Last week I watched a documentary entitled, Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things (currently available on Netflix).
You guys… it ruined my life. HA! Okay, I might be exaggerating a little, but seriously, I finally realized that I own so much stuff. Not things I need and use. I mean stuff, junk, CLUTTER. It is just clutter.
Maybe it was a gift, or maybe it was free, or possibly on clearance last year, or a hand-me-down from my sister, or I bought a new one of this one thing, but hung onto this old thing in case the new one breaks… it’s insanity!
Where do you start? Honestly.
Before watching the documentary, I downloaded The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up on Audible.com (currently FREE ~ HERE), and I’ve been listening to it.
I really feel like the book and the documentary could not have come at a better time, as January is when I (and most people, I believe) tend to crave a serious purge anyway. The post-Christmas clutter paired with the fact that it’s winter and we’ve been cooped up in the house for far too long, makes me want to de-clutter and completely rearrange basically everything.
Enter: The Purge…
Get this FREE Printable De-Cluttering Checklist HERE
If you haven’t yet read the book, I highly recommend it. Understanding the method will help you immensely in making purging decisions. Real talk: I can’t say I’m totally on board with all of her thoughts on belongings (I’m sorry, I just can’t bring myself to talk to my clothes and books), but regardless, the fundamental message here is…
You must organize your home, in order to organize your life.
When you have kids, you acquire kid stuff – clothes, toys, shoes, books, toys, games, TOYS, etc. Everyone you have ever known starts to buy your kids stuff. Then you spend so much time trying to organize and reorganize their stuff, that your own stuff starts to pile up and become disheveled. Paired with day-to-day parental responsibilities and exhaustion, clutter can get out of hand really fast.
So this is where I’m starting…
Please, pleeeease tell me I’m not the only one with a counter in my house that looks like this?! This poor catch-all counter in my mud room gets covered in clutter within days of clearing it off. Sigh…
And these are some of the tools I’m using…
One of the best tips in the book is how to fold your clothes. Lina wrote THIS great post about how to fold your clothes using the KonMari method. I’m so excited to clean out our dressers and get everything folded in this space-saving method that allows you to see ALL of your clothes.
Lina also created these fantastic FREE Printable Cleaning Schedules to help track and manage your daily and weekly cleaning! Love them!
Written by Danielle for Hip2Save. Danielle is a proud mom to 5 amazing kids in Utah, who lives for coffee and baking. She’s dedicated to balancing her own interests and passions, while encouraging her children to follow their own paths in life.