10 tips for organizing your home after the holidays

BarcelonaWith a little dedication, we can return from vacation with a tidy house and a well-established routine. The key is to be realistic: keep only what we use and enjoy, and let go of the rest. After a few days away and with our routine completely changed, we return home and see it with new eyes. We spent the summer with few things, and we realize that it's not necessary to keep as many utensils and objects as we thought.

Decluttering after the summer isn't just about putting things in order, but also about our minds. Freeing up what no longer serves us gives us space for new experiences, ideas, and opportunities.

The first step is to get rid of what we haven't worn this summer, because we won't wear it next summer either. We'll review swimsuits, shoes, beach towels, bags, sunglasses, and other accessories like jewelry. While we're at it, we should also review the rest of the clothes in our closet and discard what we won't wear in the fall.

• Prepare for returning to work by making several outfits, including accessories. What doesn't fit into these outfits will be difficult to combine, and we won't wear it. We can discard it.
• As for the little ones' clothes, keep any that no longer fit them clean and folded in a box for younger siblings. If you want to give them to another child, do it quickly so they don't take up space.

You had several books on your shelf that you thought you'd read this summer, because "would you have more time?" Discard the ones you haven't read, and you won't read them in the fall if you don't force yourself. Why should we force ourselves? There are always interesting books that come our way and get pushed to the front of the queue. Those we're too lazy to read and have as homework are better off discarding. Did you also save magazines for decorating ideas or recipes? Give yourself this week as a deadline. And if you don't read them, give them away. It's just hoarding.

• You can sell books in good condition on the secondhand book apps Momox or Hamelyn. I earned 80 euros and space in my bookstore.

Do you still have CDs, DVDs, and even cassettes? Many Catalan homes still have formats from the last century and only listen to music and movies on online platforms. If you no longer regularly watch DVDs or listen to anything on CD, get rid of all that pent-up energy and make room in your home.

Purging papers prepares us for work, household management, and gives us mental clarity. Keep the essentials on paper and shred the rest. From now on, get into the habit of scanning to reduce paperwork and be more eco-friendly. An interesting option is to store papers in Marie Kondo's three categories:

• Current and in-use documents: Paperwork you need regularly (current bills, bank papers, active work or study documents).
• Necessary documents to keep: legal papers, contracts, insurance, certificates, official documentation that cannot be thrown away.
• Sentimental documents: letters, notes, paper souvenirs that have personal value.

Accumulated cosmetic samples, "just in case" bags, expired makeup, a fingerful of product that never ends... It's time to clean up and get the energy flowing.

• Sort your belongings and cosmetics into families: hair, nails and hands, face, teeth, makeup, body, perfume... You can organize them in boxes or bags so everything isn't visible on the counter or when we open the drawers. Keep a small selection of everyday products on hand (but not necessarily visible).

How do we want to eat this fall? We eliminate everything that bothers us to achieve it. We accept that some utensils were a bad purchase and we get rid of them.

Go through those closets or shelves where you store your DIY tools and throw away any expired paint, furniture pieces you no longer have, such as spare knobs, or light bulbs you no longer have. Also, take the opportunity to go through and discard your medicine cabinet. Throw away any expired items and give someone the supplements you're already taking.

• Throw away the instructions in 16 languages you no longer need. If you ever need them, you can find them online.

You can symbolically close out summer by cleaning up your vacation photos and selecting the fondest memories and moments that made you laugh.

• To decide which photos to keep, pick the prettiest ones, which you'd frame or put in an album. Discard the rest. You don't need them.

It's advisable to have a few, but varied items. Observe what our children don't like and give them away. Toys and new materials are always arriving at home. Holding onto objects they never touch makes it difficult for them to play and takes up space. We give away those board games we thought we'd play in the summer "for when it rains" but haven't.

• School supplies and toys they aren't interested in may be liked by other children. Let's give them away and let them live in another home, school, daycare, or nursery.

If we still feel like discarding, we go through our household linens. Sheets, pillowcases, pillowcases, towels, blankets... we can recycle them and make rags. We probably have some leftover and could give them to people in need.