Decluttering as a form of care

(A January home and work space reset)

- Katherine L. Magsanoc

January always asks us to begin again.

Not loudly. Not dramatically. But deliberately.

After weeks of celebrations, guests, gift-wrapping, and disrupted routines, our homes—much like our bodies—carry the residue of the holidays.

And nowhere is this more visible than in our workspaces: desks layered with unopened mail, chargers tangled like vines, notebooks half-used, coffee cups turned into pen holders.

A home and work space reset is not about perfection. It’s about restoring clarity.

Decluttering in January works differently from the dramatic purges we see online. It is slower, more intuitive. You notice what feels heavy. What feels unnecessary. What feels like it belongs to last year.

This might mean clearing a desk that has become a dumping ground for everything you didn’t have time to deal with in December. Reclaiming your work chair from its role as a clothes rack. Letting go of decor that once felt festive but now feels distracting.