Decluttering Can Change Your Life
How decluttering has made me feel freer (and a little richer)
“As the external clutter was removed, so was the internal clutter: emotional clutter, mental clutter, stress, anxiety.” — The Minimalists
If you haven’t heard of minimalism, then where have you been hiding? You are sure to have experienced it somewhere; it has become the most popular aesthetic for cafes, hotels, Instagram posts, and has even spawned Netflix documentaries, YouTube challenges, and countless blogs, books, and podcasts about living with less. Minimalism has taken the world by storm, and has led people to give away millions of items in the quest to create a clearer, clutter free home. Some people made money selling unused items, others have regained time, since they are no longer having to organise, clean and rearrange clutter.
For inspiration, search for The Minimalists, Marie Kondo, or Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist — These people have honed in on exactly how much stuff you need to live a good life, and have helped millions of people worldwide do more with less.
Minimalism can also help us with our finances, as if we buy less, we keep more of our money. If we sell items we no longer need, we can recoup some of the money spent on acquiring the item. And in some cases, through downsizing (houses, cars, lifestyles) we can reduce our monthly expenditures.
To some, Minimalism sounds very similar to frugality, a word few people like, but in essence it is different. The most important takeaways from minimalism are:
1) that we waste so much money on things we don’t need (or in some cases ever use) and,
2) that by having less stuff we are able to free up time, energy and money to spend on the important things.
This August (2021), with an impending move abroad coming up, I’ve been looking through my stuff to see what actually should be shipped abroad, what can be sold, what I no longer need or use, and what items are actually valuable to me.
To borrow a phrase from Marie Kondo, I am surprised at how few items I own actually “spark joy”. In fact, when clearing out my wardrobe, cupboard and drawers, I found that I was holding onto many items just in case I ‘might’ use them in the future and so ‘might’ not have to rebuy them in the future. However, most things haven’t been touched in over a year, and since Covid19 has changed my work life forever, many clothing items I never expect to wear again.
So I decided to set myself the challenge of getting rid of 30 items. I could throw out, donate, or sell items, it didn’t matter, but I wanted to start freeing up space — physically and mentally — for dealing with the move. 30 things seems like a large amount, I am not a shopaholic, but neither am I a minimalist so there are definitely things I can purge. Spoiler alert, I reached 30 items very easily, by the 15th August. Here are the results:
8 towels
For two people, my household has a lot of towels. I briefly ran an Airbnb and so had 2 sets of towels for two people, as well as a few for myself and a few from my boyfriend. In total, the count for 2 people we had about 20 towels, many of which just sat in a cupboard. I easily identified 10 that we didn’t need and so decided to donate them to a charity (either a homeless shelter or an animal shelter) so they could be used. Unfortunately post-covid these are not wanted, so instead I listed 8 of them on aBay (two sets) for £10 plus postage, and they were purchased within 48 hours of being listed. I donated that £10 to charity, but am surprised at how quick they sold.
Conference Binder
My boyfriend attended a conference on risk a few years ago and still had the binder with the power point slides printed. He was going to throw it out so I listed it on eBay to see if anyone had any use for it. Again, for £9.99 it was snapped up within 24 hours! It just goes to show that there is a lot of life still in things that we no longer need.
Broken Whiteboard
I don’t know why there was a broken whiteboard under our bed, but it was there. It wasn’t in sellable condition, but I listed it on Olio, an app that allows people to give away food and other items for free. A woman collected it the same day — she said her kids were currently drawing on the walls and she wanted a place for them to draw instead — I am amazed that a broken whiteboard still had a life!
Suede boots
I’ve had this pair of purple suede boots for years, and I bought them second hand for around £10. I’ve worn them once, and spilled coffee on one foot, which left a small stain. Also living in the UK, there aren’t many non-rain days to wear suede shoes. I listed them on eBay for £5 and somebody from the north bought them a week later, leaving a positive review as she was very happy with the bargain.
3 Bowls and 3 plant pots
There are some things in my kitchen I have not touched in 2 years of living here. Even a pandemic that forced me to cook and bake at home did not prove any use for these items. They could continue to sit in my cupboards for a change to one day maybe get used, or I could allow somebody else to use them immediately. The same with the plant pots. I listed them on Olio again and a neighbour came to collect them within 1 hour of listing. He had some plants to re-pot, and recently broke a bowl so wanted a new one. He didn’t have to pay money for new items (that consumed new resources) and I didn’t contribute items to landfill. Plus now I have more space in my kitchen cupboard!
Keyboard
Originally part of my grand idea of a super workstation complete with a standing desk, this keyboard has never even been opened. Bought new for £20, sat in the box for 9 months, and sold on eBay for £18.50 (incl shipping). I hope it gets more use in its new home.
10 empty jars
I’ve been keeping empty jam jars, pasta sauce jars and other glass containers, for about 2 months. I don’t really have a use for them, but I also hate to see them go to waste (even if they are recycled). So the pretty ones have been slowly accumulating on a cupboard shelf in my kitchen, waiting for some illusive day that I will have a use for them. One Sunday I found a use — giving them away. I listed them on Olio for free, hoping some savvy jam maker could use them, and a lovely girl called Lili asked if she could have them…. Brilliant! I feel like gifting them directly to someone who can use them saves a lot of energy recycling them and remaking them (only for Lili to have to buy them new). I feel this is how we used to treat glass containers, vs how we treat them now. 10 more items re-used!
Next dress
I bought this off a girl who was having a clear out online and the dress looked lovely in pictures, but when on, it made me look a weird shape. I listed it on eBay about 3 months ago for £3.50. It never sold so I eventually put it on auction for £1.99 + postage. 7 days later: Sold!
5 magazines of The Economist
My boyfriend has a subscription to The Economist Magazine so every week we get a new issue delivered. At the start of this year, they were really piling up so I listed them on eBay and they sold. I now list 3–5 issues when we have them, and they consistently sell for around £10 (excluding postage). Once I realised old magazines could be sold I listed many old issues of Vogue and other magazines laying around. Everything still has value in it, so check eBay before throwing things out!
In just 2 weeks I sold/gave away 34 items and already feel lighter for it. I have more space on the shelves in my kitchen and less clutter taking up mental energy. Plus I re-homed items that can be used and loved by other people (and hopefully saved a few people money and stopped 24 new items being purchased).
This article is just part 1 as I already met my goal of 30 items, but I still have 16 days left of August, and want to continue to declutter, purge and re-home things that I no longer need or use. I encourage you to join me on this decluttering journey and get rid of some things too — you never know what new ideas will take up the space you create by giving away things that no longer serve you. Let me know in the comments how it goes!
