Hard decluttering truths this Friday morning. It’s gonna be hard! but it will be worth it, I promise. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Minimalism is not about having nothing. There’s beauty in thoughtful, beautiful spaces with stuff in them.
But, there has to be a line. If you want to develop a minimal lifestyle, you have to decide what that line is for you. Because at the end of the day, don’t we all want to live in a home that is beautiful, peaceful, restorative and (probably most importantly) easy to keep tidy and clean!
You don’t have to be “Minimalist” to want these things. But to sustain this kind of lifestyle, you will need to get rid of stuff. At the end of the day that means making decisions about your stuff and deciding what to let go of and what to keep.
I have coined a method of decluttering that works for me and would love to share it with all of you.
I call it Throw, Thrift, Think Thursday. This is one day a week that I am going to set aside to declutter spaces in my home. Here’s what they all mean:
Throw: These items are unusable, broken or have no purpose left to serve. They are rubbish and should be discarded.
Thrift: These items are in a good condition and could be donated.
Think: These items might serve a better purpose elsewhere. ie. another place in your home, a bag of hand me down clothes for a friend.
So, to start the decluttering process; pick a space you want to declutter. Lay everything out and touch all your items (this is important, it helps you get a ‘feel’ for what you want to do with them). Sort all your items into these categories, including, a KEEP pile! (because you can keep some things!). Once sorted, deal with the piles then and there. Throw: in the bin, Thrift: out of your house that same day, Think: piles ready for their new homes and keep piles put back into order in your space (be sure to have a home for EVERYTHING!).
Decluttering is primarily a mental exercise. Physically you are getting rid of stuff, but there is a mental shift that needs to happen. I hope these steps help with the categorizing mentally. I will do another blog post on how to make the mental shift from want to need when it comes to stuff and letting go of sentimental items. But for now, this is an easy way to start decluttering. Start with things that “don’t matter” to you!
Over on my Insta, I have explained and demonstrated this method of decluttering. So, head over to @the.smallest.things_ and click the TTT Thursday highlight.
Happy less stuff life
Jodi.x
