In Chinese tradition, families often clean out and declutter their homes before the start of the Chinese New Year to drive away bad luck and allow the year to start fresh. Why not adopt this as your New Year’s tradition?

It may seem overwhelming to think about cleaning out your entire home. But you don’t need to feel that way! Instead, set a small goal of getting one task done a day. It’ll be an easy way to clear out your home space without feeling like you’re taking on too much.

To help you out, here are 7 easy steps you can take to declutter your home!

Start with your holiday clutter.

I’m sure, like most, you add new holiday decorations to your home every year. But do you really need to keep everything you have? As you pack up your holiday stuff, start assessing what you can get rid of.

And, if you don’t have dedicated storage bins or boxes for your holiday decorations, this is a great time to purchase a few you can use to store everything for next year.

Assess your gift situation.

We all have gifts we end up hanging onto because we don’t quite know what to do with them. So we put them in a closet where the gift sits, taking up space. But now is the time to pull that item out and give it to someone who will love it.

Also, look at the new gifts you got this year. Did something you receive replace an older item in your home? Don’t hang on to both. Set aside the older item for donation or the trash. Clearing out the space will allow you to fully enjoy the new gift.

Pick one room in your home to declutter.

Instead of looking at every room in your home, pick one room you’d really like to declutter. Then get yourself 5 bins and follow this system as you sort through the room:

• Put away bin: anything that needs to be put back in its proper place
• Recycle bin: anything that can be recycled
• Fix/update bin: anything that needs to be fixed or updated to be used later
• Donate bin: anything in good enough condition that can be donated 
• Trash bin: anything that can’t be fixed, recycled, or donated

Feeling inspired? Use this same system in another room on a different day. If you pace yourself, you may just declutter every room in your house!

Take that trip to the donation center.

So you’ve sorted your holiday decorations, gifts, and a room (or more!) in your home. You probably have several bags or boxes of items ready for the donation bin. So instead of leaving it sitting in your garage or hallway waiting for weeks to be dropped off, do it now! 

Not sure where to donate your items? Donate to local Goodwills, charities, schools, or women’s shelters. These places will allow your donated items to have a second life and help someone in need.

Clean out any spaces with paper clutter.

This may feel like a big task depending on how much paper you hang on to from school, work, and other random places. But it’s definitely time to get rid of those magazines from 4 years ago. And while you’re at it, go through drawers, bookcases, shelves, and other cubbies to sort out all the extra paperwork you accumulate through the years.

Tip: Not ready to recycle those magazines? Tear out the articles or images you want to keep and place those into a folder or binder. That way you have what’s important to you, and you open up some space.Transform your junk drawers into organized drawers.

Here’s an easy win: Take a moment to organize your junk drawers! We all have at least one drawer filled with trinkets, bolts, coins, wires, and other bits of stuff we’re not sure we should get rid of. Go through the drawer, throw away anything that you haven’t used in a year, and organize the rest into drawer organizers. 

It’s a small step with big rewards. You’ll love not seeing that pile of stuff anymore!

Sage your newly decluttered space!

Now that your space is more organized and has less clutter, it’s a great time to reset the energy by saging (aka, “smudging”) your home. Burning sage in your home is a great way to set your new clutter-free intention for your home space. Our Soy Delicious Sage candle is perfect for this!

Commit to staying clutter-free.

Make it your goal to declutter your space 10-15 minutes a day. If that feels overwhelming, start at 5 minutes and set a timer. 

And these can be small tasks to keep yourself and your things organized. Instead of letting the mail pile up, sort through the paperwork daily and toss, shred, or file it away. Make sure your kids put their toys away every night and use it as an opportunity to toss anything that’s broken. 

These tasks don’t have to be a huge effort. Just what you do to keep your home organized and clutter-free.

Now that your home space is cleaned out, what next?

Spark some new joy in your home with one of our fabulous candles. Read How to Decorate Your Home with Soy Delicious Candles for some great ideas!