A Fresh Start at Home: How to Reset Your Space (and Your Mind) This January
- mydenlife
- Jan 1
- 6 min read
Happy New Year all.
January always brings a certain calmness with it. The decorations come down, the house feels strangely bare, and there’s a collective exhale as we step into a slower rhythm after the busyness of December. It’s one of my love/hate moments of the year — if you can ignore the resolutions or rigid routines, but because it offers space. Space to breathe, space to reset, and space to shape your home into something that feels calm, grounded and beautifully intentional.
And if there’s one place I always encourage my clients to begin, it’s with decluttering and organisation. Not the trendy, intense, “pull everything out of every cupboard” kind — but a more thoughtful, gentle and wellbeing-focused approach that sets your whole year up right.
Your home holds emotional weight. When it feels cluttered, overwhelming or visually busy, it has a huge impact on your energy and mood. But when it feels considered, calm and well-edited? You move through your day with more ease. And that’s the real goal of January — not perfection, but comfort.
So here’s how to start the year in a way that supports both your home and your wellbeing.
Start With What You Can See
Most people start decluttering in drawers, cupboards and under-stair caves of doom — but the quickest wellbeing boost comes from refreshing the areas you see every day.
Clear your surfaces. Restyle your hallway. Remove anything that has “lived” on the dining table since November. Open the windows for five minutes, even in the cold. Visual calm instantly changes how you feel in your home, and it gives you the energy to keep going.
Decluttering That Supports Your Wellbeing
This isn’t about minimalism or stark interiors. It’s about letting your home breathe again. When everything has space around it, your mind has space too.
A few guiding principles I often share with clients:
Don’t remove your personality — remove the noise around it.
Make space for joy, not for empty shelves.
Keep the things you love; release the things that drain you.
And don’t underestimate the emotional lift that comes from letting go of things that no longer reflect your lifestyle or your taste. A calmer home genuinely supports a calmer mind.
Which Decluttering Method Is Right for You? (The Tried-and-Tested Ones That Actually Work)
Decluttering is deeply personal. The method that feels freeing to one person can feel stressful to another. That’s why understanding the different approaches helps you choose one that fits your personality and your home.
Here are the most effective — and how to know which one might be your match:
The KonMari Method — for structure and clarity
Best for: sentimental people, anyone craving a fresh start, those who like clear structure.
Rather than decluttering room by room, KonMari focuses on categories, starting with the easiest (clothes) and ending with the hardest (sentimental items). The guiding question — “Does it spark joy?” — may sound whimsical, but its power lies in tuning you into what you actually want to keep, not what you feel guilty about discarding.
Why it works:
Reduces decision fatigue by grouping similar items
Helps you instantly see how much of something you own
Encourages emotional clarity before storing anything again
Good to know: It’s a big time commitment but incredibly satisfying if you want a complete reset.
Swedish Death Cleaning (Döstädning) — for slow, gentle editing
Best for: thoughtful, intentional people; mid-life homeowners; those who prefer slow, meaningful editing of belongings.
Despite the dramatic name, this method is rooted in care. The idea is to gently reduce your belongings so your home — and family — aren’t overwhelmed in the future. It’s less about minimalism and more about curating a life you want to live now.
Why it works:
Prioritises emotional wellbeing and meaning
Encourages ongoing, gentle editing rather than big purges
Particularly useful if your home has “just accumulated things” over time
Good to know: It’s slow, calm and compassionate — perfect for January.
The Four-Box Method — for quick decision-making
Best for: people who like structure but want faster results; those who tend to move items around without making decisions.
You use four boxes: keep, donate, discard, relocate. Anything you touch goes into one of the boxes — no exceptions.
Why it works:
Forces quick decisions
Prevents items drifting from room to room
Helps you finish spaces without getting side tracked
Good to know: Brilliant for bathrooms, kitchens, playrooms and overstuffed cupboards.
The One-In, One-Out Rule — for long-term balance
A small but powerful maintenance system. Works beautifully once you’ve done an initial edit.
Best for: maintaining organisation long-term; families with active, busy homes; people with limited storage.
Every time something new enters the home, something else leaves. Simple, effective, and research-supported as a way to maintain habits.
Why it works:
Prevents clutter creep
Makes you more intentional about future purchases
Works beautifully once you’ve already done a larger declutter
Good to know: It’s less about purging and more about long-term balance.
The 12-12-12 Challenge — for quick wins
Great if you like a bit of fun or need motivation. Clears visual clutter fast.
Best for: competitive personalities, teens, partners who need quick wins, or anyone who finds decluttering “boring”.
Choose 12 items to throw away, 12 to donate, 12 to return to their proper place. It’s fast, focused and surprisingly fun — ideal for an after-work reset or a Sunday morning power hour.
Why it works:
Turns decluttering into a simple task with a start and end
Gives an immediate sense of achievement
Works beautifully in busy family homes
The 20-Minute Method — for busy households
Set a timer and declutter one tiny area. No overwhelm. Huge sense of achievement.
Best for: people with limited time, low motivation, or overwhelm.
Set a timer for 20 minutes and declutter one small area — a drawer, a shelf, a coat rack. Research shows that timed tasks reduce cognitive load by limiting the decision window.
Why it works:
Prevents burnout
Gives small but meaningful progress
Builds habit through repetition
Good to know: This is the most sustainable method for January, when energy is naturally lower.
The Reverse Hanger Trick — for wardrobes
Your wardrobe edits itself. Simple, practical and eye-opening.
Best for: people who aren’t sure what they actually wear; wardrobes full of “I might wear this again” pieces.
Hang all clothing with hangers reversed. As you wear an item, turn the hanger back. After 2–3 months, anything still reversed can be confidently decluttered.
Why it works:
Removes emotional decision-making
Shows real usage patterns
Encourages smart, intentional capsule-style wardrobes
And remember — you can blend these. So if any have sparked your interest then go for it!
Organising with Intention (Not Aesthetics)
Pinterest-perfect pantries look lovely, but real organisation is about function and flow.
Ask yourself:
Does everything I use often have a “first home” — easy to reach?
Does everything I seldom use have a “second home” — out of the way but accessible?
Can I find what I need without thinking?
Your storage should feel like it supports your lifestyle — not like a showpiece.
Some small but mighty upgrades:
Drawer organisers (transformational for bathrooms & kitchens).
Baskets for grouping items (especially in living rooms & utility areas).
Trays to anchor items on surfaces and reduce visual noise.
A single box for sentimental pieces — edited once a year.
When your home feels ordered, you feel ordered too.
Create One “Breathing Room” Space
This is one of my favourite January rituals.
Choose one area in your home — a shelf, a bedside table, a console — and strip it back completely. Then add back only what you genuinely love.
It becomes your calm corner. A visual exhale. A reminder that space is a luxury.
Your Home, Reset
A January reset doesn’t need to be dramatic. It can be slow, gentle and deeply supportive of how you want your year to feel.
Think of it as editing your home like a beautifully curated wardrobe — intentional, personal, and full of pieces you truly enjoy.
And if you want guidance — whether it’s reorganising one room or redesigning your whole home — I’d love to help you create space for the life you’re stepping into this year.
See you in February, streamlined...
Comments