Tips to get you started on your decluttering journey

A new year symbolises new beginnings. Many of us would be looking at getting rid of old stuff to create space for new things to come.

In 2018, the recycling rate of household waste was only 22%, yet each of us contributed about 360g of waste to our landfill every day.

As you start on the track to decluttering, let’s be kinder to the environment. Besides giving away, donating or swapping your unwanted items, why not give them a new lease of life? The tips below may spur your creative juices. Search YouTube for tutorials to guide you along.

FOR THE HOME

1. Bottled messages

Wine consumption at an all-time high during the festive season?

Put the wine bottles into recycling bins, but keep the corks. Collect 50 of these (rope in your friends to help you with this) and glue them together to make your own message board.

2. Frames to trays

Have too many photo frames as gifts? Turn them into vanity trays to place your makeup and perfume bottles on. Use a pretty print where the photo should show and you can even choose to paint over the frame itself. Smaller frames can be used as coasters for your cups too.

FOR THE OFFICE

3. Mugs of life

Cups are one of the typical gifts being given out during Christmas. If you find that you have too many of these, turn the extra cups lying around your kitchen into planter pots. They may just be the right sizes for miniature plants, adding great touches of green to your desk.

4. Fun layers

If you have some extra mouse pads stacked in your desk drawers, it’s time to get them out and turn them into something useful. How about cutting them into smaller sizes as coasters for your coffee mugs? Cut them into even smaller pieces and use them as padding for table and chair legs.

FOR SELF

5. Proper homes for e-waste

Used and unwanted smart phones can be sold to second-hand phone dealers or given away. For phones that are beyond repair, drop them at e-waste recycling points, for the benefit of the environment.

6. Make minimalism a lifestyle

Buying less stuff does not mean depriving yourself. For some, it means saving money and time by keeping only the things they use, leaving the home junk-free. Rule of thumb: If you haven’t used an item at least twice in the past six months, you don’t need it — and it’s time to find a new home for it.

This content is in partnership with ST Life.