10 Things to Declutter – TPW277

The beginning of a new year is a great time to declutter your space. This week's episode offers some ideas and inspiration to get you started.

Declutter to make your space more peaceful and functional

The beginning of a new year is a time when a lot of us are thinking about fresh starts, such as setting goals, and getting our lives and our homes in order, and decluttering. I thought this would be a good time to talk about decluttering and 10 categories that we can consider decluttering in.

Why do we hang on to things we don’t use or love?

* Fear of lack (what if I need it?)

* Guilt for how much we spent

* Sentiment (gifts and memories associated with them)

“Clutter is no more than postponed decisions”

10 categories to consider decluttering

1. Books

Ideas for decluttering books

* A good place to start: old/outdated reference books

* Consider setting limits for yourself: a certain number of shelves and no more--once those are full, if you bring new ones home, some have to go

* Donate to your church library, a senior housing center, kids books to a daycare center or preschool

* You can take them to Half-Priced Books (or your local used-book store) to get a little cash for them.

2. Clothes

Ideas for decluttering clothes

* Items that don't fit

* Anything that’s stained or snagged or generally shabby looking

* Things that need buttons or other repairs - either get them repaired right away or get rid of them

* Multiples of the same thing: Keep the ones you wear regularly, but let go of the others

* Anything you haven’t worn in the past year

Benefits

* More space = more peaceful

* Less laundry to wash/fold

* Less feeling bad from looking at overstuffed closets and drawers, clothes you spent money on but don’t wear

* Fewer decisions to make = less stress

* Someone else can enjoy the things you don’t wear

* Extra money if you sell on resale apps such as Poshmark or Mercari

The same applies to your children’s clothes. Also, check out former guest Courtney Carver’s book, Project 333, which is all about her experiment of keeping only 33 items in her closet. Listen to episode 169 for my conversation with her.

3. Kitchen stuff

When you declutter the kitchen, you'll have a more efficient and workable kitchen. You'll also spend less time cleaning and organizing stuff.

Ideas for decluttering kitchen items:

* Appliances you don’t use

* Even if you spent a lot of money, it’s not an asset if you’re not using it. It’s costing you in terms of space, aggravation, and guilt.

* If you haven’t used it in a year or more:

* Sell on Facebook Marketplace

* Give it to a friend or relative

* Donate to your church kitchen or a local charity that helps single moms or women who’ve left abusive homes

* Food storage containers - how many do we really need? Get rid of old, chipped, or plastic containers.