Clearing Out For 2021
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you were all able to say farewell to 2020 safely and are looking forward to a fresh start with 2021.
New Year’s has always been one of my favorite holidays. I just love the idea of a reset, of ending one chapter and starting another with a clean slate. In that spirit, I thought I’d share some of my New Year's traditions for clearing out the old and making room for new goodness as we enter this next season of life.
Recycling old and empty products
If you’re someone who tends to accumulate lots of products throughout the year, now is the time to take inventory and be intentional about what you want to keep or get rid of. Throwing away dried nail polishes, properly cleaning and recycling old hair care containers, and finding new homes for those beauty products you don’t plan on using are all ways that you can avoid bringing excess into the new year.
Selling last semester’s textbooks
If you haven’t done so already, look into selling your old textbooks. The chances of you picking them up for some leisurely reading are slim to none and those books are likely taking up way too much space anyway. Rather than letting them collect dust, pass them off to someone who could really use them. If you’re looking for a place to start, this article really helped me out with the process.
Organizing those messy spaces you put off during the year
You know what I’m talking about. The back of your closet, under the bathroom sink, that one kitchen drawer that has been struggling to stay shut. Make a plan to organize at least one of those small messes and I promise it’ll feel really good to not have to deal with it anymore.
Deleting pics
Just as it’s important to clear your physical space, you gotta show some love to your digital spaces. I can be such a photo hoarder throughout the year, taking photos of my food or screenshots of funny tweets, so every December I make an effort to go through my photos of the year and delete anything I don’t wanna keep. If you’re someone who’s always getting alerts about dwindling phone storage, I highly recommend taking the time to do this at least once a year, or maybe even once a month, to keep your camera roll in check.
Deleting messages
That group chat full of people you haven’t spoken to in a year is serving no purpose. Delete that shit, save some space.
Unfollowing social media accounts
We all watched The Social Dilemma this past year and know that we spend a significant amount of our time online. I think now is a great time to reflect on how you use social media and how it affects your life, so as you’re scrolling, try being mindful of the content you’re coming across. Maybe ask yourself questions like why you follow the accounts you follow or how you feel when you look at their posts. And if it doesn’t feed you, unfollow.
Bullet Journaling
Though I have a planner for daily use, I love bullet journaling throughout the year to track things like my mood and anxiety levels, the music and movies I’m loving, and how often I’m doing things like working out and meditating. On New Year’s Eve I always set up my yearly spread and my January spread so I can jump right into the habit on the first of the year.
Smoke Cleansing
So you’ve recycled product empties, deleted pics, unfollowed influencers, and maybe even opened up a journal. Now what? One of my final steps for clearing out is to do something that will help me reset spiritually. For me, that’s smoke cleansing my space with either incense or dried bundles of herbs that I grow like lavender, rosemary, sage, and thyme. If these aren’t options for you, simply burning your favorite candle or diffusing essential oils to clear the air and re-energize your space are great alternatives.
