Now, back to our previously scheduled discussion on new year’s resolutions. No matter what your new year’s resolution is, one of the best things you can do is to focus on using the things you already have rather than buying new.

Think about it. It will reduce clutter. It will save you money. You’ll likely eat healthier. You’ll relax more as you won’t be running around as much. You may even get a bit of exercise as you did into the back of cabinets and closets and bring things up from the basement and down from the attic

Let’s face it. We all have stuff that we’ve bought or received as gifts but never used. Maybe it’s a sweater that was on sale. Or a bag of soup mix. Or some bubble bath. Or stationery. Or craft projects. You get the picture.

What if, in 2019, you make a conscious effort to use this stuff up as much as possible. If you decide that you really don’t like it and don’t want to use it, give it away, donate it, or recycle it. So, how do you do it?

• Accept that it will take time. You can’t get rid of years’ worth of stuff in 2 weeks.
• Pick a few things to focus on. For example, pull out one box of notecards, a cabinet shelf of cooking ingredients, and some half-empty beauty products. Make sure that they are in an obvious place so that you can start using them. For example, I have quite an abundance of tiny partial bottles of shampoo. I keep two in the shower and a few more close by. As I empty one, it goes in the recycling bin and another takes its place. It takes time, but I’ve already eliminated all the partial tubes of toothpaste, and I’m making serious inroads in the face cream, facial cleanser, and body wash stocks.
• Most important, do NOT buy anything new in these categories until you use up what you have. So no canned soup if you have bags of soup mix. No new magazine subscriptions until all the unread magazines are gone

Over the next few posts, we’ll give special attention to a few categories of things that you might have lying around.