Episode #139 - New Year, Fresh Start – Declutter with Intention

Welcome to Organizing with Ease, where we simplify and organize our lives for the better. I'm Deanna Moll, your host, here to guide you towards a more organized and enriching life. Together, let's explore practical strategies, inspiring stories, and expert advice to simplify every aspect of our lives. Are you ready to embark on this journey with ease? Let's start!

Friends and welcome to Organizing with Ease. I'm your host, Deanna Moll, and today marks not only the first episode of 2025, but also the beginning of a new January series. Fresh beginnings start strong in 2025. Whether you're a long time listener or tuning in for the first time, I'm so happy you're here. We all know January is the month of resolutions, new goals, and that strong desire to wipe the slate clean. But let's be real.

Sometimes it can also feel overwhelming. After the whirlwind of the holidays, our homes and minds can feel cluttered, chaotic, and hard to manage. That's why we're starting the series with the theme of decluttering with intention. In this episode, we're gonna explore why decluttering matters, not just for your physical space, but for your mental clarity as well. I'll share practical tips, inspiring stories,

And a simple challenge to help you create space for new possibilities in 2025. So are you ready to let's dive right in? So I'm gonna ask a question. How do you feel when you walk into a cluttered room? Maybe it's the living room with the holiday decorations still up or the kitchen counter buried under unopened mail or what about leftover party supplies? So for me,

Clutter makes me feel tense, distracted, and actually sometimes just overwhelmed. And I know I am not alone in that. So again, how do you feel when you walk into a cluttered room? Think about it, because the way that you feel, it can make you feel anxious, right? Also, knowing that, it also can affect our sleep, our focus, and our overall mood. So.

Clutter does have an effect on us. And that is why it's not because we're decluttering because it's just, you know, for the aesthetics or making our home quote unquote Instagram worthy. It's actually about improving your mental health and creating a space where you can think clearly and feel at peace, because that's what we want, right? So I'm gonna share a personal story with you. A few years ago, after particularly hectic holiday season,

I found myself drowning in decorations and gifts that did not yet have a home. Can you just picture that one? Yes. And I remember sitting in my living room and surrounded by all these piles, feeling paralyzed. But instead of trying to tackle everything at once, I decided to start one thing, put away the ornaments. As I packed them into my labeled bins, I felt a small but noticeable sense of relief saying,

Then that one step led to the next, clearing the wrapping paper, organizing the new gifts, and then finally vacuuming the floor. By the end of the day, the space was transformed and so was my mood and my family was ecstatic because they're like, yay, mommy is happy. That experience taught me that even small steps can have a big impact.

So welcome to the first week of our 31 day January Decluttering Challenge. This month we're focusing on creating fresh spaces and resetting for the year ahead. Each week we're gonna target specific areas of our home, breaking them into manageable tasks that help you tackle clutter without feeling overwhelmed. And the actual calendar will be attached to the show knits. So for this week, we're gonna be starting with post-holiday clutter and smaller spaces.

These quick winds will not only create visible changes in your home, but also set the tone for a smoother, more organized year. Okay, so let us start. Let's start by taking down all of our holiday decorations, the ornaments, the wreaths, the lights, and any other seasonal items. What we wanna do first is to lay out all the decorations in one spot. So you're gonna have to walk around your home pick up everything that you have in regards to your holiday decor and place it all in one spot. And that is actually what I do before I actually put them back into their storage print. And then what happens is I actually look at everything that I've collected, place it in that one spot, and I start looking at it. I really do. Even though I just used it for this most recent holiday, I still look at it. I look to see, you know, is it still in good condition? Is any of it broken? Do I still like it?

