Over at The WellnessMom Challenge, we’ve been focusing on the theme of decluttering this month! I could think of no better example of decluttering and simplicity than my friend Amy! So here’s her guest post about keeping things simple.
When Esther asked me to do a guest post about decluttering and minimalizing, I ruefully looked around at the state of affairs that my house was in at that particular moment of the day and thought – “Yes…those would definitely be my two areas of expertise…three small hooligans ago.”
These days, I feel like I am living in a perpetual whirlwind – a state of barely controlled chaos with shoes, toys, socks, legos, and Cheerios that I am continually trying to keep at bay. With three young boys, it is a bit of a zoo around here!
There are a few habits that I do maintain, however, in which I feel really do bring some semblance of sanity to my life and to my home, and I will gladly share those with you.
But, first – a few disclaimers:
1. I am a minimalist by nature. Barrenness and simplicity bring me great pleasure.
2. I take obscene amounts of joy in throwing things away.
3. Neither my husband nor my three little boys share these same loves.
4. And if anyone were to walk through the doors of my house right now, they would most definitely see several areas of my home that desperately need decluttering; so I do not pretend to have the corner on the market on all things simplistic.
Professional, I am not.
Exhibit A. I give you my oldest son’s bed. Not quite sure where he sleeps, exactly:
Decluttering obviously does not make his heart sing as it does mine.
And so we compromise. And we work together.
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If you are really serious about getting rid of some junk in your house and you honestly want to pare down some of your belongings, here are some suggestions:
:: For starters, here’s a good rule of thumb for shopping: if you don’t love it or need it, don’t buy it. We are a culture obsessed with “stuff.”
:: Have a yard sale every summer and heave-ho as much junk as you are able to get rid of in a weekend. And whatever doesn’t sell by Sunday – take it to Good Will. Don’t bring it back inside.
:: Throughout the entire year leading up to this big hurrah, have a yard sale box perpetually going. Periodically whenever you are rooting through things, or find that you have too much of something, or your Great Aunt Hilda gives you a real doozy of a birthday gift that is just completely hideous, put it into the box. Once your box is filled, tape it up, label it with a big bold “Yard Sale,” put it down in your basement or out in your garage, and immediately set out another one to begin filling. This is helpful in getting rid of things, but it’s also really handy when it comes time for the big day. It makes having a yard sale not so daunting, as you already (hopefully) have several boxes to unload in your front yard.
:: Also, if they are old enough to understand, give a box to your kids to fill. To help ease their pain of getting rid of their “treasures,” tell them that whatever money they make from selling their things at the yard sale – they get to keep…for purchasing more “treasures.” Joy to the world.
:: And if you’re really serious about decluttering your home, systematically go through each room of your house – closet by closet, drawer by drawer etc. If you don’t love it, don’t need it, or don’t use it – get rid of it! This goes for everything: clothing, decor, knickknacks, dishware, toys – whatever. Take three boxes, label them: “Chuck,” “Give,” & “Sell,” and go to town getting rid of stuff. Be ruthless.
:: And if there are some items that you are just really on the fence about, put all of these things into a ginormous box, tape it up, set it aside for awhile, and if you do not open that thing within the year – send it off to GoodWill. Stay strong, and don’t open it back up, or I guarantee, back into the house all of those items will go!
:: This may sound kind of extreme, but whenever you buy something or bring something new into your home – send something else away. Just make sure it’s not a small child…. So, for example, if you buy a few new shirts, look through your drawers and find some shirts that you haven’t even placed on your body for at least three years, anyway, and throw them into the yard sale box. Stop playing the game of “Oh, I might wear that again someday.” If you can’t remember the last time you wore it, chances are, you’re probably not going to wear it again.
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As far as daily life goes around here, I really try to do a little bit every day. That’s my biggest secret. I find this to be far less stressful than waiting for everything to get to maximum capacity all at once and then have it come crashing down all around me. So, I do at least something every single day; even if it’s just swishing the toilets or sweeping one room…
I try to start each day with a clean slate, so this means I rarely go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink or toys all over the floor. Tomorrow will bring new messes of its own, so I would rather not bring today’s into it, as well. Obviously, this doesn’t happen every day, but I find that when dishes and messes pile up around here – so does the stress.
I have only two dirty laundry hampers for dirty clothes in this house for the five people in our family: one for the upstairs and one for the downstairs. As soon as one hamper gets filled, that’s my cue to do a load of laundry. For me, I would rather do one load a day as opposed to waiting until it comes out my ears.
I have boxes and baskets for holding everything – from toys, to books, to movies, toilettries – you name it. Everything has a place. Specifically for my kids, there is a basket of toys in the living room, and a toy box in each of my boy’s bedrooms. Once any one of them gets filled to overflowing, we start to weed. We are also in the stage of life where everything the boys love to play with seems to have 1,000 parts. So, I have big plastic tubs that slide right under their beds which hold their legos, playmobile, lincoln logs, playdoh etc. My only rule for them is that they can play with whatever they want, but whatever mess they make, they have to clean it up before moving on to their next mess.
So, those are my basic rules of thumb.
In summary:
~ If a mess gets made, clean it up then and there.
~ Try to start each day fresh.
~ Do just a little bit every day, and you won’t have to do a ton on one day alone.
~ Have a yardsale once a year!
~ If you bring something new into your home, get rid of something else.
~ Contain! Contain! Contain your things! And when that particular container gets filled – start to weed it out again.
…And give yourself a big bath of grace and perspective. Rome was not conquered in a day. And they say trying to keep your house clean – or decluttered, for that matter – is a little bit like nailing jell-o to a tree! But, maybe just a few of these tidbits will help some of your jell-o to stick…
So there you have it. This is what works for me.
What works for you?
