Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2016. The year is fresh and new. It’s a wonderful time to let go of items which no longer serve us, but the question is what and where do you start? Your best bet is to go room by room and purge anything that you don’t need anymore. Be ruthless. If there isn’t a best before date, gauge the last time an item brought you value. If you can’t remember, then perhaps it is time to let it go. You will appreciate the feeling of freedom when you let go of items which clutter your house and home. Start the New Year right.
PURGE!
What to Purge in your Home
If the date on your condiments doesn’t match the calendar, TOSS IT!
Kitchen
- foods past their best before date – Go through your fridge and cupboards and toss anything past its expiry date, ex.;
- salad dressings
- condiments
- canned goods
- stale crackers or cereals
- leftovers (this should be done at least weekly so you don’t get any nasty surprises)
- anything that has been in your fridge since last year…
- old spices – while spices are generally dried and retain their flavour for a period of time, there is still a limit on how long herbs are good for. If your spices came with their original bottles many years ago, it may be time to invest in some fresh flavourings for your spice cupboard. Your taste buds will thank you.
Old makeup and perfume is best used within a certain time period to maximize its use and effectiveness
Bathroom
- expired medication – make sure to dispose of in a safe manner (ie. return to drug store)
- old makeup, perfume, or items you no longer use
- tail ends of shampoos, conditioners, body washes, shaving creams, etc. which you haven’t finished, but opened up new bottles of
Bedroom
- clothes you don’t wear or that no longer fit
- a good way to figure out whether you have worn something or not is to turn all the hangers in your closet in the same direction. Once it is worn, turn it in the opposite direction. In this way you will see what gets worn and what doesn’t. Free up your closet space by calling Load of Rubbish for a pickup of your donations
Books you never plan to read or re-read only take up valuable space in your home
Living Room
- old books – if you’ve read it and won’t ever read it again, let it go
- old magazines – if there are article you want to save, take a picture and recycle the rest of the magazine
- unused electronics – Load of Rubbish recycles e-waste so it doesn’t end up in the landfill
Office
- documents you no longer need to keep
- for income tax purposes, you need to keep tax-related items for 7 years
- receipts
- warranty papers for products you no longer have
