Way back when I started this series to share how I got out of a rut, I started with step one, getting your financial picture mapped and then step two which was getting healthy. Getting healthy and having your energy levels up (through eating healthy, wholesome foods and exercising) will really help with this next step – becoming a clutter doctor!!! I will admit this is an area I really struggle with. I like cleaning (yes, truly!) and am perfectly happy to vacuum, sweep, put a load of laundry in and dust – but I have an absolute aversion to organizing, filing papers and getting rid of clutter! So, needless to say this was a very tough area for me!
Why and how did I do it? Well firstly I did it because I knew it would be easier to tackle my finances and life if I was organized, had the info at my fingertips and was in a good place mentally. Had I known the wonderful Laura then I would of asked her to help! Do you know some people actually love de-cluttering?! So, now I’ve shared why, lets see how I did it:
1. I started small – I knew every room in my flat needed tackling so I started with the smallest area first – my car!! Yes, psychologically that was the easiest place to start for me. I had papers and receipts in my car, plus the odd bottle of water etc. I took everything out of my car, had a recycling bin next to me and a small rubbish bag. I got rid of the work files that were no longer needed, took the work files that were needed back to work (my previous job had a lot of car travel, which meant we were allowed to keep files in our cars, while I thought this made the most sense time wise, I learned it didn’t clutter wise so back to the office they went!). I then vacuumed, and spent about £20 getting it service washed inside and out. It was the best £20 I ever spent :0)
- Next I tackled the bathroom – this only took about 30 minutes – I simply went through my cosmetics, lotions & potions and only kept the most important. I wanted to majorly downshift so it seemed silly to have 4 or 5 different types of everything lying around. I hung a small bag on the back of the door with the extras in and the only things left in view were the basics – 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, body wash, soap, shaver, face cloth, towel. Wow it looked good after minimal effort.
- I then moved onto the kitchen – again I kept my focus on getting rid of clutter (all those magnets, pieces of paper, catalogues and flyer’s I didn’t need) and downshifting (getting rid of excess pots & pans, mugs etc). I started with one section at a time, making a pile of things to donate – excess kitchen ware to charity shops, animal food the cat doesn’t like to animal shelters, canned food we won’t eat to charities or an older lady I know who doesn’t have much. It took a good few hours, but looked wonderful when done!
- I then moved onto lounge/diner, bedrooms etc. It took about 2 weeks of making an effort a couple of evenings a week and at the weekend but with each room it got easier!
2. I focused on where I wanted to be – not in the same boat a year from now, not surrounded by more mugs then I’ll ever need, not surrounded by stuff. Downshifting is about making life simpler – how is life simple when you are surrounded by too many things. The reality is we do “need” and heck even want things, but we all have too much, we can all get rid by donating to charities or those in need. Having a simple life really is easier when you don’t have stuff invading y0ur space and time.
3. Papers, papers, oh my! This was my biggest challenge – boy do I hate papers! I knew I had to find a way that works for me, so I decided to make a very simple process to begin and then tweak as I became more comfortable with filing papers. So, I started by having four piles – old papers to archive (basically I wasn’t ready to throw them away but didn’t want to spend hours since they won’t be needed soon), current papers (i.e. utility bills from the last 12 months) to file, things to throw away and things that need urgent attention. Once I had 4 piles it was easy – the old papers I put into a simple box from WH Smiths (the box doesn’t file things in order but keeps them in one place), the throw away were shredded and put into a pile to recycle, the important papers were filed in 1 file box and the to do now were my focus over the next few days, then filed into my file box with the date and action recorded.
4. Photographs – oh how much harder life was before digital cameras. I have piles and piles of photographs. The reality is, you don’t need to keep every photo – we all often taken 2 or 3 of the same thing, so why keep the one good one plus 2 bad ones? I knew this was going to be a major task, so I did the following:
- I got a giant Rubbermaid tub to put all my albums and photographs in, this meant they were all in 1 place and I could go through an album or pile easily.
- I decided anything in albums I wouldn’t tackle – but would simply put those albums in the spare room on the shelf, this left the piles
- I went through 1 or 2 piles an evening while watching tv or listening to the radio.
- With each pile I went through I kept a rubbish bag next to me to get rid of the photos that didn’t turn out, were duplicate or simply not needed. This got rid of at least 25% of the photos.
- I started thinking in themes – instead of hundreds of photographs from school, I thought about having 1 album to cover school and school friends, all of a sudden in was much easier to focus on the most important photographs/experiences/people.
- I made theme piles – childhood, schooling, University, travel, family, Christmas. These piles were put into boxes or envelopes and put back into the big container.
- I purchased or found albums/scrapbooks and when I have the time, I simply work on 1 themed album at a time. I still have a few themes to go, but the photographs are manageable, easy to find, don’t clutter up any room and don’t create stress!
5. I began viewing stuff as direct conflict to living the simple life. This made it much easier to say no to buying, chose gifts to re-gift (shh!), visit the library instead of the book store and keep my house in order!
The reality is I still have to much stuff, we all do, but I notice the trend has changed from accumulating more to reducing each and every month and for me, that is a major accomplishment!
Hi there-well done on your success on decluttering-it certainly not only clears the physical space around you, but helps you be more clearer emotionally too!
By: sharon rose on December 28, 2008
at 9:44 am
This is awesome. And I definitely agree with you. Too much stuff, too much clutter, leads to a stressful living environment.
By: frugal dreamer on December 28, 2008
at 10:17 am
Great post! You’ve summed up exactly why living a clutter free life is easier – less stress – and starting small is definitley the way to go.
thank you for the link – I would of helped you gladly- you’re wonderful x
By: Laura @ move to portugal on December 28, 2008
at 10:24 am
Thank you so, so much for this! I need to de clutter but honestly didn’t know where to start and have very little energy available to think it out and then get to work!