Do I want to use it again next year? Maybe not. So while I'm looking at all of my beautiful decor of holidays here in front of me in that one spot, I do ask myself those questions because I want to make sure that when I start packing them away, I know that for next year, I'm good to go. So this is a really good reset. So you definitely want to ask you those questions because if you do answer like no

I really don't want to use it again next year, then really consider donating them, giving them away to somebody that you might know. And again, of course, if it's broken, it's not going to be used again. Those are those are those items that you can just discard it right away. Use clear bins to pack away your items and then label them like tree ornaments or outdoor lighting. So if you group your decorations by room or by theme, this can actually also make it easier and faster to decorate. for next year. And why does it matter? Well, according to a 2024 survey, 70% of people report feeling stressed after the holidays. Why? Due to lingering decorations and clutter. So starting your decluttering journey with this step can bring an immediate sense of relief and clarity. And that's what we want in the new year of January, right? Of 2025. So now let's go into another area. that is very easy, it's very simple, but it's also a place that's also, it becomes a catch-all, and that is our nightstand. So we wanna remove everything from our nightstand. We wanna wipe down the surfaces, and then only put back the essentials, perhaps a lamp, your current book, or maybe a small plant. Use a decorative tray or a basket for the smaller items like glasses or a notepad, and if you have drawers,

you know, you can place those items as well in those drawers, like those glasses, the notepad, any, you know, chargers that you might have, because studies do show that a decluttered bedroom can improve sleep quality by up to 42%. So starting with your nightstand, it sets the tone for a more peaceful and restful space. So think about that.

Think about your nightstand, go to your bedrooms, look at your nightstand, see how it is. It takes literally five to 10 minutes to handle your nightstand. And if you have a journal or a notepad, always keep that top in mind with your pen. Again, you can leave it on top, or if you have a drawer, then you can put it on the top, place it in your top drawer. Next, we're gonna go into our bookshelves. Those often become cluttered over time. So here we want to, section by section, based on how many bookshelves you have if you have like i have i have about three to four and i have a built in bookshelf so therefore. Book cases so i have to actually just take one section at a time and sorry remove my books i just the shelves and then i sort my books into categories. Before i place them back into my bookshelf because i want to see if i'm going to keep them donate them and then i also have my maybe pile.

Again, ask everybody in the family because they also have their areas on the book cases as well. My husband and the girls, they each we have our own designated books. We do organize our books by category, size and by color. You could do all of that or you could just do one of each. You could do, you know, categorize your books by author or by, you know, theme of whether it's fiction, nonfiction. etc. You get my point, right? But again, please try to donate your books to local libraries, schools, or community centers. A well-organized bookshelf can make your space feel lighter and more inviting, inspiring you to spend what? More time reading and less time searching for your next book because it's all going to be there. Now, with the holidays over,

We have to, and this is a must because it's just that time. It's our time to reset our refrigerator and our freezer. Yes, we do. So even though we've had our guests, we've had all of our food, we've cooked and we've baked since November on, we do now have to kind of do like a reset. We want to remove our items and check for expiration dates. Yes, even now. We want to toss any expired or freezer burnt food.

If you have not done so before, you know, before the holidays, now is a really good time to do it as well. We want to wipe down all surfaces again, just to just make that like a really clean slate of fresh. What you want to do also is you want to group items by category, you know, your dairy, your vegetables, your frozen meals. If you can, clear bins or containers to keep them organized is great. And why does it matter?

Well, an organized fridge refrigerator or freezer makes meal prep easier and it actually helps reduce food waste. Now that we're back on schedule, there's no holiday meals, no larger ones that you might have to plan for. But then again, you might have an event that you're hosting. But according to a 2224 study by the Natural Resource, it does say that we Americans.

Family throws away about $1,800 worth of food annually. So a detox refrigerator can help prevent that. Again, you might wanna just revisit that because remember one of the things for monthly, just because it's a new year, it's also a new month. So we do have to look at our refrigerator on a monthly basis as well. Take this as an excuse, take it as an opportunity.

Go through your refrigerator, go through your freezer. If you have other refrigerators like in your garage or in a freezer in your, also in your garage. So you have both of those also needs to be looked at as well. The next one that you want to, because we want to plan your weekly meals, we want to go through the pantry. Yes, this actually is a space that can get out of control after the holidays. So we want to remove the items and check again for expiration dates.

We want to toss expired goods and donate unopened extras that we won't be using. I know that I'll be doing that as well because I do have some items from the holidays that I know that I will not be using. So I am actually going to be donating them to a local charity here. So we want to group similar items together like snacks, baking supplies, canned goods and label shelves or bins for easy access.

