Help Others De-Clutter for Your Chinese New Year Give 

Looking for a Chinese New Year give that aligns with the holiday? De-cluttering is a great way to give back during this holiday!

If the old doesn’t go, the new won’t come.

 February 1^st  is Chinese Lunar New Year around the world. It is the Chinese culture’s biggest celebration and some of its traditions can guide us to helping others in our own new year.

Some people believe in the old Chinese proverb that says, If the old doesn’t go, the new won’t come.  That’s good advice for all of us, especially since last two years have been  so difficult. Maybe now’s a good time to let the old go and allow a brand new spirit to enter our homes.  It can be a very liberating experience for you, and a gift for someone else.

Chinese New Year’s celebrations last for 16 days and each day has its own customs. For example Day 6 of the first month is called Sweeping Away the Dust and it is considered the best day to get rid of old, unwanted things, and to anticipate a new and better year.

Cleaning Out the Old Year and Bringing in the New

The Chinese New Year clean means more than the annual carpet cleaning or the ritual of putting away the good dishes for another year.  Think of it more as removing things that don’t work for us any more – in other words, de-cluttering.

De-cluttering has become popular in the last couple of years.  It’s a time to review the overflow in your life and choose items make you feel good. After the chaos of last year, de-cluttering may be  the best gift you can give yourself.  Even de-cluttering  just one  closet, or one desk, or taking on the task of decluttering a whole basement can bring sense back into your life.

But how does de-cluttering fit into giving, or being kind to someone else every day.

Well, once you’ve given that gift to yourself, you can give it to someone else.  Does an older person in your life need help to de-clutter. Maybe they don’t have the strength, or maybe it’s really difficult to let go of some of the things that represent their whole life.  Even if they can’t bear to lose precious possessions, you can help organize them into boxes with labels so they’re easy to find.

Or how about starting a conversation on social media about the joys of living more simply.  Decluttering is not just making room for something else, it’s the sense of eliminating disorder.  Tell others about the freedom you feel.

De-Clutter For Yourself Or For Someone Else – Giving Ideas

1. If it’s a closet you need to de-clutter, take a picture of it at its worst. After a purge of clothes you haven’t worn in ages, take another and post them both on social media to encourage others to do the same.
2. If it’s a big job, like a basement, make a list of how you want to tackle it before you start.
3. If you’re finding it really hard to begin, just do 10 minutes at a time.
4. If letting go of everything all at once is a problem, choose one item to give away each day. Or start with filling one bag with give-aways.
5. If your excuse is This is too good to give away, just think of people who will wear the clothes you donate — a single mother who needs office clothes for an interview; a homeless man who will wear your winter coat on the cold streets; the child who needs proper clothes to go to school. It will help to give them up knowing they’ll be used by another generation of wearers.
6. If you want to declutter your entire home, start by going outside and coming in again as though you were a complete stranger, viewing the home like a potential buyer. Write down what strikes you as too much, out of place, or cluttered.

The website “Becoming Minimalist” lists 101 things to look at in your home if you’re de-cluttering.

Would you like to know more about making giving every day part of your life?  Check out more giving ideas on our 365give blog.  You can use these ideas for your giving or get involved with 365give. Your choice.