Decluttering
Decluttering is the most stressful and sometimes painful part of minimalism. Parting with sentimentals, gifts, and things that were once loved and used to receive attention, can get emotional, or maybe it's not useful but it was a present from mom. But these lists with steps and helpful hints will hopefully make your transition easier.
Because decluttering can be a lengthy project, it’s advised to start with the room, drawer, or space that is the most cluttered (for me, this was my closet). Doing this will make the rest seem like a breeze, and you will quickly find yourself feeling free from the items that once held you back. Make three separate piles/bags dedicated to trash, donations, and selling.
Closet
The closet was most difficult to me because I was spending near to or over $100 on clothes each month, and I’m not talking one expensive article, I’m talking five cheap items. Needless to say, my walk in closet was filled front to back with clothes that were worn maybe once, some even had tags on them still!
Some people will say fashion is the best way to express oneself. This is true, but a true fashionista can make outfits that stand out amongst the rest using simple, neutral items.
The best question to ask yourself when sorting through clothes is this: Consider if you were to move abroad for three months, what would you pack? What would you leave? The articles left behind might benefit someone else better. If that doesn’t work, throw it into its desired pile if...
-
It doesn’t fit, is damaged, or hasn’t seen the light of day in a year.
-
It can’t be paired easily with other articles.
-
It won’t make it into the suitcase for any vacation.
-
You wouldn’t buy it at the store right now.
-
It’s brand named.
-
Some things you probably have too many of in the closet are T-shirts, shoes, underwear and socks.
Bedroom
The bedroom is a place for sleeping. As a teenager, you could probably list at least ten more reasons to be in a bedroom, but I can guarantee there’s a rather large collection of dusty trophies or nicknacks that you don’t care enough about to dust. Consider how much time will be spent in here and for what reasons. These three simple hints could result in less dusting and organizing, and can be applied to other lounging rooms:
-
Choose 3-4 pieces of furniture (bed, dresser, bean bag chair, desk, etc.), any extra pieces will find a nice spot in someone else’s home unless it can be used somewhere else in yours.
-
Get rid of anything that has to do with hobbies you’ve lost interest in; if you don’t love the hobby, I doubt you’ll miss the associated item.
-
Some things you probably have too many of in the bedroom are unimportant decorations, books, sheets, pillows and office supplies.
Bathroom
A small, but easily cluttered room is the bathroom. Drawers and cabinets are usually filled old shampoo bottles and travel sized toothpaste from the dentist. Thinking “Oh, I might need that one day,” is the wrong mindset. If it can be replaced and hasn’t been used, throw it away. Consider the date of when you bought it and how often you have used it in the past. Throw away...
-
Toiletries older than a year.
-
Make up older than…
-
Some things you probably have too much of in the bathroom are towels, toiletries and make up.
Kitchen
The kitchen is generally one of the harder spaces to declutter because this is the only acceptable moment when one can question its future usage. But with that being said, there’s multiple ways to do something so if you have a manual fruit juicer and a machine that juices fruits, someone might not have either and could use one of those. Consider how many of the same items you have…
-
Give away duplicates (pots and pans, cups, silverware, wine openers, etc.).
-
Give away seldom used items (popcorn machine and fondue machine).
-
Select seven mugs and one set of drinking glasses and give away the rest.
-
Throw expired and unused packages.
-
Have everything in the fridge visible to avoid duplicates and to promote usage.
-
Some things you probably have too many of in the kitchen are drinking glasses, silverware, special occasion dishes and pots and pans.
Sentimentals
Gifts and memorable items are considerably the hardest part of transitioning mentally. That object that just sits on a shelf or hangs in the closet, because there might be a memorable moment tied to it or that special someone gave it to you, can be hard to part with but it comes down to two options: repurpose the item or take a picture of it and let it go. If it was a gift that you don’t care about, the person who gave it to you probably doesn’t remember or will never question where it is. If it’s something like jewelry that you never wear but it was your grandmother's, frame it and hang it up. Sentimentals give you the chance as a minimalist to be creative, which can be a refreshing break from cleaning for a few days.
Making Time
Once you’ve officially decluttered the physical aspects of your life, the next step is to make time for the things that matter. The average person spends eight hours on their phone and eleven hours on digital media. If you’re the type of person that goes to bed at two in the morning and doesn’t wake up until two in the afternoon that only leaves twelve hours for living. But twelve minus eight only leaves four hours. Where did the time go? Consider what you spend the most time on…
-
Phone: Delete apps that can be accessed on a computer and turn off notifications
-
Computer or Video Games: Limit yourself to a certain amount of time at the end of the day to use the computer or turn off wifi in your home so you’re forced to leave your home to use it
-
TV: Limit yourself to one if not no TVs in your house. Majority of the things you watch on TV can be found on the internet anyway. Limit your time spent on it, or only use it for movies. Don’t get caught up in the addictive TV series that everyone obsesses about.