Hello 2022! I find a new year brings hope, a chance for a fresh start and time to make some plans for the year ahead. Does anyone else have any new year rituals? Maybe putting down Christmas decorations, seeing family, a de-clutter.. Well, mine is a clear out. Out with the old and in with the new.
There’s something therapeutic about a clear out. It’s chance for you to rid yourself of negativity and old ‘baggage’. Here are 10 ideas for you to ‘clear out’ ready to start fresh in 2022.
1. Negative Thoughts
A good place to start is your mind. Clear out negative thoughts which were holding you back last year. Often it’s easier said than done however it’s a great opportunity for self-growth. And will leave you feeling lighter. You might want to try:
- Journaling: write about your thoughts, with an emphasis on those which make you happy
- Surround yourself with things and people that make you happy
- Create a ‘dream board’ on Pinterest: collect pins which keep you focused on your goals and fill you with positivity
- Breath: remember to breath! If you start feeling overwhelmed or stressed, just take a deep breath, don’t worry, you got this!
2. Phone
Mobile phones tend to hold a lot of importance for people. How long could you go without your phone? Realistically I don’t know how long I could go without mine. It makes navigation and communication so easy. And you can download apps quicker than you can fetch a glass of water.
Take 30 mins to look though your app downloads and clear out all those you never use. Look though your call history and text messages, deleting those that hold no importance or perhaps that you don’t want to be reminded of.
3. Your Photo Albums
Look through your digital photo albums, maybe that’s on your phone or camera. Delete any that you don’t enjoy looking at, maybe they’re ones where you don’t like the angle or how you look. Photos are memories, you want to look back and think happy thoughts.
Spend some time backing up photos. I love printing my favourite photos and buying a photo album for each year. I put the photos in order from January to December, it’s like a picture story of the year.
Once you have those photo albums or the pictures backed up delete them off your device, ready to start capturing new memories.
4. Your Social Media
Scroll back through your posts. Is there anything you feel ashamed of posting or embarrassed to have online? If so, then it’s got to go! A social media detox is so important from time to time.
A lot can get posted on social media and you might have had it for years. I started on Facebook when I was 16, which is almost 10 years ago. I know there are things which 25 year old me does not want to be reminded of.
5. Your Email Inbox
If my email inbox was my social media notifications I would feel like the most popular person. I seem to get hundreds of emails and half of them are junk. It’s for this reason I put off looking through them and end up with thousands sitting there.
Well it’s now time to clear them out. Get rid of those that are junk and leave yourself with important emails which you can sort into folders. This will make them easy to find in the future.
6. Paperwork
Remember all those letters, bills and receipts you keep stuffing in a drawer.. well it’s time to get them out.
Look through all your paperwork carefully. I brought a filing cabinet, £40 from Argos, and a load of suspension files to keep my paperwork. Separate your paperwork into categories and keep those which are important. Do the same for your receipts.
Any which you think can be thrown away, look if they contain any personal information. I tend to keep those to one side and shred them.
7. Your Wardrobe
Out with the old, make room for the new! Give yourself space to try new styles this year.
Start by clearing out all those clothes that you might not have taken the tags out of yet or have only worn once. It’s a great idea to donate your unwanted clothes to charity shops or give them to friends/ family.
You could even think of upcycling your clothes if you feel attached to them but don’t necessarily want to wear them again. I’m tempted to turn a load of my old hoodies into a quilt.
8. Car
The car can easily be overlooked and a good dumping ground for rubbish. How many quick, on-the-go lunches/ coffees has your car seen? Mine has seen too many!
Give your car some love and clear out all that rubbish. I’ve always kept an ’emergency’ box in my car. It contains emergency snacks (of course), pen/ paper, tissues, tyre pump, car phone charger.
9. Kitchen
Clear out all the out-of-date, possibly mouldy, food from your fridge and cupboard. Replace it with fresh and healthy options ready for the new year!
Feeling good starts from the inside.
For other ideas on how to stay healthy, check out:
10. Subscriptions/ Memberships
I love looking back at finances each year. Unless you’re the budgeting guru there’s always areas where you could save money.
Look back at the year and review how much you used all your memberships/ subscriptions. Do you pay for a gym membership but haven’t been since last January? That’s not to say you should quit exercise but maybe find something different which you can stick to all year round.
Now is a good time to cancel all those subscriptions/ memberships you don’t benefit from and make room for new ones!
I think we’re ready! We’ve cleared out our mind, house, money, belongings.. I hope you feel better for it. Bring on 2022..
