I’m sure that there are numerous truths and lies about decluttering that you keep stumbling upon on a daily basis. You also make mistakes while decluttering your home and learn many lessons on the way to make your home more liveable. While it’s good to follow certain rules while purging down your stuff, you must not follow each and every decluttering advice coming your way.
Like anything else, decluttering comes with its own set of methods and ways to make the task a tad bit easier. But it eventually boils down to figuring out what works for you and your home and following it diligently.
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For a really long time, I have decluttered my home without following any rule or method and it worked great for me. It was only recently that I started getting a bit serious about decluttering in a systematic way. The onus is on you to decide if you want to declutter in small steps or in one go. Feel free to decide if you wish to seek help or do it all alone. You don’t have to follow any advice mentioned on the internet or even on this blog if you think it won’t work for you.
Today, I’m sharing decluttering advice that you must not follow without figuring out if that would work for you. I hope it inspires you to take charge of your home and declutter in your own ways:
1. You Will Need A Lot Of Bins & Baskets
While bins and baskets are quite important to store and organize your stuff, anyone who says that you need to run to the store right now to buy lots of storage is lying.
Accumulating on too many bins, baskets and containers can actually tempt you into holding on to stuff that should actually go out of your house. So, if you are planning to purge your closet or cut down on the décor in your house, ensure that you sort through them before deciding whether you need to get more storage. Since you will be getting rid of a bunch of unneeded stuff, expect to see a lot of space getting vacated that can be used to store the stuff that remains once you’ve decluttered. More often than not, you won’t be needing extra bins and baskets to organize your home unless your home is small where maximizing the space is necessary.
2. Clean And Organize While You Declutter
When you’re sorting through the stuff in your home, try not to get side-tracked by cleaning and organizing. While it’s good to keep your home clean and organized, try not to do it while you’re decluttering to save yourself from the overwhelm.
Imagine yourself going through the knick-knacks in your house only to find yourself being side-tracked cleaning the sideboard and flat surfaces. Soon enough, you’ll lose the track and realize that you haven’t made any progress. Make sure that your entire energy is directed towards decluttering and once you’re done, use the remaining time to clean and organize.
3. Declutter Your Kids’ Things When They Are Not Looking
It can be hard to declutter kids’ stuff when they are around. But if you are thinking about decluttering their stuff when they are not looking, prepare yourself for an even harder time. Kids are emotional beings who don’t want to let go of anything that belongs to them, even if they haven’t used it in years. But instead of looking at it as a challenge, use it as a learning opportunity for your kids.
Ask the kids to sort through their stuff on their own and keep giving them valuable decluttering advice in between. Tell them how their old toys, books and games can end up putting a smile on someone else’s face. Give them a basket and ask them to toss their most loved items in it. Anything that doesn’t fit in can either be donated or trashed.
4. Everything That Hasn’t Been Used In The Last One Year Is Useless
While this is an advice that I often give here, there are few exceptions to it that shouldn’t be overlooked. Do not throw any item away only because it hasn’t been used in the last one year.
For instance, many of your clothes might have been laying unused because you were forced to stay home during the pandemic. This doesn’t mean that most of your clothes were useless. Similarly, a certain situation in your family might have forced you to give up your love for baking for a year or two. This shouldn’t mean that you must get rid of all your bakeware. It’s on you to assess why a certain item hasn’t been used in the last one year, and decide if it’s wise or not to let it go.
5. Selling Items Is A Waste Of Time
There was a time when reselling old stuff was quite a time-consuming activity. People had to spend days organizing a garage sale or to find a willing buyer. But that’s not the case anymore. Facebook Marketplace, in the recent years, has posed a great opportunity for people to sell their stuff online for some cash. Moreover, there are second hand stores that would gladly accept the clothes that are trendy and wearable. Besides, there are many thrift stores where you can drop your products at your convenience and earn some money in return.
6. Limit Your Clothes To A Certain Number Of Pieces
This is one of the worst decluttering advice I’ve heard. While it’s great to have only the clothes that you love to wear, do not make the mistake of getting rid of pieces only because they aren’t your favourite.
Always consider your personal style and needs while sifting through your closet. The weather conditions in your city might compel you to hold on to more number of shoes than someone who lives in a fairly warm place. Assess your needs before decluttering your closet rather than going for a certain number of clothes, accessories or footwear.
Apart from the ones stated above, there is many other decluttering advice that we keep receiving on a daily basis. There are chances that most of this decluttering advice will work great for your home but if it doesn’t, feel free to unfollow them. The home in question is yours and it’s on you to decide how you want to manage it.