My decluttering tips
January is traditionally a month for clearing out – getting rid of things that no longer serve you and making way for the new year ahead. I am not perfect with decluttering – piles still do accumulate in our house – but the foundations I’ve learned from the process serve me well and I try to clear little and often to keep on top of things. Failing that a sort out every few months tends to work! I should also say that having to move 3 times in the space of a year when we did our recent renovation was motivation to keep belongings as light as possible and only pay for storage that we absolutely needed. I’ll write a bit about how it all started for me and also cover a few things that people have asked about specifically….
How it all started
I didn’t know this quote at the time but I have heard it many times since, as I’m sure you perhaps have too. But it does sum up how I fell in to decluttering and allowed me to release things that no longer served me. In fact, I realised how little I had that did serve me, particularly in my wardrobe. This was back in the autumn of 2016 where I stumbled across (the now fairly infamous book) Spark Joy by Marie Kondo. We were on holiday in the Lake District and staying in a delightful Cumbrian flint cottage in the middle of nowhere with no wifi but surprisingly, a rather lovely scandi style homeware shop and café a stone’s throw from where we were staying. Visiting was to become part of our daily routine that week and was where I found said book. Curled up by the fire in the evenings I devoured the book and it led me to asking the question – how much of what I had did I really love – or indeed Spark Joy? I was keen(ish) to get home and find out!
The Cumbrian cottage where my decluttering interest was piqued!
I started the decluttering process with alarming swiftness and as I emptied all of my clothes on to my bed, I realised how little of them I actually loved. Some were beautiful but had been bought in the sale and were a good price for what they were - but they didn’t suit my colouring or my body shape or actually, my natural style. Some were cheap, poorly fitting and really didn’t make me feel good at all. By the end of the process, 75% of my clothes were bagged up to be sold on eBay or passed on to charity. I was rather horrified but also liberated. It was a huge turning point for me.
I then started to think about my values and how much I love quality – I would rather invest in fewer things that I adore than have more things that aren’t quite so nice. This led me to researching capsule wardrobes and I did Jessica Rose William’s course a few months later, which helped to confirm this was how I wanted to live (she is an inspiring minimalist if you don’t already know her!) I have since built up a wardrobe of clothes I love – some have been swapped out and passed on but all are really good quality - no fast fashion - timeless items that I love. In fact things normally only get replaced once they’re worn out and I’m often a little heartbroken that that’s happened. I have had two long sleeved striped t-shirts which have never been matched (one replaced the other) – both got attacked by moths (nooooo!) and the brands no longer produce the style now. Of course there are hundreds of striped t shirts to choose from out there but I’m yet to find one that fits as well or suits me like those ones did and so the search continues. I’ve become (more) fussy and sometimes it’s quite annoying! But it’s also a really good thing, I only have things I love and I consume little now in the way of clothes. When you see the pictures of discarded clothing in landfill you realise that we perhaps don’t really need the amount of clothes we think we do. After all, there’s a statistic that claims we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time…. Having fewer clothes also means that putting them away is a dream – quick and easy - as there’s plenty of room for them in my chest of drawers and wardrobe. I used to have piles sat in the basket waiting to be put away but I couldn’t face the battle of finding space for them!
The start of my capsule wardrobe in 2018 - don’t worry, this was just the start!
I moved on from my wardrobe to the other belongings that I had. Paperwork is my nemesis I must say but more and more is going online now so it’s naturally become more streamlined. Also immediately dealing with any paperwork that comes through the post and reviewing files every 6 months helps to keep on top of it. The stuff that accumulates with children is another topic of its own and I’ll cover that below!
Things that you have a need for but not frequently
I think the question to ask here is ‘can I do without or improvise with something else?’ There are often things you already have in the cupboard which will serve you just as well or almost as well. Alternatively, is it something you could borrow if / when you need it? If the item is taking up precious storage space or indeed making you look at getting more storage, I would encourage you to consider seeing if you can do without it somehow.
Children’s stuff
This is an area most of us struggle with and for good reason – little people have their own minds and know what they like….and they are their possessions at the end of the day! Explaining to them that you’re going to have a sort through to see what things you could pass on to another child who would really appreciate the toys they don’t play with so much can get them in to the mindset of thinking about what they really value and want to keep hold of. When I asked my eldest this recently he went in to slight overdrive! As for the clothes we wear in our wardrobe, apparently children also play with only 20% of their toys 80% of the time! Too much choice is also overwhelming for them which is why things take up precious space and rarely get looked at. Christmas and birthdays are another good prompt to have the conversation about making way for some new things. And presents don’t always have to be toys either. Of course I’m not saying no toys! More that you can think of experiences that they’ll love too – perhaps a trip to the theatre or a night away camping or a picnic with only their favourite foods. It will be really memorable and won’t require storage…! Another good approach is to do a toy rotation every couple of weeks – have a storage box out of sight but within easy reach and swap toys out in place of others every fortnight or so. This makes tidying up at the end of the day so much easier and also allows them to see and appreciate a smaller number of toys which will then get their fair share of attention.
Children’s toy storage can be beautiful!
Image credit: suendenherz.de via Pinterest
Where to take stuff for donation
Although a good clear out feels amazing, there is also a guilt with making sure that it doesn’t end up in landfill. For some of my better stuff, I still sell through eBay occasionally (although the fees add up more and more now) and Facebook Marketplace is great too – I offer to post for cost which then opens up more buyers too. I have a principle that if something hasn’t sold within e.g. 2 weeks, I’ll pass it on to charity. This helps to allow stuff to move on rather than gathering dust in a selling pile. During lockdown I know that charity shops became overwhelmed with donations and stopped needing them. Our local shops have started taking them again so I give to a variety on our local high street. I also give things away for free on Marketplace if I know a charity shop wouldn’t be able to sell them. Most stuff will go that way! For anything that isn’t suitable to pass on (e.g. has holes) then I’ll take them to a textiles recycling point. I like the Salvation Army’s ethos where everything is re-sold, re-used or recycled to lessen the impact on the environment but there are many others.
Books can be harder to pass on as charity shops don’t always take them and dedicated charity book shops often have too much supply. I found We Buy Books recently which is good because you make a little bit of money, they buy books they know they can sell on second hand and they also arrange collection free of charge.
making the most of storage you do have
I have had some questions about how to be effective with storage particularly in period houses where perhaps the loft has been converted and the space that was once for belongings has become living space. I would say that built-in storage is one of the best investments you can make and makes use of areas that might otherwise go to waste. I would also say to make sure that every room is working hard for its space. For example, the guest room is often unoccupied aside from a few weekends a year yet holds the potential for good storage space. Our guest room doubles up as an office and whilst it is nice to have space for guests to store their belongings whilst they visit, it also makes sense to have bookshelves which provide useful filing space. And the files don’t need to be ugly! You can also have a beautiful desk that can double up as a dressing table for guests. What I’m saying is leave no space unturned in making sure it works for you! I also think that older houses force us to be a bit more ruthless with our belongings - the less storage we have, the less baggage we have! I find it hard to believe that we our garage here is full yet we never had a garage when we were in London…. I think you do expand in to what you have so having less storage space is sometimes a good thing.