How to Declutter Your Home
Do you feel like you’re walking into a disaster zone from one room to the next inside your home? You see a cluttered mess in corners and along the walls of the house, and it causes you to feel stressed and discouraged. You’re probably wondering how you’ll ever declutter the house and get it to look as good as it did when you first moved in or before you and your family members got sick.
We moved up north in October 2021, three years ago this week. Mark and I knew we wanted to declutter NOW before our kids had to go through all of our stuff. Several of my family members will not want any of my emergency prepared stuff, but they don’t see the wisdom of being prepared. It will be their loss and someone else’s good fortune.
I can’t worry about some family members thinking I have stored too much water, food, or fuel. They haven’t been through a disaster or two like I have. Oh well. I can sleep at night knowing I’m prepared to take care of Mark and me—that’s how I roll.
Before we moved into this small, 1000-square-foot home, we thought we had decluttered enough. We hadn’t. So, as we continue to open a few of the boxes left, we donate items to others who can use them. I realize so much of my “stuff” is unnecessary and doesn’t bring me joy. Yes, I watched “Tidying Up” with my granddaughter Taylor. She lived with us while she was going to school in St. George, Utah. We laughed and re-watched each show put on by a professional organizer several times. LOL!
Even now, I look at some of my stuff on shelves and think, “Do I need that?” I want to declutter while I still have the energy to do so. My biggest fear is my girls wishing I had decluttered before I died. You have to laugh because we all have stuff we love, but will our kids love it like we do? Please share stories if you have any about having to clean out family or friends’ homes after they passed away.
Don’t Put Off Decluttering Your Home
While it may feel out of reach for you now, it’s possible to declutter the home, get rid of things that you no longer need, and keep your belongings more organized. Once you’ve got the organization down, you won’t have to worry so much about dealing with more clutter in the future.
In case you missed this post, How to Organize Your Favorite Recipes
My Favorite Organization Containers: mDesign Containers
How to Declutter Your Home
1. Work on One Room or Closet at a Time
It’s easy to feel discouraged when you know that your entire home is full of clutter that needs cleaning and organizing. However, try not to think of it that way because it will only cause you to put off the process of decluttering.
Instead, think about how you’ll tackle one room before working on another. For example, you may want to focus on the living room first because it’s the first room people see when they walk through the front door. Then you can focus on the bedrooms, laundry room, garage, playroom, pantry, utility room, bathrooms, basement, attic, etc.
Carve out enough time
Tackle the critical tasks in one room before you move on to schedule the next one. For example, you may need to go through items to see what you’re not using and can get rid of, vacuum floors, wipe down walls, and find proper storage areas for different things inside your house instead of leaving them lying around.
Once you’re done in the living room, move to the dining room and focus on the kitchen. But, again, don’t expect to get everything done in one day or even a week.
Make it a goal of decluttering one room a day
It’s easier to declutter the home when you focus on one room at a time each day. So, instead of overworking yourself by getting to everything in a few hours, do one room per day until you feel content with the way your home looks. Once you’ve managed to declutter and organize, it becomes that much easier to keep things looking spotless and organized.
2. Get Rid of What You Don’t Need
Go through the belongings in your home and start getting rid of what you don’t need. There is no good reason to keep items that you’re not using and that don’t serve a purpose for you. These items are only going to hog up some of the space in the home. If you don’t want to throw certain items out, you don’t have to do that. You can always donate items to less fortunate people.
I try to categorize items in a logical way. You’ll have a category of items that you’ll discard because they’re broken, are obsolete or out of fashion, are a safety risk, etc. Other items can be recycled through a thrift shop or donated to places like Goodwill, Savers, or Deseret Industries.
Of course, you’ll have items you want to keep that just need to be cleaned or put in a better location like drawers, or a cupboard, a medicine cabinet, or other area for use by family members.
Helping others with your junk
It can make you feel good knowing that you’re doing something nice for others while working on decluttering your home. It’s challenging to find peace amongst the chaos, but when you eliminate clutter, you eliminate the challenges others are facing while providing them with things they can use. Please think of it this way: “The less you have, the less you have to take care of.”
3. Use Organization Tools in Each Room
Start buying and using organization tools for each room. The specific items you’ll need will depend on the room.
