Decluttering your house is an activity that occurs once a year, on THAT long weekend, which involves a lot of trying on and retrying on old clothes, putting things into garbage bags for the second hand store, going through every cupboard and draw looking for ‘crap’ and eventually taking a small load of items to the tip, storing the remainder in the garage to actually drop off for charity next week. And then those same items sit in the garage for another twelve months, occasionally pulled out to use, then eventually work their way back into the house for their next incognito stay amongst your loved belongings.
That feeling of elation you were after only lasts for a day or two because deep down you feel as though your place is still way too cluttered even though you’ve painstakingly sorted your items from most loved to least and have given yourself the illusion there is nothing left to throw.
I’ve got to tell you this, stop what you are doing, and do it once the right way. You’ll literally never have to waste two days of your life every year on this task. Spend a day now honouring yourself, your health and happiness and be done with it.
POST CONTINUES BELOW: Here are the secrets to make sure your house is always clean.
Alright then, how do I do this the ‘right’ way? I hear you mutter, as you lay back on your beautiful couch in your cluttered lounge room. Hear this – I live in a house with zero furniture, no bed frames, no couch no dining room table, no tv unit, I share half a closet, I sit and eat on the ground, I am well acquainted with the floor boards and tell ya what I freaking love it.
I have been there too with umming and ahing over all my shit and assigning it a string to tug at my heart. After many many years I got the scissors and freed my heart from this yearning and walked out. So you’re thinking, you cray girl you just threw away expensive stuff and now you live on the floor.
But let me say this – I don’t remember what I used to own, my house is now tidier than ever and I have all that I need, when I want something now I really think if the cost is worth its use and ‘do I really want it cluttering my empty house’. The answer is more than usually that I don’t need or want it.
I’ll give you an analogy you may understand. You have a head, usually with hair on it, you have thousands of strands on top, all of which you are aware of, but not individually. You grew and grew that hair for a while, styled it, loved it and cared for it, then one day it no longer served a fitting purpose and you went to the lovely hairdresser who got their shears and before you could yearn over each strand individually snip snip it was gone, and after two days you don’t remember those ends nor do you yearn for them to come back. Your new head of hair fits, serves a purpose and you love your new ‘do.
Now apply this hairdresser principle to your house, garage and extra special personal belongings. Be ruthless, start in the entranceway to your house and just go. Just take everything you don’t use on a regular basis, everything you hate but think you need, everything you feel obliged to keep and get it out on the front lawn. Snip snip it all away.
Uncomfortable couch? Gone. Buy cushions, a rug and beanbags. Your back and legs will thank you for it.
Ugly bed set and draws that you’ve had since your first share house? Gone. Mattress on the floor, buy a clothes rack and one box for foldables, you will wake up each day thinking you are camping in a storage shed (and what’s not to love about camping on the floor!) plus the added range of movement for your hips each morning. Thank you incognito squats – hello peach booty!
Overcrowded closet? Gone. Keep five key outfits and chuck the rest. Trust me you don’t wear it anyway.
Kids toys littering the floor? Gone. Say au revoir to all the plastics and all the stuff they have found/brought home from school/kids parties/the gutter?! The kids can play outside, in the dirt, in the sun, with the dog. Their imagination will be expanded faster than that iPad needs an upgrade.
And keep going, down to the Tupperware draw that you only use half of anyway. Just go girl. It may be painful now to see that vase go along with your favourite ripped slightly too small blouse, the faded couch that you hated but kept because you and your girlfriend bought it from a thrift shop and you are reminded of the good feelings that come with a carefree purchase. Yes that’s it be carefree with the throwing, get it all out on the front lawn, and be kind. Give it away, for free; take the rest to a second hand shop and the really bad stuff to the tip. The first day or two will be scary but after a week you won’t realise what that baggage has gotten rid of.
Imagine you only had an hour to pack a bag and never return to your house.
What would you take? What would you need to survive? Apply this and realise that you don’t ‘need’ 90% of what you own, free yourself from clutter and gift yourself space, time and an added appreciation of empty space.
And finally, why do this? Because remember the same time last year when you went to the tip and felt sick on the inside at what you saw getting bulldozed into the earth. Remember that awful feeling you got when you saw all the unused items, and made a pledge to live simpler as a conscious thought, that feeling of guilt you met when reminded that you choose to live in a crowded house yet some people will only ever own one set of clothes on a good day? Be honest, free yourself from the endless cycle of over purchasing and discover living simply. Leave some room in the house for your heart to fill.