Declutter Your Life
The next phase in the simplification process is decluttering your life. This is probably the hardest for people – especially those who are sentimental about things. For me – not so hard! Not because I’m a non-feeling introvert (which is probably partly true) but because I lived in an apartment – with limited space – for 25 years. You have no choice but to declutter! You can’t possibly keep / store everything. There simply isn’t enough space in a 1200 square foot apartment.
After moving to the suburbs, my husband and I watched countless of our neighbors park their cars in their driveway instead of their garage. We initially never understood why. Who wants to scrape ice from their car each morning and wait for it to heat up (or cool down in the summer)? We then learned the reason why. People do this because their garage is full of – yes, I’ll say it…crap! We walk / drive by some houses and we see nothing but boxes piled to the ceiling in their garage. It blows me away how much stuff people hold on to. Have you seen that TV show Hoarders? Could you be on that show?
Now is the time to start disposing of clothes you haven’t worn in a decade or records you haven’t listened to in years. Do you really need that VCR player? Why are you holding onto your daughter’s tennis racket from high school? Why do you have all those hard cover books on your bookcase?
Resource Tip: Start to declutter your life! Get started now by checking out: To Declutter for the New Year
My advice is to take it room by room in your house / condo. Or if that is too daunting to start – tackle it one closet, shelf, drawer or cabinet at a time. All of us have a junk drawer (at least one!) – start there!
Divvy Up
Go through the items / drawers / dressers / closets and divide them into categories: Donate, Sell, and Trash.
There are countless charities that you can donate your gently used items to – especially if they are in good condition. When we remodeled our condo years ago, we were able to donate our couch to charity. They came and picked it up for us. Very easy! If you have old towels / sheets – numerous animal hospitals will gladly take them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve donated these items to our local shelter. Do you have a lot of used books? Call your local library and I’m sure they will take them. We just donated 5 boxes worth of books for my MIL to her local library in FL.
Another option is to sell your items. This method has its pros and cons. Personally – I would never sell items on Craigslist / Facebook meet ups – but numerous people do. If you end up going that route – please ensure you meet at local police stations or very public places to sell your items.
Garage or Estate sales are another route to sell your products. Summer months are a perfect time to sell any toys / children’s clothing that you have laying around. In our neighborhood, I’ve seen groups of homes join forces and host one large garage sale. Seems like a quick way to clean house!
Personally – I find that eBay is the best route for selling items. My husband often sells golf clubs online. We have a rule in the house – you buy a club – you must sell a club!
eBay is very reliable. I recently sold my parents’ Department 56 Christmas décor on eBay. I will say – when you have a collection of items – it’s quite time consuming to do this. It’s not a 1-2-3. The posting, pricing, and the shipping take time. I can’t tell you how many drives I’ve made to the post office in the last few months! All this to say – consider the items you want to sell and if it’s worth the time / effort for the potential profit. Be sure to factor in the time commitment if selling a lot of items.
That leads me to the last group – items you just simply throw away. One of my favorite phrases is “When in Doubt, Throw it Out.” Be realistic in what you try to sell. While some items might be sentimental to you and you can’t imagine getting rid of (ex. your grandma’s prized pot for cooking her famous ravioli) – to others – it’s just a pot.
We’ve recently been cleaning up my MIL’s house, and she had 5 sets of old golf clubs. My husband and I were of the mind set to just throw them away. My BIL wanted to sell them, and my parents thought a donation would be best. The golf clubs were close to 30 years old so no golf course would want them – and no self-respecting golfer would want to buy them. My husband and I persevered, and the five sets are now sitting at the bottom of a landfill in FL.
After you have decluttered your house / condo – be careful of upcoming purchases so you’re not back to the same spot you’re at today. Really consider your purchases. Do you truly need five pairs of navy heels or three different golf drivers? No – you do not. Continue to keep your life (and house) decluttered.
