by Kat Ballew

Created on: January 06, 2011   Last Updated: January 23, 2011

There is no place like home, it is a haven of comfort, a place to relax, and a sanctuary of domestic affection. On the other hand, over time, it can become filled with unnecessary items, and eventually it can become overwhelmingly cluttered. For this reason, knowing how to declutter your home this year will bring about beneficial rewards, and make it an even better place to come home to. 

Closets often become cluttered with old clothes and shoes that are outdated or do not fit anymore, as well as linens, purses, books, even keepsakes. It is a great place to begin cleaning out the clutter in your home. Weed through closets in each room and make piles of unwanted clothes, shoes, purses, linens, old bills and memorabilia. Donate items that can be used by someone else and throw away or file other items. Now is the time to set up a filing system to keep important documents and special memory items. Invest in a closet system, use baskets, bins and boxes to help get organized. 

Underneath beds are popular hiding places for all sorts of items that may not hold meaning anymore, or have become useless. Many tuck away things and forget about them, and dragging them out and getting rid of them will afford you a lot more space. Clean out the dust bunnies and deodorize to get rid of any musty smells. 

Spare rooms and computer rooms, home libraries and craft rooms can quickly be used as storage spaces for unwanted items, or items that you didn't know what to do with at the time. While it may not be practical to get rid of some items, organizing these rooms instead of having everything piled or spread about will help to declutter your home this year.

Kitchens are another place where storage can get out of control. It is amazing how you can end up with ten storage bowls without lids, or ten lids that do not fit anything! Mismatched plates and silverware are often kept in hopes of replacing the set. Glasses, especially plastic ones, and cups received as gifts that will never be used should all be discarded. It is also a good time to get rid of fancy wine glasses received as a gift, but never used, as well as kitchen gadgets, bowls, old sets of broken or chipped china and utensils that are old, rusted and worn out. 

The same applies for pots, pans and bake ware. Burnt and rusted pans, pans that stick and will probably never be used again and small appliances received as wedding gifts so many years ago can probably be thrown out. Amazingly enough, even pantry’s

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