I am all for starting the year on the right foot. The beginning of a new year brings goals, possibilities, and motivations. So it is always best to prepare yourself as much as possible to spring into action on your New Year’s resolutions. For me, that includes creating a list of things to clean before the end of the year.
I have never been a huge resolutions setter when it comes to the new year. To be honest, I have never really felt like I had something I wanted so much that I needed to have a resolution.
But this year I feel different. It has been about 4 months since I began really focusing on my blog and making a business out of it. Although I have seen a movement towards my goal, it hasn’t been nearly as fast as I have wanted. I am nowhere near a full-time income. So I am calling it now, 2022 is going to be my year. I am going to at least make a full-time income from my blog by the end of 2022.
However until then… I need to figure out how to make money…
But anyway, because I feel so motivated to achieve my dreams, and I want to begin the year on the right foot. For me, that includes having a clean work and living space, so that I feel put together. With how my brain works, I cannot focus on what I am doing until I have an organized workspace. Something that usually takes me 20 minutes will take me an hour because I am so distracted.
It is also just good to spend time deep cleaning every once in a while. Although I keep my space clean on a surface level, I rarely go into those drawers or open that closet to see what is hiding just behind what everyone can see.
So, today I am writing a list of things to clean before the end of the year. These are 22 things you should clean out before 2022! Begin the year with a clean home and an organized life!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I make a small commission through these links with no impact on your purchase.
1. Your Closet
I definitely don’t do this one enough, but it feels so good going through my closet and getting rid of all those old clothes I don’t wear, or that don’t fit me anymore. It also leaves more room for your new wardrobe to go along with the new year!
And this includes everything! Clothing, shoes, handbags, backpacks, hats, belts, accessories, everything! Even the random other stuff you have stored in your closet!
2. Your Junk Drawer
I know we all have one. It might be in the kitchen or your front foyer, but it holds everything you have no place for. The extra keys, bags of paperclips, and random postage stamps. Go through that, clean out anything you don’t need, and maybe even organize it!
You can get some acrylic organizers from Amazon that are small, the perfect size to organize your junk drawer!
3. Your Car
I can’t be the only one that accumulates stuff in the backseat of my car throughout the year. Random jackets and trash make my car feel very cluttered. And it is so easy to clean! Just take a couple of minutes one day, head out to your car with a grocery bag, and collect everything that isn’t supposed to be in there. It will feel so much better once it’s cleaned.
4. The Garage
This is a little bit bigger of a task than the others on this list, but it is well worth the effort. The garage usually becomes a dumping ground in my house, so taking the time to clean it every year is a must! Collect everything you don’t want anymore and take a trip to your local thrift store!
5. Your Bed-Side Table
I try to keep only the essentials in my nightstand, and yet somehow, it always seems to fill up. So every year I like to do a deep clean of my bedside table, to get rid of anything I don’t need there anymore. Put the extra bottles of lotions back in the bathroom, and the random notebooks back on my desk.
This is another place where acrylic organizational trays are perfect! You can buy some from Amazon here!
6. Your Emails
Ever since Gmail started organizing my emails into categories, I have been accumulating anything that wasn’t in my “Primary” folder. Each year, I like to start fresh, by getting rid of all those promotional emails that have been sitting there. This task sure would be easier if I did it every day, as the emails come in… but what fun would that be?
7. The Photo App on Your Phone
Just like my email, my photo app gets bogged down over the year with random photos and screenshots that I don’t even remember taking. I don’t need that screenshot of the wifi password for the hotel I stayed in last summer! All the unnecessary photos are just taking up space on my phone and making it run slower.
8. Your Pantry
I have a very deep pantry, so it is pretty easy to forget everything I have in there. As much as I try to avoid food waste, sometimes I forget a stray can of corn and it goes bad before I can use it. I once found a can of cocoa powder in my grandma’s cupboard from the ’80s! So go through your pantry and make sure you don’t have any spoiled/expired food laying around.
I love using food storage containers to organize all of my dry ingredients. It makes my pantry look better and feel more organized! You can purchase the ones pictured below on Amazon here!
