Maintaining a decluttered home
You’ve worked hard to declutter each area of your home and you’re done, right? Nope. If only life worked that way. The thing is, as we are decluttering and sending things out of our home, other things continue to come in. Valentine’s Day bags your kids brought home last week, hand-me-down clothes a friend gave you for your kids, birthday gifts, etc. We have to be diligent about controlling this influx in order to preserve all that hard work & time you have been investing in your home.
One in One Out
One way to be mindful of what is coming in your house is to have a one in, one out rule. This applies to anything that is not a regular household item (like food for example). When you buy a new pair of shoes, declutter an old pair. When you buy yourself a new computer, transfer the data and donate the old one. I find this a very practical and easy to implement rule that takes very little thought. You can adjust it to your specific situation - if you haven’t started decluttering at all yet but want to, you could do a one in, two out situation. The category could matter, but it doesn’t have to! Buy a new puzzle, donate two small kitchen appliances. You get the point & you make the rules!
Donation Box
Keep a donation box in a visible/easy-to-access place in your home so that whenever you find an item to pass along, it’s mindless to throw it in the box and continue on with your day. Don’t get anything fancy as it will end up being a roadblock to getting the items out of your home. Use a sturdy cardboard box that you don’t mind leaving at the donation center if the option presents itself.
Regular Donation Drop-Off
Schedule a regular date on your calendar when you drop off at the donation center. If you have pickup available in your area - scheduling a pickup is even better! This is a time when partnering with a friend could be super helpful, Alternate months to take on the errand and help keep each other motivated to keep going!
No-buy month or category
Not sure where to start? A small but effective strategy could be to pick a no-buy category for the remainder of the year (or month….you set the timeline). If you have a thing with buying pretty tea towels (I have my eye on you Geometry!) that you want to keep under control, tell yourself that you have enough to get you through 2024 (you probably do) and hold yourself to not buying more this year.
Another angle of this same idea is to pick a month, week, or even a day where you hold yourself to no spending except for the essentials. No Shopping September for example. This is not only good for keeping the clutter in check, but also great for the budget!
Use what you have first
Little story for you. Our kids got Chapstick in their stockings many Christmases in a row - probably also in Easter baskets and at the dentist too. Turns out - they don’t really use it. It hit me one day that we had it all over the house! I collected all the tubes, put them in one spot & pull from there whenever I run out of the one next to our bed. Now, every holiday when I look at the cute new flavors and the fun festive packaging, I remind myself of that stash that is almost completely gone after two years of hard lip-moisturizing work on my part. Toiletries are a category where this seems to happen a lot, but this could also apply in the kitchen with new marinades or Trader Joe’s snacks that are just. so. hard. to. resist.
Gift guidelines
When it comes to gifts, things can get a little squirrely - you are grateful for the gift-giver’s generosity, however you maybe don’t need or like the gift(s). Or your kids, like mine, have enough toys already and the thought of what to do with any more come birthday season makes your head spin. How do you subtly let people know what a perfect gift would be without sounding ungrateful?
Amazon or shared wish list. Family members can look at each other’s wish list and know exactly what might make the recipient jump for joy!
Ask for recurring gifts like a subscription to Netflix, a meal delivery service, or a cleaning service - things you might deem “invisible” yet you use or appreciate every day.
Gift certificates to favorite restaurants or entertainment centers make for fun family outings. We love the gift certificate to the theatre that my dad gifts our family every year.
Suggest donations to your favorite charity on invitations. Not only does the charity get a gift, but you or your family member get the gift of how good it feels to be the giver!
Regular decluttering routine
Make decluttering part of your daily routine. When you are putting away laundry and see something hanging there that you never wear, take an extra minute to put it in the donation box. When you are giving your child a bath, let them (safely) splash and play while you declutter under the bathroom sink. Waiting for water to boil in the kitchen? Pick a shelf in a cupboard to empty, wipe down, and declutter. Just like most things, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.
Regular decluttering will keep you on task when it comes to watching what is going IN to your home….consistently working on moving things OUT puts that desire top of mind during other parts of your day.
Exercise for your home
The way I like to think of decluttering is that it’s like exercise. You won’t see or feel results after a single workout, but after consistently showing up, you will begin to gain momentum, energy, and feel the fruits of your labor. Getting off track sometimes is normal - just jump back on when you can. If you stop for longer periods of time, you will lose some or all of the results that you worked to achieve. So put on that sweatband and keep on flexing that decluttering muscle, and I promise you it will pay off!
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