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How do I simplify and declutter my life? Need recommendations….
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I am working this year to declutter my life. I have gone through virtually everything I own and am working to get rid of things I don’t use or need. I am working to use the computer less and watch tv less. As a single working mom who homeschools, I am working to use my time more wisely, but I am looking for tips/suggestions.
What have others found that work?
I, too, have been working toward simplifying my life. I have found the following 2 blogs VERY helpful.
http://www.becomingminimalist.com
Both sites have several essays/posts that I found to be helpful on my journey to simplifying my whole life. From my STUFF to my HEALTH, FINANCES & RELATIONSHIPS.
Hope they help 🙂
Start with de-cluttering your stuff. If you haven’t used it or touched it 6 months, it needs to go. I am not a sentimental person, so I am cleaning out ALL.THE.TIME. My husband jokes that I’m the exact opposite of a hoarder! LOL! I absolutely love re-organizing, de-cluttering, having garage sales, and filling up the dumpster with things I don’t need/use. And the more I do it, the more I find to get rid of.
I think what’s helped me the most is to set my priorities and stick to them. If something comes along and doesn’t line up with my priorities, then it’s not hard to say NO, whether it be a time commitment or allowing something in the house (like stuff people want to give us, etc.).
Many minimalists will say that you need to keep your belongings to a certain number or less. I’ve even heard of some who own less than 100 items, including kitchen stuff, books, and clothing combined! While I applaud their efforts to live on an extremely small amount, I also say that this isn’t practical for most of us. I have more than 100 books, so I’m already failing their standards! LOL!
Just keep what you use or what you love and get rid of the rest. Simple as that. Don’t hold on to stuff because “you might need it one day” or because you spent money on it or because your kids might want/need it some day. It costs you time, space, sanity, and life to keep, move, and clean things you don’t need.
My house is clutter-free, so I’m working on our closets. I’m slowly building capsule wardrobes for all of us, especially myself. Clothing is a weakness for me because I love sales and I love fashion. But I often acquire more than I really need. So now, if I get one new thing, one old thing gets donated. I am also avoiding sales now and spending more money on classic pieces that I can easily mix and match with everything (such as a blazer that can be worn with jeans or a skirt or dress pants or over a dress). I’ve started pinning ideas for my own capsule wardrobe here.
Some other ideas for simplifying and creating a space you love and works for you:
–scan photographs into your computer and discard the original. Back it up to a hard drive. You’ll always have the photos, but eliminates clutter and keeps you from having to store and/or move it.
–don’t have items that do the same thing, such as a blender and a food processor, even if you have room for them. White space is freeing.
–remember that memories are in your heart and mind, not in things. Your daughter probably won’t wear your wedding dress, you don’t have to hold on to the china platter your great aunt gave you when you got married if you’re not using it (she’ll never know!).
–don’t go buy a bunch of containers to “organize” your stuff. You’ll spend more money organizing it and still have the same amount of stuff than you would if you just got rid of it.
I recently read The Clutter Trap (e-book). It’s awesome for people who have a hard time getting rid of the things that clutter their lives. I highly recommend it!
We all have limits on not only how much space we have available, but also how much time we have. Space is an easy one, it’s fairly easy to see when a drawer is overflowing and won’t close. But time? That one is not as obvious. What Lindsey mentioned about priorities I think is very important. What is a priority for one family may or may not be a priority for another family. Life is hardly stagnant so priorities can and should change. I would encourage you to look at your time as being extremely precious and valuable. As homeschooling mothers we not only care our families, but we have even more demands on our time with schooling. You also work (I do too) and provide the financial support for your family. While I am not the breadwinner in my family, my husband is, I help him run our business and have had additional part time jobs in the summer. Time is something I do not have in excess! I have begun place a higher value on my time. Right now I cannot, as much as I would like to, eliminate some of my responsibilities. (I would really love to hire an accountant and not work every Saturday and not have another part time job this summer, or have the extra money to hire someone to come clean!) So, I’m left with God, my children and myself. (My husband helps when he can, but many times our business is a one man show – he works very hard!) I’ve spent way too much time wishing away my current circumstances and far too little time training my children to be helpful around the house. I forget that God will give me the strength to get what needs to be done AND the ability to treasure the moments I have with my children. Regardless if we are folding laundry, reading a science lesson, going to the store, or they have to play quietly while I work. I guess what I am saying, is that priorities are even more important for you (I grew up in a single parent home) and your time is even more valuable because there isn’t as much of it to go around. I would ask yourself: “How can I make my work and household duties as efficient as possible?” and “The time that I do have, what do I really want to do with it? Do we really want to do this? Is it really important to us?” I wanted to go fly kites and bake cookies this afternoon, and couldn’t because I didn’t take care of things I needed to earlier this week. (So I’m preaching to the choir!!)
