We’ve all heard of having a January detox when it comes to our health and diet, but howabout a detox for your home?? That’s exactly what I’ve been doing, and it feels good too! With the Christmas decorations down, January is the ideal time to get the home back in order after all the guests, get-togethers and family meals are over. Time for a big declutter and some lovely new storage boxes for those new toys and clothes the kids got for Christmas – and that’s where HomeSense comes in handy with their stylish storage solutions 🙂

I read something the other day about a mum who was fed up of constantly tidying up ‘stuff’ – like all her time was doing dishes, endless piles of laundry, picking up toys, books, constantly catching up on housework. So she decided to live a more minimalistic life and get rid of this stuff.

And that really inspired me to do something similar in my home. I am constantly tidying up clutter, all this stuff we don’t need, stuff we are holding on to because they were gifts or some sentimental reason. I decided to be ruthless and go through our things and put into piles for the charity shop, to sell on eBay or to put in storage. I started with the kitchen, living room and then bedrooms, and here is what I’ve been doing.

THINGS TO CLEAR OUT:

1) Mugs – give our old mugs to the charity shop. We were given 4 new mugs for Christmas, so I said to my husband we need to get rid of at least 4 of our old ones. Then I looked at each of our mugs and thought when is the last time we drank out of these. Some have not been used for years, they are just taking up space in the cupboard. So we got rid of 9 in the end. Even ones that were gifts – don’t feel guilty. They have been used so it’s not like we just got rid of them without using them, that’s my thinking.

2) Kitchen utensils – anything we have not used in 6 months, like some spatulas, and some we’ve never used, like the novelty potato cutter, salt and pepper pots – they go to the charity shop.

3) Teatowels – our drawer is overfilling, so I got rid of the ones we never used and put them in my cleaning bucket to use as cleaning clothes. And the really tatty ones can go in the bin.

4) Books – anything that you don’t think you will ever read again, give to the charity shop. I have a whole load of Gina Ford books and some cookbooks that I don’t really like, so they are going!

5) Toys – anything that Tyler does not play with anymore and that I know he will not miss is going to the charity shop – like his Peppa Pig felt craft thing, and the spirograph thing. He just empties them on to the floor without playing with them, and all I do is tidy them up. So they are going! The plastic toys he got free with magazines, happy meal toys, broken toys – gone. I’ve boxed up trains that he does not play with everyday, and they are going into storage in his bedroom – so we are not getting rid of them but at the same time, they are not being dumped on the floor for me to tidy up for no reason!

6) Duvet Covers – anything we have not used or just don’t like the pattern or colour of anymore (like the dark ones, I’m more into light coloured covers now) – they go to charity. I’m getting rid of the Minions duvet cover too, as Tyler is finally over them now.

7) Packaging and Empty Boxes – I have this thing where I keep the empty boxes for things in our cupboard, just in case I want to sell stuff in the future. It’s so pointless and takes up so much space! I need to stop doing this. I put loads of these empty boxes and packaging in the recycling this week and that felt good. Still got to do a whole other cupboard, so this is work in progress let’s say!

With the new space cleared up from the stuff I have got rid of, the home already feels lighter and I feel happier and more organised. I have rearranged where things go in the kitchen cupboards. I have tidied up our linen shelf, refolded the duvet covers we are keeping. I have bought a gorgeous canvas storage box for Lily’s toys to keep in the living room. I love the storage boxes they have in HomeSense, they add a bit of style to the home rather than just looking like boxes.

And then the home can be perked up with new trends. Obviously I’m going to be more careful with what I buy and make sure that they are useful, look good and won’t end up being clutter. HomeSense is a good place to find those useful things that are on trend too. Polka dots are back in fashion this year, and rose-gold is still in, which makes me happy :-))

Are you going to detox your home this January?

Sabrina x

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