I call these categories “easy” because the decision criteria of whether it should be tossed/donated are pretty black & white, and there is less emotional attachment to these items than others in your home. I recommend starting with these “easier” categories to practice letting go of items so that you will be more prepared to face other areas in your home. When working with clients, these categories usually take less time to declutter than others- set a timer for an hour and see how much you can get through!
5 things to quickly declutter in 2025:
Expired Medicine
Most medicines have an expiration date on the package, and you will be surprised by how short the expiration window is! Expired medicine isn’t effective or provides much benefit to the ailment after it has expired. To dispose of them, you can check with your local pharmacy or use a drug take-back program. Quickly declutter this category by checking expiration dates on packages and tossing anything expired. Here is some information from the FDA about safely disposing of expired medicine.
Expired Food
Food (including spices, oils, etc.) typically has an expiration date somewhere on the package (although you might have to bring out your glasses to read it!). Food is expired if there is mold or has a smell. But other things like oils and spices lose their flavor potency & aroma over time if expired. It can feel like a big task if you have a large pantry and food has gotten stuffed & lost in it. Try to tackle one shelf at a time, checking expiration dates and tossing anything expired.
Makeup over 2 years old
Makeup has a short shelf life. Mascara should be disposed of after 3 months, while powder eyeshadow expires after 2 years. If the makeup has changed consistency (clumped or separated), smells bad, has changed color, has a film, or has cracked or crumbled, then it is time to dispose of it. Try to use older than two years as a decision criterion across all makeup to keep it simple—it’s time to toss the old and also save your face from a potential rash or infection.
Outgrown kid books & toys
While it may be hard to admit your child is getting older, there is definitely a point where kids outgrow the baby board books & rattle toys. If you are expecting or thinking of having another child, it may make sense to bin some of these toys up and move them to a less accessible storage space. But otherwise these unplayed with books & toys are cluttering up valuable space in your home. There are many charities that would love a donation of clean baby books & toys, like Nurses for Newborns here in St. Louis.
Junk mail & expired coupons
Junk mail, catalogs, and coupons can build up quickly in a home if the mail isn’t sorted as it comes in. If you have had a pile of junk mail sitting on your counter for more than 6 months, it is time to recycle it. Coupons have likely expired, product catalogs change, and you likely aren’t planning to take a company up on a new credit card offer. Stand over your recycling bin and quickly sort through the pile, making sure no personal mail has gotten mixed in. Personal mail takes a lot longer to go through, but hopefully you have built some momentum now with this process that you feel ready to tackle it!