Have a purposeful clean-out
ARE your cupboards cluttered with items that you once loved but grew out of or that you put aside because you thought they might come in useful sometime?
Rather than have it all lying around gathering dust and taking up space, have a clean-out – with a difference.
Convert clothes
Look through your closet and take out everything you haven’t worn in six months. Set aside old clothes that are stained as they are past their prime. instead, use them as dusters and cleaning rags. Cut off all the buttons first though and save them in a jar. With the decent things that are left, ask if you will ever really wear them. if not, launder them and give them to charity.
Alternatively, have a clothes swap session with friends: you may hate that pink frilly shirt you bought on impulse but it will be someone else’s treasure.
Arty glass jars empty jam jars, mayonnaise containers, and other “too good to throw away” little odds and ends in the kitchen take up tonnes of space.
Have a look through it all and sort out attractive and useful shapes. Buy some enamel paint from the craft shop or iron monger in your area.
Paint all the glass jars with flowers, animals or simply swirls and stripes (think 1970s) and turn them into attractive storage containers. Give them to your friends or display on your kitchen sideboard.
Recycle readables
Old magazines, comics, books that you read but that aren’t worth reading again –all these items are treasures to bookworms the world over. if you need some extra money, you can try selling them on Lelong. com.my or ebay or look for a car boot sale in your area.
if you want to spread a bit of joy, give the books to a library. if the magazines are in a good condition, hand them over to the old folks home near you.