Living in a condo unit can be a top of the mountain experience. As you give yourself a pat on the back for a wise investment and for choosing the right condominium, you start filling your unit with all the stuff that you need. But chances are, all these things won’t fit inside your condo. Believe it or not, you don’t need much. You’ll be surprised that there are condo home items you can live without, and you can even replace them with more important essentials to take part in your daily condo living.
The first step in decluttering your condo is to pinpoint which ones need to go and which ones need to stay. This will help you have a peaceful and organized personal space that you will look forward to every time you come home from a busy and tiring day. Also, having additional space can help you in choosing the right condo appliances since you have extra space after throwing out the condo items you can get rid of. Thinking of which ones that you need to discard? We’ll give you a rundown of 11 things you can’t live without (but you can) for your next condo project eviction.
1. Magazines Here, There and Everywhere
Admit it, we love to keep magazines that talk about our preferences. From celebrity-oriented ones to practical home tips, we keep them either in our living room or in our bedroom, only to find out that they keep on piling up because of the monthly subscription. Chances are, you won’t be able to read them again. A helpful tip is to just scan a digital image of an article or photo that struck you and keep it on your computer’s hard drive and throw the rest away. You can even donate it to a school for their classroom project or to a doctor’s office.
2. Roll Out the CDs and DVDs
Gone are the days when you need to buy every CD or DVD in order to be updated with the latest music or movie trend. Every sound track or film can now be found online. Start making space for your shelves by giving out these CDs and DVDs to your friends or family, or give it out to recycling centers in order to have a breathing space in your condo and afterwards, you can tick this off from the list of things you can eliminate in your home.
3. Play Hard Without Storing the Equipment
We like sports. And at times, we keep a range of sporting equipment too long that it becomes just a fixture in our cabinets and we never get to fully use it which makes it part of the list of unnecessary things you can live without. Most of these sporting goods can be rented nowadays, with units and models that are better than those you’ve kept for years. You can earn extra by selling it and saving money for a future game that you want to catch.
4. Go Paper-less Without the Bills, Receipts, and other Documents
Part of the first-time condo owner tips is to keep receipts to keep track of your expenses, as well as bills to double check if everything was paid on time. But ask yourself, do you need to keep them around for a longer period of time? Throw away those receipts, especially if you are not planning on returning the item that you bought in a local store. Keep those documents that are highly important, and you can easily discard xerox copies to minimize clutter in your document storage. If you still feel the need to keep them, you can always go digital by scanning them and saving them into your computer.
5. Go Green by Discarding Paper Towels
Did you know that globally, discarded paper towels produce 254 million tons of trash every year? Studies show that as many as 51,000 trees per day are needed to replace the paper towels that we use and discard everyday. The solution for this? Make use of cloth towels instead. You can assign a color for each family member so they will be more interested in using these during meal times. Plus, you don’t need to throw them away every time; just wash, rinse, and you’re good to go. These can also be one of your alternative items for cleaning your condo.
6. Choose Books Wisely
Lindsay Shauer of Huffington post shares that there are three types of books that you keep around longer that it takes you to finish it. It has either a sentimental value (because of the history of the book), it has value to you since there is an autograph by the author, and books that you like to read again and again alongside those that you plan to read soon. Be realistic when asking yourself if you’re gonna read a certain book or not. If not, sell it or donate it to a library, perhaps.
7. Prioritize Kitchen Utensils for Everyday Use
When it comes to your kitchen, you don’t need to have an entire set that will make people think that you’re cooking for hundreds of people each day. One of the tips on how to live frugal is by having one medium-sized knife that is of good quality. You’ll never need to have a second one since it’ll last longer and it can cut everything that you need for cooking. Remove duplicate utensils and old ones, whenever your purchase for new utensils to update your kitchen.
8. Be Minimal with Vases
Vases are good if we plan to put fresh flowers or plants in our condo. But you don’t need to crowd your living room with too much vases as part of your excuses for your condo redecoration. Aside from increasing the risk of broken vases if children accidentally bumps into it, Marla Cilley of flylady.net shares that vases “take away creativity and takes over your mind”. Having one or two vases is alright, but if you have other vases that are not in use, it’s time for it to head over to the boxes for the garage sale.
9. Update Yourself with the Latest Electronics
As technology constantly updates itself with the latest gadgets, so should you. Keep up with the trends. At times, we keep old gadgets or electronics, such as an electric piano or old laptop for our keepsake. But with a limited space, it won’t work anymore. Properly recycle these old electronics by consulting a tech expert so you won’t make the mistake of disposing them in the wrong way which can cause dangers. Make extra money by selling it online since there are people who are looking for these gadgets, no matter how old it may be.
10. Toys are Meant to be Shared
Your kids are sure to enjoy the different toys that you’ve given them. But as they grow up, it won’t be of use to them anymore. Teach your kids to donate these to charitable organizations so other kids will benefit from it. This will also help you free up some space in your cabinet. If you still have small kids with you, check the toys that are frequently used by your children, and donate those that they do not use at all.
11. Live Naturally while Cleaning
If you think you need those expensive cleaning products to have a spic and span condo unit, you can achieve the same effect through natural condo cleaning alternatives for a greener condo living while saving money at the same time. Make use of lemon drops as your dishwashing liquid that enhances degreasing on dishes, or maybe try a mixture of baking soda or vinegar to scrub floors.
Letting go of stuff might be difficult for you but keep in mind that this is an essential step to have an organized, and worry-free condo living with DMCI Homes. As you replace and remove these unnecessary things in your condo for your next condo project eviction, be assured that it will help you to have more space, and achieve a more peaceful living abode.