Starting fresh this New Years is all about clearing out clutter and focusing on quality. That’s kind of our philosophy at Delysia Chocolatier. Our pure cacao goodness and high quality ingredients don’t need all of the preservatives and fillers. The same idea can be applied to other areas of your life.
Here are a few ways we’re getting a fresh start at home and work this year.
Get Rid of Unnecessary Emails
Have the emails in your inbox been building up for quite some time? Every day we get tons of emails that are the digital equivalent of junk mail. But instead of throwing it out a lot of the time it just goes unopened and takes up space. Getting rid of all the old and junk emails can be a serious sanity saver. Get hundreds or thousands of emails cleared out by:
- Deleting everything that isn’t absolutely needed.
- Using a labeling and/or filing system. Most email providers allow you to assign a label to an email so it can be sorted into a folder. One popular method is to create folders for each quarter of each year. Make it a habit to file each email after reading it.
- Search by sender to get rid of junk mail. Do a search using the sender’s name, click the select all button and then hit delete to get rid of dozens of emails at once.
- Unsubscribe to any emails you no longer want to receive.
- Moving forward choose one day of the week to clear out your inbox and file anything that isn’t deleted.
Clean Out the Fridge and Pantry
It’s amazing how quickly grocery items can stack up in the pantry and fridge – especially when you’re making thousands of gourmet chocolate truffles. Before you know it both are stuffed to the brim, and it’s difficult to find anything. We hate throwing out food as much as the next person, but sometimes it’s necessary. These tips can free up space in your pantry and fridge:
- Start by checking the expiration dates – toss anything that’s more than a few days past the expiration date, “use by” date or “sell by” date. The one exception is eggs. They can last up to a month after the “sell by” date.
- Consider throwing out items that are more than a month past the “best by” or “best before” date.
- Toss most items that have already been open for more than a few weeks without being in an airtight container. It may still be okay to eat, but it definitely won’t be fresh.
- Consider donating anything that’s been in the pantry for more than six months and hasn’t expired.
Clear Out a Stuffed Closet
Most people only wear about 20% of their clothes regularly. That means 80% of your closet space is taken up with articles of clothing that rarely see the light of day. It’s time to clear things out so you can find outfits a lot easier.
Organization pros suggest that you first move everything out of the closet. The reason is two-fold. With everything out of the closet you can give it a good cleaning and make an inventory of all the items. Put clothing into one of five piles:
- Keep
- Store
- Donate
- Give Away
- Toss
Seasonal clothes in the store pile can be further broken down into fall/winter and spring/summer. Anything that’s damaged, stained beyond cleaning or worn out should be put in the toss pile. Clothing that no longer fits should go in the donate or give away pile. A good trick for weeding out clothes you never wear is to ask yourself if you’d buy it off the rack in the store. If the answer is no then it should go in the donate or give away groups.
Celebrate a fresh start to the New Year with artisanal chocolates from Delysia Chocolatier. Our decadent treats are a great way to reward yourself for getting the clutter cleared out!
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