Buy space-saving containers
For example, you can use space-saving containers to keep spices, vegetables, beverages, and snacks organized and in specific kitchen areas. On the other hand, you can declutter the bathroom and organize it by getting an over-the-toilet organizer for your toiletries or personal hygiene accessories. It saves space and provides an area for different items, including sanitary napkins, flushable wipes, and other products you might like to keep near the toilet.
Search for excellent organizational products
You can find many excellent organizational products that save space and help you on your quest to get rid of the clutter. It’ll make each room in your home look a lot neater. These products can also make it easier to find what you’re looking for when you need it because you’re putting these items in specific spots every family member is aware of.
Some people put their dirty clothes in piles rather than use a hamper or laundry basket. In most of our homes we’ve had a linen closet. In our new home we’ve set aside some small spaces in our walk-in-closet for the few linens the two of us use. We don’t have many guests now, so we can use the small areas for other things. We’ve put many of our odds and ends we don’t need access to very often in storage containers on upper shelves. I’ve put labels on the front of the containers so it’s easy to find things.
4. Make Use of Wall Space
Don’t hesitate to make use of wall space. If you have blank walls, you may consider hanging shelves to clear up some space on the floor. The great thing about wall shelves is that you can put all kinds of things on them, such as small toys, figurines, or even books.
Do you have extra space?
The items you’ll add to these shelves will depend on their size and where you’re putting them. For example, you’re probably not going to want a hanging bookshelf in the bathroom. However, it’s an excellent idea for the living room or dining room, where you might have extra space on the walls.
5. Avoid Leaving Things Where They Don’t Belong
Try to get in the habit of putting things back where they belong when you’re done using them. It’s one of the easiest ways for you to end up with clutter in the home if things are left out. You grab something, use it, and then set it down on the dining room table or somewhere else in the house where it doesn’t belong. It will then sit there for several days or weeks until you finally feel motivated to move it to the right spot.
Create less frustration
If you can stop doing that, you can save yourself a lot of frustration in the long run. Instead of putting it down anywhere, try to return the item as soon as you finish using it. You’ll be glad you did when it comes time to pick up and clean different rooms in the home because it’s one less thing to deal with at the end of the day. Once you’ve got things organized, you’ll have the momentum to keep things that way.
6. Think About Parting With Special Possessions
Let’s be real here. I’m not talking about parting with Grandma’s Broche. For the last three months, I’ve been “letting go” of items that are heirlooms to me. They were very special to me in the past, but I thought to myself, why am I holding on to these? My daughters and granddaughters can enjoy these items NOW while young and will love decorating their tables for family or neighborhood parties.
When Mark and I were married, we “registered” for items we could use to start this new chapter in our lives. We chose the most beautiful china—not too fancy, simple, just right—not too expensive but nicer than everyday eating dishes.
When we sold our home and moved to southern Utah to “downsize” to a smaller house where we would have very little snow, if any, a few things changed. This neighborhood was different from anywhere we had lived. The china sat in my china hutch cabinet; the goblets started collecting dust.
I gave my china to a daughter who uses it often, which brings me joy. When I gave her the china, I said, “Please use it, let it get chipped; it’s okay; it means it was loved.” Please enjoy those special things now while your family can use them.
Then, I started letting go of many other “special” items. I don’t have the space to store them when they aren’t used. What a waste when family members can use them. My granddaughters, over 20 years old, are thrilled to set their tables like grandma used to do.
They’ve been taught where to put the salad fork, the dinner fork, the knife, the dessert fork, and the spoon. The goblets go at the tip of the knife, which needs to be turned so the sharp edge is toward the plate so as not to cut someone. This brings me joy to see them grow up and start maintaining their own homes.
Final Word
Decluttering the home takes some time and effort. When we start the decluttering process it’s a good idea to put together a declutting checklist. It’s not a chore you can expect to do in one day. However, you can progress significantly if you prioritize completing a bit each day. Before you know it, you’ll have your home looking good again and have managed to get rid of all the clutter.
