10 steps to cut the clutter

As I talked about on Monday, Noel & I are hopefully going to be moving in the near future.  Chances are, we'll be downsizing, which means we'll need to go through all of our belongings and keep only what is necessary.  So today, I thought I'd share 10 tips to keep in mind as you sort through your own things to help you conquer the clutter.

1. Start small & stay organized:

Start with one room, one section of a room, one closet, or give yourself one hour.  Whatever it is, choose a manageable amount of time/work so you don’t get overwhelmed.  Then get out two large boxes.  Label one “donate,” and the other “trash.”  Lastly, create a pile where you'll put everything you’re going to keep.  As you go through everything and ask yourself the following questions, put each item in its coordinating box or pile.  Most importantly, once you’re done, put everything in the keep pile away, bring the donate box directly to your car, and the trash box straight to the trash.

2. Did you forget you owned it?

This is the easiest one.  If you find something that you forgot you had, you can bet you’ll forget about it as soon as you pack it up and get rid of it.  Even if it’s something you haven’t necessarily forgot about, if you know you won’t miss it – in the donate box it goes.

3. When did you last use it/when will you use it next?

These are quite possibly two of the most important questions to ask when going through your stuff, and to help you clear everything out, implement the one year rule: if you haven’t used it in the past year, and you don’t know an exact time within the next year you will use it, it’s time for it to go.  This especially holds true for clothes/shoes/accessories.  If you haven’t worn it in a year, it’s time to donate it to someone who will wear it.  I’m guilty of this when it comes to clothes, as I have quite the way of convincing myself “oh, but it will look cute if I wear it with this…” or, “what if I want to wear it for x occasion…” and then guess what, another year goes by it and remains unworn.  No more excuses.  If you haven’t worn/used it in a year, it’s time to go.

4. Can it be digitized?

So much of the clutter in our lives comes from paper trails, but in reality, there are hardly any papers that we are required to keep anymore.  Try switching all of your bills to online statements – that way you always have access to them, yet they take up no physical space.  The same goes for receipts – have them emailed whenever possible, and scan any really important ones.  And if there are any important documents you need to keep, scan them in, just be sure you back up your computer so you don’t lose everything should it crash.

Old pictures can be scanned in to avoid having shoeboxes upon shoeboxes of loose photographs.  If you’re organized and keep all of your pictures in an album, you don’t have to get rid of them, but I would definitely recommend having them all scanned in at some point, because how awful would it be if anything ever happened to your home and you lost all of them?

Movies can be converted to digital formats, which frees up tons of physical space.  Noel and I have even stopped buying movies altogether because we’ve found we don’t watch a lot of movies, and whenever we do, we want to watch something new, so we either turn to Netflix or else hit up a local Redbox.

CD’s are a big one.  I can’t tell you how much space you’ll save by importing them all into itunes and saying goodbye to all those jewel cases.

5. Could someone else make better use of it now/could you repurchase it later?

Going back to the one-year rule, if it’s something you know you’ll need, but not for a while, and it is easy to repurchase, then donate it.  Chances are, someone else needs it now, so there’s no use in you holding onto it and it taking up your limited space.

6. Do I have another item that serves the same purpose?

This one seems like a no-brainer, but you wouldn’t believe how many of us have duplicate items that serve the same purpose.  As an example, for a shower gift, my awesome bridesmaids bought me an aqua stand mixer I’ve had my eye on forever.  However, I still have an electric hand mixer that’s practically brand new, that I obviously never use anymore.  I haven’t gotten rid of the hand mixer because like I said, it’s pretty much brand new, but how silly of me to keep it when I never use it, and probably never will again.  Especially considering someone else actually has a need for it.

7. Is it really worth it?

Is the item you’re considering keeping more trouble than it’s actually worth?  For instance, is it broken, and you’ve “been meaning” to fix it for a long time now.  Or, look at it from another perspective: is it really worth the space it’s taking up?  Space is valuable, and would you rather keep that item over something else?

8. Is it a replacement for a memory?

This one gets me every time.  I’m a huge advocate for photographs over things when it comes to memories, because things can break, get lost, and cause clutter, whereas pictures and videos literally take you back to that time.  I always try not to buy souvenirs when I travel, and if I do, I’ll have it be a scarf or a piece of jewelry that I know I’ll wear and use. 

9. Stick to one box.

If there are sentimental items that aren’t functional that you just can’t part with, confine yourself to one box.  There is no use to have boxes upon boxes of stuff that will always remain in boxes.  So keep the sentimental stuff that is actually useful, and then limit yourself on how much else you can keep.  This ensures you keep what’s most important, without filling your basement with boxes upon boxes.

10.  Do you need it/do you love it?

As you go through everything, if it’s something you need (emphasis on the need, not want), then you should obviously keep it.  However, you’ll quickly find that there are few things that you really do need.  With that being said, I don’t think you should just get rid of everything you don’t need.  However, you should ask yourself “do I love it?”  If you love it and it makes you smile, keep it.  If you don’t, it’s not worth hanging on to.

I hope this little list has helped you clear through some of your own clutter, whether you’re moving or simply just cleaning up around the house.  And to wrap things up today, I thought I’d leave you with one of my all time favorite quotes by good old Mr. Morris: