11/01/2026

ON SUNDAY January 11, 2026 theSunday Special VIII

not need twenty of them taking up space in your kitchen cabinet just so that you FDQ UHXVH WKHP -XVW NHHS ¿YH DW PRVW Remove the lids, stack them up and take the rest to the recycling bin. It is not right, but it is okay. Clear out the old junk in your pantry and storage Check your pantry for expired food items, as they pose a health hazard. The pantry should have extra space for food items to support the healthy eating habit that you are starting in January. Clear out the under-sink storage for old cleaning supplies that did not work. Try sticking to just a few that always work and do the job magnificently. The filthy rags and kitchen towels that you have been using need to go. Use the new ones you have somewhere in the drawer. What are you hoarding them for? Donate book collection Donate all the books that you have read and have zero emotional attachment to. If they are not a gift from someone special LQ \RXU OLIH RU QRW D ¿UVW HGLWLRQ WKDW FRVW a bomb, they should be donated to make way for new books. Also, make sure the books you are donating are ones you know you will not want to read again. You can exchange the books at events like KL Book Exchange or donate them to Books For A %HWWHU :RUOG DQG GURS R̆ ELQV DYDLODEOH across the Klang Valley. Analyse items untouched for years and bin them Finally, just take a good look around your home. Remove everything that has turned yellow, cracked or is covered in dust because you have not touched or used it for years. This is not to encourage you to purchase replacements for these items, but to realise that there are things we can live without and that we do not really need LQ WKH ¿UVW SODFH 6WUDQJHO\ IRU ZKDWHYHU reason, there they are, untouched and collecting dust for years. This could be a candle that was too precious, one you did QRW EXUQ IRU ¿YH \HDUV ZKLFK KDV QRZ changed colour and lost its scent. It could also be a picture frame that you dropped and cracked in 2023, but have not gotten DURXQG WR ¿[LQJ VLQFH WKHQ 7KHVH WKLQJV should all be gone in 2026 because you are no longer that person.

Fewer items can make a home feel calmer and more inviting.

Visual clutter can overload the brain and reduce focus.”

Get rid of unused clothes Do not feel bad about getting rid of clothes. There are many ways to remove them from your closet without sending them straight to landfills. It is easier to sell unwanted clothes now, provided they are in good condition. An app like Carousell is good, but you will still have to keep the clothes while you wait for a buyer. Take them to 2nd Street if your clothes are in good condition and you know for sure they have resale value. What you need to feel bad about is your clothes hoarding and shopping habits. These have got to change in 2026. Repurpose tiny pillows into bigger ones If you have too many tiny throw pillows taking over your couch, turn them into larger-sized pillows. Who needs ten little animal-shaped pillows when you can have one or two big ones that are more comfortable to hold and cuddle? You can UHPRYH WKH ¿OOLQJ DQG WUDQVIHU LW WR RWKHU Start learning about the type of plants that can survive indoors in your apartment. After years of trial and error, you should know by now the type of plants that could do well in your space. Online research is useful, but the amount of natural light in a home varies by location. It is time to donate those plants that have not grown since you brought them home during the Covid-19 pandemic. If they are dying, let someone who has a proper lawn take care of them. A dying plant in a home is really bad for feng shui. Recycle plastic containers Another item one should not feel bad about parting with is takeaway containers. Yes, they are made of plastic, but you do ÀDW DQG OXPS\ SLOORZV Remove dying plants

Declutter your way into 2026 BY HANNEF ESQUANDER

T HE new year is upon us. It is time to start fresh and leave be hind everything that has failed to serve us or can no longer do so. It is not just toxic, bad people that we have to start removing from our lives, but also things that no longer have any purpose, sitting on our shelves or in our closets, taking up space but not contributing to our daily lives or even our mental well-being. It is time to declutter. A Princeton Neuroscience Institute study shows visual clutter can overload the brain and reduce focus. Use the new year to make space for what matters. More space at home means more opportunities and positivity. We have all decluttered before. Let’s do it purposefully now. L HW¶V PDNH LW GL̆ HUHQW WKLV WLPH +HUH¶V how to do it.

Clearing space for the year ahead can make room for what truly matters.

There are things we can live without and do not really need in the first place.”