Now is a good time to de-clutter.
I recently read that famed entrepreneur, Elon Musk, announced that he is planning to sell “almost all [of his] physical possessions” Musk’s Twitter post
Musk went on to tweet that “devoting myself to Mars and Earth. Possession just weigh you down”
While giving away all of your belongings would be very different for a billionaire than for you and I, it does beg the question of how much “stuff” do we really need and how do all these things affect our mood and mind-space.
I have noticed in many of my conversations these past few weeks that people are feeling a lot of discomfort being confined to their homes; not so much because of the restrictions, but rather because they don’t have the room or freedom to move within. I have been thinking about the environments we are living in and how healthy they are physically.
I do find that a cluttered room leads to a cluttered head, and that my personal and professional productivity increases with a well organized space.
In this time of COVID and lock-downs, we should realize that what matters most in life are family and friends, positive experiences, and health and well-being – not more stuff.
So, in the spirit of embracing a bit of minimalism, here are a few tips courtesy to Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net :
- Start with baby steps (5 minutes at a time so you are not overwhelmed)
- Designate a spot for incoming papers
- Start a no clutter zone
- Clear off one counter at a time
- Book a decluttering weekend. Get boxes and trash bags ready, and plan a trip to a charity to drop off donated items.
- Pick up 5 things, and find places for them.
- Spend a few minutes visualizing the room. Once you’ve visualized how the room will look uncluttered, and figured out what is essential, get rid of the rest.
- Create a “maybe” box for things you don’t use now, but may in the future. Store the box somewhere hidden. Pull the box out in six months and see if it’s anything you really needed. Usually, you can just dump the whole box, because you never needed that stuff.
- Put a load in your car for charity.
- Create a 30-day list and make a rule never to buy anything (except necessities) unless they’ve been on the list for 30 days. Often you’ll lose the urge to buy the stuff and you’ll save yourself a lot of money and clutter.
- Teach your kids where things belong.
- Set up some simple folders.
- Learn to file quickly.
- Pull out some clothes you don’t wear. If they’re seasonal clothes, store them in a box. Get rid of the rest.
- Clear out your medicine cabinet.
- Pull everything out of a drawer. Just take the drawer out and empty it on a table. Then sort the drawer into three piles: 1) stuff that really should go in the drawer; 2) stuff that belongs elsewhere; 3) stuff to get rid of.
- Learn to love the uncluttered look.
- Have a conversation with your SO or roommate. An uncluttered home is the result of a shared philosophy of simplicity of all the people living in the house.
https://zenhabits.net/18-five-minute-decluttering-tips-to-start-conquering-your-mess/
~ Maria
