3 easy steps to declutter

Minimalism isn’t about having less. It’s about making room for more of what matters.

Anonymous

Before I share this anecdote, let me tell you that, I, in no way, consider myself to be a minimalist. But I genuinely don’t value items of show that dont have memories bound with them. If there is no use for it and it doesn’t bring me joy in any way, it has to go. (Also, I am not a great ‘gift acceptor’, not sure if that’s even a thing)

We lived in the US for 6 years. Safe to say over the years we accumulated A LOT things from places we visited, things we did and about thirty runner’s medals we’d earned (which weighed more than 10 kilos). We had gotten married during this time and received a fair number of gifts from friends and family.

When we moved to Australia, I could bring anything that fit in of 60 kilos of check in luggage allowed and a carry on bag. I shipped a couple boxes of other things prior. For everything else, it was time to say goodbye. I got rid of everything else. Sold, gave away, and donated. Every single spoon, plate, cookware, furniture, artwork, about 25-30 handmade knitted blankets, heaps of books. People think this must have been hard. No it was not. It was freeing. That’s when I realized you actually ‘need’ very few things to live comfortably and most other things are REPLACEABLE.

But in our day to day life, when we are not moving cities, we tend to hang on to things even though we don’t use them at all. There are 3 easy steps to declutter –

1. Does it have an actual use? Does it make your life easier in some way? Have you used it in the last year? If yes you may keep it, continue using it and review every few months. If not go to step 2.
2. Does this item bring you joy or do you have an emotional attachment? eg – places you visited. Think about having online photo gallery, for example, instead of knick knacks. Marie-Kondo it, give it a hug and let go.
3. Spring clean every few months and let go of things you haven’t used or missed.

All this just lets us live a little simpler. It really changes your mindset in big ways. Makes room for you goals and dreams in your mind. I would strongly recommend to invest in your experiences than things.

Next up, how to organize and minimize decisions every day.