Overtime, the small items can build up and you need to declutter. Your drawers start to get a little messy. The fridge seems difficult to navigate. Suddenly, finding a plaster or an item takes up time because it is no longer in the place it should be. On these days, I realise I need to reorganise to help make my future life easier. I often start with the place where the item should had been, but I hope this list of prompts to declutter come handy one day!
When organising products or food stuff, I place them into piles with this list in mind:
- Expired.
- Soon to be expired.
- Still needed.
- No longer needed.
1. The Medicine Cabinet/Box
It is not often we get sick or ill. But, I needed a plaster and to my surprise I could not find one in the medicine box. I also noticed everything had been ‘dumped’ in it and we didn’t really know what was in there. I took the box and organised it the piles as listed above. It can be easy to forget that medicine expires, especially when only a fraction of it is used for a temporary illness.
Look out for ‘use within’ a few days or weeks after opening. I always write the date I opened them on the lid or the lable, so that I do not forget. Then, I returned them back into the box, in themes, with the soon to be expired at the top. I took a mental note to keep the box tidy. Any medicine I did not need, I give to family, or I found out how I should best dispose of them.
2. The Fridge
I have seen a lot of funny reels about going to parents homes and finding years out of date sauce in the fridge. I think this is easy to do, especially with sauce or unusual items. When it comes to decluttering your fridge, and the expiry date pile, look out for ‘once opened use within…‘ as well as the ‘use by’ date. The food that is ‘best before’ often needs a quality check. I will take note of what needs to be used first, and plan how to use it before it expires. It is also a great time to clean the fridge before you put everything back in.
3. Food cupboard
This is a very similar declutter to the fridge. Take it in sections or themes and empty the space you are focusing on. Then, make the piles, remembering the ‘use within’ dates, and check the quality. Sometimes, spices can loose their flavour or flour can soak up moisture or something explodes. Then, the same as a fridge, I organise it back into the space they belong with the items I need to use soon near the front.
4. Cosmetics and toiletries
One day, a lovely person on discord shared a TIL (today I learnt) message where they posted a picture of when make up expires after its first use. I realised the make up I rarely touched since I was a teenager should probably go. I learnt that there is a small container logo on products that has the number of months before it expires. Now, I only have one small travel bag and the make up.
I spent a good time going through make up, hair products, skin products, hygiene products and nail varnish, and putting them in the piles. After this huge declutter, I reflected on what I really needed and would use. I then vowed to ensure I finished a product before buying another, and if it doesn’t work or suit me, then I need to let go.
5. Cleaning materials
I do not know if these go out of date, but it is always good to organise your cleaning materials from time to time to see what you have. Like the medicine box, sometimes this gets cluttered and messy.