When I read 50 Ways to Leave Your Clutter, the first thing I thought was, “why didn’t I think of that?”.
Paring down and living with less is a journey. While it is not my goal to live with nothing, every time I let go of something, I want to release more.
This weekend, more clothes, glassware, a table and a book shelf went out the door. Slowly but surely, each room becomes a little more sparse. Instead of becoming cold and empty, our home is warmer and more inviting. Each new space opens up a world of possibility.
The cleaner each surface and space is from clutter, the better I feel.
Thanks to the minimalist woman, I bring you…
50 Ways to Leave Your Clutter
- Empty one box from your storage space.
- Donate one box from your storage space without looking inside.
- Hide something.
- Put a box near a door that you can easily place things to donate.
- Read Joshua and Ryan’s new book for extra inspiration.
- Designate one surface as completely clutter free.
- Open your mail before you come in the house.
- Don’t leave anything on your counter tops that you don’t use frequently.
- List your books on Paperback Swap
- Sell your gold.
- Give meaningless jewelry away.
- Choose one winter hat. Donate the rest of them to a homeless shelter.
- If there is exercise equipment you haven’t used in 90 days, use it or list it on Freecycle
- Give pots and pans away that you never use, even if they are part of a set.
- Check out Project 333 and dress with less.
- Stop comparing. You don’t need everything they have.
- Let go of sentimental items.
- Stop shopping sales.
- Opt out of junk mail.
- Don’t buy something you don’t want to get something free that you don’t need. (aka stay away from the make-up counters)
- Figure out where to donate your stuff.
- Give away holiday decorations that you don’t use this year. Next year, you won’t remember what you gave away.
- Conquer your junk drawer.
- Have one last yard sale.
- Hire a truck to pick up whatever doesn’t sell at the yard sell.
- If you don’t have a CD player, get rid of your CDs.
- If you get rid of your CDs, you can dump your cassette tapes too. 😉
- Don’t worry about keeping things just in case.
- Copy your favorite recipes from cookbooks and get rid of the books.
- Don’t buy stuff to store your stuff.
- Hang with like hearted people.
- Stop getting organized.
- Set gift giving expectations with friends and family.
- Consider the clutter you can’t see like comparison and perfection.
- Stop attaching stuff to the people that gave it to you.
- Get ready to move to a much smaller space.
- Live on a boat.
- Clean off the outside of your refrigerator.
- Just use one.
- Leave your kitchen cabinet doors open for 48 hours.
- Spend time with people who don’t have enough.
- Don’t send lengthy email messages.
- Pick up an object and ask these questions. “Do I use this?” “Do I love this?” If the answer is no, let it go.
- Start a volunteer project with your gift giving friends and agree that your gift to each other and the world this holiday season will be love and time.
- Enjoy your newfound time and space.
- Clear your work space of anything you aren’t using that day.
- Instead of adding a task to your to do list, just do it.
- If it’s broken, fix it.
- Remember, if you aren’t happy being clutter free, you can buy everything back.
- Put people before stuff. Every time.
You didn’t accumulate your clutter overnight, so don’t get frustrated that it doesn’t disappear overnight. Start with one room and let the joy and calm you feel in that room or space motivate you to continue.
I have found that clutter attracts clutter and space attracts space. For that reason alone, I want to live with less.
