Month: December 2023

2024 is fast approaching, and suddenly, we get the intense urge to create a clean slate to start the new year—get rid of unwanted stuff and deep clean our spaces. However, the moment we start cleaning, we feel jaded. Sounds familiar? That’s okay because our clutter tells a personal story. We’ve put together new year decluttering tips to help you navigate messy rooms and reclaim your space. 

What to Declutter for The New Year?

Deciding what to throw away can be stressful. First, focus on the immediate stuff like Christmas decorations and seasonal gear. As you put away the wreaths, Christmas lights, and snow globes, throw away any holiday deco from last year that you didn’t use. 

Eliminate gift wrappings and declutter the kids’ toys. Next, move to your kitchen and the pantry, donate the good stuff you don’t need, and throw away damaged things. It is easy to buy excess food and ingredients during the holidays; don’t let them go bad in the pantry.

Move to your garage and edit through all the storage containers and carton boxes. Items you last touched a year ago should go into the dumpster. Finish with all the other storage rooms, picking and eliminating unwanted junk in the house. 

So, how do you make your New Year cleaning manageable? Let’s look at various decluttering methods proven to be simple yet effective. 

Best Strategies for 2024 New Year Decluttering

There is so much to tuck away and dispose of after the magical holiday season. You want to purge every nook and cranny from the messy garage and basement to the attic and the bedrooms. Let us show you proven methods to tackle New Year decluttering. 

The Four-Box Method

The four-box method is one of the simplest yet most effective decluttering methods to help you eliminate home junk quickly. Having too much stuff and insufficient room to keep them can be depressing. Getting rid of them is equally a challenge. 

This proven strategy can help you identify what items to throw away and what to keep. Ideally, you must get and label four boxes: keep, donate/sell, store, and dispose of. This strategy will help you deal with sentimental items without feeling guilty.

Your keep box is where you’ll put all the stuff you want to put away. These are functional and important items you’ll use. Identify items to keep, one room at a time, and put them in this box. The items in this box are functional, and you need them often, for instance, clothes, shoes, bedding, books, electronics, and kitchen essentials.

Donate or sell box is ideal for functional items you don’t use frequently. If you have stuff you haven’t touched in a year and they’re in good condition, it’s time to sell or donate to others. Others are better off using it than rusting away in the basement.

The storage box is the perfect spot for functional items you’ll likely use in the future—they’re helpful but not yet in season. Examples of this stuff are seasonal decorations and clothing.  

Moving on, we have the “dispose of” box—others call it the “toss box.” Items in poor condition go to this container. Understandably, you might have damaged items that won’t fit in a single box. A roll-off container is a perfect solution for clutter—cramming junk in the corner of the yard or the garage will defeat the purpose of decluttering. 

Marie Kondo Method

If you haven’t been living under the rock, you’ve heard about Marie Kondo—Yeah, the one on Netflix, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. The Kon Marie method is another popular and proven decluttering strategy you can apply for your New Year Cleaning. 

You declutter or tidy up by category, not the items’ location in the house. For example, if you want to sort through your closets, don’t do one section at a time; bring out all the clothes and sort them in one place. And with this process, you only keep items that delight you. 

This method has six crucial rules:

• Focus on tidying up
• Picture your ideal lifestyle (one that brings joy)
• Throw away unwanted items first
• Use categories
• Follow an order
• Know what sparks your happiness

You can use this formula to help you dispose of items because they no longer bring you joy. Decluttering your entire house at once can be overwhelming—this method is best if you want to purge at your pace. It can take weeks or months, but the results are worth it. 

Packing Party

The packing party method is a rigorous yet effective decluttering method you can try with your New Year cleanout project. Ideally, you call friends, family, and neighbors to help pack everything you own into boxes as if you were moving. And we mean everything from your toothbrush, clothes, shoes, and kitchen essentials to furniture and electronic devices.

It sounds wild, but hear us out! Spend the next three weeks of your life unpacking only items you need to use. Remove the clothes you wear, the bedding you need, etc. Assess everything you haven’t touched after the three weeks and sell, donate, or toss if you don’t need it. 

Minimalist Game

Games sound fun, and the merrier if you incorporate that into stressful activities like decluttering. Technically, this is a fun way to eliminate all household junk one item at a time for 30 days. 

Find a partner or friend interested in decluttering their spaces and play this game together. Popularized by the Minimalists, the rule is to eliminate items that match the date for one month. For example, dispose of ten unwanted items on day 10, 15 on day 15, and 30 on day 30.

This strategy is a challenge, and the person that keeps up with it until the end is the winner. You would have discarded all the unwanted stuff by selling, donating, or tossing it in the dumpster. 

The 12.12.12 Minimalist Challenge

This is yet another simple decluttering tip to help you edit through your belongings and discard unwanted stuff. Go to a cluttered space and pick 12 items to donate, 12 to keep, and 12 to throw away. Repeat this process if needed, and you’ll be surprised at how much you can organize.

