Today is National Proofreading Day so our suggestions will be heavily reading based but most people have some reading materials to declutter so we are probably on safe ground for many! So if you are partaking in the 30 Day Minimalism Game (check out the video below if you don't know what this is) or you are looking to pare down some of the things in your home, here are our top suggestions for today!
Image courtesy of Pixabay
Nuts: Perhaps you bought some nuts in the hope you would snack more healthfully but you still reach for the crisps instead or maybe you got them to put in a recipe that you never made or made once and didn’t enjoy so you have a lot going spare. Whatever the reason behind the excess of nuts in your kitchen cupboards doesn’t really matter- what does is that you get them out of your home as soon as possible. Leave them on the bird table for your feathered friends or pass them onto someone who does like this savoury snack.
Books: Take a look on your bookshelf or at the pile of books by your bed and be honest with yourself. Which of them do you actually want to read? Just because you were passed on a book by someone because they loved it doesn’t mean you will too. Which books do you always dodge when you reach for a new one? Chances are you will read this if it’s never been your first choice. Maybe you have a book you got part of the way through but it didn’t float your boat- in which case all of these need to go to someone else or to charity. Remember to take a glance on the bookshelves of your children too- there might be some to purge from these areas. If your kids are a little older, ask them if they have any they would like to part with.
Magazines: Magazines are the most shaming of all reading materials because they have dates on them to remind you just how long ago you bought them. If you still have glossy magazines from last year- the information in them is probably well out of date now so recycle them and move on. This goes for your children’s magazines too.
Leaflets: Perhaps something arrived in the post that you didn’t place straight in the recycling and you put it to one side to read later- but you’ve never got around to it. Be safe in the knowledge that whatever information is on the leaflet will be online so if you feel the need to learn more about this brand or event, simply check it out on your phone.
Information packs: Banks are the worst offenders for sending out chunky packs with their statements and letters, but they needn’t as all of the information can be found on their website, so pitch the paper copy and access the online version if you really want to look up the finer details.
Emails: We’ve all done it- kept an email to read later and then never kept the promise to ourselves. Check your inbox- if you have any emails you haven’t felt compelled to read that arrived weeks or months ago, it’s probable that you are never going to get through this backlog. Delete any that fall into this category and as new ones come in- delete them straight away if you don’t feel the pull to read it there and then.
Old letters: If you have kept letters from your early days of courting your partner or ones from school friends and you haven’t wanted to read them in years, it’s likely you will never revisit these. However, if you think one day you might as your circumstances change, scan them all into your computer, save them in a safe place and get rid of all the paper copies.
Old journals: As with old letters, you may have kept every diary since you started writing them and never gone back through the pages from previous years. The sad truth is, diaries take up a lot of space on bookshelves or in storage areas, so if they aren’t providing you with any nostalgia- it may be time to let them go and designate the space to something that you do look at often.
RELATED: Minimalism: Seven things to declutter on the 7th March
Take a look in your cereal cupboard, or the place you keep your cereal and be honest with yourself. What do you reach for every day and what did you buy on impulse or because you wanted to follow a different eating plan? The proof is in what’s in your bowl every day- if it’s not the half bag of oats or the bran flakes that are hiding at the back, you are probably never going to eat these. Check what cereals are suitable for the birds in your garden and put these out for them to enjoy or pass the boxes and packets onto someone else who is obsessed with overnight oats or regular bowel movements… to read more click HERE
Tagged in Minimalism Declutter Decluttering March