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If not, at least you started the process. Longlands Carpet Cleaners Ltd. Pretend that your house is on the market and you may have a showing any minute now. Clean and tidy with no clutter, plus organized closets will become a lifestyle. Keep stove-table-TV-Computer and Bed. Take everything else to goodwill are where ever. And she was right. These habits have been so effective. I spent so little time cleaning and decluttering because it is second nature. I am able to have guests at the drop of the hat, exercising my gift of hospitality.
I have so much extra time for fun and family now, and truly feel freer. Thank you for your inspiration, Josh. Cleaning used to be a burden. Now it is a breeze. Not there yet, but slowly making progress! I honored him by leaving those alone. Take all your husbands boxes outside to garden on a sunny day, on the pretext of airing them. Then ask him if there is any of it he still wants to be patr of his life.
He may surprise you and ditch it all. Convince him to sell it on ebay. Money would go towards finally taking that trip he has always wanted, or other memorable family event to happen. Hubby would hang on to magazines, some to do with his line of work. My husband and myself retired a year ago and have spent the year getting our home ready to sell. We have de cluttered and simplified.
We are moving to a small home and plan on spending our time with experiences and not with so much stuff. You article is spot on. I have a question about managing all the papers and mail that we get on a regular basis. Secondly, I hardly have any closet space to store any of kids karate gear, shoes, etc. Thirdly, the kitchen also have very little storage space, and the school snacks that I get from Costco as kept in a corner in one of the rooms. Please let me know if there is a better way in organizing all of these? Make a menu for the week where leftover dinners can rollover into the next meal.
This way you can reduce how much food you are buying. For example, I make baked chicken to last me the week, but side dishes vary. Less to wash and less food wasted. Paper coming in the mail I think is the easiest problem you have. All else seems like advertising stuff.
So, if you have everything you already need then throwing out advertising should be easy to let go of. Remember, should you need something in the future, you already know the stores you like to shop at anyway to get those things. When it comes to snacksing at home, try to elimate chips.
Substitute bananas, nuts, and homemade shakes. If you can, build shelves front to back in the closets. Even narrow shelves will store a lot of stuff. I went to a local hobby store last night to pick up some paint that we needed for a project. The store was filled with beautiful and unique art objects. I was very tempted to get a couple of things…but resisted, in knowing that I already have too much. It was very liberating to come home with just the paint.
I can see how the average person gets wrapped up in consumerism. I have worked hard to have the right mindset towards minimalism.
When I go to my timeshare or elsewhere on vacation, I feel relieved. I easily manage with a carry on bag and a very small backpack with some electronics. My spouse on the other hand spends almost every day shopping, picking up some more clothing and shoes plus jewelry. So much that we use to buy a suitcase to bring the stuff back home. I buy nothing on vacation and unfortunately will never get her to feel the same way. Since coming back from vacation on Lake Michigan I am obsessed with moving there when bf retires.
I want to have this house ready for sale in four years. Our children struggle with this, but reading and explaining the reasons why help them. Life is already complicated, so why the need for unwanted stress. Thanks to Joshua and his books. I love to have home to clean and homely. Then he finally understood the importance of having a nice and clean home.
Also, check with your local pharmacy or law enforcement agencies, many offer year-round or seasonal drug take-back days so you can safely drop off unwanted meds for proper disposal. Most recycling centers have mixed metal bins you can toss old keys in. We all have that bag of socks without their, ahem, sole mate. Foundation and concealer are good for about a year, while lipstick, eye shadow and blush should be replaced every two years. Everyone's still got a couple lying around. As a result, healthy clutter-clearing habits never had opportunity to emerge.
I love the idea of incorporating a little bit of cleaning into those routines. Very very good articles. Ramps up our creativity like how items in our home can do many functions. We had ,for example, six colanders-WTH? My challenge with acquiring new items comes more from receiving gifts than buying things for myself. Even when I request no gifts, or very specific gifts, I usually receive things that are nice, but not quite right for my lifestyle. I am blessed to have so many generous people in my life, but I see the evidence of their well-meaning missteps piling up in the basement.
My late grandparent requested no gifts on a 90th birthday. A friend insisted on giving a costly Tiffany lamp. Soon another friend complimented the lamp. Ten years later no one brought gifts to the year celebration. Know that re-gifting is a fine alternative to owning more things you do not want or need.
I am on a NO gift to me policy. I have a rule now, which I think I saw on a TV show. If I something new, I have to get rid of something. New shoes, out goes a pair I have bought a shoe cupboard which just holds enough, so I have to do this or where do I put the new ones? Not to mention my husband is one of those types that brings home random stuff and puts them in the most ridiculous places. Or will make a complete mess, throwing everything around, when looking for something!
Thank you so much! All the best-little by little: Anyway,again all the best: I have been a minimalist for quite some time now. Every time I cleaned up my house throwing stuff away, selling on internet I thought I was done, there was noting left to get rid off. But every month I found something new which I did not need. This week I got rid of something I thought was impossible: They had been stuffed in my closet for years. So I sold them to a guy who was happy to get them.
I feel relieved I took the step, how silly it might even sound.
Now that I was able to get rid of this stuff, I know for sure that material belongings by themselves do not bring happiness. Hoarders is a professional hoarders cleaning service. We have over decades of experience working with hoarders overcome their fear of disposaphobia and specialize in heavy duty cleaning. We are professional organizers and have created a custom hoarding solution for each hoarding condition.
Check out our website at http: Well, I am speaking for myself here. I admit that I have been lazy. I too, had almost given up. My number goal, at the moment, is to become a neat freak. I know I have it in me to do this. My house, my car and my desk at work all need special attention. LOL I have bought storage bins to help organize my things. First, I know I need to rid myself of the items that can be thrown out or given to someone else. Then after I find a designated spot for every single item, never allow things to get out of control again.
