Can you believe it’s December already?! As you prepare for the festive season and the new year, it is often a time of decluttering and reorganizing to start the new year with an unclouded mind and heart. This process is super helpful not only to make your house seem tidier and cleaner but also to help take stock of your items (and life). You probably already declutter your closet, kitchen and bathroom, but there are so many other areas of our lives that need decluttering, which can greatly impact our mental and emotional well-being. So we put together a list of the 23 unexpected things that you should declutter to begin 2023 with a bang!

1. Calendar

Yes, your time deserves to be decluttered too! Overscheduling yourself can be harmful to your well being. If you are giving your precious time to people and activities that no longer excite or serve you - it’s time to reassess. If you scheduled a recurring calendar appointment to work out every morning at 7 and never actually made it - it’s time to cancel it. You will be shocked at how good an open calendar can make you feel! Plus, be sure to add a buffer between meetings - back-to-back meetings can be harmful to your mental health.

2. Extracurricular Activities

With so many options available, it is easy to overstuff your children’s afternoon and weekends. As the semester is ending, it is a good time to take stock and ask your kids - are they enjoying their activities? Does your kid want to try something new? Would they like some free time for homework or even just hanging out with friends? Declutter their extracurricular activities and see how they thrive!

3. Wallet

if you’ve got a million receipts, membership cards and business cards, it might be time to clear out the mess. Men, keeping a super heavy wallet in your back pocket can impact your spinal health. And women, a heavy purse can do the same. So throw away the receipts, file the business cards and only keep the most essential membership cards (ones that you use weekly) in your wallet. If you have gift cards or certificates, you can store them where you keep your cash so that it doesn’t get forgotten.

4. Make-Up

Make-up expires!! While you can keep the unopened bottles of foundation or concealer for up to three years, most opened makeup should be used within a year! Mascara should be changed every three months! Continuing to use it can cause infections such as pink eye. Yikes! Not something you’d like to take into the new year!

5. Jewellery

We’re not talking about your expensive diamond earrings or beloved jade necklace, but all the other junk or costume jewelry that you’ve been collecting over the years. That one choker you bought for a Halloween costume but never wore again - it’s got to go! A good declutter and cleanse will also make more space for new things! It will also help you see more of what you love, so you remember to use it!

6. Home Decor

We tend to stick to decor choices we’ve made in the past but take a good hard look at your pieces - do you still like them? The candle holder gifted by your in-laws may not align with your current style and it's okay to remove it. Or if you can repurpose the item, give a fresh coat of paint or use it in a different room, it feels like a whole new space!

7. Video games and systems

If your children are over 10 there is a very high likelihood that you have collected a number of video game consoles and the corresponding games. Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch… are just some of the few. And, with new versions coming out almost every year, the old systems and their games can end up at the back of the cabinet, gathering dust. So, take some time out to sort and declutter. If your children (or you!) haven't used it in more than a year, probability is, that you never will again. These are also the perfect items to donate, as less fortunate individuals would be able to use them. We recommend Crossroads or this super cool expo - Retro HK.

8. Used activity and coloring books

Activity books are great when you’re trying to keep your child busy while also managing the million and one things that you have to do, but they can quickly add up, taking up a bunch of prime shelf space. Before the holidays, when you might receive a number of new activity and coloring books as gifts, organize and discard the ones that you have used up already.

9. Photos

If you’re not careful, your photo library can become an overwhelming mess, eating up your storage space. First things first, delete all duplicates. On an iPhone this can be accomplished by going to Albums, and then taping Duplicates below Utilities. Duplicate photos and videos appear next to each other and can be merged. Next, go through your screenshots, more often than not, they are just fulfilling a momentary need and can go straight to trash. Finally use the search functions to sort through, delete and organize your photos into albums. This will all make life SO much easier when you DO open your photos and look for something specific.

10. Phone Apps

The random game there and a news app there can quickly fill up your phone screen. It has been proven repeatedly that too much time on your phone is bad for your mental health and focus so to limit your distractions, declutter your apps. First, delete the ones that you don’t use, they’re just eating up space. Next find out how much time you spend on each app, you can check the digital wellbeing section on android phones and the screen time section on iPhones. From there directly you can put limits on the time spent on an app, reducing your distractions. Bonus tip? Be sure to do this with your kids too!

11. Contact List

Another space waster, it's a good idea to go through your contact lists to declutter and organize. Both iPhones and Androids allow you to merge duplicate contacts easily. Then, just scroll through and delete anyone that you haven’t spoken to in more than three years, and know that you don’t intend to. You really will never call ‘Angela Hairdresser Dubai’ again and you really don’t need her number.