Lindsey, would you mind telling the author of that book? I can’t find it under that exact title. Could it be “The Clutter Antidote”?
The Minimalist Mom site/blog is one of my favorite sites to read. I think that is where I read the term “minimal-ish” for a less etreme form of minimalism that still embraces simplicity, and that term fits my family well.
We just moved from a rural area of Germany back to the states (“just” as in three weeks) and circumstances had us living a very simple life there. There just weren’t as many opportunities to buy too much clutter or get over-busy! All the “busy-ness” (shops, ads, etc.) here in the states already has my and my boys’ heads spinning. We’ve already had to do a lot of shopping for things as we re-set up our household and my husband and I unofficially developed a code phrase when we see something that looks SO cool but we just don’t need. One will stop to look at something and we will say, “shiny dot!” Then we laugh and move on. (Shiny dot meaning something gets your attention but isn’t significant. It’s shiny, but just a dot. I know. We’re odd.) The kids are catching on too. It’s silly, but it’s working.
Lindsey summed up in a few statements what a LOT of simplifing books & blogs say with a lot more words. The books are good to read for encouragement and details, but she has outlined a great place to start.
~Nicole
Robin Konie is the author, and the whole book title is How to Finally Escape the Clutter Trap. I’ve read a lot of simplifying and organizing books and blogs, and this is by far the best. She focuses on changing the mindset around clutter much more than actually getting it organized, which I think is key. When your mind changes about your stuff, it’s a lot easier to get rid of it.
Years ago, we had lots and lots of stuff. Our garage was full, closets were full, cabinets were full. And I’m telling you that I spent more time trying to get all of it to a place of not driving me crazy than I care to talk about. Then in 2007, we moved to Dallas so my hubby could attend Bible college. We were able to fit a very limited amount of things in our on-campus townhouse, so we packed the essentials and stored the rest back home. When we moved home 2 years later, and I got our stuff out of storage, I was amazed at how much of it we really didn’t need. Most of it got sold or trashed–and we had stored it for 2 years!!
Ever since then, my husband and I both have made it a life goal to always live simply. We clean out and go through our stuff all the time, and as much as we get rid of, we always find more we can live without. I actually have an empty cabinet and a couple of empty drawers in my kitchen! We have 2 empty closets in our house! It’s amazing!
And now I don’t buy containers and bins to organize stuff; I just get rid of it! We have found that we don’t truly need a lot of the “extras” that most people can’t seem to live without. We have one set of sheets for all beds in the house. If they get dirty or someone pukes, we wash them and that person sleeps on another blanket until they’re dry. We have gotten rid of almost all our DVDs because we have movies on netflix and iTunes that don’t take up space at all. I do like to decorate for different seasons, but I limit it to a cute seasonal wreath for my front door and my mantle. Before, I stuck seasonal stuff all over the house–even in the bathroom! Not anymore because I figured out that I can live with a lot less.
