Happiness = Decluttered home

[endlesstravel]

Hello everyone. I spend the majority of my time living in a small camper. (http://bestsmallcampers.com/) Living in such close quarters and always being on the move has made decluttering an essential part of my happiness.

The science (or art?) of decluttering to me, is really just identifying what you really need and then getting rid of everything thats not on the list.

I would love to hear all your techniques for decluttering your homes.
Here are a few of mine:


Everything should have a home. Everything you own should have a specific location it belongs. Nothing belongs on the dining room table.
Resisting impulse Shopping. 95% off is a fantastic deal, but do you REALLY need it? I'm guessing not…
When your done using something, put it away immediately. This leads to less clean up later on and you will undoubtably get along with your spouse better. ;)
Have storage options outside your home. You don't have to get rid of it, but if your not going to use it get it out of the house!
Optimize storage inside. Vertical storage products have really helped me organize.
Knowing when to let go. Family memorabilia is the hardest for me. If it takes up space and doesn’t serve a practical function, or if it does you don’t use it often, it’s time to get rid of it.

Ok, I've shared. Lets hear yours!
If your interested check out my blog post on simple living. (http://bestsmallcampers.com/2013/06/19/simple-living/)

[happystuff]

I agree that a decluttered home makes "mom" happier!!! I've recently gotten rid of some big furniture which has really opened up some room - I'm loving it! Need to start attacking the little stuff again.

Some things that I do:

- clean up while cooking instead of stacking dirty/used dishes on counters or in sink.
- open mail immediate - put bills away and throw away recyclables

Most of the organizing really is simply putting stuff away as soon as possible... don't leave things "sitting".

[Gardenarian]

I tend to be very organized by nature (I'm a librarian) but I'm not the only person in the household - so most of my de-cluttering and organization skills are geared toward helping dh and dd. I'm trying to create systems that are easy to follow for people whose natural instinct is to just throw everything on the floor, and who also resist getting rid of things that are no longer of any value.

Creating an 'outbox' for clothes, toys, etc. that aren't being used really helped (Got the idea from "Apartment Therapy" book.) We put things in an old dresser in the attic, and if it hasn't been missed for six months, we consider donating it.

Also finding jobs for dd that she enjoys, while I take on the stuff that is really hard for her, has been helpful. She has a lot of trouble cleaning her room, so I'll do that while she washes the car, sweeps the sidewalk, cleans the bathroom, or does some other chore that she can handle. Funny, dd was a pretty tidy and organized little kid, so it's not the skill or the desire that's missing. I really think teen messiness is hormonal.

[Zoebird]

We do a declutter every day -- it's a 10 minute process to rid the house of paper clutter. It coincides with taking the trash out (ie, compost, recycling, trash), and it's an easy way to keep the daily clutter well down.

From there, DH is a paper collector, and as such, I gave him 2 baskets for his "stuff." It's worked out great to containing him, and when a basket gets full, I bring it out to him and he clears it while we watch a tv program. It usually takes 20 minutes or less, and he finds that he doesn't need to hold onto all of that stuff. It's funny really.

My next task was learning how to help DS declutter. Turns out he's not great at it (he's 5, though! LOL). He is fine with it in terms of clothes "this is torn; that no longer fits; etc" -- but not with his toys, even those he doesn't use anymore. A friend of mine who is a professional organizer suggested that you ask if he wants to sell some things in order to use the money for other things that he does want -- such as more lego (which he loves).

DS seems really psyched by the idea, and I've made some overtures to friends who might want some of the items that we have for their (younger) children. It's really the only thing that motivated him -- he's already identified several toys and books that he's ready to let go of, and he wants to get a few more comic books and lego sets so that he can have "even more fun!"

Our process right now is to finish up his bedroom (which is part family closet, part toy closet, and part bedroom), and then we'll add some storage to the kitchen (shelves -- mostly to hold produce!), and then do a few small decorating things (new cushion covers for the mid-mod chairs we have, for example, and new bed spreads for each bed, and I want to get DS some wool and a duvet cover for the down bed spread that I have for him.

Our little place is 480 sq ft. It is really comfortable and spacious so long as it is clean and organized. Luckily, it's not difficult to clean or organize. :) DS also helps with our household chores, so that's good. :)

[Selah]

For mental decluttering, I developed quite systematic habits as to where things should be so I can find them easily. For example, my purse goes on a purse hook hanging off the kitchen counter--I can see it easily and it never gets put anywhere else now. My keys go in the door the minute I get home (we have a door that can only be locked from the inside by a key). Sunglasses go on the counter above my purse. Backpack and work briefcases go on and under a chair in the kitchen--that is "their" place and no one moves them! Cellphone is in a ceramic dish on my night table (it's also my alarm clock).

Having these important and high-use objects always in only one place in the house reduces a lot of hassle and mental clutter. No more "Gosh, where are my keys and where's my darn phone?!"

