Uneven socks, lunch boxes without lids, keys that you do not know what they open … Throw away or donate everything that is no longer worth it and you will optimize storage space and improve order.
Do you think you don’t have space in your house? Well, think about all those things that you have stored and that are no longer worth or you do not use, why not throw them away or give them away if they are only removing storage space?
There are many objects that we keep “in case I ever need it”, “in case it works for me again” …, but honestly, how many times do you use them? They are probably at the bottom of any drawer taking up valuable space or on a shelf collecting dust. Is it worth losing meters for a utensil or garment that you will not use again or that no longer works? Now that they work in the houses, they give classes, they do gymnastics … order is super important to improve coexistence.
We invite you to go stay by stay and review the drawers, boxes and shelves and be aware of everything you have stored: –
In the bedroom, open the cabinets, empty them and examine, why do you keep those pants that you have not put on for 5 years? or why do you keep jewellery or mismatched socks?
In the kitchen, do you really use all the cake moulds or those gadgets that they gave you and that you don’t even know how they work? –
In the living room, why is the shelf or bookcase full of things that you have not touched for years? Or why is the coffee table full of remote controls for appliances you don’t even have at home? –
You walk into the hall and is the console covered in unopened advertising brochures or letters?
Face reality and your feelings and decide what you want to keep and put all those things that you no longer use in a garbage bag and get rid of them all. You will realize all the space that you can win and the sense of order that your home will transmit.
1. Welcome
The hall is the room that offers the first impression of those who enter our house and having it full of papers or things does not help to make it more welcoming. Throw away all the advertising brochures of supermarkets and restaurants in the area that are accumulating, the letters of gas or electricity bills that you have not even opened or the scarves that have been hanging on the coat rack for years and you never wear. And why do you keep keys that you don’t even know where they are from? Time to get rid of all of them.
2. Check and Go Away!
Take a good look at your umbrella stand, you will surely find umbrellas that have a broken rod and that you kept thinking that one day you would fix it, but you never do. Get rid of them and keep only the ones that are in good condition.
3. When Was the Last Time You Used It?
Think about the bags you have, do you really use them all? Surely, many of them have not worn them for years and are already out of fashion. Why save them and take up precious space?
In addition, the guru of order, Marie Kondo, invites us to empty the bag that we have used every day. Are you aware of everything you accumulate inside? Shopping tickets, handkerchiefs, toiletry bag … Every day you can eliminate everything superfluous and keep what really interests you.
4. Expand the Capacity of Your Closet
Check your wardrobe and eliminate all those clothes that you have not put on for more than a season or those that you keep in case you lose that couple of kilos that you have leftover. A lot of those clothes will be out of date when you try them on again and you will look awesomely weird in them. Also, say goodbye to the shoeboxes that you keep “in case they are worth something to me”; They take up a lot of space and the dry cleaning hangers that you accumulate in your closet and that deform your clothes.
5. Underwear
6. Spare
Are you one of those who keep the buttons that come on the labels of spare garments in the sewing box? Do clean because surely you are accumulating many similar and in many cases of garments that you no longer even have. Make a selection of different shapes and colours and throw the rest away.
As for the fabrics that you save to sew or make a craft, keep the largest, ordered by colours and in transparent boxes to find them the first time and save time.
7. Race Notes
Do you have a whole shelf full of notes or books from the race? It is time to eliminate them, even if you are very sorry In most cases they have never consulted again and the information you find there may no longer be useful. That space will be great for you to store the things that you are needing now in teleworking.
8. Goodbye to Encyclopedias
Years ago it was very common for all houses to have an encyclopedia, especially those with students, to consult doubts. With the advent of the internet, they fell into disuse. Now all the information is obtained through the web. So why keep keeping them in the library in our living room? If you lack space, take them out of your house. Ask a library or school if it can be useful to them.
9. Obsolete Formats
Take a good look on the shelves near the TV and see if there are still VHS or DVD videotapes in your house. Do you still have systems that can reproduce these formats? Choose those that have a great sentimental value for you and take them to a specialized centre to be transferred to a digital format and the rest, throw them away.
The same goes for music tapes. How many people have a cassette player at home? And if you have it (unlikely), what quality is it? As much as it hurts, it is time to get rid of them.
10. The Candlelight
If you are one of those who like to put candles around the house to set it up or because they transmit peace and tranquillity, perhaps you have several practically consumed candles at home that you leave in a drawer “just in case” Out all of them. The same happens with air fresheners, once used, jars and mikados should disappear from your home.
