5 Decluttering Wins to Kickstart Your Simpler Life

By
Are you ready to begin decluttering?  Maybe you're new to the idea of living with less.  Or maybe you've tried before and got busy or bogged down.


You've probably heard the old joke, "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!"  Here are some "little bites" to help you get started on this immense task.  Any one of these ideas will not solve every clutter problem.  But tackle them all, one at a time, and you'll see a lot of progress.


Just remember that your home didn't become cluttered in a day.  It's okay (and perfectly normal) if it doesn't become uncluttered with a day's-worth of effort.


Thinking about spring cleaning?
Subscribe to receive my free printable
 


blooming walk - photo by Maud Bocquillod on Unsplash



How to ease into decluttering


1.  Start with five minutes.

Will you get an entire room cleared out in five minutes?  No.  But take five minutes here and there, over and over, and you'll be surprised what you can accomplish.


Think you don't have even five minutes?  Five minutes is a commercial break.  It's the time your tea or coffee takes to brew.  You'll have at least five minutes while your dinner simmers or your kid takes a bath.  Come on... you know you can find five minutes.


Start with one junk drawer, your medicine cabinet, or one shelf in the pantry.  Move on to the top of your nightstand, your underwear drawer, or one drawer in your desk.  Find dozens of other ideas here.


2.  Fill one bag.

This is another simple way to start.  Grab a grocery bag, and walk through your house picking up things you don't use, don't like, or even forgot you had.  Open your clothes closet, check out your bookshelves, or look in your hobby/craft room.  Help your kids scope out their play area.  Simply fill one bag and donate the items next time you're out (or – if it's more appropriate – trash them today).


Tomorrow, or next week, do it again.


3.  Pick a room.

Instead of thinking about the clutter in your entire house, pick one room or area to start with.  For example, Marie Kondo suggests you start with your wardrobe, and that might be a good idea.  It can be fairly easy to declutter things that don't fit or look good on you, or that remind you of sad or uncomfortable situations.  Try choosing a neutral base color (your favorite black, brown, gray, navy, tan, denim, or ivory/white) and two or three accent colors that coordinate with your base and with each other.  What would happen if you boxed up everything that doesn't match?


You could also begin in the kitchen, where almost all of us have duplicate dishes, glassware, utensils, and gadgets.  There are those unused serving pieces and small appliances shoved in the back of a cupboard or up high on an inaccessible shelf.  There are dusty cookbooks and dozens of mugs.


Another possible starting place is the bathroom, which has the benefit of being a fairly small space.  You undoubtedly have products you tried and didn't like, excess makeup, expired medications, and towels that should be downgraded to pet or car washing duty so you can finally use the ones you've been keeping for "good."


Or what about beginning in your bedroom?  It's the first view you have in the morning and the last place you see at night.  Making it calm and comfortable would benefit you every day.


If you want to start smaller, consider:

  • unused art or office supplies.  Your child's school or the local senior center may accept donations.
  • extraneous coats and blankets.  Check with your local homeless shelter or The Salvation Army about donations.
  • your jewelry.  I decluttered about half of mine and donated it to a local charity shop.
  • unused sports equipment.  Your school, local sports leagues, or community centers might be happy to take these items, or you could sell or give them away on Facebook Marketplace.
  • your books.  You probably own some beach reads or book club selections you'll never read again, some titles by your favorite prolific author that aren't his best, or some classics you've been meaning to read since college a decade or more ago.  See if you can remove and donate at least 10% of your tomes.  What's left will be a better representation of who you are today.


4.  Ignore the hard stuff (for now).

Decluttering is a skill you can learn, but it does take practice.  Do not start with the hard stuff!  Don't let yourself struggle with guilt or take a long detour down memory lane.  When you begin decluttering, you need easy wins and instant gratification.  Give yourself time to build decluttering momentum while you ignore:

  • sentimental items like heirlooms, collections, children's art and schoolwork, wedding and baby clothes, etc.
  • old papers, including journals, letters, greeting cards, photos, etc.
  • expensive items you regret buying and don't use that will add guilt and feelings of failure to your decluttering.
  • your family's stuff (without their knowledge and consent) – no matter how much it bugs you.

When you're ready for these challenges, read this article first.


5.  Give yourself a break.

Decluttering is hard work, so take some steps to make it a bit easier.

  • Ask a friend for help if it's really bad or you need an unbiased opinion.  (You can return the favor!)
  • Declutter while they sleep if you have young children, or promise older kids one new item for every five old toys they find to donate.
  • Skip a cleaning chore or two to make time for decluttering.
  • Cut corners on dinner prep after decluttering.  Choose one day a week to declutter, and order pizza or put together a simple charcuterie board* (deli meats, cheeses, bread/crackers, fresh/dried fruit, raw veggies, nuts, olives/pickles, dips, etc.) for dinner.
  • Keep one "on hold" box.  This is where you put things you just can't decide about right now.  Anything can go there, but you can only keep one box.  When it's full, you need to deal with it before you move on.

  • Reward yourself.  You set a goal, and you accomplished it.  Reward yourself with a quiet walk, some favorite music, TV time, a square of chocolate, a soak in the bath, a manicure, a nap, or something else that makes you happy.  (Not shopping!)

* This blog is supported by readers, not ads.  If you buy through my links, I may earn a small commission.