9. Bathroom Cabnit
Did you know that lotion can go bad? That’s right, if your lotions start smelling funny, are lumpy, or are starting to change colors, it is time to get rid of them. As a fragrance fan, I have developed quite a collection of lotions, butters, and creams. So every year I go through them and get rid of anything that has gone bad. While I am in those cabinets, I organize everything else, making it easy to grab whatever I need for the coming year.
10. Your Social Media Following
I spend a lot of time on social media, and over the year, I have followed a lot of celebrities, companies, and people that I just don’t care about anymore. So I like to take time at the end of each year to find those accounts that I don’t care about anymore and unfollow them. Makes my social media a much more pleasant place to be.
11. Desk
Whether it is the one at work or your desk at home, it is always nice to have a fresh start in the new year. You know what they say, a cluttered workspace leads to a cluttered mind! I like to organize all my pencil cups, desk decorations, and notebooks to ensure I have a great place to work.
This is especially true this year because my desk is where I do most of my blogging. I want it to be an enjoyable and clear place to work.
12. Filing Cabniet/Files
No one tells you that growing up means you have to keep a whole lot of files! I have so many tax forms, bank statements, and medical files. All the stuff that needs to be kept, and that accumulates over the years. But there is also stuff that I don’t need anymore because they have passed the statute of limitations. That stuff, I love to shred and toss each year. It is a freeing feeling.
If you want your files to be aesthetic, there are so many cute options that you can purchase on Amazon like these! I’m obsessed with the colors and florals of this set!
13. The Notes App on Your Phone
Just like everything else when it comes to phones, I accumulate a lot of unnecessary information in my notes app, some I can’t even decipher. I get overwhelmed by the number of notes I start in a year, so it always feels good to go through and clean them up, getting rid of random grocery lists and information I don’t need.
14. The Bookmarked Tabs on Your Computer
I tend to bookmark websites and pages of information that I plan to “read later” and never do. Well, when looking for things to clean before the end of the year, I always go through the hundreds of pages I have bookmarked on my computer. I either read the information I wanted or delete it without looking because it is no longer relevant.
15. Your Pet’s Toy Basket
Do you have a pet who has way too many toys, some of which they don’t play with? I know my dog has so many broken, chewed-up toys in her toy basket that I could easily get rid of, leaving more space for new toys.
16. Linen Closet
There is always that threadbare towel that nobody likes to use and those sheets that haven’t seen daylight all year. Get rid of these things and you will see a huge difference in how clean your linen closet feels. I promise the closet doesn’t need to be stuffed to the brim with towels and rags you don’t even use. Donate them!
17. The DVR on Your TV
You know that movie you recorded but never watched because you lost interest? To be honest, you are probably never going to watch it, delete it! You need to make room for all the new, 2022 shows you will want to record and watch on your DVR.
18. Bookshelves
As much as I hate to get rid of books, being the bibliophile that I am, I know there are books on my shelves that I either read and hated or books I never plan on reading anyway. There is no reason for me to be keeping these!
19. Holiday Decorations Stash
Wherever you store your holiday decorations, I am sure there are some things in there that you don’t even put out anymore. I know I have a couple of decorations that I haven’t put out in years that I could absolutely donate to my local charity shop. Maybe someone else will enjoy them more than I have been.
This is a great thing to clean while putting away all your Christmas and winter decorations! Get it done at the same time!
20. Your Purse/Bag
I do this a little more often than once a year, but it is still nice to walk into the new year without old receipts and used chapstick weighing me down. It makes me ready to take on the world!
21. The Coat Closet
I’m talking about the family coat closet that is full of winter coats from when you were a college student and scarves you don’t even wear. Clearing this out is always useful before the end of the year.
Look for places you can donate old coats too! They are definitely wanted and needed during the winter months. Or give them to your local thrift store!
22. Your Board Game Collection
Maybe it is just me who has a board game collection, but if you also love playing board games as much as I do, you have probably developed quite the collection. My family has a whole closet full of them! And that closet could definitely use some cleaning out. There are games in there we haven’t even touched all year, so there is no reason to keep them.
Although it is hard work, it feels so good finding all these things to clean before the end of the year. It creates a clean slate so that you can get a running start on all your goals and resolutions for the coming year!
For more cleaning tips, and to learn how to make cleaning more fun, check out this post!
Do you have a lot of resolutions? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to see them and support you as much as I can. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all achieve our goals in 2022! I think we all need a little success right now. I know I do!
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