In January I, like many others, always decide I need a day decluttering to live a more minimalistic life. It never works out well though as I am such a hoarder! So far this year I have sorted out most of the kitchen and I’ve been very ruthless.
So many mugs I didn’t need have now found a new home and I have sorted out my food cupboards. The next few weeks will be making food that uses up things that I have had in the cupboard for ages. Particularly rice, somehow I have bags and bags of the stuff!
Why you should do some decluttering?
I love Marie Kondo’s minimalist living idea of getting rid of things that do not bring you joy. If only I could be more ruthless in that! There is no reason that you should only declutter when you move house though.
Think of when you last moved house. How much stuff did you get rid of? How much did you leave in bags and boxes after you moved and never touched them again?
Instead of waiting until you move and then looking at all the stuff you have wondering if you can get an affordable removal service to take all the clutter to your new house just sort it now.
Even if you have no plans to move. Why live cluttered in the meantime? You don’t need to have lots of clutter for a house to be homely! It makes your life easier and you’ll spend less time cleaning. Who doesn’t like living simply?
Living minimalistically
Maybe by starting to live more minimally you will find you don’t even need to consider moving house as you create space. It is amazing how much space you can make by getting rid of things you do not need, making the things that give it character stand out.
I have done most of my kitchen now so the next step is my lounge. I have an added incentive here as we want a new carpet. The more I can get rid of the more I won’t have to move when we are getting the new carpet! At the same time, I might get some new curtains and ensure I don’t keep the current ones hoarded “just in case”!
How do you decide how many old bills, letters and bank statements to keep? Do you shred everything before you chuck it out? That is going to be my next task, it will be worth it though. Maybe I should find someone with a hamster who can use all the shredded paper! Keep important papers like bills and bank statements for six months before shredding them.
Other rooms
Do you even hoard in your bathroom? I do. I have so many shampoos and such that I have bulk bought at a far faster rate than I use them. Theoretically in my decluttering, I should also have a month or two where I spend less as I use all the things I discover I have or donate them to the food bank! Your cupboards will soon be clutter-free for a more minimalist lifestyle.
What do you hoard? Do you have boxes of stuff from your last house move that have never seen the light of day? I moved in with Stuart 3.5 years ago and have a few boxes like that still so they really should go. I also need to get Ben’s baby clothes out and get rid of lots.
There are some I want to keep for sentimental reasons but I am pretty sure that does not have to be a whole suitcase full!
Do you think you need to move house? Why not declutter your home and see if you still need to move?