Be sure to stick with simple rules for yourself, such as putting something back when you’re done with it. With that thought in mind, you can keep your home clutter-free. Also, be mindful of what you really “need” and steer clear of those impulse purchases that may bring you short-term pleasure, but then end up just taking up space, you’ll be glad you did. May God Bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Kitchenware Deposit photos_202299468_s-2019, Declutter Clothes Wardrobe Depositphotos_547142096_S By AndreyPopov
Linda, have you been peeking at my house? This is exactly what I need. Now what do I do with all of hubby’s boxes of who knows what? LOL
Hi Deborah, LOL! It’s so funny because I’ve been decluttering for months and months. Just a week ago Mark got the bug to let go of stuff. It’s baby steps but I will take it. LOL! Linda
I’ve been de-cluttering my home for a long time, sigh. One thing you wrote about is the good feeling of having someone actually Using things that had been taking up space. I went thru my under counter kitchen cabinet where I stored ‘impulse buy’ appliances. Had them stacked, ready to go to thrift store. My grandson’s friend stopped in, asked what I was doing with them. She asked if she could have them. She had just closed on her first home, so needed kitchen things. We were both happy campers! I continue to weed out things I no longer use. One thing I’ve done for years that has helped is having a Space just for thrift store items. Like if one of us has an article of clothing we don’t like/doesn’t fit, we just put on top of a big frig (it sits along a very tall wall). That’s my Thrift Space. I now keep a box up there for whatnots, jewelry, pictures, utensils, books. Anytime I’m going by the thrift, I just grab the box, put the clothing on top. It makes it easy to get the stuff gone without an extra trip to town or feel like it’s work to de-clutter.
Hi Wendy, oh, I love this idea!! I have a “spot” in the garage that is the “donate” area. Once or twice a week we take whatever is there IF we are going into town. I’m so afraid they will shut down the thrift stores like last year! I love your story about grandsons friend ending things in their new home!! We let go and they can use it!! Yay! I was just thinking about what you said about small appliances (impulse buy). I got rid of two InstaPots and an air fryer this last weekend to grandkids! I have less and they have items they can use. It’s wonderful!! Linda
I have 2 sisters who got Insta-pots. One uses hers about once every two weeks. She has to put it in her lower level as she doesn’t have room for it in her kitchen. The other puts hers in her attached garage at her townhouse. Now,both of these girls got those Air Fryer things. They use these almost on a daily basis. I have neither, nor do I want either. I simply don’t make big enough meals to need either.
Hi Wendy, I used to teach cooking/baking/dehydrating classes at a fancy kitchen store. I have the Fagor now called the Savor pressure cooker because I took classes from Chef Brad. I will always keep my Fagor pressure cooker it’s made better than the InstaPot. I bought my first one at that kitchen store and have never looked back. I mainly use it for meat to make sure it’s super tender, fall off the bone pieces. The air fryer I bought because I wanted to know what was all the rave. Well, I would rather BBQ a steak than cook it in an air fryer. It’s nice we don’t have to cook big meals anymore. LOL! Life is good! Linda
We downsized to a much smaller home 8 years ago and our beautiful 43 year old wedding china has been boxed up ever since. I’ve decided I want to enjoy it and use it as our everyday dishes but I remember Oprah showing how some china dishes have lead in them and should be tested before using. I’ve looked for lead test kits but they all seem to test for lead paint like on walls. Do you know how to test older china for lead? Do you know a reliable test kit I could buy? I really want to use our beautiful china, even if it gets chipped! Thanks!
Hi Kay, I had forgotten that Oprah mentioned that about china. I wouldn’t worry if it’s only for special occasions but better safe than sorry, right? I found this, I wonder if it would work: https://www.amazon.com/3M-717834209102DUPE-LeadCheck-Swabs-8-Pack/dp/B0051VARFG/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=lead%2Btesting&qid=1629131298&sr=8-4&th=1 It would be so fun to eat off of them every single day!! Linda
One thing I learned about decluttering is that you have to realize that you hold on to things, lol. I moved into a smaller apartment, but I didn’t lose my “buying in case of need later” mentality. But now, after 7 years, I began to declutter my apartment and the joy of giving away and getting rid of stuff you really don’t use put me on another level of purpose.
