Get rid of it – Unnecessary ‘Stuff’

February is a good time to pare down your ‘stuff’- and teach others in your household to do it too. Here’s great advice from the domestic cleaning professionals at MOLLY MAID:

CROCKERY: Donate extra plates, mugs and other saleable kitchen items to a charity shop.

RECEIPTS: Check with your accountant about how long you have to keep official papers for and records, such as tax returns. To avoid identity theft, shred documents you no longer need to keep, rather than just recycling them in their whole form.

BOOKS: Keep your favourites and organise them by topic or alphabetically. Otherwise, if you have books that you probably won’t ever read again, donate them to a charity shop, a care home or even a hospital.

CLOTHES: Do a clean sweep of cupboards and pullout clothes that don’t fit, or that you don’t wear anymore. Recycle gently used clothing by giving them to friends or by donating them to a charitable organisation, such as The Salvation Army. Be sure to sort through your socks and underwear drawers too for items that are ready to be ditched- most people tend to keep these items long past their expiry dates.  

ELECTRONICS: Most people have a mess of power cords, USB cords and other paraphernalia for electronics in their desk, cabinet or cupboard.  Sort through them and match cords to their appropriate gadget, then get rid of what’s leftover. Old mobile phones can be donated to women’s shelters and other charitable organisations. Other old electronic items, such as printers and computers, should be properly recycled. Check with your council for electronic waste collection locations.

TOYS: Teach your children to donate toys they’re no longer using. Sort through toys and make three piles: donate, keep, throw out (the throw out pile is for broken toys).

SPORTS EQUIPMENT: If you use it, keep it. If you don’t and the equipment is still in good order, donate it to a charity shop or sports centres that might benefit.

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