I started decluttering my house now in autumn, I still have much to do but with work commitments and being tired and needing time and an empty vehicle to remove items it’s not been as swift as I’d like.
Whenever I clean the house and put things back in their rightful place after a hectic time I find a better clarity of mind and noticeably a better sleep. Having less items around makes it easier to clean and less time taken up looking after things giving me more time for what I need to focus on.
One area that was most cluttered was clothing, we probably have all bought items at one stage that we thought we needed but ended up wearing it a handful of times to then never be worn again or we have clothes we have grown out of that just get put back in the closet. I now only have what I always wear and as we are in winter I have boxed up my summer clothes which are put out of the way making it simpler to choose what to wear.
Having a decluttered fridge and freezer makes it easier for me to decide on what to cook because I can clearly see what I have available and can quickly decide on ingredients. I don’t and never have liked taking hours to cook which is why more often that not I just boil up a heap of rice, steam a load of veg and use different seasoning combos for some added flavour, which may seem boring to some.
Being a predominantly whole foods plant based Vegan now for three years has meant that i’ve also brought minimalism into my diet before I even thought of it, I focus on fresh produce which I buy from the market when possible which means I can also pick as much as I need for the week without having to buy a whole bag of carrots for example where I won’t end up using them all and they stay at the back of my fridge until they go bad, thus simultaneously I am also considering waste and I have considerably reduced the amount of plastic I buy.
Often I hear from people who have embarked on a more minimalistic lifestyle they talk of saving money and I have but due to the nature of my current work situation where I am making very little money I do not have any money that I can use for leisure. This is something I will be changing this year despite the fact I like the work I do.
If you are thinking about decluttering your house, there is many ways to do it, I would advice not to do everything at once as it is an ongoing process and the worst thing you can do is buy storage solutions as you are still decluttering as you may find you have bought unnecessarily. Have a pile for items you are definetely getting rid of, a donation pile and a pile for items you can sell if you think the item would make money. The number one item which you may want to consider to free up extra space is furniture, how much of it is actually being used in your place? If little it can make better use to someone else. I have personally found ‘More Melody’ on Youtube to be inspiring to myself, but there are many other you tubers around and writers such as Kon Marie which may help you.
The next step which I am still working on is how to declutter your mind and life.
Have you been inspired to declutter and live life more simply? What has worked for you?
