New Year, New You. Tips for Decluttering your Home

A checklist for deciding what home decor to keep vs. purge when making space in the new year

Vintage Pyrex for Sale

Checklist for cleaning out hold household items

Anyone else planning to declutter your house as you get ready for the new year? Every time I scour vintage shops for a project, I’m struck by the overwhelming volume of fine china and Pyrex bowls for sale. I think about those stacks of goods when I look around my home. What will future generations say about me when they sort through my piles of belongings one day?

As I get ready to sort through my clutter this week, I created a checklist to evaluate what I should keep vs purge. I plan to purge anything that doesn't meet at least two of the criteria in the checklist.

Do I need it to function?

There are a lot of obvious belongings that I own that I need to do life. Plates. Yes. Silverware. Yes. TV. Yes. Sofa. Yes. But even within that list, are a number of items that are adding clutter to our home. Do I really need all of those mismatched coffee mugs or water bottles we've collected over the years? No. I'd guess we've accumulated at least one full cabinet full of kitchen goodies that we don't really need and simply add to the noise in our house.

Is it in good condition?

I have a bunch of things I need to function but are in poor shape at this point. Chipped plates. An ironing board that doesn't fully close anymore. Bedding that has gotten stained over years of use. All of these can go!

Does it remind me of a special memory?

I have a bunch of table and shelf decor that falls in this category. I remember who gifted them to me or the vacation where I stumbled upon that cute little store... layers of memories of a lifetime of love and joy. Do I really need them to function? No. Do some of them have dings and nicks? Yes, but that patina is intential or adds to my memories of the item.

Is it a family heirloom?

Family heirlooms are the most precious of all. They are a reminder of my heritage and offer me a momento to teach my kiddos about their family history. Are some of these items a perfect match for my current design aesthetic? No, but they layer together to craft a beautiful story of love and life from generation to generation. And I think there is something so grounding in knowing where you come from and a family that is available to support you in time of need.

Does it add to my life story?

I always think about the work my parents and their siblings have had to do to clean out the belongings of their parents when they passed away. A lot of it was junk that needed to be tossed and I don't want to leave that to my kids to have to sort through. But there were also a number of touching mementos that filled my parents with joy as they reminisced on their parents lives. I want to save some of those important items so that when it is my time to pass on, my kids can gather together to share happy memories of a loving home.

I hope this checklist helps! Again, I recommend purging anything that doesn't meet at least two of the criteria noted above. For example:

• It needs to help me function AND be in good shape

• It needs to be associated with a special memory AND it adds to my life story

• It is in good shape AND it's a family heirloom

Happy sorting!

-Ashley