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New Year’s Resolution 2017: If It Doesn’t Bring You Joy…

Each year, most people take the opportunity for a fresh start to reflect on the last 12 months and decide how to improve themselves moving forward. Now more than ever, it seems that we are inundated with material objects we don’t necessarily need. A good New Year’s resolution is to spend time evaluating your possessions and deciding what is important. In the end, if it isn’t useful and it doesn’t bring you joy – get rid of it!

A decluttering technique that works well for many is the 5-box method. Tackle one space at a time and bring 5 boxes with you. Every item finds a home in that space or goes into 1 of the following boxes – no exceptions!

Keep

Items that make their way here are without a home. They don’t belong in the room you found them in, but they do have value. After you declutter each space, make sure you find a place for each item in the box. Don’t just move items from room to room – there’s no point in having a New Year’s resolution to declutter if you are only changing the location of the clutter!

Donate

Objects that are no longer useful to you may be helpful to others. Gently used items can be donated to a variety of donation centres or charities and can make a big difference in someone’s life. Make sure that you are taking trips to drop off donation items often – a pile left sitting in your home is still clutter.

Sell

Impulse buys often sit unused or unopened in your home. If you thought that you would use certain items and never did, sell them online. Remember that it takes time and effort to sell online and if you’re not up to the job, it’s best to donate.

Recycle

So many things end up in landfills that can be recycled. Electronics, clothes, batteries and even keys can all be diverted from the garbage truck and find a second life as something new. Spend time researching different recycling outlets in your area to do your part in reducing waste. If you have a secondary New Year’s resolution of reducing your footprint on the Earth – double bonus!

Trash

Sometimes there are things that have no value, cannot be recycled and can only be thrown out. Ensure you dispose of items in the proper way. We all have old paint cans in our basement that have dried up. It’s great to finally get rid of them, but make sure you don’t just put them in a trash can for pickup. Research where you can drop off items that cannot go to landfills.

Whatever your New Year’s resolution is, Martino HVAC hopes you have a happy and healthy 2017! We look forward to helping you with any HVAC, air quality service or installation needs you have.