Thinking about spring cleaning?
Subscribe to receive my free printable
 





THE 4-HOUR DECLUTTER book
Coming next week and available now for pre-order:  The 4-Hour Declutter (part of my Minimalist Basics series).  


Decluttering a packed and messy house is like running a marathon – not quick, but steady, ongoing, determined.  But what if I told you that you could cheat a little and speed up the process?  Instead of the perfectly decluttered space featured on a social media post, would you be happy with something a little less pristine that could be achieved in a few hours?


The 4-Hour Declutter can give you a jumpstart on a more spacious and comfortable home.  But as you live with and extend the changes, you'll gain even more benefits:

  • less stress
  • faster tidying
  • better habits
  • greater appreciation
  • increased clarity and decisiveness
  • feelings of empowerment, serenity, and confidence

Go beyond tidying up with the indispensable tools in The 4-Hour Declutter.  You don't need to be perfect, you just need to show up.  Take the first step and pre-order the e-book edition at a reduced price today!  It will be wirelessly delivered to your device on March 30, which is when the paperback and hardcover editions will be available to buy (sorry I can't offer them for pre-order).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

52 Minimalist Hobbies to Benefit and Enrich Your Life

By
Image
Everyone benefits from a hobby or two.  Hobbies reduce stress by letting you spend time on something you enjoy provide scope for creativity and imagination make you more knowledgeable and interesting help you develop patience and skills improve your sense of accomplishment and self-esteem promote mindfulness and concentration can create a social life and let you bond with others who share your interests can allow you to stay active and physically healthy I've known people with entire rooms dedicated to their hobby – studios for painting and pottery, sewing rooms, woodworking sheds, and basements filled with wine-making apparatus or a model train setup. But even if you live in a small space, like my husband and I do, or you want to pursue hobbies that require less equipment and expense, you're in luck.  Many hobbies take a lot of space and tools, but many do not, and you can probably find one of those that you'll enjoy. There are some tricks to making a hobby work in a small...
Read more

How to Live Like You're Rich (Part 3)... Even If You Don't Have the Budget for It

By
Image
Being rich isn't just about having a large bank balance, rental real estate, or substantial investments.  An important part of being rich is your mindset.  An "abundance mindset" sees opportunities – for relationships, personal growth, and financial security.  In contrast, a "scarcity mindset" sees problems and limitations – which can lead to fear, envy, hoarding, and stagnation. (By the way, if you missed them, find Part 1 here , and Part 2 here .) 30 ways to live a luxe life as a minimalist (Part 3) 21.  Use your nice things. Why are you saving that expensive candle someone gave you for your last birthday?  What are you saving it for?  Light it this evening and enjoy it.  Do the same with the expensive body lotion stored in your cupboard, the real jewelry in the pretty box that just sits on your dresser, and your "company" dishes and glassware. It's true you might not be able to afford to replace the candle or the lotion once they're gone.  B...
Read more

18 Places to Use the 80/20 Rule to Help with Decluttering

By
Image
Back in 1906, an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto noticed that just 20% of the population of Italy owned 80% of the land. That makes sense.  Few people are rich, and they're the ones who own most of the stuff.  So Romanian-American management consultant Joseph Juran developed the concept further, by observing that 80% of results come from 20% of causes .  For example, in 1988 the New York Times reported that about 80% of video rental revenues came from just 20% of the stock.  Microsoft has noted that 80% of crashes can be prevented by fixing 20% of the most-reported errors.  Studies show that approximately 80% of healthcare expenses accrue to 20% of patients. Juran called the 20% the "vital few," and that's why this principle can help with decluttering.  If we can identify our "vital few," we can remove all or most of the rest. You don't think this seems possible?  Hmmm.... I almost always wear the same coat, though I own two others. I have a p...
Read more

Try My Bite-Sized Approach to Decluttering

By
Image
The world of decluttering advice is getting a bit cluttered, with so many methods, so many blogs, and new articles almost every day on TikTok, Apartment Therapy, Real Simple, and even Martha Stewart.  It makes something that should be fairly straightforward much harder, because you start to wonder which decluttering method is really best. (By the way, with all of the simplicity and minimalist blogs out there, I truly appreciate the fact that you're reading mine!  Thank you.) Let's make this super-simple.  Here's my idea for a simplified version of the viral 30-Day Minimalism Game by The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. The original game gets harder and harder. Many people have benefitted from playing the original "Mins Game."  Basically, you find a friend or family member who also wants to declutter, and set a date to begin.  Each person gets rid of one thing on the first day of the game, two things on the second day, three things on the ...
Read more

Low-Cost Hands-on Hobbies that Help You Lose Weight

By
Image
Guess what?  "Grandma hobbies" are growing in popularity, and they might even help you lose weight! These cozy hobbies include things like knitting, crochet , embroidery, baking, and gardening.  You could also add "Grandpa hobbies" such as jigsaw puzzles, whittling , and leatherwork. (I'm not trying to be sexist, but I know plenty of men wouldn't try embroidery, and a lot of women wouldn't consider whittling.  Whatever.) Even if you don't become a master of any hobby, scientists say there are a lot of benefits gained by pursuing them.  "When people immerse themselves in a hobby, they often find an escape from daily pressures, creating a space where they can unwind and recharge," says Patricia S. Dixon, a licensed clinical psychologist from Florida. Of course, many hands-on hobbies allow you to create useful and beautiful items for yourself, for your home, or for gifts.  That's why many of us craft jewelry or make candles.  With the simp...
Read more