12. Social Media

A social media cleanse can be great for the mind and soul. Whether your new year resolution is to cut down your phone time or to follow accounts and people that you actually care about, a social media declutter is a great idea! First, go through all the social media apps that you use regularly, (whatsapp, instagram, discord, tiktok etc etc) and delete the ones that you think you can live without. If deleting them is too drastic for you, put them in a separate folder. It will add one extra step to accessing it which could deter you from accessing it as often. Next, go to your follow list. It will probably include friends from high school, that one artist that you no longer resonate with and influencers that have become too sales-y. To borrow Marie Kondo’s words, unfollow everyone that doesn’t “spark joy”!

13. Podcasts

Similarly, we might be subscribed to tons of podcasts, but only really listen to two. What's the point of getting regular reminders of new episodes if we’re never going to listen? Instead, narrow down to what you DO listen to and then when you have the space you can add others that are interesting and engaging for you.

14. Desktop Files

This is a great activity for both your personal and professional laptops. For a clutter-free desktop, folders are your best friend. Start by deleting files that you no longer need, such as “assignment_final_final2” or “screenshot44”. Then, categorize based on function, feature or form and put into folders. To make it look extra tidy, use the stacks function on macs or the sort by function on windows.

15. Email Subscriptions

AH - The bane of our existence, the dreaded inbox. Whether it's your personal or work email, remove junk and spam and save space by unsubscribing to emails. If you have over 50 subscriptions (many that you don’t even remember), you can use an app such as unroll.me. It helps you unsubscribe from unwanted emails, keep the ones you want, and roll up the rest into a single daily digest. Some other alternatives are here.

16. Holiday decorations

With festivities right around the corner it is a great time to declutter and sort your holiday decorations - before you end up buying a ton more! Christmas pollution is a surprisingly large problem and that’s not considering if you celebrate Chinese New Year or Diwali. So, take stock of what you have and if it no longer fits your home and family, pass it on or donate it.

17. Reading List

Many of us aspire to read regularly, but with the hustle and bustle of life, it can be hard to get around to it. We might have books such as Atomic Habits or Sapiens on our reading list but realistically we’re going to want to read the newest Isabel Allende or Sophie Kinsella on our holiday. So take a hard look at your reading list and remove anything that isn’t exciting! If you actually reduce your reading list, thereby decreasing your choice, it'll be easier for you to commit to something! You can always add them back in eventually.

18. Unused diaries, calendars and agendas

2022 is almost over. 2020, 2021, and 2007 are DEFINITELY over. It can be easy to lose track of all the diaries, calendars and agendas that you collect over the years as they are often handed out. But with the new year upcoming, it's time to get rid of them to make space for new ones. Recycle as much as you can by ripping out the pages and disposing of the covers separately.

19. Empty notebooks

Go through your notebooks and you’ll find lots that are unused or partially used. If you and your family no longer need them, you can easily donate to charities or schools. For ones that are somewhat used, just tear out the used pages and use or donate the rest.

20. Alcohol

Given that alcohol doesn’t spoil, you’d think it doesn’t need to be decluttered but you should! While unopened bottles may not spoil, opened bottles lose flavour and potency. If you find bottles that are open and you can’t recall when it was opened, dump them down the drain and recycle the bottles. Next, go through the alcohol that might have been gifted or that you don’t enjoy anymore, and pass it on! It makes a great Christmas gift! Any leftovers organize beautifully or even transfer to your fridge for you to enjoy.

21. Pet items

If you are a pet owner, you have seen how much stuff pets can accumulate. We know that you have at least one or two outfits that you bought for a photoshoot that you haven’t used since! It’s time to go through it all - accessories, toys, medicine, etc. - and discard anything that is unused, too old or just no longer a favorite of your pup or kitten. It is another great thing to donate -tons of Hong Kong based rescues would love it. We love LAP, HKDR and PUC.

22. Plants

Like many items on your list, this is probably one of the things you never even thought about decluttering! Fake plants, in particular, aren’t great feng shui, for the environment or your mental health. Also, if you do have real plants, they require a declutter too! If your plant is all brown and dying, it is might be time to throw them out. The rest, prune and clean. It's also important to go through your gardening accessories, old and unused pots, watering cans and fertilizer etc. should be sorted and organized too.

23. The stuff on your refrigerator door

The refrigerator door can be the place in the kitchen to accumulate stuff. Magnets, school papers and kids' art, pictures, to do lists are just some of the things that end up on your fridge door. Take a nice look and see what you’d like to keep and what needs to go. Refresh the photos with cute pictures. The children’s work and art can be stored with other sentimental items (although a lot can also go straight to the bin!). Organize it in a way that makes you smile!

With our home organizing service, we help you declutter and organize all the obvious and not-so-obvious things in your home and life. Schedule a call with us to learn more!

23 Unexpected Things to Declutter Before 2023