Have you also watched these television shows about decluttering and organizing your belongings? My favorites are The Home Edit with Clea and Joanna (I actually have the show on in the background as I’m writing this post) and Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. All of these shows and people “spark joy” in my life 🙂
A History of Decluttering & Organizing
I’m no stranger to decluttering & organizing. I’ve always liked to organize and everything to do with organization. I group items together in containers or boxes, sometimes homemade and sometimes store-bought. I like filing documents (!) and I’m constantly thinking of better ways to store and access our stuff. I am so bad that when I have time to do something fun, I unpack my pantry and reorganize all my food items. Yep, that was my idea of a fun night last night.
Now, as part of organizing, we also have to declutter. We have to let go of items that we no longer need. I know that is a tough one for most people. I have some theories as to why:
- Theory One: we believe we will need it again in the future.
- Theory Two: someone special gave us the item, or lastly,
- Theory Three: we brought it with us when we moved internationally! I have a lot of items in that last category.
Letting Go
Why is letting go of items so important? First of all, we don’t really need so much stuff around us. Stuff does not make us happy. In fact, it has the opposite effect. Too much stuff will make us anxious. We can’t see the very important items anymore or even worse, we don’t know where the important items are. They are buried beneath tons of other things.
I am a big believer in donating or throwing away items I no longer need or that don’t have a purpose in my home. Sometimes, those items are small and at other times larger items. Last year, we had to let go of our two leather couches. We bought them in South Africa when the kids were still in diapers (a long time ago), and moved them halfway across the world and again all over the state of Georgia. But they have not held up like they were supposed to. In fact, the dog used one of them as his nap space for the last five or so years. None of us were sitting on them anymore. It was time to let go. Even I struggled with this one. For a moment there I thought they could still be cleaned and refreshed, but the reality was that they couldn’t. They were not savable and the sensible thing to do was to let them go.
Decluttering when Preparing for a Move
When we moved to the USA back in 2011, we limited ourselves to half a container of household items. If you are curious about what we brought, you can check out that original post. But to get our 9 years of accumulated things down to half a container was a massive decluttering process. We started early and listed a lot of items for sale. We spoke to my brother and sister-in-law (who were buying our house) and asked what they wanted to keep. And we gave items away. We made sure to pack what we loved the most and I think in the end we even had some room to spare in our container.
What we didn’t pay a lot of attention to, was all our garage items. It included tools, toys and forgotten hobbies. I was told this very cool story on one of my recent trips to South Africa to visit family. My uncle heard about a model airplane that was in our, oops, I meant my brother’s garage. I remember when Pieter started this hobby, and I also remember the second crash landing that ended that specific hobby. The point is, my uncle took this airplane, which we left behind when we moved and fixed it up again. And after he fixed this airplane? He got more airplanes and fixed them up as well. Now, this is one of his main hobbies with a full room dedicated to fixing and building these model airplanes. And from what I heard, he is flying and landing them much more successfully than Pieter ever did 🙂
So what does my little story mean? Something is taking up space in your life, in your house or in your garage that can be valuable to someone else. Don’t you want that item to be the start of someone else’s hobby? Don’t you want to see the forgotten toys go to kids who don’t have any? Or how about the clothes that take up room in your closet and let’s face it, that you will never ever ever wear again? They can still be worn by someone else, making another person happy. And the six extra sets of wine glasses you are holding on to? They too are needed and can be loved by someone else.
Declutter Your House and Donate Today
It really isn’t that difficult to do. You will know when you are ready to let go of “stuff”. Are you there yet? Yes? Now first make a plan. Start with something small, a kitchen drawer for instance. Unpack it all. Do you really need it all? Only place items you will really use back into the drawer and the rest can go into a donate box. It is okay if you want to hold onto the box for a little bit (but not for too long). See if you need something in there again. And as you fill up more and more of these boxes, find a new home for them. Either donate or sell them.
Before you know it, you will be working on bigger decluttering projects like a garage or a full basement. Our garage was finally fully decluttered and organized not too long ago. Mom and Dad were visiting us here in the United States and after a lot of rest over the holidays, it was a nice change of pace to work together on this space. Garage Cleanup and Organization – Part 1
When it comes to donating (or selling) there are so many options – back in South Africa and here in the USA. I joined a couple of Facebook groups where people give away items for free, and where they can also ask for something they need. My neighborhood also uses its Facebook page for giving and asking. Then there are the big guys like Goodwill or Hospice, which will just about take anything you can drop off at their door. Thinking of selling your surplus? There are Facebook groups for that as well. And apps, so many apps you can use.
On a previous trip to South Africa, I helped my mom and dad to clear out my mom’s closets. We only kept the clothes that fitted her, that was still pretty and useful. The rest, all eight big, black trash bags of it, were donated to the local Hospice. And they were overjoyed to receive the donation. And my mom’s closet? She can now see what she has, easily pick outfits to wear and just as easily put away her clothes again.
Now. I dare you. Identify a drawer, a closet or a room to start with and join the Declutter and Organizational movement! We can do it! Now, please excuse me while I head up to my office and find something to declutter…
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