Take Five: Start the New Year Clutter-Free

Quick tips, quips and products to make your life easier, or at least more entertaining.

December 31, 2019

Cathy Cruz-George,

Is your home filled with holiday décor, half-opened gifts and school papers from last semester? The new year is a great time to declutter! For tips, we turned to Nancy Nino, owner of Aloha Organizers:

1. Dig Deep.

Decluttering can be emotional for some parents. To help decide which items to keep or toss, ask yourself questions, such as, “Is my child still obsessed with slime and unicorns?” “Am I holding onto my teen’s first lunch box for sentimental reasons?” “Can my toddler go more than a month without asking for this plush toy?” Quickly answer your own questions, and don’t regret any decision.

2. Enlist the Team.

If you want your kids’ help, remember that little ones (ages 8 and younger) slow down the decluttering process. “Younger children tend to want to keep everything and may feel like their belongings are being taken from them,” Nino says. Older keiki (9 through 18) “should have the lion’s share of responsibility in maintaining the system you create together.”

3. Give Up SPACE.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Use the SPACE method, taught by self-help expert and author Julie Morgenstern. The acronym stands for: Sort (put items into organized piles). Purge (toss or give away items). Assign a Home (return items to the same places). Containerize (use drawers, shelves, baskets and boxes). Equalize (tweak your new system after a few days or weeks).

4. Bid Farewell.

Monetize your efforts! Sell used books at BookOff stores in Honolulu or ‘Aiea. Old clothes, toys and baby gear are needed at secondhand stores Keiki2Keiki in Mō‘ili‘ili, CaterKids in Waipahu, or Savers in Waipahu and Kalihi. (Stores do not accept used car seats, by the way.) For tax-deductible donations, bring old items to The Salvation Army or Goodwill.

5. Be Simple.

Kids don’t need a lot of stuff to be happy. Give a toddler a full box of tissues and see what we mean! Try three minimalist methods: One-in, one-out (when a new item comes into your home, an old item must leave). Nightly sweep (allot 15 minutes per evening to tidy up the home). Moratorium (don’t buy new items, except food, for 30 consecutive days). This helps your family determine “needs” from “wants.”