My decluttering hack

About two months ago, I was having a conversation with my cousin and we were talking about the accumulation of things we don’t need. That’s when he introduced me to a life-changing concept to help with decluttering. He calls it his ‘one item a day’ hack for decluttering and disposing.

It sparked my interest and I was keen to know more. Whether you call it decluttering, downsizing, disposing of, recycling or whatever name one wishes to use, they all represent a common objective, to get rid of things we don’t use nor need.

My cousin said if you discipline yourself to dispose of one item a day, no matter how small, you will be amazed at how much stuff you get rid of. He was right!!

One item a day. If you adopt this approach the rest seems to manifest on its own. It is addictive in a good way.

In our heads, we have mental questions that become barriers. It is the inner self-talk such as ‘Where do I begin and when should I start or how do I go about it?”.

I began by sitting down in my kitchen and looked around the room with fresh eyes. I noticed my old hand potato masher sitting in a wire basket. I haven’t used it for a couple of years as I have arthritis in my wrists and use my masher attachment on my electric Bamix. I also had a spare hand masher in my storage box above the cupboards! Well, both hand mashers have gone to another home.

Anything I have disposed of, I have had no desire to replace. Rather I am motivated to rid of more. Another example is I have two separate hand-held single graters, one was gifted to me for fine-grating hard cheeses. I loved it so much that I purchased another coarse grater. Since I have these, I have not touched my large multi-sided grater. It now sits in the disposal bag ready for drop-off and I have more space in my cupboard. I thought I may need the other various grating sizes for different foods. I have never used or missed these options.

Even on my busy days, I think, oh I must get rid of something today. Something as small as old lipsticks that have worn down to the metal. I have held onto them just in case I need a particular colour to match an outfit. I have kept them to access with a brush because there is little left when wound to its maximum. I don’t remember when I used them last so they have gone in the bin and again one less thing in my stash.

With my clothes, every day I have moved an item from my wardrobe, sometimes more than one piece. I also have an ‘undecided’ rack for special clothes only. It sits in the garage under plastic. These are mainly for out-of-season clothes that could be reused. If I move them to this rack it gives me thinking time. I particularly use this method for jackets as I love mixing and matching old clothes with new ones.

My wardrobe has downsized, there are gaps between the coat hangers, the shoe racks have room for any new purchases, my kitchen storage containers have been emptied and removed from the top of my cupboards, my makeup container has fewer items, my office space cleared as I am in the process of throwing out old files. My rooms have begun to look lighter and fresher.

My process of disposing of items is more streamlined by quickly adopting this simple discipline. I feel fantastic as if a little weight is removed from my shoulders each day. I have a daily reminder set on my phone to help.

The only barrier is ourselves. We get used to our clutter which doesn’t appear like clutter over time, and then we become less motivated or give up. To be honest only a few months down the track I can’t even remember what I thought I would miss. In the unlikely case of needing something, I can purchase it at minimal cost anyway. That says a lot about how important they were in the first place.

My approach has changed from ‘just in case’ to ‘just do it’ and I don’t dwell on the decisions like I used to. It can only take a few seconds or longer if you wish.

“Getting rid of these items clears our minds, frees up our space, and takes the weight off our shoulders. ( https://www.theminimalists.com/jic/ )

Remember, one item a day no matter how small. Like The Carpenters song, “We’ve Only Just Begun”.