How To Systematically Get Rid Of Stuff You No Longer Need: Rule #1 Make a List

We are continuing our blog theme that offers common sense ideas for DECLUTTERING your living space.  Rule #1 is to make a list.  The list should be in three broad categories: T is for Throwaway, G is for Giveaway, and S for Saleable Items.  Under these three broad categories, write down specific areas on which you will concentrate.  This first draft of your list does not have to be all inclusive.  And of course the areas will differ depending on your lifestyle and the stuff that you have accumulated over the years.  For example, the young couple with small kids would no doubt include areas like baby items, toys, children’s clothing, etc.  For us empty nesters, we would include areas such as clothing, shoes, household items, books, tapes and dvds, old electronic equipment, golf clubs, Christmas decorations, other holiday decorations, kitchen appliances, old pictures, clocks, radios, and the list could go on and on.

How do you determine which category to put an item in?  Well, obviously if the item is no longer working or the piece of clothing or the pair shoes are worn out, then they would go in the T pile.  The Gs include anything that is still usable, still works, or is still wearable.  The S categoryis an area that I am currently learning more about.  I have furniture that I am presently trying to sell on various web sites.  I have given myself 2 to 3 months to use this avenue to sell these pieces, but this furniture must be gone before I move in about three months.  Since they are nice pieces of furniture, and still have some value, my next step will be to explore area consignment shops so that at least I can get something for them.  I will keep you posted and let you know how it goes.

The hardest thing about DECLUTTERING is getting started.  But once you get started, it becomes a very liberating experience.  When I moved from Michigan to Florida and 2011, I significantly downsized my stuff.  It started off being a very painful experience to part with items that I had accumulated for over 30 years.  I even had items in the storage area of my basement that belonged to my parents who have been deceased for over 25 years.  I had literally thousands of books, including textbooks that belonged to me or my daughter from our respective high school and college years.  For some strange reason, I had kept every General Motors check stub from 1974 to 2002 when I retired.  I had a box containing my mother’s canceled checks dating back to the 1980s.  I had bedding for beds that I no longer owned, and draperies and tablecloths that I no longer needed.  Some of these items I kept because I felt they had a sentimental value, but other items I just kept because I had the space and I always thought that one day I would painstakingly go through these items and decide what to keep and what to get rid of.  Well that time came in 2011 when I knew that I could not take all that stuff with me to Florida.  It was tough getting started trying to decide which  category to put all this stuff in, but once I got started it became a very liberating experience.  To free oneself from encumbrances of all kinds gives one a sense of freedom and lightness. 

 

I realized that I could not take over 1,000 books with me to Florida.  I allowed myself two boxes of books.  Deciding which books would make the cut was very painful, but the ones that I kept have special meaning.  And the Canton MI Public Library benefited from all those books that I donated to the library for their resale shop.

 Shoes were also very difficult to go through because I was one of those women who had shoes for every occasion whether that occasion actually happened or not.  I had a shoe jones and shoes were in every closet and in every space available.  I allowed myself two Rubbermaid tubs of shoes to take to Florida.  I lined up all my shoes (and there were hundreds of them), and systematically chose shoes based on need and not want.  So I wound up with one tub of gym shoes, flip flops and sandals, and the second sub was filled with dressy flats and heels.  My daughter gave me the best advice that helped me to break the logjam of indecision when she said “Mom, how many pair of black pumps do you really need?” The correct answer was one, and the rest went into the giveaway or throwaway piles.

Clothing can be difficult to sort through.  It is true that most of us wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time.  So, in your quest to declutter your clothes closets, I suggest that you give yourself 30 days to observe those pieces of clothing that you actually wear.  So, for our present warm weather season, put together outfits and cluster your clothing in your closet so that your “go-to” outfits are close at hand.  As you wear each outfit, and after washing or dry cleaning the item, put it back in your closet but turn the hanger in the opposite direction.  That way, at the end of 30 days you’ll be able to see that 20% that you’re actually wearing, and then you would have identified that 80% of your clothing that you do not wear very often and that you need to assess.

 Well, I hope that by this weekend some of you will get started on making your lists and making your cuts of what to throw away, give away, or set up.

 

So, let’s go!  More next time…