Welcome to the year 2015! As the saying goes, you may not be able to change the beginning but you can make a new ending. One of the ways you can make room for new things, hobbies, relationships, successes, is by letting go of anything that is no longer serving you.

Sounds a bit daunting, but January and February tend to be a little cash-strapped and socially quiet, so you could begin by using your spare time to declutter your living space. You will amazed how good it feels to let go of things you no longer need.

Some tasks will be bigger than others, don’t overwhelm yourself. Break it down into tasks that take 15/30/45/60 minutes and set a timer. If you have someone to help you so much the better.

Some days you will be too busy or tired to take on these tasks, other days you will feel up for an hour! It doesn’t matter either way, as long as it gets done. Some tasks will be more difficult, so mix it up by doing a difficult one, and the next time rewarding yourself by doing an easy one.

By the way if you are thinking of moving, or putting your home on the market, this is a great way to get started.

Day 1: Smartphone

Delete apps you don’t need and sort remaining apps into folders (eg: games, weather, travel).

Day 2: Brochures

Printed materials you pick up at tourist attractions or information centres, even telephone directories go out of date quickly and will almost certainly be available online anyway.

Day 3: Socks

Get rid of any lone socks, hose with holes or ones that feel uncomfortable on your feet; stockings or pantyhose with ladders/wrong size or strange colour.

Day 4: E-mail inbox

Go through all your accumulated messages and delete them, answer them, or file them in an appropriate file. Don’t have any e-mail files? Create them now.

Day 5: Make-up

Purge old, expired or clumpy cosmetics. You know which ones they are!

Day 6: Books

Look over your shelves and see if any titles stand out as ones you’ll never read again. If you can’t bear to be without them download them on to your Kindle or iPad.

Day 7: Medications/toiletries

Check for expired pills, creams, inhalants, shampoo, body lotion, sunscreen, perfume.

Day 8: Batteries

Properly dispose of any that have died.

Day 9: Pens

Test them all and get rid of ones that don’t write; sharpen broken pencils and crayons.

Day 10: Takeout menus

These too, are almost all available online.

Day 11: Food

Go through your fridge and toss out anything mouldy, expired, or — if you’re in a healthy mood — bad for you. Also your cupboards for expired dry goods and cans.

Day 12: Shoes

Round up ill-fitting shoes for donation, and throw out any pairs that are seriously damaged.

Day 13: Clothes

If organising your clothes sounds too intense for one day, declutter one shelf or one rail or sort through just your dresses or tops.

Day 14: Junk drawer

Sometimes you have to declutter the clutter and organise the junk drawer.

Day 15: Tech

Clean out any old busted headphones, mystery power cords or remote controls, manuals for appliances you no longer own and so on. Store current ones in labelled, old cardboard toilet roll centres.

Day 16: Magazines

Unless you’re saving them because they’re very special, recycle them. And if you are saving them, consider ripping out the one article you want rather than hanging onto the whole magazine. Or, scan it and store it in your computer.

Day 17: Mugs and glasses, plates and baking tins

If they’re cracked, ugly, mismatched or never used — ask yourself if you will ever use them or fix them. If not, away they go.

Day 18: Towels

Toss any old, ratty towels out of your linen closet.

Day 19: Handbags (or wallets or suitcases)

Check the insides for wrappers, old receipts, and hardened sticks of gum. If you come across any bags you’ve outgrown, donate them.

Day 20: Bills

Are you saving cable bills from ten years ago? Shred them.

Day 21: Birthday cards or other old, unused gifts

Free yourself of things you’re only keeping out of a sense of obligation.

Day 22: Toys

If your children or pets have grown bored with them, throw them out or pass them on.

Day 23: Social media

Are you following abandoned Twitter accounts that never tweet? Are you Facebook “friends” with people you don’t want to deal with? Take a few minutes to digitally detach yourself.

Day 24: Chequebook

Make sure it’s balanced and remove any ATM receipts you’ve stashed in the cover.

Day 25: Notebooks

Love scribbling notes on paper? Make sure no brilliant ideas are hiding in your collection of old notebooks. Then, plan to use one notebook until it’s used up before moving on to the next.

Day 26: Broken things

That thing that just doesn’t work and can’t be repaired? Make this the day you drag it out to the trash bin.

Day 27: Containers and lids

Any that don’t match up can go.

Day 28: Cleaning products

Check for empty bottles and products you’re not going to use.

Day 29: Loose change

Collect all the coins that are hiding in your coat pockets and junk drawer and put them all in one container. Take them to the bank machine and put them into your current account.

Day 30: Hats, scarves, gloves and swimsuits

If you didn’t wear them last year or if you’ve already worn them out, you don’t need them around.

Remember out with the old and in with the new. Every time you bring a new item into the house, an old one should go out in its place. Have fun, and I hope year 2015 is a good one for you, and brings you everything you are looking for!

Heather Chilvers is among Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty’s leading sales representatives. She has been working in real estate for over 25 years. If you have a question for Heather, please contact her at hchilvers@brcl.bm or 332 1793. All questions will be treated in confidence.