Let the Decluttering commence!
A maximalist does decluttering- the journey begins!
I love this time of year, and I find it always brings with it a burst of renewed energy! Autumn is the feeling of shiny new shoes and freshly packed pencil cases with only exactly what we need in them (you are not welcome here dried marker and disintegrating sharpenings!) I love that feeling of order- that everything is in it’s place & where you need it. By the end of the summer holidays though our house can feel quite the opposite of this! So, this year I have been channelling my autumn energy boost into a full house declutter and… so far so good! I lean towards the maximalist rather than minimalist persuasion and I’m somewhat of a magpie of unusual but useful household items spotted at antique markets and fairs when out sourcing for client projects. (N.B I plan on adding a small curation of beautiful and useful items for sale on the Gringley Bespoke website soon- please take a look!) Anyway, I thought I’d share my tips on how to get started with decluttering…
1. Ready, steady, start…
The researcher and planner in me means that I have, in the last two months, dedicated my down time to reading books on decluttering, listening to podcasts and even watching TV about it! In some ways this was not helpful… I am not about to approach the farm down the road to enquire about renting their barn to completely empty the contents of our home into it so I can fully appreciate how much stuff we own! Stacey Solomon may make it entertaining, but it’s not practical or necessary- I’m positive that decluttering can be successfully done in a much gentler way, with less shock and awe! Instead, I eased myself in, starting with a space I could tackle all on my own, my dressing room. No other family members opinions were required & I needed just 4 bags: 1 to take to the charity shop, 2 things to sell, 3 recycling & 4 rubbish. I tackled it one drawer at a time & just did as much as I could in the time I had. Some days it was two hours, others it was 10 minutes. I tackled a drawer on the short sessions and the full sweep of hanging clothes on the long ones but when I needed to finish, I could. Everything I had sorted through was either back in its place or in one of the 4 bags. I could stop whenever I needed to without having made a mess so it didn’t feel overwhelming and I could see progress.
2. Little and often but every day something!
I’m trying to find a way to declutter in the most sustainable way possible. There is absolutely no need to put a skip on the drive! Be kind to yourself! Each day declutter somewhere- even if it is just one drawer it’s a move forward! The bags are leaving the house regularly. At least once a week I’ve added in a trip to a charity shop when I would be passing near to them anyway and, if needed, the recycling centre – this way it’s not adding much time onto my day or taking me out of my way on a special trip.
3 Don’t overthink, just do.
My sentimental nature means we have a lot of things in our home that that don’t actually serve a purpose or even add aesthetically. They may have been bought for us by someone special or at a significant point or place. I’ve learnt that these things need to be passed on- we’ll either use it or loose it! Some long-forgotten items like a couple of my university fashion illustrations and the model of the racing car we used to own are coming out of the loft to be displayed but so much other stuff is going and every time the next bag leaves I feel a little lighter and brighter and the house feels and looks like its feeling the benefit too! I still have a way to go but so far… so great!!! I’ll keep you posted on progress!