Decluttering and Organizing

[coffeeowl]

This is the thread to talk about all of your decluttering and organizing tips and woes! Please post any pics or thoughts to inspire and support the rest of us. Please be kind and follow all the rules of the forum.

Here are some great resources I've used to declutter my apartment after many moves across country. Feels good to let it go!

Konmari Method

Named after the organizer star of the decade Marie Kondo who has a show on Netflix.
https://konmari.com/

If you need to declutter your whole house she can help with that. I personally LOVE her laundry folding tips! My drawers are organized y'all!

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30-Day Minimalism Game

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This is my personal favorite! You get rid of 1 thing on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd and so on up to day 30. At the end you have gotten rid of 465 things.

I did this 3 times before my last move and it was much easier than saying "I'm going to declutter the office today." I tend to get overwhelmed so this small accomplishment allowed me to build on my success! And yes, small items such as pens, paper, ANYTHING count. Definitely search youtube for more videos if you need inspiration. You can also change the numbers to say 1 a day or 5 a day or 1 small box a week. There are no rules so do what is best for your situation. I will be doing this again next month to do with paper clutter and some sentimental stuff I've been avoiding. I'll let you know how it goes.

This article https://www.becomingminimalist.com/creative-ways-to-declutter/ by Joshua Becker has even more great ways to get started!

Good luck out there everyone! I know how hard and stressful this can be but you can do it!

What methods are you using? Please share below!

 

[coffeeowl]

Here is my giveaway pile currently. It is an old typewriter table right by the front door. Since I have to look at it daily it encourages me to take it to the Goodwill or clothing donation box in my neighborhood. A few days ago I filled it up with old winter items (and extra shopping bags) I don't need anymore in Texas.

 

[delaneyyy]

I really like this approach: Tackling a Major Clean-Up. She isn't as much concerned with immediacy as finding long-term solutions, and she deals with the worst stuff first (TRASH and dishes/glasses!). It takes two weekends, so you need more than that one day burst of energy, but she's also got good tips in general. My only issue with this is that I'll spend a ton of money at the Container Store and then never actually put the stuff I buy to use....

 

[savvy]

I love well labeled totes.

But also, if I haven't used something in a year and it isn't for a specific purpose (like camping), I donate/toss it. I will NOT keep random clothes.

My boyfriend on the other hand..... but we are working on it.

 

[coffeeowl]

I really like this approach: Tackling a Major Clean-Up. She isn't as much concerned with immediacy as finding long-term solutions, and she deals with the worst stuff first (TRASH and dishes/glasses!). It takes two weekends, so you need more than that one day burst of energy, but she's also got good tips in general. My only issue with this is that I'll spend a ton of money at the Container Store and then never actually put the stuff I buy to use....

The Container Store is wonderful and evil at the same time! You can definitely go overboard on organizers. For my current place I'm trying to reuse other items like my extra baking pans/tupperware for my large bathroom cabinet organizers. That way when I need them I can use them for other tasks.

I love well labeled totes.

But also, if I haven't used something in a year and it isn't for a specific purpose (like camping), I donate/toss it. I will NOT keep random clothes.

My boyfriend on the other hand..... but we are working on it.

My label maker broke! I did get quite a bit of use out of it. Not sure I need another one but it was fun.

As for the boyfriend...good luck!

 

[themildone]

I finally got so anxious from all my clutter and mess that I started decluttering in earnest today. Got rid of 2 giant boxes and a trashbag of my son's toys, 2 boxes of books, and 2 big boxes of miscellaneous junk. Organized some of kiddo's toys and all of his art supplies, rearranged the books and cloth bins on my bookshelves to make it look better and fit more. I've been a busy bee but I feel like I've barely made a dent!

 

[coffeeowl]

I finally got so anxious from all my clutter and mess that I started decluttering in earnest today. Got rid of 2 giant boxes and a trashbag of my son's toys, 2 boxes of books, and 2 big boxes of miscellaneous junk. Organized some of kiddo's toys and all of his art supplies, rearranged the books and cloth bins on my bookshelves to make it look better and fit more. I've been a busy bee but I feel like I've barely made a dent!

Good job!

 

[C to the J]

ebay solves my clutter but also adds to it.
its a vicious cycle

 

[coffeeowl]

I have been doing the 30-Day Minimalism Game but not consistently this month. I've gotten rid of an old vase, tons of papers, shredded old photos that are now on hard drives and donated tons of pens to a friend who is a teacher. Need to do tons more!

 

[themildone]

So after a week of decluttering, organizing, and buying new bins at Dollar Tree, I have gotten rid of 9 large boxes and about 5 30 gallon trash bags of STUFF. Clothes, books, toys, random knick knacks. My house feels SO. MUCH. BIGGER. and my anxiety has calmed down so much. Also I've kept the whole house clean for 2 weeks, which is tbh a new record because I'm a troll.