Keep Your House Clutter Free All The Time

There are many things and life goals to keep up with when 2024 comes around. Keeping your home tidy and organized after deep cleaning can take time and effort. 

First, create a routine decluttering schedule. Clean out your home every couple of months throughout 2024. For example, you can declutter every two or three months. Dealing with small amounts of junk is manageable. 

Get rid of trash on the go. Don’t put junk away to throw them away later; it will pile up with time. Remove and discard the packaging as quickly as possible if you bring in new groceries.  Ace your home organization. Utilize shelves, hooks, and cabinets to organize your items. Best Strategies for 2024 New Year Decluttering

Are you ready to tackle your New Year Cleaning? Don’t worry about where to take your clutter. American Reclamation will be glad to offer you affordable waste disposal solutions for any amount of garbage. Please consult our customer rep to customize a free quote for your next project. 

Do you throw out a ton of stuff and want to start recycling? Recycling conserves natural resources but also reduces pollution and energy consumption. While recycling as much as possible is essential, some materials significantly impact the environment when recycled. Understanding crucial items to recycle can increase the chances of successful recycling. Here are the top 5 most important things to recycle for a sustainable future.

1. Plastic Bottles and Containers

Plastic pollution has become a pressing issue for our planet. Plastic bottles and containers are among the most common single-use plastics in landfills and oceans. 

Data shows we use over 40 million tons of single-use plastics nationwide. 80% of that will likely end up in landfills. Recycling plastic helps conserve the energy and resources required to produce new plastic products. 

Additionally, it reduces the harmful emissions released during the production process. When we recycle plastic bottles, they can transform into new products. These can include: 

• New Bottles
• Clothing
• Furniture

Giving them a new lease on life prevents them from ending up in our water and harming marine life.

Not all plastics are recyclable. Check the labeling number on the item before putting it in the recycling bin. Ideally, PET plastics (polyethylene terephthalate) are the most recyclable due to their compounds. Plastics numbered 1, 2, or 3 are recyclable. 

2. Paper and Cardboard

Paper and cardboard products constitute a significant portion of household waste. Recycling paper and cardboard saves trees and reduces the energy and water usage required for paper-making. Recycling paper products into new paper items minimizes the demand for virgin pulp, thus preserving our forests. 

Additionally, recycling paper and cardboard prevents them from clogging up landfills, where they contribute to harmful methane gas emissions. Recycling paper and cardboard can significantly decrease our ecological footprint and promote a more sustainable future.

3. Aluminum Cans

Aluminum cans are one of the most valuable items to recycle. Aluminum recycling saves up to 95% when processing raw materials into aluminum. 

This energy conservation translates to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller carbon footprint. Aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable, meaning they can recycled repeatedly without losing quality. 

Recycling aluminum also reduces the pressure on natural resources, like bauxite, that produce aluminum. By recycling aluminum cans, we contribute to conserving energy, reducing emissions, and preserving the Earth’s natural resources.

4. Electronic Waste (E-waste)

Electronic devices have become part and parcel of our lives as technology advances. However, these devices often contain hazardous materials like lead, mercury, and cadmium. These can contaminate soil and water if disposed of improperly. 

Recycling e-waste prevents environmental pollution and conserves valuable metals and minerals. 

Electronics recycling involves recovering and reusing components from old devices, reducing the need for raw materials and energy-intensive manufacturing processes. By recycling e-waste, we can minimize the environmental impact of discarded electronics and promote the responsible disposal of electronic devices.

5. Glass Containers

Glass is a highly recyclable material. You can recycle glass many times without losing its quality or purity. Recycling glass conserves energy as it requires lower temperatures to melt recycled glass than raw materials. 

Additionally, recycling glass reduces the demand for raw materials like sand, soda ash, and limestone, preserving natural resources. It helps reduce the amount of waste in landfills, where glass does not disintegrate and can take thousands of years to decompose. Recycling glass containers can promote a circular economy, minimize environmental impact, and contribute to a cleaner, greener planet.

How to Prepare Items for Recycling

Now that you know the five most important things to recycle, let’s tackle how to pack them. Taking the essential items to prepare items before tossing them in the recycling bin improves the recycling rate.

First, rinse and dry food containers and jars, ensuring no food and liquid residue. Check with your recycling center if you should leave the lids on. Often, you should remove lids that are smaller than 10cm.

Another thing, leave your recyclables loose. Plastic bags clog the sorting equipment and need help to separate stacked materials. Flatten boxes and cardboard to create more space and ensure papers are dry. 

Premier Recycling Facility in Los Angeles

American Reclamation runs a fully-fledged recycling facility for everyday recyclable material. Our ultra-modern facility accommodates scrap metal, construction and demolition material, green waste, carpet, tire, and e-waste material.

Recycle Better for A Sustainable Future

Recycling plays a crucial role in conserving natural resources, reducing pollution, and mitigating the effects of climate change. While recycling is essential as much as possible, focusing on these top 5 most important things to recycle