The off-season months of December and January represent an ideal time to move if you’re planning to relocate or to finally clean your home and let loose of all the things you don’t need. There’s no point in waiting for spring to do the traditional spring cleaning. Surprisingly, this process can be easier in this period of the year. However, that is if you know the smart ways to get rid of unwanted stuff.
Sometimes, people get sentimentally attached to their belongings. And when you’re not careful, the living space can fill up very quickly. So, if you have noticed that you have been tripping over the things you don’t need, the time has probably come for a big clean.
On the other hand, if downsizing is the reason for getting rid of the stuff, you don’t have to worry. With our tips for organizing your entire house, it’ll never be messy again. And you’ll quickly realize that you didn’t even need most of those things you had in the first place. Here’s what you need to do.
Start with the low-hanging fruit
It’s always the best idea to start with scraping off the top from wherever you see a surplus. That is advice any professional organizer will give you, so you can’t go wrong with this approach. Begin with going through your ill-fitting or unflattering clothes, old magazines, and junk mail.
In this phase, you’re looking for things that are easy to get rid of. These are all the items that won’t tug on your heartstrings while you’re discarding them. You’ll quickly realize that decluttering is not a scary thing, and you’ll be impatient to do more. We can promise you that much.
Getting rid of those magazines that you haven’t read in ages can be a great start.
Clean your closets
One of the most important things when it comes to decluttering is to create a system. You need to know where the essence of your problem is. And as it usually turns out, it is in the closets. People tend to collect way too many clothes.
So, what you should do is pull everything from your closet and throw it onto your freshly made bed. Then go through each item, but with a critical eye. Try to be as unsentimental as you can as this is extremely important.
If you think that you’ll need a particular item someday, try to envision the specific occasion on which you could wear that. If you need to lose some weight for something, keep it only if you’re currently on a weight-loss plan. The point here is to come up with a measurable way to determine if you’re going to use whatever you’re considering someday.
Having a friend around for an objective opinion is always a smart idea. It would help if you had someone who will be honest enough to tell you what never looked good on you in the first place. With the promise of pizza and wine, of course.
Have a plan for where each item goes
If the item you want to get rid of still has utility and isn’t broken, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t donate it. However, make sure to prearrange the recipients of the donation and the ways you’ll transport them, and when these giveaways will happen.
The reasons why you need to plan all of this are simple. If the items don’t leave your space and still make it to your new apartment if you are moving, everything has been in vain. Know that clutter affects both your physical and mental health, so you’re not doing yourself any favors by transporting it from one place to another.
On the other hand, knowing that something you’re giving away is going to someone who needs it will be a good motivator. That is the basis of smart ways to get rid of unwanted stuff.
Donating the usable things you don’t need is one of the smart ways to get rid of unwanted stuff.
Declutter by category
Although room by room system is an established one when it comes to getting rid of the unwanted stuff, it’s much more suitable for packing. If you go through each room and group similar items together, you’ll quickly weed out duplicates along with expired or outdated items. Additionally, people tend to let go much more easily when they realize just how much of the unwanted stuff they have.
This is the phase where you determine which items are obsolete and which you can see in the next chapter of your life. This is often easier said than done, but there is one trick that can help you. Think about what you’d miss if everything were gone. For example, if we’re talking about your library, would you miss the books from your childhood, classics, or what you’re reading at the moment.
Don’t procrastinate decision-making
If you realize that you have been considering whether something should be thrown away or not on multiple occasions, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself.
- How long do you want to prolong the process?
- Is there anything better you would like to do instead of going through the same process twice?
- Are you confused, or are you just lazy?
Try to be as honest as possible. If you’re really confused about something, that’s one thing. However, there’s no point in letting yourself off the hook if you’re going to come to the same conclusion later on. Make the decision now and stick with it.
Be sure not to eat your own time doing this. Keep the inertia once you get going, and you won’t have any problems along the way. Keep in mind that organizing can be simple for you too, but you have to be merciless to achieve it.
Try to make decisions as you go, don’t overthink.
Sentimental memorabilia
And the last tip concerning the smart ways to get rid of unwanted stuff we have to give you is regarding sentimental memorabilia. Here, you should consider if the particular item is the best representation of the life period, person, or the moment it takes you back to. If it is the best, keep it. And if it’s not, you don’t need every representation of that life period.
