If you haven’t heard about the decluttering the nation has suddenly undertaken, well, I don’t know where you’ve been hiding! 😛
Charity shops have been inundated (hooray) with donations, everyone is selling more on the main second-hand sites, and recycling centres have people queuing to get in! Yes, seriously! People are sorting their prized possessions from their junk and getting rid of the excess.
If you haven’t heard of Marie Kondo by now, or the KonMari method, then have a quick look here! Marie Kondo is a Japanese organising consultant. The basic principles of her ‘Life Changing Method’ which she follows include:
- Committing yourself to tidying up
- Imagining your ideal lifestyle
- Finishing discarding first
- Tidying by category, not by location
- Following the right order
- Asking yourself if the item ‘sparks joy’
Of course, this method is not the only method available, and you may of course already have your own system. There are loads of books about organising, decluttering, tidying, discarding and mindfulness, and just picking up (libraries are great!) a book and flicking through can spark some motivation!
Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
- The chipped mug in the kitchen which you love but can’t drink out of – repurpose it as a pen pot, or even a plant pot, or (carefully), smash it and use the large pieces (use gloves) as decorative bits in the garden (press into soil or cement or use in pots).
- That top in your wardrobe which you wore before you lost 10kg (come on, optimism)! you haven’t worn it in a year, so donate it to charity.
- Those books which you bought as a student and haven’t touched since, they can go too (try a local reselling site)!
- The bubble bath you got as a gift three years ago but didn’t like the smell, if it’s unopened (& in date) donate it, otherwise use it as a sink cleaner and recycle the bottle.
- All those candles which you keep forgetting to light – do it now to create a relaxing environment whilst you start on all those papers on the desk…
Me? Well, I still have a LOT of books to sort and sell, and a desk to declutter then dismantle! I use the kitchen table as my workspace so I don’t need the desk anymore! 😀
Where are you going to start?!
I like the chipped mug idea, shame I don’t have any garden space at the moment lol? It must be very cathartic getting rid of old books, etc, you no longer use or need… once you’ve spent ages agonising whether to keep them or not due to sentimental reasons!? I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a litter lout but I’ve been known to leave books in public spaces, hoping someone takes it and enjoys it (don’t like throwing stuff away and not always possible giving it to a charity organisation)☺
I need all the books! lol! They’ve moved from the lounge to the spare room though! 😛 I’ve chosen a few to sell, a few to keep and a lot are undecided! I’ve left books around too – it actually has a name! ‘Book crossing’ and in Germany it’s more common than here! Most of my books are non-fiction though so it doesn’t work as well.. I did think of sending them to a school (teacher books) or to a vegan cafe (magazines and foodie books)…
That would make sense about Germany- I have come across a few places here where you can just help yourself to books in public areas, one being all kinds of books in a red telephone box! It’s a shame it isn’t much of a ‘thing’ in the UK. I’d not heard of book-crossing before, you learn something new every day☺Good luck with all the books! You probably forgot how much you had?
I totally agree. I think clearing things that you don’t or can’t use anymore or repurposing them is the way to go. It really clears out the clutter and you don’t realize how much you’ve kept until you pile them all together.
Indeed Evelyn! 😀 It’s so much easier to work and live in a clear clutter free space too. What have you decluttered?