[redfox]

Our dryer needed a repair, and so I decluttered the laundry room today.

[SteveinMN]

For mental decluttering, I developed quite systematic habits as to where things should be so I can find them easily.
I do exactly this! If I don't, the object is quite lost because it's not at all in a conventional place. But it makes it so much easier to find things when I'm in a hurry. Too bad others in the house regard it as @nal behavior. But I don't care. I know where my phone/keys/wallet are!

[rgwhitaker]

Clutter and harmony cannot exist in the sample location!

I came up with that some time ago and it's so true.

When in the process of decluttering, do the old "pile and smile" technique: take everything and divide into two piles--one for things you're going to keep, the other for things you're going to donate, sell, give to friends, family, neighbors.

Be honest with yourself! If you haven't used an item for 6+ months, do you REALLY need it? Probably not!

Then when the piles are completed, take the things that you're going to keep and find a home for each and every item.

The other pile: donate to a local Goodwill, find friends or family members who could get good use out of the things, or sell online.

Hope this helps.

[iris lily]

And then there is the cluttered garden, too, and I don't mean weeds.

I mean, lilies and iris that are not marked. I don't know the names so I can't take them to a show. And then, duplicates and triplicate groupings of favorites. And then there are the cultivars that look practically the same because I like that "look," it's like having 3 red cotton pullover sweaters. doh.

Well, at least with the multiple groupings I can dig up a group and donate the bulbs to our Lily Society sale.

[redfox]

I am now onto decluttering the freezer. Which we're getting rid of, as it is an electricity suck, and I'm not using it much. So, on the stovetop, cooking down, are a half dozen packs of cranberries, and a grape harvest from 3 years ago... jam! Next up: 3# of frozen, shredded zuchinni. Perhaps it will be composted... along with the apple sauce from 2005. Oy vey!

[Float On]

redfox, I'm with you on that! I emptied out the small chest freezer last year and never restocked it. I'm ready to sell it. They really do pull a lot of electricity.

[ctg492]

I think out of all the people I know, I am the most decluttered, empty shelves, nothing in storage, person. I sometimes struggle with this, why I am like this, why no decorations. Sometimes I have a slight cringe if someone I have never had in the home before, comes in. Do they think I am poor? Do they think I do not know how to decorate?
I am happy with the basics.

[rosarugosa]

Selah & Steve: I use similar strategies and find them very effective. Frees up my time to help DH search for his keys, wallet, sunglasses, etc. DH isn't a fan of systems.

[SteveinMN]

Selah & Steve: I use similar strategies and find them very effective. Frees up my time to help DH search for his keys, wallet, sunglasses, etc. DH isn't a fan of systems.
Neither was my ex. Still isn't, I hear. I used to help her look for her keys/wallet/etc. But then I realized I was enabling the behavior and I stopped. At least it quit being a problem for me.

[Zoebird]

I would be afraid to see what's in my MIL's chest freezer. Their basement is a pantry for them. They must have years and years worth of food and other goods down there. It's really nuts. We usually buy what we need for a week -- without waste -- and do well with that.

I decluttered some of the office today (desk drawers, the filing cabinet, etc). That felt good, too!

I'm also letting go of our dryer. It only works sometimes, and so I found a guy who takes them off your hands and repairs them or uses them for parts. He said he'd pick it up on Saturday. Perfect! I can't wait to have that space back -- I'll probably put a hanging drying rack above the washer. :)

[Lainey]

I decluttered some of the office today (desk drawers, the filing cabinet, etc). That felt good, too!


Did the same thing today, Zoebird. I get the urge every few months when I have some downtime, and it's amazing what you can accomplish with a focused 6 hour effort.

[Zoebird]

It's true, but mine didn't take 6 hrs, thankfully. LOL I think it took about an hour? maybe two at the most.

Also, we are nearly done with DS's room. I got sick this week (been out three working days!), so we cancelled our friend coming over to help with the last few bits (hanging a shelf, putting up a rod and curtains to curtain off the closet area; my friend is making the curtains out of muslin, too!).

Next up is finishing out the closet in there (reorganization once we get that shelf up!), moving DS's toys out of the lounge and into the closet of DS's room, and then putting the vinyl stickers up on DS's room (I special ordered for $20 helvetica letters that say: everything is great/ everything is grand/ I've got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand! -- the song from the muppet movie written by local boy Bret McKenzie -- DS sings it every morning when he wakes up). I will put it on the window, since it doesn't look out over anything pretty in particular (a wall), and is rather high on the wall at that (DS's head doesn't come up to it).

He likely won't sleep in there for some time yet, but my aunt comes at christmas, and I want the room to be functional for her, and then later for him and for us. :)

We still need a place to hang coats, keep shoes and bags; and we need a place for suitcases, files, etc. So, that's part of the room, and the other part is a bed and then his toys go in the closet area, too. simple as. :D