When you spoke on giving away heirlooms, I was once again reminded of something I did last month that really changed me. My brother-in-law’s mother passed in May at the age of 92. It took a couple of months for them to clean out her apartment. They were trying to give things away to the family that maybe the grandchildren would cherish. One of the things they had was a trash bag full of yarn, or so they said, including a granny-square afghan. They didn’t want to give to the children because they felt they wouldn’t take care of it. So they thought of me because I crochet and loom knit. They told me why they decided to give it to me and the fact that they didn’t realize just how skilled Mo. Gunn was in crocheting, they knew I would appreciate it. But they didn’t want it either. I took it with the promise that I wouldn’t give it to Goodwill…
When I went through the bags of yarn, it was a lot of old knitting needles, markers, old yarn and scraps. I could have used it as waste yarns but it was old and kinda had a smell; in fact the bags had more of her crocheted items in it than yarn. I washed them all. My daughters didn’t want any of it and I didn’t either, so I thought it best to give it all away. They were nice, fluffy, smelled good and I felt real good giving them away to someone who would probably appreciate it better than me. I had a load to drop off, and the excitement of giving away handmade items caught me up in the moment…
Two days later, that conversation came back to my mind. I was mortified! I tried to get the afghan back to no avail and had the unfortunate task of informing my sister and brother-in-law. That text was so full of contrition, a mean person would have shaken their head. After a day or so, she graciously responded, saying no worries but not “I forgive you”. I think I would feel the same way. I learned to slow down and appreciate what someone else places in your hand for a reason. I realize as a mother and grandmother myself, my children may do the same thing with my items I hold dear when I leave here. But in the end, I’d rather someone have it who appreciates it than not.
Hi Vanessa, oh I LOVE LOVE LOVE your comment. We have all been gifted items where we are put in a situation that is a bit awkward! When my mother died I was given her “spinning wheel”. It was my great-grandmother’s and I really do not have the joy for it as my mother did. I knew I would be in trouble if I gave it to the thrift store, so I called a sibling to see if she wanted it. She did! I did not! It was a win-win for both of us! This is why I am getting rid of items now while my daughters may want to use them or I will donate now instead of after I’m gone. I told my husband we have gone through our parent’s “stuff” and it was not fun. We filled garbage cans, and I mean many garbage cans. Yes, some stuff was worth donating but most was not. This is why I want to do it now. I can’t imagine the conversation coming back to you after you donated the afghan!! Someone is loving it right now! Oh my! I hope they “forgive you”, it was an honest mistake. Life is good! Linda
Vanessa, I think it was a little unfair to make you promise to keep this stuff when they didn’t want it, didn’t even know what it was. I probably wouldn’t have even told them anything was given away nor tossed out due to poor condition. Just sayin’.
Hey Wendy, thanks for your comment and truth be told, I thought of that fact that they didn’t want to keep it themselves and gave it to me. She actually did state that they did give it to me, so if I decided to give it away, then no worries, right? I’m okay now. Thanks again for the encouragement and insight.
Good Morning, Linda, I’ve been decluttering my home for the past 5 years, lol. I went from a 3 bdrm home to a 2 bdrm home to a 5th wheel trailer. I had a lot, and I do mean a lot, of “stuff”. Over the years I’ve learned that all the things I have collected, all the clothes I have purchased, is just that…..”STUFF”. I normally do my purging in the summer, but this year I’m not because I want to see just what I use each season. I’m finding that I can get rid of a lot of my summer clothes, so I’ve started a bag for Goodwill. I did clean out under my sink and got rid of half of what I had (appliance wise) and kept only the things that I really do use on a regular basis. So, to go along with your suggestions, it does take a while to declutter and it’s something that can’t be done in one day. It does take a while to do it. Each time I get rid of “stuff”, I feel so good because I’m not keeping baggage I truly don’t need. Great article, by the way. Blessings!
I have always tried to stay on top of “stuff” with mixed results. I like watching those decluttering vlogs on Youtube.
Recently I heard someone mention in one of those vlogs to change your thoughts around. Don’t ask: “What do I need to get rid of”, but “What do I want to keep.”. For some reason this has been sticking with me and now everywhere I look in my house I want to apply this. Such a simple change of perspective has set me free to get rid of so much with way less stress.
Oh my, This is exactly what I did when I retired. Clothing and stuff I didn’t need went to the Good will/Thrift store. A local lady in town does a program for young ladies just starting out working/interviewing (an off shoot of her prom dress program) and I donated most of my business suits and shoes to her. After working 30+ years and the inevitable weight gain and loss I had quite a collection of “business” attire.
