‘Decluttering is helping me let go and move on’

I wish I had kept a tally of bags and boxes of stuff I’ve taken to the charity shops, the number of trips to the dump and the many times I’ve filled my bin as I declutter in preparation for the downsize.

I started a couple of years ago with my wardrobes. I have three built-ins and they were stuffed full. I’ve put on weight in the last 10 years and every day was a struggle to find something that looked good on me. It was really hard to admit I was never going to fit into my beautiful clothes again, but I bit the bullet and so many things I loved went out the door. Hopefully, they ended up with someone who would enjoy them as much as I did.

People say it makes you feel better to purge your stuff. It didn’t, but buying some new clothes and having nothing in my wardrobe that I can’t wear did!

At about the same time, I looked around my big house and home office and thought about the huge job clearing it would be if it fell to my daughters upon my death. I’m not planning to go anytime soon, but it is a burden I don’t want to leave them, so I started thinking about downsizing and looking at what I could get rid of .

I made the decision to move from my three level home with four bedrooms (hence all the wardrobes), two bathrooms, a rumpus room (used as my office), a store room, attic, shelves, cupboards and a shed. All are full of stuff. Once I sell, I’m going into a new small, but well designed, manufactured home that has just two bedrooms. That put a timeframe and available space pressure on me to reduce everything to just what I need.

I had to start decluttering before I could even put my house on the market. I got removalists in to relocate my office into one of the bedrooms upstairs and take a sofa bed downstairs so it could revert to a rumpus room or second living area — or as they say in real estate: in-law accommodation or granny flat!

I got rid of some furniture and the trips to the dump began. So far, I have emptied four bookcases — the last lot was refused by my local charity shop because I’d already filled their shelves and I had to take them elsewhere. I love my books, but I’ve worked out how much space I’ll have for them and what won’t fit must go. I’m not there yet. The linen cupboard has been reduced by half, as have most drawers and cupboards. My strategy is to empty them, clean the space and then put back in only what I really need. What I found in the back of my pantry, passed its use by date was a shock!

Decluttering is hard physically as well as emotionally. I am unashamedly ‘a material girl’; I like my things, they are symbols of achievement to me. A bunch of ring binders that were binned last week contained work I’d produced, some of which I have in soft copy but much I don’t. As I let them go, I reminded myself that I do even better work now and will create more. It doesn’t need to be printed and kept.

I was looking at blue pottery on the shelves in my dining room and realised there is no room for such a display in the new place, so most of it will go. I am gradually unattaching myself and selecting the pieces that are important to keep. I also realised I’ll have little wall space for my artwork (but lots of windows). Similar decisions will be made there.

One of my most prized possessions is a print that I’d wanted for years and eventually bought it when I could afford to. Everything else that I’ve disposed of, I’ve given away, but that piece I will sell. I am ready to part with it and I’ll take a photo to remember it by.

In the end, I don’t want to stuff my house full of things and I don’t want to spend my life looking after stuff. I want to fill both with the space to be free.

Downsizing is hard, but a friend of mine who just moved into a retirement village remarked: “I’m glad I’m doing it in my 60s not in my 80s”. I agree.

Have you downsized or decluttered? What were the challenges for you?

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