The Beauty of Simplicity : 15 Things to Tidy Up for a Refreshing Home

We need things to live but we do not need to collect every single item in our home. Read on to check how to find out what you do not need that has been sitting around, taking up valuable space and making clutter in your living room, wardrobe and kitchen. It should be the perfect time to tidy up your home during the coronavirus outbreak.

---

Living rooms

Obsolete gadgets

New technologies cost you good money, but these will become antiquated only a few years later. The obsolete electronics are especially difficult to let go because you remember their bold price tags and their benefits when they are still good. Although collectors may see their inner value, regular people like you and me lack the kind of knowledge to revive them. Instead of putting them in a bin, you should consider a giveaway of them via the online peer-to-peer exchange platforms.

Holiday decorations

These stuff only work for one specific holiday. Even if you can remember them next year, you probably get bored of them, or they do not fit the mood of your living room anymore. These occasion-specific items deserve a new owner, just let them be seen on the online platforms.

Old toys

Removing old toys your kids have is crucial to declutter your living room, doing so can also cut down the mess they make after their playtime. Firstly, sort out anything with broken or missing pieces and bin them. Then, spot the toys your children do not touch lately, put them in a box, if your kids do not ask for the hidden playthings for six months, they are safe to go. Tidy up is also a good opportunity to teach your children to organise their belongings. Let your kids pick their favourite and pack the rest, they learn their responsibility to take care of their things.

Old knick-knacks

These home decorative items have been sitting in your home forever. Take a close look at them, colors are faded, surface is mouldy, or no longer suit your personality. If they are your memory-fill items such as the memorabilia of your last family trips, you could take some photos of them and save your memory digitally before letting them go.

Cardboard boxes

If these boxes are the original package of your newly acquired valuable items, like your razor-thin LCD TV or feather-light laptop, you only need to keep those boxes for a month at most just in case you return everything of your purchase to the sellers within the seller’s guarantee period. On the other hand, you might resell these valuables in the secondhand market later, in such case you could earn more money because of the original boxes. Then, you could save a lot of space by unfolding these boxes and internal packaging material to store them compressed.

---

Wardrobe

Single socks

Unless all yours are the same brand and same style, it is a waste of your drawer real estate to keep an unmatched sock.

Old underwears

These intimate garments are created to support you. When their elastic are longer hanging on, it is time to replace them.

Housework outfit

The thought of “just in case” forces most of us to hold a set of household outfits which you do not mind being ruined when you have to do a serious cleanup or a little home renovation work. However, when this occasion happens, you always have something else in your wardrobe to wear. Just bin these outfits which are unappealing or unflattering any moment. You will not regret it.

---

Kitchen

Cooking utensils

If you have a drawer of cooking utensils, you only need to keep those pieces you actually use. Then, put the rest into a box away from your sight and arm reach, and check the box after a week. Anything sitting in this box is something you are not using regularly, they are sitting there for a reason you already knew. Moreover, the chipped tableware made of ceramic material or glass are not likeable and dangerous to your skin, it is the time to let go.

Take-away food freebies

The disposable utensils, napkins, and sauce packets pile up quickly at your home. You are not intentionally storing them, but they happen. You can set the ceiling caps of things that you actually use, like holding 3 pairs of chopsticks in the kitchen or in the office desk. Next, remember to ask the cashier to hold the plasticware on your next order.

Food storage containers

Coming along with your takeouts, these plastic microwave-safe boxes are neither reliable nor spill-proof. These disposable containers start to be scratched, deformed, and chipped after reusing several times. We suggest tossing away those small bowl-shape containers but the rectangular one, and clucking any without its original cover, so you can reuse them to store your leftover in the refrigerator. Again, keep only the quantity that you need.

Specialty appliances

Ice-cream maker, food dehydrator, egg cooker, and you name it, these appliances serve a single purpose in your kitchen but they are not worth the space. Moreover, you can cook the same stuff without a specialty appliance for it. Get rid of them if you do not use them on a regular basis.

BYOB: Bring your own bottles

When the habit of hydrating your body is a thing, those water bottles for travel are new things in your cupboard. There are a variety of them, from travel mugs, tumblers with straw to thermoses, they are designed for particular beverages, like coffee and smoothie. Just keep the one that fits into your bag, and allow the rest to go.

Specialty sauces, spices and herbs

Just hold a bit of spices and herbs in your hand and rub them with your palm, if you barely smell its flavour, it is time to let it go because it has reached the end of its lifespan. Aromatic check can also apply to sauces. In the future, invest in an air-tight food container to store your favourite spices and herbs even if they are packaged in a bottle.

Plastic bags, reusable bags, and gift bags

These bags are freebies from shops and sometimes come in handy but they are not worth the space of keeping a courtless supply. Keep around ten plastic grocery bags in the kitchen, then pick one good-looking and foldable reusable bags in your go-to bag, next just keep a few generic gift bags that could fit for any gift in small, medium and large size. Finally, toss away the excess, you will not miss them.