11. Enjoy Your Meal!
Jump in and throw away at once, that cup that is missing the handle, the cracked plate or the glass that has a broken edge and you do not use it because you can cut yourself, but it does not go to the trash either. It is time to renew the dishes and throw away all the uneven plates and have all the glasses of the same size.
Do the same with the cutlery, why do you have forks in five different shapes? Or why are baby cutlery still in the drawer if your child is 12 years old?
12. Safe Kitchen
Many kitchen utensils have limited use. Cutting boards require specific care for proper preservation as food is handled on them and bacteria can remain. Check them carefully and remove those that are very scratched, have many cracks or are so deteriorated that they do not allow proper cleaning.
At home, it is recommended to have at least two cutting boards, one for bread, sponge cake, cheese, fruits and vegetables, and another for meat and fish.
13. In Perfect State!
Many houses have a closet overflowing with lunch boxes and then always use the same ones. You really don’t need that many. Start by throwing away all those that do not have their lid, those that close badly, those that are yellowish, with tomato spots or those that have been deformed. Also, eliminate from your kitchen all those that because of their size you do not usually use.
When storing them, tuck one inside the other and set the lids aside so they are easy to recognize when you need them.
If you are going to buy new ones, you should choose glass or plastic ones, free of BPA.
14. Meals With … Flavor!
How long has oregano, nutmeg, or cumin been in your grocery rack? Spices, like other foods, have a preferred consumption date, after which they lose properties, providing less flavour to the food. Check that your seasonings have not been overdone. They are not simple decorations for your kitchen, they are ingredients for your dishes, so buy only those that you are going to use.
15. Kitchen Rags
Clothes must always be impeccable to avoid cross-contamination. Get rid of all those that are broken or have lost texture or colour. You will need a cloth to clean your hands, another to dry the kitchenware, terry cloth or fine microfiber and another to clean liquids or remove stains. These you have to wash every day, so you will have to have a spare, but not too many. But as they get old.
16. House Clothes
Surely in your house, you have many sets of sheets or towels, but then you always use the same ones. It is time to look at your clothes with critical eyes and throw away all those that are in bad condition, with loose pellets or threads.
Review all the sets of sheets, surely you have one that was given to you when you had your first home and that you did not like and is stored in the bottom of a closet or sofa. It will be enough for you to have two sets of sheets per bed.
As for the number of towels, it will be enough for you to have two sets for each inhabitant of the house, plus one for visitors. The rest, throw them away and leave room in your closet.
17. Make Yourself Beautiful
Do you accumulate lipsticks, nail polish or face creams in your bathroom drawer and nothing else fits? Cosmetics have an expiration date. They are indicated on the container with the date or with the PAO labelling, a symbol of a container with a number, which shows the number of months it can be used once opened. In addition to losing effectiveness, it can cause irritations or allergies. So, before you buy and fill your drawer, do a clean one.
Don’t forget to throw away the samples that you find in magazines or that they give you in stores, they also have a validity period. Always leave them in view because if not, they can get lost in the bottom of the drawer.
18. Old Mobiles
Do you still keep your first mobile in your drawer? Do you think you will use those phones that you discarded because they did not work well? Empty your drawer and make room for really useful things. Get rid of mobile phones, but also chargers that do not work well or those that do not work for your new devices. Don’t forget to say goodbye to the old cases and covers.
As Ecoembes tells us, mobile phones and the materials that make them up are recyclable. They should be taken to the clean point or to those telephone stores that offer this service. Never in the household garbage.
19. Take Care of Your Health
Many times medical treatment is finished and the pills that have been left over are saved. In the end, many boxes of medicines accumulate in the medicine cabinet that in most cases will not be used again because whenever you have any symptoms, a doctor or pharmacist will prescribe a new prescription. Do clean in your closet and leave only those that you have prescribed, a box of paracetamol and first aid material: antiseptics, such as alcohol, plasters, bandages, tape, gauze or physiological saline.
Attention: Never throw medicines in the trash, but at the SIGRE point of your nearest pharmacy.
20. Incomplete Games
In the children’s room is where most things tend to accumulate. Every so often does a review of the toys. Throw away those that are broken or those that are missing a piece that makes their correct use impossible, such as puzzles or tile games. It also removes from the shelves those that have become too small for their age, donating them to hospitals or associations.
It is true that in the first years of children’s lives, toys tend to be larger: garages, dolls’ cars, kitchens or workshops and over time, children begin to choose smaller games such as a tabletop or electronic games. Even if it makes you very sad, for the memories they carry, give them away or throw them away to make room for new things.
