Minimalism: What to Get Rid Of
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It’s finally January and bringing home all of the new stuff we’ve acquired has got me itching to declutter my home once again and strive to get closer to a minimalism lifestyle. For me, it is an ongoing process. Since ruthlessly decluttering my home nearly two years ago, I’ve been much more intentional about what I bring into our home, but things still accumulate. My decor style changes, and I have to continually evaluate my stuff to decide if it stays or goes. So here is my best advice for minimalism: what to get rid of.
FIRST, SOME TIPS:
START WITH SOMETHING ATTAINABLE.
A good place to start is with something small that packs a lot of punch. For example, you probably won’t have much trouble throwing away tons of stuff from your bathroom cabinets or donating misfit clothes from your closet. Start with something easy so you get excited about clearing things out and build momentum for the rest of your home. Also, maintaining a minimalistic bathroom isn’t as difficult as maintaining your whole home. How much stuff can you really fit in there anyway?
TAKE YOUR TIME, BUT BE CONSISTENT.
There is no way to properly declutter your home in a day. But I also think it’s easier if you keep consistently decluttering something. Maybe you pick a drawer a day, or a room a week. It needs to be a thorough enough process that you learn from it and make it a habit, but you also need to get through it at some point. Then you keep going back.
True minimalism is not a one and done experiment. It’s a constant cycle of evaluating what you have and what you need and prioritizing your wants.
So find a pace that works best for you, but try to commit!
LET GO OF YOUR “WHAT IFS.”
What if I need this charger someday? Maybe I’ll still use these craft supplies. What if we have a huge family meal and I need 7 cupcake pans and 4 casserole dishes? A big part of minimalism is thinking about your daily life and what you actually need to live comfortably, and about what is just taking up space.
If you have a basket of cords you haven’t looked at in 3 years, recycle them all! If you realize in the future you need one and don’t have it anymore, order another one. (And label it this time and keep it in a designated spot where it gets used.) But most likely you’ll never miss those cords.
Unless you run some sort of catering business, you likely don’t need all the cookware you have in your kitchen. If you run into a situation once a year where you need extra dishes, I’m sure your friends and family will be happy to let you borrow theirs. So there’s no need to store these items for such infrequent use.
If you can apply this thinking to all your stuff, you’re on the right track!
DISPOSE FIRST, ORGANIZE LAST.
At some point in this decluttering process, it might get worse before it gets better. First, go through every single thing and decide if you need it and/or if you want it. If there are things you need stored in a box or a basket but you don’t like that box or basket, go ahead and get rid of it and look for a better solution after you’ve gone through everything in that particular space.
If you haven’t already read the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, it’s a great one to get you started!
MINIMALISM: WHAT TO GET RID OF.
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A lot of great tips. I started decluttering and getting rid of stuff when I turned 50. That's how I got into selling on Ebay. Now I have people giving me stuff to sell they don't want or need. I shopped thrift stores and garage sales for things I needed or could flip. Now I go to thrift stores and garage sales looking not for clutter but things I can sell. One tip to add would be someone else in the world may want what you have. Sell it on Ebay or any other selling website. A few bucks earned may be the initiative needed.
I’m learning the same, but realizing people are giving me more items to sell then people are buying. So now I have to donate the lower-end items.