I will never be a minimalist. I don't want to be a minimalist. I happen to like my stuff...and I think I have pretty cool stuff. It's taken me a long time to accumulate my collection of things and that process is still ongoing... and a wholesale purge isn't ever going to happen..... BUT, I want my cool stuff to look good where it lives too...and sometimes it doesn't because it's so surrounded by other stuff.
I think that people are rushing right now to go out and "clean off surfaces" that they aren't seeing the bigger picture at all. We all own far too much stuff...and we keep buying far too much stuff. How many times have you gone out to buy an ingredient for cooking simply because you cannot find it in your pantry? I couldn't find tape at Christmas, so I ended up buying another 3 pack...then I found the two rolls I already had. Now I have 5 rolls of tape that I really don't need. Eventually, we are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff we have. My Grandpa used to call it "10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag". Over consumption isn't a new idea, and we aren't the first generation to have to deal with this...but there are now MORE of us with this problem.
I am going to write down my program that I use to organize and prioritize my stuff. I didn't invent the wheel here..I took some bits and pieces of many systems and made it into something that worse for me. It may not work for you.... and if it doesn't...that's ok.... just find something that you can do that will make your space easier and cleaner , so that it works for you...not against you.
First Steps.
Near your front door, set up three small boxes or bags. Mark them Donate, throw away, Decisions.
Go through your house, room by room...and find everything that is in the wrong room that is just out in the open, or where you know you've hidden it. If you keep all your lipstick in the bathroom and you have a tube on your bedside table, just move it to the room or place it should live. Do you drop your work bag on the dining table instead of the closet or hook where it should live? Move it. You will find a lot of random items near doors, in junk drawers and on table surfaces.....At this point though, you do NOT have to find it's permanent home...just the general vicinity or room iteself. I find this usually takes me around 10 to 15 minutes per room.... If you find something that has no place to live, now is the time to first utilize the three boxes. If you know you don't want to donate or throw away an object right now, just put it in the decisions box.... after this is done...congratulate yourself, because you have just started to unclutter your house.
Your space may appear to be more cluttered after this step...but it's important.....because before you unclutter...you need to start understanding just how much you own. It's also important, because this is actually the step where I find the most garbage. Candy wrappers, bags, receipts that I don't keep, the little bits of stuff that you get daily, and then drop off in places when you empty your pockets or purse. It's where I find the most money too.... mostly random change and dollar bills floating around the house. I set up a jar where I just put all that while I am cleaning. Last spring I found close to 70 bucks in change alone. This step can be done in stages... as long as you realize that every day you do this, you risk more little bits wandering around your house. I try to do this all in one day (actually one night ) I just go from room to room with a basket and get it done.
Filling a garbage bag of little bits is very satisfying...and will get you going to the next step, which is actually finding out what you own, and deciding if everything is going to stay or go....because you cannot really declutter anything, if you don't know what all is supposed to live there...can you?
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