Inside: Wondering what to declutter in September? If you’re on a slow decluttering journey, this “Declutter in a Year’ series is for you! This month we’re decluttering the junk drawer, office supplies and more.
This fall is a FULL season for our family. My middle kiddo is playing soccer for our local middle school, and there is either practice or a game five or six days a week. It’s a LOT of driving.
Juggling five very different children’s schedules can be overwhelming at times – between sports and social activities and work and appointments. On top of that, I decided to get a job outside the home one day a week.
You know what keeps me sane? A decluttered house, of course! I mean, that and regular runs and two made-at-home lattes a day and meds and…
But seriously, having a decluttered home makes such a big difference in my ability to keep up with all the things.
We are getting SO close to the end of this declutter in a year. I hope your home is feeling lighter!
5 Things to Declutter in September
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This month, we’re focusing on several easier categories like laundry supplies and the infamous junk drawer, along with one fairly difficult category (depending on how sentimental you are).
You are welcome to tackle these in any order you choose, but I’d recommend starting with the easiest categories first and saving the sentimental stuff for last.
You Might Also Like: 101 Easy Things to Declutter Right Now
The Junk Drawer
Even though its contents vary from house to house, every home seems to have one: the dreaded junk drawer.
It’s often filled with things you probably do actually need, but don’t have a home for. OR it’s where you put things that should be thrown away, but you’re afraid to actually do it.
It’s time to change that. Let’s start by dumping everything out of the junk drawer and sorting into categories…
- Chargers
- Checks
- Chapsticks or Lotion
- Coins
- Stamps
- Scissors
- Post-it Notes
- Duct Tape
- Receipts
- Matches
- Random Keys
Throw away what you no longer need…like those keys you haven’t used in ten years, the lotion that’s pretty much gone, or the extra chargers bases that you don’t need anymore.
Next, you’re going to need separate homes for each category if possible – drawer dividers (you might need to order some) or empty spaces in between dividers. And if you do not have room for everything to stay organized within the drawer, it’s time to rethink what lives in that drawer.
Could matches go in the cabinet above the stove? Can you establish a piggy bank for spare change? Could receipts get their own dedicated basket where you can easily find them? Can office supplies stay mostly together in a separate space?
Speaking of office supplies…
Office Supplies
Hopefully before you ran off to buy school supplies this year, you assessed what you already had. But if you missed that boat, now’s the time to consolidate your office supplies so you don’t make the same mistake again next year.
Bring everything together in one place: pens, sharpies, pencils, envelopes, random notebooks, tape, all the office supply things. You often don’t realize how much you have until you see it altogether.
Test pens and sharpies, and throw away the worn out ones. Tear out used paper from notebooks, if there’s enough pages left to make it worth keeping for future use (otherwise, toss it). Do you have more envelopes than you can ever possibly use? Donate them.
Try to keep everything together, so you can easily see – and remember – what you have. That way you can avoid overbuying office supplies in the future.
Air Conditioners (+ Accessories)
It’s that time of year in the northeast when we start to clean and put away air conditioners, which makes this a good time to assess and declutter what you have.
We are gradually switching all of our air conditioners to portable stand units. The window ones just get so gross so quickly! And as I discovered last year, they take forever to clean.
Next year, we will likely get rid of the last window unit, which means I can declutter two bins of AC unit cleaning and installation supplies.
But I just looked at how many “extra” parts we have for the stand units, and there are soooo many! I am 99% sure we don’t need to keep them (because we haven’t used them all season), so I’m going to talk my “it might be useful one day” husband into getting rid of them. Wish me luck!
Laundry Supplies
Last week, my oldest was talking about how her eczema was seriously out of control. We went through any possible changes we’d made, from soaps to food to…laundry detergent. Uh-oh.
I remembered that we recently switched laundry detergent scents. But after a little more digging, I discovered it wasn’t just the scent, but the strength. The ingredients were also different, and a few reviewers mentioned a rash. Buh-bye Molly’s Suds extra strength!
Sometimes, we’re tempted to keep products we no longer use because it’s painful to throw away perfectly good items you spent hard-earned money on (especially in this economy). But it’s not doing anyone any good sitting on your shelf.
Throw away – or give away – laundry products you no longer use. Consolidate what’s left, so you can clearly see what you have, and hopefully stop over-ordering products.
Sentimental Items
This is arguably the hardest category to declutter. It might take you all month to tackle it. Make sure to take your time and take breaks as needed.
I have exactly one box with sentimental items. I go through it every couple years to make sure I still want to keep everything in the box AND to see if I can frame or display anything.
Sometimes, items are too painful to display, but you can’t get rid of them yet. Especially if you’re grieving, you definitely need the box for a season.
But after a while, if they’re really important to you, why not display them? Otherwise, why keep them at all?
For more guidance on decluttering sentimental items, see THIS post on decluttering sentimental items.
We Are in the Home Stretch for Declutter in a Year! You Might Need Fresh Inspiration
Whenever I feel my motivation for decluttering waning, I read minimalism blogs, watch decluttering Youtube content and reread minimalism books.
So if you’re needing fresh inspiration to finish the declutter in a year strong, check out my favorite minimalism and simple living books HERE.
On Youtube, I always come back to The Minimal Mom and Minimal Ease, although That Practical Mom also has had a lot of good decluttering content recently.
Go get inspired and kick clutter to the curb this September!
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