My principle of decluttering
Hey,
You should know that I am an absolute opponent of cupboards. Well, most cupboards anyway. I thought about why that might be and I would blame the brown built-in cupboard in my parents' living room. I would even go so far as to say that they don't really know what's in there and theoretically they probably only really need 10% of it. Otherwise the monster just stands there without having a reason to exist and it doesn't even look nice (sorry Ma and Pa for the honest words, but you know my opinion on that ;). Unfortunately, I think things like that tend to accumulate far too quickly in cupboards that you initially just want to keep out of sight and then just forget about at some point. When friends come to visit me, I'm often asked where all my stuff is. Well, there's no stuff - you can just see everything. That's the advantage of not having cupboards - nothing accumulates in the first place! At the moment I only have my locker in the hallway where I keep my jackets and my Malm chest of drawers where I keep my bed linen and towels. Getting there wasn't easy though, as I used to love keeping things forever. That just occurred to me - how long do you actually have to keep bank statements???
Storing things also means getting rid of them. Some of my furniture had to make room for new ones this week. Actually, it was furniture that was very dear to me and many of my friends told me that I should not give it away under any circumstances (especially because I bought it so cheaply at flea markets). But what's the point of putting the beautiful armchair and the teak dresser in the basement when I can give someone else the chance to enjoy them instead? So I took pictures, wrote a short description and it took less than a week for me to sell everything. And since the things were picked up, I haven't even thought about them again. So they weren't as dear to me as I initially thought and I had a really liberating feeling when they were gone and made new space. And that's exactly why I thought I'd recommend my tips for clearing out or getting rid of things.
1. Don't keep everything!
I used to be really good at storing plastic bags because I thought I would need them again at some point (at the latest when I moved). That's total nonsense! Don't accumulate such things in the first place! For example, it's better to put a bag in your bag that you always carry with you so that you don't need a new bag the next time you go shopping (saves money and is good for the environment too). When it comes to furniture, I always notice that the time has come to get rid of it when I put it out of my direct line of sight. If I put furniture in the hallway, I know that its lifespan in my home will soon be over. It's exactly the same with decorative items - as soon as I put them in my storage room, I don't take them out again. In the wardrobe, it's the clothes that end up in an Ikea box under my bed. So don't accumulate them in such corners over the years, but rather get rid of them straight away and sell them via Kleiderkreisel or Ebay classifieds or even better: take them to a flea market near you, where you can see that the item is going into good new hands!
2. An old part must be removed for a new one!
At some point I started to get rid of an item as soon as I bought something new. In the wardrobe, that means: if I buy striped shirt number 5, then an old one has to go! Let's be realistic: it's nonsense that I'll ever wear all 5 striped shirts again. I either go for the new one or my favorite striped shirt. After all, you're also getting rid of your couch when you buy a new one (at least normally).
3. Don’t let chaos set in in the first place!
When I still had a closet, I divided it up into categories, meaning: all the dresses together, jeans together, etc. This gave me an immediate overview of what I had and what I didn't have, and I realized that I already had 5 black dresses that all looked the same and didn't need another one. When you don't have so much, you simply need a lot less time to get ready in the morning. And let's be honest: don't you always grab the same things from your closet?
In terms of decorative items, I collect a few vases/candlesticks in my TV cabinet. But here again, as soon as these things disappear from my field of vision, I try to sell them straight away. For example, up until a year ago I had my copper phase: every candlestick and every vase had to be copper-colored. At some point I couldn't stand it anymore and before I packed it away in the basement and forgot about it, I sold it straight away. Now there are only black and white vases/candlesticks left (hopefully they will last longer with me).
4. Think about why you can't part with it!
Does the sweater remind you of a great day, but you don't really wear it anymore? Was the armchair from the flea market a bargain, but you don't really like it that much anymore? The story of the book was so great, but how likely is it that I'll read the book again? Do these thoughts sound familiar? I can only give you some feedback: if the day was so great, you don't need a sweater to remind you of it. And look at it this way: assuming you miss the armchair, then take it as a challenge to find an even better one that you also like now. I've found that sometimes you cling too much to things because of memories or something similar and then realize once they're gone that you don't really miss them. In relation to books, however, I have to say that you shouldn't underestimate them as decorative items!
If you're thinking now: it's easy for the woman to say that it's always so easy. You should know: I'm a Virgo - we're said to be neat freaks anyway (and it seems to apply to me. Everyone is different, but I can only give you the tip from experience that sometimes it feels great to get rid of things and as the saying goes "less is sometimes more", I'm just relating that to the topic of clearing out.
