31 Days of Calm in My Chaos

The art of de-cluttering really has to do with purging those things in your home that serve no real purpose and fail to add real benefit to your life.

For most of my life, I moved quite often. And what do you do when you move into a new house? It is the perfect opportunity to make decisions about your stuff. Purging comes naturally when you move – or at least it did for me.

We’ve been in our home for 11 years now. It is very easy to accumulate stuff when you’ve been in a home that long. Add in a husband who has an aversion for seeing anything tossed that he spent good money on… and well… yeah.

The last couple of years I’ve been slowly going through the house and getting rid of the excess stuff we own.

If you are married to a packrat very frugal person, like I am, then you know it can be really difficult to convince your spouse that IT IS OKAY TO LET THINGS GO. Add in sentimentality and there’s no way you’re convincing them.

Or maybe you’re that person like my husband who just really has a hard time accepting the fact that IT IS OKAY TO LET THINGS GO.

I am giving you permission to LET THINGS GO.

[Tweet “It is okay to let things go. Make the decision to get rid of the clutter in your life, today.”]

The solution that has worked for me? {I don’t know if this would work in your situation.} Out of frustration, when we no longer had room in our closets, drawers, bookshelves, etc., I began setting things that we no longer needed or had no room for in front of my husband’s home office door.

When he asks me why it is sitting in front of his office door, I explain to him that we have no room for it in the rest of the house. The item which had been previously cluttering up my life, home, room, is now his problem. More and more these days he’s been more agreeable to giving away things we don’t need – because he is also a neat freak.

I think he’s finally realizing that we just can’t keep everything. We really need much less than we realize.

3 Ways to Cut Down on Clutter

1. Own less. Get rid of the excess stuff in your home.
2. Shop less. Just don’t bring more stuff into your home. When you do make a purchase really decide if the new thing is going to make your life better or just add to the clutter.
3. Purge. When you do bring a new thing into your already full life, realize that something else will need to go in order to make room for the new thing.

[Tweet “Is clutter overwhelming your life? Find 3 ways to cut down on clutter. “]

It’s okay to let things go. So, on Tuesday of this week, I was washing the dishes and noticed that two of the rags I’d been using the past few days were more hole that fabric. Why do I hang on to things that have served me well, but are now falling apart?

I tossed them in the trash.

[Tweet “7 questions to ask yourself when de-cluttering your home:”]

As you go through your home de-cluttering, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I need this?
2. Is there something else I could use in it’s place?
3. Do I own another one? Do I really need two or more?
4. Is this stealing my joy by creating clutter in my life?
5. Could someone else use this item more than me?
6. Has this item served it’s purpose and now needs to be thrown out?
7. Does this item have a home or do I need to create a home for it? Where does it go?

[Tweet “Are you hanging on to stuff that you need to let go?”]

Are you hanging on to stuff that you need to let go?

Today’s Goal: Choose one area in your home – a closet, drawer, table top, etc – that needs to be de-cluttered and go for it!

And, just to make it easier for you to remember how to de-clutter and that it really is okay to let things go… I have this free printable for your household notebook or planner and it coordinates with my This is My Life Planners which are available in the bookstore {prices starting at $2.95}.

[Tweet “Free printable “How to De-Clutter”  chart for your household notebook.”]

How to Download

1. Follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram if you can. Or Pinterest. Thanks!
2. Download the .pdf file for How to De-Clutter here.