5 principles to use when decluttering

A series of events/podcasts/messages I've been hearing over the past several months (from Allie Casazza, Jody Moore, Shira Gill [via Brooke Castillo and Jody Moore], and Jen Hatmaker), coupled with the fact that I wanted to spend more than we had saved for Christmas this year, led me to really start decluttering our belongings.

I think the message that spoke most to me and got me started was Jody's podcast on "editing your life." I studied editing in college, and I really loved that metaphor. You edit a manuscript so that it contains exactly the information it needs to be good -- no more, no less; the same can be true of life -- you get rid of all the excess that isn't serving you so that you can focus on all the good stuff. (sidenote -- I can edit other people's writing, but mine always comes out way too wordy, so don't judge me for this super wordy post, along with all my other wordy posts! haha)

I have been LOVING getting rid of things! It's like you don't know how much excess you have until you try to get rid of it, and then it seems like the chore that will never end 😂 Luckily, it's a chore I enjoy!

I wanted to share some principles I've been using in my decluttering. The info is gleaned from the various people I've already mentioned, and there are also other tidbits I've picked up throughout my life:

• If you have an item you're not currently using and have no concrete plans to use it, get rid of it if it can be replaced by traveling less than 20 miles and spending less than $20. 
• I LOVE THIS RULE. I don't remember where I first heard it, but it has been such an eye-opener for me! Before decluttering, I had soooo many crafty supplies from previous crafts. I had no plans to use them in future crafts, so I just kept them "just in case." But here's the thing -- how often do we actually use our "just in case" items?! And then you might find that you've moved an item around from house to house over twenty years (which you absolutely don't even remember you own at this point, even if you were to want it!) just to never use it. Doesn't it sound much nicer to just donate or sell the item, and then if you happen to need orange spray paint ever again, you can just go grab some from Walmart for $4? I definitely think so.
• Sometimes we own a bunch of similar items that are slightly different, and trying to decide which to use can cause decision fatigue. (Perhaps a minor issue, but one of those daily happiness stumbling blocks that could be easily fixed!) Streamline any items that you can so that you only own multiples of exactly what you like.
• This is one of my favorite realizations I've had (I think inspired by Allie Casazza when she talks about dishes). I slightly worry that it's turning me into a bit of a robot, but I love it nonetheless. There are so many things that we seem to collect over time without even trying to. Hangers that come home with new shirts. Writing pens from various hotels. Mugs with various logos on them. But then sometimes the hanger you want for this particular shirt isn't available because you accidentally hung a different shirt on it, or you want a blue pen but can only find black, or you want the big mug, but it's already in the dishwasher. I've found that streamlining items like this totally boosts my happiness! I've had matching hangers for years (like 5+), and I love that I never have to worry about which shirt belongs to which hanger -- they all just go on the exact same type of hanger, and its a hanger without hooky things that the clothing can get caught on. With the onset of my decluttering bug, I also threw out ALL of my writing pens, and picked up an 8-pack of the exact same pens (for like $0.86!). And I got rid of any mismatched mugs we owned, and picked up four large, simple, white ones that I love. As I go into detail on this, I really feel like someone out there is going to think I'm crazy and that these things don't matter, but I don't care. I love it, and it totally works for me. And any random hanger, pen, or mug that comes into my life can promptly leave because it doesn't belong with my matching sets. I'm already thinking about finding the perfect sweatpants and buying two pairs exactly the same so that I can get rid of the other pairs I already own that aren't quite what I want/need.
• Other ideas for items you can streamline: socks, underwear, slippers, dishes, hair ties, makeup. I guess you could say that's even part of why I switched to digital scrapbooking -- everything looks more sleek and streamlined.
• Also one more note about this -- streamlining certain items allows for more creativity in other areas. So for instance, I'm not one who wants to buy seven of the same shirt so that I can wear it every single day -- I want some different options for my clothing! But when it comes to mugs or pens, I do not need options, so why have them? Simplify what you can so that you have the mental capacity for the complexity of other areas of your life :)
• Don't hold onto things just because your "ideal self" would use them.
• For instance, in an ideal world, I'd know more about makeup, and I'd use more makeup/try different looks all the time! However, in the real world, I have my makeup routine down, and I never deviate. Most of the time, I'm still rocking yesterday's makeup. So why did I own a bunch of eyeshadow, eyeliner, and other products that I never use? If I ever get to the point where I want to do more experimentation with makeup (or whatever the category is), I can just buy the items I want to experiment with. But as for now, that's just not on my radar. Another thing that falls into this category is "skinny clothes." You know, those clothes that fit you at one point, and they'll fit again if you just lose those 10 pounds! 
• Going hand in hand with the last one, be confident enough that you know you can replace anything you get rid of, if the need arises.
• We often hold onto things without realizing that the reason is we're afraid we won't be able to replace it. Like I was saying above, maybe there's a pair of jeans that was PERFECT when they fit, but now they don't fit, and yet you hold onto them. Are you afraid you won't be able to find another perfect pair of pants should you someday lose the weight? But it's not just clothes that this is true for -- you might have home decor items you're not using or serving platters that never get pulled out. If you're not currently using it and you don't have concrete plans to use it at some point in the future, you can get rid of things knowing that you can find something suitable in the future when you actually do plan to use it. (If something is sentimental or from a faraway country, definitely be a bit more cautious in getting rid of it, but also make sure it's something you actually want -- see below.)
• Don't keep things out of guilt.
• Sometimes we buy expensive things that never actually get used. Sometimes a family member gifts us an item we really don't need. Perhaps you used to buy a special item from every state or country you visited, only to decide now that you don't really have any use for your collection. And guess what? You don't need to keep any of it. If an item isn't serving you, it's draining you. You can love someone and still get rid of their gifts, you can admit you made a mistake shopping that one time and make a plan for how you'll avoid similar situations in the future, and you can love an item at one time and then decide you don't want it. There's no need to keep things you don't actually want to have around.

These are just a few of the ideas that have been helping me get rid of things. So far, I've sold $425+ worth of stuff. And truly, about $275 of that was items sold for $25 or less. I'm making pretty good money on stuff I don't want lying around! 

I've already done a once-over on every room in the house [so I guess I still haven't done the garage 😐], and tomorrow I'm starting a 30-day decluttering challenge, so we'll see how much more I can get rid of! I just have a simple goal of wanting clean counters and only things that I love and use -- can I ever get there?! :D

What are your favorite decluttering/minimalism principles?