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If You Haven’t Used Or Worn It In A Year…

Posted by Dorothee Friese & Terry Moore on

A cluttered kitchen counter covered in hard cover and paperback books in various states of repair. Photo credit: walkering on Flickr.In a continuation of last month's article about freshening up your home for spring showings, we're taking a look at a simpler way to free up space and clear clutter: by getting rid of what you don't need.

It's easy to fall into a circular trap of sentimentality or humming and hawing when cleaning up your home. I'm sure it'll come in useful someday! you cry. My great-aunt gave it to me! And so you accumulate a little more clutter every year, increasing the amount of storage you need and number of surfaces you have to dust.

You can get rid of all of this by following one simple, reliable rule.

If you haven’t used or worn it in a year, let it go.

There are less exceptions to this rule than you might expect. Of course you should always keep taxes and other financial information for at least 3-5 years, and other important documents should be kept indefinitely in a secure container such as a personal safe. Beyond that, you need to take a long hard look at everything else in your home.

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories

Clothes, shoes, and accessories tend to work best under the one-year rule, even the seasonal ones: if you didn't wear that sweater at all last winter, what makes you think you'll wear it when the season next rolls around? You may want to keep at least one backup of expensive, important gear such as heavy coats and boots, but you should never keep more than one — and always make sure you have storage room for it first.

Books

Books should also be easy. If you haven't glanced at that novel in the past year, it isn't worth the space it takes on your shelf. Don't worry about the chance that you might want to read it later — that's what libraries and eBooks are for. Toss it.

Decorative Items

Decorative items may be more difficult. Some questions to consider: Have you put the item on display at all in the past year? If it's been sitting out, do you look at it often, or have guests given positive comments on it in the past year? Does it add something to the space it's in? If not, it's time to go.

Gifts & Sentimental Items

Gifts and sentimental items are also tricky, but don't let that slow you down. Consider how recently the item was gifted, and who gave it to you — if it was more than a year ago the giver may have forgotten they even gave it to you in the first place. More importantly, pay attention to whether the item brings you happiness. If it doesn't add anything to your life or your space, there's little sense in keeping it.

(If dealing with sentimental hoarding is a problem, there are entire books on how to only hang onto items that improve your well-being. We recommend The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondō.)

Dispose Of Clutter Responsibly

Now that you have your pile of things to be discarded, what do you do with them? We have a number of helpful and environmentally friendly options in Victoria:

Sell Items Off

If your items are in good enough condition, you might want to try to make a bit of money off of them. Yard sales and even flea markets can be good venues for this, or you can list your items online for free on used goods sites such as UsedVictoria, Craigslist, or Kijiji.

Donate or Give Away

If you want to be charitable or don't want to deal with the hassle of arranging for listings and sales, you can donate them to a charitable second-hand goods store or on a donation site like Freecycle. Some of the options in Victoria include:

Recycle

Finally, Vancouver Island boasts a number of recycling depots with various specializations to help you responsibly dispose of your clutter.  You can make use of the search function at Recyclepedia to find a quick list of appropriate depots for each item, or make use of the following programs:

Happy decluttering!

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