Hi Kathy, oh, my goodness what a blessing to those young ladies interviewing for jobs!! That was a tough one for me, I had beautiful suits and I loved shoes, way too many shoes. It felt so good to let them go to others who could use them at our local thrift store. Decluttering is awesome, Linda
A couple of years ago, I did a 30 in 30 challenge (30 bags out in 30 days). I did stretch it to 30 bags/boxes/big items in 60 days though!! What I do now is have 3 boxes: Keep, Donate, and Toss. I have found that having them always available, I can put things in as I find them. Once the boxes are full, I deal with them – i.e., I toss what is in the Toss box or haul the Donate box to the thrift store. The Keep box never gets full because I place things in the box but within a couple of days, they find their rightful place. I want it noted, however, that many things I put in the Keep box then in a proper place sometimes get donated the 2nd or 3rd time around!!
I have also set up 4 boxes for my 4 grandchildren and when I find a “precious” item that I think they might like to have when I am gone, it goes in the appropriate box. I don’t have a box for my daughter or son-in-law for the simple reason that they don’t WANT any of my stuff!!
Ah – now to set a date to start going through things!
Hi Leanne, I forgot about the Toss Box, Donate Box, and Keep Box. I need to add that to the post, a great reminder, and a tip! I love hearing about the precious items for the grandkids. I totally agree with you, the 2nd or 3rd time around, decluttering never ends. LOL! I LOVE your comment, Linda
I would say the best way to declutter is to MOVE!! LOL….. we downsized 5 years ago, and even though we had garage sales over the years, as the kids grew, I managed to rid our home of 1365 items…(I am a number’s person) now, five years later, we have accumulated enough for another garage sale!! Some have been upgrades, some toys the grandsons have outgrown. One thing I have come to realize, is just because you have the room to store it, doesn’t mean you should keep it, or buy it in the first place. Our home was designed by two women, I know that because I have TWO walk-in closets, TWO 8 ft closets, TWO pantry closets and TWO linen closets……
Hi Chris, oh my gosh, I thought I was a numbers person, why didn’t I count the stuff I for rid of, I LOVE this! LOL! Oh, your house would be any women’s dream, it had to have been designed by a woman! Squeal! It’s so funny it seems like a never-ending job to declutter. You are so right, just because we have the room, we may not need the “stuff”, great comment! Linda
Vanessa, I think it was a little unfair to make you promise to keep this stuff when they didn’t want it, didn’t even know what it was. I probably wouldn’t have even told them anything was given away nor tossed out due to poor condition. Just sayin’.
Wendy, that would be tough to expect, I hope I don’t get put in that position. I love to declutter! Linda
……And here we are heading to 2025, and we are still getting rid of things…..a natural gas grill we never used, a roll top desk, a treadmill, a train play table, umpteen books, magazines, far too many seasonal decorations. We sent several childrens’ books to my daughters Godchild. Figurines and crystal were solid online.
The less we have, the less our kids will have to get rid of.
Hi Chris, I hear you, I’m still decluttering, even after this move! I don’t think it ever ends! Less really is best, Linda
Two linen closets?? :::swooning::::: We have a wonderful ranch home with everything, including the laundry room, on one floor. The rooms are spacious and have good storage…. however, it has the smallest linen closet on the planet. It is about the width and height of the small door with a depth of about 14″. One folded blanket will fill a shelf. How could someone design a house with nice sized bedroom closets, bookcases with cabinets in the living room, a built in buffet in the dining room and lots of cabinets in the kitchen and then a linen closet that small!
Hi Topaz, I have no linen closet just a master bedroom closet. That is so funny to have a big house and one small linen closet, crazy what builder do. Linda
…..when it comes to china and crystal USE IT!! We use our good china daily, because I still love it and my girls are not going to want it. Orange juice taste much better in crystal and hot chocolate is twice as warming in a hand painted tea cup my Godmother made. I even keep our electric toothbrushes in a crystal tumbler. The same with bedding and table linens….. use the things you love, ….
