I’m often asked how to begin to declutter and embrace a minimalist lifestyle. Here are a few easy things to start with. Don’t try to do it all at once or you’ll feel overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time. Ask yourself these three questions: Do I use this? Do I need this? Do I love this? If you don’t answer “Yes” to all three, it’s time to part ways and share the joy with someone else who will have a greater appreciation for it. Try to avoid filling the landfill with your unwanted items. If it’s in reasonably usable condition either sell, consign, or donate.
These are some areas/items to start with:
Clean out your frig and food pantry. Get rid of of all expired, stale, or unwanted items.
Clothing/shoes/accessories you don’t wear and won’t wear in the foreseeable future. This is way easier than you might think. It may take a few passes to get down to the essentials, but start anyway. You can circle back later for another go at it. Start with your closet and then go on to your dresser/chest, a drawer at a time. Donate the jeans that won’t zip, toss the single socks, relegate the outdated fashion to a vintage shop, and give your spare coats and hats to a shelter.
“Junk” drawer(s). Most people have one and some people have multiples. These are catch-all drawers where we basically hide miscellaneous things from ourselves. We fill them with spare parts, pencils, pens, glue sticks, electronics cords, buttons, nails, hooks, small hand tools, and various other items “for safe keeping.” But invariably, later we can’t even identify the item’s use.
Cleaning and personal-care products…lotions, potions, make-up, soaps, and household supplies. We often try different household and personal care items that get added to the stockpile and end up in the back of of cupboard. Years later, they’re still occupying space in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. Keep only what you use and toss the rest. You may be able to donate a lot of these items to shelters and community outreach centers.
Solo items. Cassette tapes without a cassette player, mystery electronics cables and parts, electronics packing boxes, single socks, storage containers with missing lids…or lids without the container.
Extra dinnerware, cookware, small appliances, flatware, utensils, vases, and storage pieces. Keep only what you use and give away or sell the rest.
Other people’s stuff. If your home has become an indefinite storage space for your family and friends’ items, politely give them notice to retrieve their things. If they no longer want them, ask them to remove it or offer to help them get rid of it.
Kid zone. Make a game of clearing out the excess and eliminating the unused, overused, outgrown, or otherwise unwanted. Teach your kids the value of sharing their excess with other children.
Books. This is a touchy one for most of us. We love our books, right? I’ve learned over the years to limit book storage and to regularly edit my bookshelves. The first time I thinned my collection, I was confronted with old textbooks that I never used and were likely outdated. I eliminated an entire shelf of books! When I buy a new book I generally re-evaluate my bookshelves and invariably remove at least a couple. I donate books to local libraries or thrift shops, or pass them on to friends. Some people sell them online or at yard sales.
Guilt items. Is your home filling up with useless things someone gave you or that your kids made? Take photos of the kids’ art and create digital or print albums. If you are hanging onto Aunt Sally’s teapot because you feel guilty about giving it away but it’s not something you like or use, give yourself a break. Someone else will use it and love it. And isn’t that what things are for…to be used? They’re just things…not people. Just because someone gave it to you doesn’t mean you have to keep it. If it’s something that evokes painful memories, don’t keep it around you. You don’t need that kind of energy bringing you down.
Keepsakes. We all have things we hang onto for their memories. Try to keep these collections to a reasonable level. As we get older, we tend to realize that the things we value for their memories will have no value to anyone else. We stuff them into trunks, boxes, and backs of closets, where they never see the light of day. Ask yourself, “When I’m gone, would this be of value to anyone but me?” If not, perhaps it’s time to edit your collection.
Sewing and other hobbies. We are all guilty of collecting more than we use. And we hang onto it, “just in case” we ever need it again. Make a point of regularly editing your hobby supplies. If you haven’t used it in a year, you’re not likely to use it in the future. Dried up paint, glue, pens, and other supplies should be discarded regularly. Allocate a finite amount of storage to these items and don’t let it exceed that limit.
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