I don’t know about you, but I’ve come to the realization that I have a lot of stuff. Probably too much stuff. I’ve tried my best within the past 2 years to really go through all of my things and get rid of what I don’t find useful and are just taking up space, but still, there’s a lot of stuff. I wouldn’t call myself a hoarder by any means, but I’ve gotten to the point where I want to go through my things and get rid of anything and everything that isn’t serving me. I feel like it clears my mind and just makes me feel lighter. Since it’s almost spring time, and spring time comes spring cleaning, I thought I’d share with you some of my decluttering tips if you’re wanting to declutter things from your life!
Start Off Small
As much as you want to completely go through an entire room in one day of decluttering, you’ll probably regret it an hour later when there are piles and piles and piles that need to be sorted. You’ll be asking yourself what you got yourself into! My tip is to start off small, and then work your way around. Start with that drawer of stuff that has always bothered you and you’ve been meaning to get around to cleaning out. It would take 30 minutes tops, then you’ve started a momentum. I’ve found that breaking up the tasks makes it much easier, and you aren’t in over your head. If you’re like me and love a good list, you can write down all the places you are looking to declutter and break those places into specific areas, like a dresser. When I was decluttering my room, I started with my dresser, then when I was done with my dresser I went to my shelves, then when I was done with that I went to my desk and so on!
Be Honest With Yourself
When you are going through your things, whether that’s clothes or books or whatever you are wanting to declutter, you have to be brutally honest with yourself. What does this item do to service you? I totally get keeping sentimental items, but you have to be honest with yourself on whether or not you can live without this item. I always ask myself whether I would actually use this item or not, and in a dream world my answer would be yes, but in actuality I know that the real answer is no, I would never make time to use that item. Same with clothes! I love the Marie Condo method of just putting all your clothes on your bed and going through it piece by piece. I also like trying them on and if there is a stain or if a piece is falling apart, then goodbye! In a perfect world you may be waiting to wear that certain article of clothing, but has that occasion occurred yet? Will it ever? You have to be brutally honest if you really want to declutter.
Keep As Much As You Can Actually Hold
Another thing I like to do in order to declutter and get rid of things is to keep as much as a drawer, shelf, or closet can hold. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had drawers filled to the brim with clothes, and it was always hard to open and shut. My tip is to keep as much as that dresser can hold. I’m not entirely sure where this idea came from, but I’ve found it to be helpful and useful in my decluttering journey. Don’t try to rearrange and put the overflow somewhere else. You have to get rid of things for it to actually fit. I did this with my activewear drawer in particular and it was very helpful! I realized you don’t really need 30 options of what to wear to workout when you only wear the same 5-10. I’m definitely not saying I got rid of over 20 activewear tops or anything, but I did decrease the total amount that I had to where it all fit!
Buy Something New, Get Rid Of Something Old
This coincides with the previous tip in order to maintain your space and not let the clutter pile up again! One of my goals a couple of years ago was that when I bought a new article of clothing, I would have to go in my closet and get rid of an older piece. This really reframed the way that I shopped because I knew that if I bought something, I had to find something to get rid of. It would give an excuse to get rid of that one piece of clothing that you say you’ll wear, but never do. I feel like I’ve slacked on this tip for the past year, but I need to get back on it again because it helps me not have too many clothes that I only wear once.
Think About Who Could Get More Use Out Of It
My last and final tip I leave with you today is the one that has helped me out the most when going through things to get rid of. I think of the person who could get more use out of this item in question than I ever could. Instead of thinking how I could potentially use this item, there is someone who could actually use this item. For me, it makes letting go of the item so much easier because you aren’t thinking about what you are losing, you are thinking about what someone else is gaining.
And those are the 5 decluttering tips I have! I would never call myself a minimalist by any means, but I am trying my best to evaluate the things that are in my life material wise. It’s a freeing experience not having all of this stuff weighing you down anymore. It’s an addicting feeling and I went from not liking getting rid of things to actually enjoying it! Sure there are things that I can still get rid of right now, but it’s a process and it’s not going to happen all at once. I hope these tips are helpful if you’ve been wanting to declutter some material things from your life. Hope you guys have a great one wherever you are!