Hi Chris, YES! Use your china and crystal goblets! I didn’t have crystal but I love drinking out of my “Old Town” goblets! I wish I had been given a hand-painted teacup!! Aww, that would be so special!! Life is good when we use things we cherish! Best comment, Linda
Oh, Linda! As a retired teacher (and now a homeschooling grandma), I have drawers and files, shelves and rooms full of stuff, much of it for art purposes. But I’m trying.
The best thing for me is to stay home. I love thrifting and can find the best books, clothing, etc., which all hang around in my vehicles as well as my house—and eventually around my neck.
My parents passed on a year ago after living with me for 4 years, so I have all their treasures: telephone collections, old address books, pictures and FROGS. It is absolutely overwhelming, but we wanted them to be happy when they came here, so their stuff had to come also. MY kids traveled from Oregon and Arizona to load up and transport Grampa’s garage and museum of collectibles despite the 119 F. down in Riverside area of California. Did I mention hundreds of bonsais?
There is no way for me to organize a room in a day, but I can go through a couple of Mom’s shoeboxes-full. And I can clean out one cupboard, then check it off my list. I am grateful when I find a pal who will pass on shirts/socks/underwear to “someone she knows.”
In the meantime, I’m working to use my food storage and trying not to be too depressed over the slow progress in down-sizing. I need a vacation!!!
Love,
Shirley in So. Oregon
Hi Shirley, that would be a big job, going through our own stuff and our parents’ stuff. Oh, my gosh, the telephone collections, old address books, pictures, and the FROGS! They were treasures once, now someone else can enjoy them. The Bonsai trees, oh my. We all have stuff, we all have treasures, and we all have junk, or at least I do (the junk). It really is overwhelming the older we get, Shirley. I have told my husband, we do not want our kids to have to go through all our stuff. There really is no way to organize one room in a day unless it’s almost empty! LOL! We all need a vacation, I hear you, my friend! Last year was confinement and it doesn’t look very good going forward either. Hopefully, we will all stay safe and well. One box at a time. We can do it. Love you, Linda
Linda, this is one of your best articles EVER! My wife and I lost the battle against clutter a few years ago when she got sick and could no longer help me keep things tidy and organized. Then her uncle died and we inherited an entire houseful of his stuff. Result–chaos. We quit having friends over because our home was such a mess–not dirty, just cluttered.
Now I’m in the process of repainting every room, redoing our floors (removing saltillo tile and replacing it with wood look vinyl planks, new carpet and then on to new countertops and sink in the kitchen. Great time for decluttering and I will follow your approach to solving this long, LONG overdue problem.
We already donated all of his clothing to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, so that was the first step.
The second step will be to have one Enormous garage sale, or more likely a series of them. We’ll do that this Fall when it cools down a bit. We will have a HUGE section of FREE stuff.
Hi Ray, oh my goodness, that is a BIG job for sure! I’m sorry your wife got sick, it takes a team to work on stuff like this. New paint makes a HUGE difference, and of course, new flooring and the kitchen with new countertops and a sink will be awesome. Donating to help others is the best thing ever. I remember my mom saying, “do you want anything in my house”? I said, “Mom, I have too much stuff already”, I think I hurt her feeling looking back. I wish I had taken some “stuff” just to make her feel better. It wasn’t until I got older and wiser, I realized I may have hurt her feelings. I did help her empty 5 closets and we took several trips to the thrift stores. We all have stuff, I do not want my girls to go through “stuff” after I’m gone. There will always be some, but I want to lessen the load NOW. Stay safe, and stay well, my friend, Linda
I asked my kids the same thing “do you want anything from my house?” My oldest daughter wants the walnut table that my great-great-grandfather built and has a story that goes with it. My youngest daughter wants the handmade viola that I bought when I was a kid. Nothing else.
A funny story about china and Thrift stores. My oldest daughter put together a nice picnic basket and bought some china salad plates and bowls at a thrift store to go in it along with some pretty goblets because she and her college boyfriend enjoyed picnics. After she broke up with him, the picnic basket ended up at my house and when she cleaned out her closet, she put the china in the Goodwill box. Not long afterward, I read an article that cats should eat off plates so their whiskers won’t brush the side of the bowl, which is uncomfortable for them. Now my cats eat off china plates and drink water from matching china bowls.