I’m telling y’all, this is one of the most freeing things I’ve discovered in my life. And it’s not something you do ONCE. You have to stay on top of it. Even if you’re not buying stuff, there’s always Christmas and birthdays when gifts are brought into the house. And the more you do it, the more you figure out you don’t need. It’s almost a game to us now to see how little we can live with. Except books. I have a hard time getting rid of books. So books and cute clothes may be my two weaknesses, but I’m working on the clothes thing. 😉
Thanks, Lindsey, for all the advice! I really need to get a handle on this. Paper is my downfall (and the kids rooms…and the garage…and the storage room, argh!!) When you mentioned your husband’s comment, it reminded me of my clutter-free friend. Her husband tells her that if he stays in one place too long she’ll throw HIM out:)
Thanks again…and I’m going to check out those minimalist sites….
So many great posts here! Good timing for me as I consider how to downsize again before a move. My dh said maybe we’re going to have to keep moving until we learn how to live more simply. lol
Thanks for the extra info on the book. It wasn’t on Amazon, but you can buy the pdf from her website. There was actually a “name your price” option, which was new to me.
I really like what’s been said about changing your mindset, and the self-analsis questions that have been shared. Sonya’s new talk fits so well with all this too!
Yes, I think God is moving on hearts everywhere to get past the things that clutter our lives, minds, and hearts, and get back to what is most important: PEOPLE. Without junk taking up space in our lives and hearts, it’s much easier to focus on relationships: our marriages, our children, our friends, and the lost. I’ve never seen what I call the “Simplicity Movement” have more momentum than right now. People are tired of keeping up with the Joneses and having to alway have a bigger house with more closets to keep their junk. I love what I’m seeing and find it very encouraging. Less is more, less is more!
Thank you Lindsey. I have been trying to ponder and move on this in terms of biblical instruction (coveting? idols?). You are inspiring. Getting rid of my clothes should be the easiest….I don’t fit in most of them anyway. Thankfully God’s provision on that particular topic is to give our church the opportunity to donate clothes to an organization called Restoration Thrift.
I want to read your posts again slowly. Your capsule wardrobe is new to me. I need fashion help in a big way so I will look into that, also. I am the woman who wrote to you about debt and Dave Ramsey. Getting rid of our debt is spilling over into getting rid of EVERYTHING extra. I hope many more people chime in about how they have accomplished this in their life.
I love simplicity and white space as well. It helps me to fully appreciate/concentrate on a few beautiful things in my life instead of being distracted by too much clutter. Clutter is dizzying to me. It’s like I can’t decide what to do first or where to start.
I love this thread. I am trying to be more discerning in my possession choices. I am looking forward to Sonya’s new workshop on this very thing.
This may seem a little bit different, but with the topic being simplicity and decluttering, what about in the realm of school and scheduling? Just thought I’d throw that out there. I know Sonya has a new seminar on simplicity which I would absolutely LOVE to be able to hear if they make DVDs available. Anyone have thoughts on this? Especially simplicity at the high school level.
I live in the Great State of Texas where the mandatory homeschool subjects are reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship. Talk about the law of simplicity (IF you remember that in the beginning, this is all that’s needed!) Makes for a simple start and a simple way to get the kids equipped to simply learn on their own simply….simply!
School and scheduling simplification, for me, begins with staying home!
So I just finished reading the book Lindsey recommended and I am thrilled that I am ahead of the game in some areas but paper seems to be my weakness! I am sitting at my desk making progress with my purging and I keep staring at my cds of audiobooks. I burn them onto the computer and then they seem to just sit on my desk in a stack. Where do you store your cd’s? Thanks.
Also, I have to share how freeing this is! I kept getting held back from getting things done and I thought it was my system that was not working. So my system would fall away and then I would have nothing because I needed to create a new system and I couldn’t get to it. So I was drowning in my stuff! I could have the best system but with all this stuff I can’t get to my wonderful system!! I’m pretty organized already and I de-clutter a lot so it was really hard for me to see this extra stuff. I’m totally guilty of getting a deal and then saving the item for later use…and then storing it…ugh! The money I could have used on the stuff I need now. This really opened my eyes.
Happy purging/trashing/donating/selling!!
-Leslie
A HUGE helpful resource for us in the area of simplifying our home and life has been Crystal Paine’s website –
This mom has been a blessing to so many people! She was recently on Focus on the Family and has a new book that has just been released, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode
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