Whether it's spring or autumn that draws near for you at this time of year, cleaning out and reorganizing your life before returning to school, university or work can increase motivation and enthusiasm, even spare time.

In decluttering discourse, ridding yourself of unnecessary things is said to have enormous benefits by reducing decision fatigue, saving money, freeing up time, increasing one's internal locus of control and preventing stress. Extreme courses of action, such as the KonMari method or choosing a uniform for life isn't for everyone, but a simple season clear out of stuff may be all that's required for a dose of clarity and invigoration before the next phase of the year begins.

a simple season clear out of stuff... for a dose of clarity and invigoration

Before the new season sets in, consider raiding your home for seasonal or soon-to-be unused items, such as:

• clothing and shoes
• notebooks, books and textbooks
• digital files on mobile devices, computers, thumb drives and storage cards
• contents of wallets and bags, for example receipts, old coffee cards and business cards
• work, study or workspace tools, such as pens, calendars or sticky notes
• holiday treats lingering in the pantry or fridge
• magazines and street press

After you've sorted through your room or home, sort or store items by destination, which is not always the dump; you could instead:

• donate to local charities
• give to friends or family
• sell to vintage stores or on eBay or online classifieds
• keep things you love and will definitely use or refer to again in storage or the depths of your wardrobe or bookshelves
• if something is not in its best state, take a load to a recycling facility
• delete unnecessary files from digital devices
• consolidate notes, contacts and other random information into a single book or application

Benefits will be immediate, but retaining them will require a resistance to purchasing new stuff to fill the newfound space.