There is a wonderful freedom in owning less.
The beginning of every new year brings excitement, anticipation, and opportunity. It also brings resolution.
People around the world will use January 1 as motivation to make changes in their lives. They will decide to lose weight, eat healthy, quit smoking, or declutter their home.
Some resolutions will last. Most will fade away within the first ten days.
This website reaches a large community of people from every walk of life. But we are united in our belief that life is too valuable to waste chasing possessions. Some readers have already decluttered their homes and return here for continued inspiration.
Some are in the midst of their journey toward owning less. And others will be introduced for the first time this week.
My hope is that your resolution to declutter will not fade away. But instead, that you and your family will enjoy all the benefits of owning less.
To those who are just beginning, welcome. Here are 7 helpful tips for your decluttering resolution.
1. Start easy. Your first step in the right direction does not have to be a big one. Our personal journey began by removing the clutter from our cars. Literally. The first things we minimized were ketchup packets, Happy Meal toys, old receipts, and rarely used music CDs. It wasn’t big, but it got us moving in the right direction.
Our next projects included the living room, the bedroom, and our wardrobe. Each room or closet was a little bit harder than the previous. But we found important momentum in the early steps to help carry us through the difficult ones down the road. Use this Declutter Your Home Checklist to really make it easy.
2. Choose a lived-in area to begin. When you first begin to declutter your home, choose an area that is often used. There are many benefits to owning less—clear, open spaces with fewer distractions is one of the best. As you begin to remove clutter, you will quickly experience them.
And the best way to fully understand these benefits is to begin decluttering a room that is used often. This could be a living room, a bedroom, an office, or a bathroom. Start decluttering in an easy, lived-in area. You’ll love it. And find increased motivation.
3. Touch every item. Your decluttering journey is not a race. It took years to accumulate all the clutter in your home and it will take more than an afternoon or weekend to remove it. My own family of four took 9 months. You won’t regret taking your time. And you won’t regret taking the extra effort to physically touch every item in your home.
Physically handling each thing forces our minds to make intentional decisions about them. After touching each item, place it in 1 of 3 piles: keep, relocate, or remove. From there, handle immediately. And then repeat.
4. Prefer donating over selling. You can make more money by selling your unneeded clutter. And if you legitimately need the money, go for it. There are countless websites that can help. But be aware that trying to sell your clutter is time-consuming, cumbersome, and often adds to the stress of decluttering.
If money is not an immediate concern for your family, sell your valuable items on Ebay or Craigslist, but donate everything else to a local charity. You will find joy and fulfillment in generosity—and that experience will be important going forward as you seek to overcome the trap of consumerism.
5. Read a book. The first book I read on decluttering was Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. While feng shui never became a guiding principle in my home, the thoughts in the book were helpful for our journey. It is important to be reminded that others struggle with the same problem. And it is beneficial to hear new solutions to these problems.
The book was good, I still recommend it. But I also recommend The Minimalist Home, The More of Less, The Joy of Less, and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Any one of them will be helpful and motivating.
6. Tell a friend. Joy is most fulfilling when it is shared with others. Tell your story about your resolution to declutter. You will find people are excited to try it themselves. They will cheer you on. They will motivate you by holding you accountable and ask you how things are going the next time you see them.
As an additional benefit, when you share your story, you will be reminded again of the reasons you decided to declutter in the first place.
7. Be okay with imperfection. Don’t let perfect become the enemy of better. The first time you go through your home, you won’t remove all the clutter. You’ll keep stuff that didn’t need to be kept. You’ll find it too difficult to part with some items. You may even remove a thing or two you’ll end up wishing you had kept.
But you will make progress. In just a few short weeks (or even days), you will begin to feel different about your home. You will enjoy it more—as if a burden has been lifted from your shoulders. It won’t be perfect, but it will be better. And that’s the best any of us can hope for in this life.
The journey to clutterfree can be difficult at times. But it is always worth the effort. Trust me, you’ll be happier owning less.
Debbie says
We have been reading your online thoughts for years and like thousands of others, your garage cleaning story was a place we identified. That common link made us curious and hopeful for the changes we also yearned for. Two years ago, we also read The Joy of Less and began sorting and taking action on our empty nest. When it came to the basement we decided to ‘get to the point’ by having three livestock trailer loads of larger furniture hauled away to local charities and auction house. The immediate freedom and joy has been life changing and in all ways wise and wonderful. We contine the editing process routinely and like others have discovered, the experience brings clarity and peace to your home.