Now of course if you have your pantry that's already been organized and you like the way that it's set up, just you know, revisit it, look at it because again this is what we want it to do going forward. We want to reset because we're starting meal prepping for the week ahead. If you have not yet started meal planning, this is a really good time, a really good excuse, use January because we're going to plan, it makes planning very simple.

We then get to do nutritious meals because we are gonna be using what we already have in our pantry and our refrigerator because we've already done the clean out. And so this makes meal prep much, much easier. Meal planning really saves time, it reduces stress, and it prevents food waste. Again, here we go. Research shows that families who meal prep are 33% less likely to eat out

Leading a healthier and more budget-friendly choices. How about that? If you haven't thought about it, that's a really good one. It's healthier and budget-friendly, 33% likely to eat out. Great way to start the new year, don't you think? So now here are a few more other areas to tackle during the days, the week ahead. We might want to declutter a kitchen drawer, empty it out, discard, again, expired, broken items, use dividers. to organize utensils. We might wanna actually even simplify your bathroom countertop. Remove the non-daily items, wipe the surface, and store extras in cabinets and baskets now that your guests have all left you for the holidays. I'm sure they've been coming back. But going through the bathrooms is a really good thing to do and also organize your entryway. You wanna set up a designated space for your shoes, your kids.

Keys and coats to prevent clutter from piling up. Again, the entryway for me is that it's still decorated with the holidays, which is going to be refreshed again, because all of those holiday decors is going to be removed as I'm gonna be packing it away. And it's going to be opened again for my shoes and for areas that I use. I actually have my umbrellas there as well. I've had to relocate a couple of them because of the holidays and because of my remodeling of the kitchen.

But rest assured it's all gonna be put back together again. So these small tasks might really seem simple, but they create an immediate sense of accomplishment and lay the groundwork for tackling bigger spaces later. So I have a statistic that actually might even motivate you, you ready? I had 2024 survey found that 78% of people feel less stress and more productive after decluttering just one small area of their home. By focusing on manageable tasks this week, you're building the momentum needed to make lasting changes. So I do wanna share a story from one of my clients. She came to me feeling overwhelmed after hosting an entire family for the holidays. Some of you are like, yes, that happened to me.

or I only had to, not the entire family, but some relatives and friends, but regardless. So here we are, she's in her living room and it was filled with leftover decorations, gifts, and even some items from previous years that haven't even been put away. So we started with the holiday decorations just like we're doing this week. As we packed them into the bins, she realized that they were ornaments that hadn't even been used in years.

Because they were left in the box. So therefore she didn't take them out. And that's how she realized it, putting in the new ones, right? From this year. So we donated those and we created more storage space. Next, we did tackle her bookshelf because she received some books for the holidays. And by the end of our session, the living room was completely different, lighter, calmer, and more welcoming. Here is the part that I have to share with you that I just loved the most.

She told me that decluttering that one space gave her the confidence to move on to her kitchen the following week. So that's the beauty of starting small. It builds momentum. Now, I wanna challenge you to pick one task from this week's list and get started. Whether it's taking down your holiday decorations, organizing your nightstand, or decluttering a bookcase, bookshelf, commit to just one thing.

If you want to do the daily challenge, please do so. I take you on for that. Once you've finished, take a moment to reflect. How does the space feel now? How do you feel now? I would love to see your progress. Share with me because it not only inspires me, but it will definitely inspire others. And it would also keep you motivated to tackle the next space. Remember, the goal isn't perfection, it's progress.

Step by step, little by little, you're creating a home and a mindset that supports your best self and life. So as we wrap up the first episode of 2025, I want to leave you with this thought. Decluttering is about more than just clearing out the old. It's about making room for new opportunities, new habits, and new joys.

This week, focus on creating space for the things that matter most to you. And remember, every small step you take is a step towards the life you want to build. Thank you so much for joining me today. Next week, we'll dive into how to tackle daily clutter and create functional spaces that make your life easier and more enjoyable. Until then, stay inspired, stay intentional, and keep making progress step by step, little by little.

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