Simply editing your home entails de-cluttering. Additionally, de-cluttering is a never-ending effort because your home’s story is constantly being written.
The benefit is that your home will eventually include only items that benefit you, which is what motivates me to continue when de-cluttering seems like an impossible chore. There will be a lot of joyful things all around you. Because after the extraneous, pointless material is removed, just the best is left, much like in editing.
For some people, the phrase “keep what you need and what makes you happy” serves as a sufficient compass. However, many of us require a little extra aid in order to determine what should be kept.
1. Avoid using your house as a storage facility.
Keeping anything just in case you need it in the future is like to paying rent to a storage facility, and it prevents you from living in an open, airy atmosphere. So be cautious before keeping the old cell phones or the curtain rods.
2. Be aware of the high cost of what you hold onto.
You may find yourself clinging to items because you believe it would be wasteful to purchase them again in the future. However, keeping anything comes at a price. You need to consider where to put it, whether to forgo actual storage, or else to occupy priceless empty space. Once you’ve organized it, you’ll need to remember where you put it if and when you need it, put it away, organize it again when it gets cluttered, and, well, you get the idea. Is keeping that item truly worth the time and effort it will require?
3. Permit yourself to make additional purchases.
You might decide to keep a lot of items that you otherwise might not since it hurts to think about having to part with money in the future. However, the straightforward but effective intentional act of giving yourself permission to buy again in the future (knowing that you’re gaining so much now by letting go) will help you get rid of a lot more items from your home.
4. Give it one touch.
Holding on to items that require action results in a great deal of clutter. Building smart practices will be made easier if you keep the “touch it once” maxim in mind. For instance, sorting your mail while standing by the recycling bin and signing those authorization slips as soon as they arrive. The amount of paper clutter, take-it-upstairs clutter, and other clutter is much reduced.
5. Determine whether anything is “the best, the favorite, or necessary.”
This Emily Ley-created mantra for decluttering can assist you in selecting only the best items from your possessions. For example, focus on the best mixing bowls when you have a vast selection to choose from. Similar to how a kitchen towel collection can be reduced, only keeping the favorites can be kept.