I am so ashamed to admit that. It is so over-whelming. It took years to get this way, it could take a while to dig out. I am doing this as I prepare to move into a new and cozy I envision home. Concentrate on keeping the things that are truly useful or bring you joy; cull the rest. God bless and good luck. For example, set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and see what you can tidy up in that time frame.
Or pick one drawer and sort and organize it. The change of season is always a fantastic time to clean out the wardrobe. I love living in a fairly clutter free home. The only things I am not happy with is I have some unfinished projects in a box which I am dying to finish and some stuff stored in my wardrobe that needs to be sold. My hubby however, ughhhhh. I am working on becoming a minimalist by decluttering, donating,and ruthlessly pitching stuff.
The more I do, the more I feel like tackling. I wrote myself a note and taped it to my fridge door to read everyday: That is my goal. I am really liking the part about when you ae out shopping, the important questions to ask yourself about the item. I find less is more. Thank you for your posts and inspiration. I have been trying to declutter since my kids are now adults and one has moved out.
I decided it was overwhelming to look at the entire house. So I take one room at a time. I started with my bedroom. I do a few things each night, and after a couple weeks, I have a clean, serene bedroom. Purged the closet and drawers, shoes, vanity. Next will be the hall closet. Then the 2nd bedroom. Then the living room, etc. I really do feel accomplished and good looking at my bedroom now.
I know that feeling will continue to grow as I get thru each room. This is a testimony that i will tell to every one to hear. I am a child of a hoarder. My mom was a collector of everything! I was scared as a kid to go down in the basement. There was so much stuff hip high that I it was going to eat me, lol. Hi Christ, I am a child of a hoarder too. I well remember the relocation of massive amounts of junk when company rarely came and the feelings of shame over this issue.
One very useful resource is Flylady flylady. Her methods are grounded in breaking the depression that put her in hospital. As nice and useful as these motivational words can be, those with our background can need something a little more: I too am the child of a hoarder and i recently moved back home to find that it has gotten noticeably worse and that I have started hoarding clutter and junk as well. Do you have a social group? Host weekly get togethers which will hold you accountable for keeping a clean house. Allow your basement to be used for book clubs or maybe a scrap booking club or something with your friends.
Also for small things designate a junk box that you can discard at the end of each week. I put junk mail and other random receipts and papers i accumulate in that box and trash it every Monday. As you find things you may feel are of value sell them! My husband and I moved across the country and into a large 2, sq ft home that needed renovating.
While most of the home was being done, we spent the first 1. We had a tiny bathroom, a hot plate, a mattress on the floor, and a clothes horse. That was when I realized that was all the space we really needed. My journey started because we are approaching retirement and many future changes. They are no longer useful except for memories and our life history together. We have always enjoyed our lifestyle until I had severe health issues 2 years ago and stuff started to accumulate…. Thankfully, I am feeling better and ready to get our life in even better order and simplicity!
I had to laugh the other day when we sorted our fishing tackle to our favorite minimum choice of stuff we use every trip. A young man in our neighborhood loved going through the extras! Still smiling, tired on sorting days but happier than ever to be preparing for our new future! We are reaping benefits already, enjoying evening sunsets even more, eating better and enjoying cooking in a pared down kitchen and sleeping better in a basic clutter free bedroom.
Basement and garage are still a work in progress but looking good!
There is always one more thing that can be tossed or donated! I love this site…. Own less, live more, and create space for the things you love. Get new posts delivered right to your inbox:.
Then, take another… and another… and another… 2 Remove the excess. In some cases, this step is easy: Junk drawers full of unneeded items rubber bands, old batteries, or old keys. Closets full of clothes you no longer wear. Pick one today that sounds appealing. Or better yet, pick a random number , read the specific tip, and commit 5 minutes to completing it.
Give away one item each day. Over the past several years, she has experienced quite a transformation simply reducing her stuff one day at a time. Fill one trash bag. Early in our journey towards simplicity, one of my favorite decluttering techniques was to grab a simple large trash bag and see how quickly I could fill it. While much of what I collected was trash, this could also be used to fill a bag for Goodwill.
To identify wardrobe pieces to clear out, hang all your clothes with the hangers in the reverse direction. After you wear an item, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the correct direction. This experiment could also be applied to a number of clutter areas in your home cleaners, toys, linens, tools, hobbies and craft items. And could easily fit into any schedule. Take the Challenge.
A simple task of locating 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned to their proper home can be a really fun and exciting way to quickly organize 36 things in your house. With all of the examples, the hope is to cause you to see your home in a new light.
If 33 articles of clothing seems too little, adjust the rules as you need by picking a new number. The important thing is to challenge yourself to live with less and see what you learn from the experiment. Psychology Today recommends using your imagination to help declutter objects that may seem difficult to remove. As we first set out on our journey to minimalism, this was the technique most often used in our home.
As I set out to declutter an area, I brought four boxes: Each item in every room was placed into one of the four categories. No item was passed over. Each was considered individually. Some projects took an hour… others took days or weeks. But the technique and principles remained the same. No matter what you choose to help you get started — whether it be one of these ten or one of countless others — the goal is to take your first step with excitement behind it. There is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding behind that clutter. How you remove it is up to you.
Discover the Life You Want— If you are tired of the clutter in your home and looking for a solution, on January 14th, we will be launching a week course called Uncluttered to help you. We only offer the course three times each year. Find out more here. Inspiring others to live more by owning less. Follow on Twitter Like on Facebook. I wish you all good luck! I think this is a great idea on decluttering your house! Junk removal can be hard for some people, and decluttering can start with a single item. A minimalistic approach can be very uplifting to the spirit and our health; our lives should not be so burdened with junk.