Now I can make a start!
By: Catz on December 28, 2008
at 11:36 am
Well done, I’m truely impressed – as well as exhausted at the thought of being so methodical myself. I guess you hit the nail on the head when you said just do one area at a time.
Mmm – the car – well that’s like my spare room.
By: Margaret Hall on December 28, 2008
at 12:26 pm
Oh Catz I’m so pleased you found it helpful. Really and truly start small. Let me know how it goes!
By: Frugal Trenches on December 28, 2008
at 12:38 pm
LOL there you go Margaret, start with that “spare room”
By: Frugal Trenches on December 28, 2008
at 12:38 pm
Sharon, Frugal Dreamer and Laura – thank you! You all have a lot of wisdom re clutter.
By: Frugal Trenches on December 28, 2008
at 12:41 pm
Wow! You’ve done so well. My de-cluttering campaign came to a halt when my energy ran dry again but I’m determined to get stronger in 2009 and get this house in order. I absolutely loathe not being able to find things easily because they’re stuck somewhere in a mountain of clutter. I do get rid of things as I go along though and that has helped to some extent.
By: Sharon J on December 28, 2008
at 1:21 pm
That’s awesome. I am on the path to get rid of more stuff because it’s getting ridiculous and I still feel like I have too much which means I can never find ANYTHING!
Fabulously Broke in the City
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver…
By: Fabulously Broke on December 28, 2008
at 2:46 pm
What a great post – I’m sure this will help loads of people (me included!).
Like Sharon J I’ve decided that 2009 will be THE year to get my house in order. I can’t wait for that weight to be lifted from my shoulders.
Hope all’s well with you, lovely
xx
By: jade on December 28, 2008
at 4:00 pm
This will be my 2009 goal. To only hold onto things that I find beautiful, useful and actually needed.
Decluttering papers…my biggest chore…I seem to get a huge pile from my kid’s schools by the end of the day….This February we should have our home office put together which will help organize that!
One thing I want to create is reading nooks….comfortable chairs, adequate lighting, and bookshelves to house my most beloved books…but I must declutter first!
Thanks for the inspiration! I look forward to a clutter-free year along with you!
Sharon
By: Sharon on December 28, 2008
at 4:12 pm
Ah clutter! My bane. I’m not as bad as I used to be, but am learning that the less clutter that’s around the better you feel mentally as well. All the old, stale energy out and clean, fresh energy in. It really is amazing what de-cluttering can do for you! I’m moving in the next month, so am going to be making de-cluttering a big part of that, even though the place I’m moving into is larger than my current space.
By: Annie on December 28, 2008
at 4:29 pm
Great job decluttering! I did this not so long ago, too. But, I need to finish the kitchen (as I have way to many mugs we don’t need) & I really need to tackle the photos (getting them off my camera, printed/sorted/deleted, and need to tackle the photo box and put them in albums or shred them). I am with you… they are far too many unneccesary photos!
It is such a weight off the shoulders to get things cleaned out! Great job you did! Especially starting with the baby steps.
By: money funk on December 28, 2008
at 5:24 pm
Good to see you back and in full swing Frugal Trenches. I wish I could get de-cluttered but I actually feel like it’s one of those things that goes in phases, I’ll be tidy for a while, messy for a while, tidy for a while and it never ends!
By: Holly on December 28, 2008
at 8:22 pm
I am making an attempt to declutter our house, got a bit done, but still have a ways to go. Its a project that seems to never end!!!
Gill in Canada
By: Gill on December 28, 2008
at 9:16 pm
This year I’m hoping to declutte as well. We’ve been doing a bit each year and really trying not to let excess items come into the home.
This year since we’re trying to go non-toxic in our personal care products we’re going to minimize as well. I just got rid of all of our extra stored products and they’re going to a local shelter. From now on, only 1 extra of each item in the cabinet.
It is hard to keep things uncluttered, especially digital photos (I have ove 8000 on my computer).
By: Susy on December 28, 2008
at 10:39 pm
I’ve been thinking about tackling my photos. Your method sounds like it might work for me. I’ll let you know!
By: rtc on December 28, 2008
at 10:54 pm
I loved finding your blog this evening. I am on a quest to declutter and be a lighter person by the end of 2009. Your blog will help me!
Lynn
By: Lynn on December 29, 2008
at 3:57 am
I had to do the same with photo albums a few years ago. It was hard destroying old photos at first but I knew I’d never appreciate the bad copies and didn’t want to drag them around with me for the rest of my life!
Congrats on your excellent decluttering!
By: Anny on December 29, 2008
at 7:51 pm
Thanks for the recommendations about photos, I’m trying to decide what on earth to do with my two-four boxes of photos. I already have about seven photo albums, and a couple started scrapbooks but haven’t been able to sort the loose photos yet. Lazy!
Am super glad that I plowed through the paperwork already and the bills are all digitized, do you have any thoughts about old snail mail? I have a TON of those, and don’t want to drag any clutter with me when I move.
By: Revanche on December 30, 2008
at 6:57 pm
[...] Step 3 was to get organized [...]
By: Simple Living and Reducing Stress Part IV « Notes From The Frugal Trenches - A Downshifting Journey on January 11, 2009
at 11:37 am
I should really tackle the photos. I did go through them and get rid of any photo that was really unflattering! It got rid of a lot. Its funny, there are lots and lots of photos of people I just dont ever see anymore. Why am I keeping them.
I definately on a declutter mission – as part of keeping tidier and spending less time tidying up. it really helps if you have less stuff.
By: moyra on January 11, 2009
at 10:22 pm