D E C L U T T E R I N G
Often we hang on to things because it feels like a waste of money if we should ever have to buy them again. But have you thought about what all you do for these same things? You need to think about storage, give up the actual storage space, or take up precious empty space. You will spend precious time organizing it and then remembering where you put if and when you need it, and then putting it away, organizing it again, and it just goes on and on for something you aren’t even actually using!
I found some interesting tips on decluttering which I have personally used:
- Get yourself a big box with a lid. Let’s start simple….Sometimes when we go through our belongings, we know exactly what to keep (the stuff you love and use) and what to discard or donate. But then there’s the stuff we don’t use, but think we might want it or need it someday. You can’t seem to let go of that stuff! So put all of this in the big box and store the box somewhere out of your sight. 6-8 months later, check the box and see if it’s anything you really needed. Think about it, if you didn’t touch it for that long a duration, you probably never needed it anyway!
- Give one item away each day.This would remove 365 items every single year from your home. If you increased this to 2 per day, you would have given away 730 items you no longer needed. Increase this number once it gets too easy. I find this one easy to do rather than deciding on clearing out an entire cupboard and losing interest half way!
- Schedule a decluttering weekend. Maybe you don’t feel like doing a huge decluttering session right now. But if you take the time to schedule it for later this month, you can clear your schedule, and if you have a family, get them involved too. The more hands pitching in, the better. Get boxes and trash bags ready, and plan a trip to a charity to drop off donated items. You might not get the entire house decluttered during the weekend, but you’ll probably make great progress.
- Clear out your medicine cabinet. If you don’t have one spot for medicines, create one now. Go through everything for the outdated medicines, the stuff you’ll never use again, the dirty-looking bandages, the creams that you’ve found you’re allergic to, the ointments that never had an effect on your energy or your eye wrinkles. Simplify to the essential.
- Keep a box in your wardrobe. This super simple trick is disproportionately powerful. The idea is that every time you put something on and don’t feel good in it, you toss it in the box. It’s an in-the-moment, painless way to declutter your wardrobe. Tried this one, def a good one or I keep on pushing the clothes I don’t like that day in a pile at the back
- Practice one-in-one-out.Promise yourself that with each new thing that comes into your house to stay, you’ll get rid of one other thing. It helps keeps your storage-math straight: You shouldn’t accumulate one single “extra” thing if you truly stick to this rule. Having a designated “outbox” for the items you’ll donate or give away (as opposed to just toss), helps you keep the habit.
Have a tip about decluttering you personally use? Share something in the comments below.
References
https://www.becomingminimalist.com/creative-ways-to-declutter/
https://zenhabits.net/18-five-minute-decluttering-tips-to-start-conquering-your-mess/