Carol Preibis says
Joshua, I have never been a “saver,” so decluttering comes rather naturally to me. Even so, it’s easy to accumulate clutter! That’s why I make a habit of going through every item in my house about once a year. I have a blog post that may be of help to some: “Decluttering Decisions” http://www.ahhthesimplelife.com/decluttering-decisions/
Cheers,
Carol
Annie says
Comment on #4: I used to collect china tea cups. Before long people started giving me them as gifts. I ended up with 60 cups and saucers. I never had any occasion to use that many and there was nowhere to store them so I allowed myself to keep my favorites and donated the rest (about 50) to goodwill. A few weeks later I attended a baby shower and the party favors were tea cups which were turned into mini planters with a small aloe plant in them. They were my tea cups! The hostess was thrilled to have found so many beautiful tea cups to make her unique favors and I was so thrilled that they were put to good use. I made a gift of mine to another guest who desired it.
Stacy B says
…And when you’ve come so far say, “Thank you, but no thank you…” to freebies, magazines that you won’t read, small toys given away at birthdays and carnivals, junk mail, clothes from well-meaning friend and family members, etc. And when you can’t say “no” keep a permanent bin somewhere in your home, garage, or some place accessible where you can drop those items so you can give them new life in a place other than your calm and serene home:) You’ll thank yourself for it and move towards the ultimate decluttering…decluttering your time so you have time for what matters to you! Time is the one thing you can’t make more of! Happy New Year!
Raj kumar says
I truly believe in minimalising
And follow you on Twitter. What a great work you are doing to inspire the people. Keep it up,GodBless.
Jorge Navarro says
I have been through this process before. What should be clear to everyone now, is that your first go around may not be your last. As a family we have done major decluttering. We also schedule a revisit every 2 months or so. Inevitably, you will find things the second time around that you probably should have donated the first. It is a process and one should view it that way. The act of removing old data and freeing up space in your mental hard drive is so gratifying.
Peggy says
We learn because people like you unselfishly share. Thank you for not hoarding even your knowledge to us. I am a freshman to minimalism. got rid of almost 70% of my clothing, some I’ve had eversince college. Duplicates have been given away and sold as well. I had tough decisions to make but i guess being married to a “born minimalist” made it easier. Our backgrounds are totally different and he had to put up with my consumerism habits for 8 years. One can imagine the breathe of fresh air he is enjoying now that i’ve converted. It’s truly liberating. I’ve always wanted to write. Today, with seeing less and thinking less of unimportant things (and yes, even paring down paper thin relationships) I find myself being able to start doing what I’ve always loved to do. I read, i write, i cook, then i’d read and write some more. Cleaning the house is no longer a painful routine, so is the laundry. This is not a resolution. This is an indomitable change. The change is me. And the choice has always been mine.
Bob Pepe says
I was wondering about “Virtual” minimizing… I mean social media, computer clutter… My goal is to simplify my life and my virtual life is also a mess… I am on Twitter and Facebook and Google Plus daily… I know that Joshua uses Social Media a lot and I LOVE everything he writes and posts…. But how can I manage to MINIMIZE my virtual world and just keep the stuff that matters????
I hope this makes sense….
Marya says
The solution: leave facebook and Twitter. It is such a waste of time. Minimalism in the social media too!
Bob P says
Without Facebook, I never would have discovered Joshua and Minimalism…But on the surface, I totally agree with you….
Facebook is the biggest waste of time and energy that I have experienced.
Debbie says
Bob,
You could try to limit yourself on social media, say maybe an hour a day, or completely unplugging every Sunday.
It does not have to be an all or nothing deal as others have suggested. It just needs to be in its proper place. Moderation is the key.
Joshua has written a post about this called “7 Important Reasons to Unplug and Find Space.” Here is the link: https://www.becomingminimalist.com/unplug-please/
Bob Pepe says
Thanks Debbie… I will check it out right now!!!
Christine H says
My decluttering journey began 2 years ago with Bed Bugs. It wasn’t a bad case, but it was bad enough. So under our bed got cleared out first. After they were gone, I started on the kitchen, then the rest of the house. This year my goals are to declutter my movies and books again (I tend to go in waves get rid of the easy stuff then the harder stuff then the hardest) and to start on the biggest project in the decluttering process, photos. A book that helped me build decluttering into my routine is really more about housekeeping is called “Sink Reflections”.
Sarah says
I love this post, I’m new-ish to your web site but have found myself in recent months becoming more resolved to make changes that will simplify my life. I certainly don’t want to be driven by external factors, it is my personal and business ethos that we all need to be guided by our ‘inner self’ and to listen to that which we truly desire- rather than looking externally for satisfaction or fulfilment. In particular I like your reminder to not allow perfectionism to get in the way of becoming minimalist. I’ve observed that our efforts are cyclic- when we have time and energy we do some work, go to the op shop etc. Within a month or 2 I am able to find even more things to release from our ‘ownership’ and seem to develop in my comprehension of minimalism and the depth in which I feel and value it. Thank-you!