Hi Topaz, oh the table and viola, what a blessing to hand them down. I love hearing this. The cat story and the china plates and china bowls is the best! Linda
Linda, my in-laws were hoarders and all their children vowed not to leave a mess like that to their children – even the SIL who also has too much clutter started downsizing things. She found the stuff she did keep from her parents was all eventually gotten rid of – she didn’t need or use it.
I promised my children I would get rid of anything past its useful life, broken or I don’t use. BUT I’m still alive and enjoying my things (not moving into a care center) so I’m not getting rid of things that I still use & enjoy like my china collection (yes I have multiple sets). But as soon as I identify something broken, no longer functional or unused I get rid of it. If it’s something my family might want, I take a photo and text it to our group feed asking if anyone wants it so it’s immediately moved on. All the kids see the text so no one can feel bad and it’s rare two of them want an item. I recently reduced my cake decorating supplies this way. I don’t decorate cakes any more except maybe some sprinkles and candles.
I love to decorate for holidays (all of them!) but I’ve downsized and shared with my family, donated, or tossed what I don’t love. My mother taught me not to buy clothing, decor type items unless I love them or you end up with a lot of okay stuff. This “love test” has really helped me keep my possessions under control. The things I end up getting rid of are those things that were “cute” – not the things I fell in love with. For example, better to have a small wardrobe of what you love and look good in.
I love to organize things and read books & articles on organizing & decluttering. I’ve taught classes and even worked as a professional organizer. The premise of one of the best books I read was everything is a container and things have to fit inside or it’s clutter. Even your house is a container! An example was she had 12 scarfs but only 10 would fit in her drawer – so even though they were all nice she had to get rid of two of them. This has really helped me keep my stuff under control and helped me feel better about getting rid of good things.
You need to be careful about family heirlooms and make the effort to give them to someone else unless it’s junk. Decluttering is an ongoing process. I went to a Home Goods store the other day and realized if I frequented this type of store I would end up with a lot of stuff! The same thing goes with Thrift Stores. These places are great for young families but not older folks needing to downsize. You have to be careful because preppers become hoarders easily.
Hi Kay, great comment, I don’t think people realize they are a hoarder or maybe their definition of a hoarder is different than ours. When we lived down south we had at least one family a month (renters) who were getting booted out of their apartment due to non payment. It was quite the scam. They would get their deposit from their clergy and never pay rent. So they would be booted out in four months. And we all had to hurry over and help pack them up because they had to be out THAT DAY! I helped for about 3-4 years and then I said, I could no longer enable people like this. Now these people had a lot of stuff, and they watched us pack it up. Some were worse hoarders than others. This is when I learned about what people save……lots of stuff. I just shake my head when I see a U-Haul these days. LOL! Linda
Linda, even after having two more garage sales and donating a few cars full of clothing we are still too cluttered. More garage sales and donations to follow. But doing one room at a time has worked pretty well so far.
Thanks again for this excellent article.
Hi Ray, thank you for your kind words! Who would have guessed we would have so much stuff? You almost have to laugh as your dragging the bags to car to take to the thrift stores! LOL! Linda
Decades ago, I sold Tupperware. I still use some of my old things but I have a couple large boxes of items that I don’t use. I was going to donate them a while ago and my oldest daughter, then a teenager, said “keep them in case we want it when we have our own house.” As an adults, neither daughter wants any of it. I need to go through the boxes again and donate or sell it.
My biggest problem is my teaching materials. I have been teaching for 40+ years and have lots and lots of materials. I am still using some of it with my current part time job and I think once I leave that job, I might do some tutoring either in my home or the home of the student to earn some extra money.
We have done a lot of decluttering and getting rid of thing as we prepared the basement apartment for rental. We need to do more. I remember my cousin complaining that after she married and moved into their own house that every time her parents visited she brought a box of my cousin’s stuff she had left at home. Now as the parents of adult children, I think my aunt was brilliant and I need to do the same.
Hi Toppaz, congratulations on 40 years of teaching, I love hearing that! I would save or sell that Tupperware. It’s worth a lot of money, yes the company is going bankrupt but their product is the best around. That’s a great idea to take a box of items to a new family, things are so expensive now. I give stuff to my granddaughters who just got married. Great comment, Linda