The advent of New Years and its many promising resolutions are looming upon us, including those calling for the restoration (and purging) of our lifestyle and arteries via more visits to the gym and a cleansing diet. What can possibly be more complimenting to your internal makeover than a decluttering of your home for the new year. The following are a few reasons to consider a thorough home declutter in the upcoming weeks. 

Symbolism

In some Chinese traditions, families sweep all the dust in the household out of the doorway to symbolize the throwing out of yesteryear’s literal and emotional debris, while welcoming the New Year with all its unknown fortunes and possibilities.

One need not pull a Siddhartha or make an abrupt commitment to the current minimalism trend when most of decluttering simply entails getting rid of the objects you no longer use or need any more around the house. These can range from a shelf of cheap paperbacks, an eyesore chair or other pieces of furniture to vestigial gym equipment lying around the basement. Like mind, like one’s living space, as demanded by proper feng shui!

Mental Relief

Decluttering the house shouldn’t be viewed as an intimidating prospect, as the level of intensity and thoroughness is solely at the homeowner’s discretion. Your endeavors can range from a simple rearrangement of the furniture in the house to requiring a dumpster rental for some serious, heavy-duty work.

Of course, blatant warning signs such as stacks of paper or defunct machinery/tools literally impeding the visitors’ trek from the doorway to the kitchen should be motive enough to undo what appear to be your spouse’s attempts to get themselves on the Hoarders T.V. show (Please note: hoarding may be a symptom of a serious mental illness, see aada.org for more details). If you are holding onto items due to emotional distress, decluttering can be just the solution for you. 

Upgrades

This can be a great opportunity to replace and upgrade years-old furniture with the new ones you saw on Holiday sale. By freeing up previously occupied square feet in your interiors, creating new desks or holders for important items around the house become a breeze. Couples or the entire family can make a game out of decluttering their assigned rooms or methodically plan to tackle each room in the house one-by-one.

No matter if it’s the bathroom or the older sibling’s bedroom, always dispose of anything that’s lying around that should belong in a trash bin (crumpled papers, dust bunnies). Of course, make sure to respect the boundaries and ownership of other members in the household by agreeing to consult with them before lumping away certain items for disposal. Once you get rid of unnecessary items, you will have more space to intentionally bring more useful items into your home. 

Decluttering your home can seem like an overwhelming task at first. However, it will have many positive consequences. New Years is the perfect time for a fresh start, so consider the above reasons for cleaning out your home and start off on the right foot.