So, picking up where we left off with decluttering. Ease into it. I’m not a big fan of senselessly throwing out everything in a decluttering rush.
With that said, there are for sure items that fall into the “declutter me now” category. Mostly stuff that
A) is not working anymore
B) was junk from the start
C) You can decide about in 2 seconds whether you need it or not.
Starting with these items will give you such a refreshing energy (and a lot of clutter-free space) that it will be much easier to handle more difficult decisions and reorganize other aspects of your home and life.
+ Paperjunk. Toss (and by toss I mean recycle!)and file.
+ Anything that can be accessed online. Go for e-bills.
+ Expired beauty products. Anything that looks or smells weird must go.
+ Books you read and didn’t like. Donate them to a library or a used-book store.
+ Empty CD cases.
+ Old magazines and newspapers.
+ Expired medicine.
+ Pens that don’t work anymore.
+ Old documents (expired passports, IDs)
+ Anything that is broken beyond repair.
+ Shoes that hurt your feet so much, it goes way above the acceptable level of suffering for fashion.
+ Lonely, pairless socks (how the hell does that happen?).
+ Clothes that don’t fit anymore (your body or your style).
+ Dead houseplants you hope can still be revived (they can’t).
+ Spare buttons for clothes you no longer have.
+ Dried up nail polish.
+ Old and no longer used electric devices. Especially old phone chargers.
+ Gifts you’re keeping out of guilt.
+ Unidentifiable food in your fridge and freezer.
+ School notes and old textbooks you no longer use
+ Holey, stretched out underwear. If you wouldn’t like anyone else to see you in them, let them go.
+ Discolored jewelry, earrings without a pair.
+ Old, coarse towels.
+ Boxes, shoeboxes, bottles, containers, plastic bags you just keep but never use.
+ Anything you keep in a corner, waiting to be donated/sold/thrown out. Now’s the time.
My biggest problem is always with paper stuff that does have some sentimental value. Like postcards from people. What do you do with those? Keep them in the drawer and never look at them, or throw it and the chance away to ever look at them again…Just to be overly philosophical;), they are like half memories. They have a good chance to become good memories but I am not sure they will:)
I’m not a radical minimalist , I think you should hold onto anything that has value to you. If you’re not sure, put it aside for some time (better late than sorry:))
And as for the sentimental life memories: I feel you, I do like to look back at those. 2 things you can do: scan them, so you have them in electronic form for eternity and toss the paper form. Or, and this is my secret side project for this year: do a kind of memorybook/scrapbook.
Collect little memories, photos, sayings, even tickets or whatever throughout the year and do a yearly album-like collection. It could either be fun (and great to look back at) or you realize that, at the end, they are really not that important:)
I love this memorybook idea actually! Especially since after forgetting the context these objects are not that “valuable” anymore. My new thing is memory jars (I made 4 already). I am also more and more into the magnetic wall idea!
The houseplant one made me laugh because I have a plant currently that I’ve been hoping to resurrect. I think I’ve just been in denial about it’s death for a few weeks now. I’m so terrible for keeping old clothes because ‘there’s nothing wrong with them’ as in they aren’t damaged, but I never wear them because they don’t look great on me or aren’t my style any more. You’ve inspired me to declutter some things over the weekend!
Beccah xx
thehonestolive.com
Hi Beccah,
I hope your decluttering went will over the weekend 🙂 I, too, find it hard to say goodbye to houseplants. And my usual solution is cheating: I take them to my Mom, who has much better gardening skills than me: if she can save them, great, if not, well, they are already out of my home:)
As for the clothes: I don’t feel bad about letting clothes (that are still in good shape) go anymore, I just say they served me well for a long time, and maybe someone else can still find joy in them – and they go to the donation box.
Thanks for reading, xx
Viki
Yep, this is a great list and it definitely inspires me to start decluttering and clearing out my junk. Honestly I have so many dried nail polishes I can get rid of!
Julia // The Sunday Mode
Hi Julia,
Glad to hear:) I, too, have to go through my summer nail polish collection, I’m afraid some of them didn’t survive winter season.
Thanks for reading! I’ve been following your blog for a while, and I love your writing:)