What do you see in your home, office, or other living spaces that does not make you happy? What are things you put up with because they have always been there? January is a time for new beginnings, time to make changes in your life for the better.

Look around at how you are living. Sometimes we just stay in our same ruts when our lives could be so much better. We don’t bother to make any changes as they involve effort on our part.

Take a look in the kitchen at your drawers and cupboards. Are they overflowing with things you never use? Think of the satisfying feeling you could have if you take everything out and put back only what you use, donating the rest. Then make a place to keep what you have so that you can easily find everything.

What about your bathroom? Do you keep samples of beauty products that you have had for years or colors of lipstick that you would never wear again? Maybe there are lotions, soaps, and shampoos that have been setting there for years. Purge them out of your closets and shelves so you just have the products you enjoy using, even if you once spent a lot of money acquiring them. It feels so good to start fresh.The same could be done with cleaning supplies.

Go from room to room and remove worn items that no longer make you feel content. How about your pictures on the wall? Sometimes no picture is better than an old, faded picture that no one is enjoying. My latest purge was an old TV in our basement that once was used for video games. When that went out the door, it created a large open space and gave me an “ah” feeling! It was a matter of getting the heavy thing up the stairs (one of my sons did so) and taking it to the dump. Everything takes some effort.

Magazines are something that can easily accumulate. When I get a new one I want to set aside time to sit and enjoy it. The month passes and I still have my magazine with the holiday they were featuring already passed. I just purged my December magazines by paging through them quickly and ripping out one item I want to read later. It felt good to toss them in recycling. New ones will soon arrive anyway.

What is in your closets and drawers? Perhaps it is time to donate clothes that no longer fit or that do not make you feel good when you wear them. I recently did so and do not miss a single item. What is fun is that I now can wear all the clothes in my closet. Keeping clothing that you might fit into after you lose weight can be depressing. If you lose weight, you deserve new clothes anyway.

What about gifts and memories of loved ones? Do you like them? Do they bring you joy or are you saving them out of guilt and maybe even put them out only when the person is coming over? Time to let things go. People are important, things are not.

Get rid of the “stuff” in your life that drags you down. This might even include unhealthy relationships you know are not right. It could be activities or organizations you no longer enjoy but put up with. Once you have dealt with saying no to unhealthy things, you can start doing what you really love doing.

January is the perfect month to make changes in your life. We can all think of things to purge if we look around at the way we live.

Happy 2020! Make it a year of positive changes!

Doris Puls, of D & O Decluttering and Organizing, is a professional organizer whose mission is to make a difference in the lives of the people she works with in homes and businesses. Contact her at organizealpena@gmail.com or at 989-356-9545.