Are you overwhelmed by all the things in your life?  Do you have too much stuff that you find yourself organizing and rearranging constantly?  If it feels like your belongings are taking up too much negative time in your life, then this article is for you.  I’ve put together some tips for downsizing and decluttering your life.

Your Home

If you have no intention or means to move, then you might want to skip this paragraph.  You may like your home, and that is great, but you ought to consider if it’s the right size for you during your current stage of life.    If your mortgage or rent is running your life, and you are working just to pay the bill, it may be time to move into a smaller place.  Think of the free time you will have to enjoy life without that looming monthly bill that rips into your wallet and leaves nothing left over for fun.  Also, you want to consider how many people are in your home. If you have newly born children and toddlers, now might not be the time to downsize, but if you have a ton of space and are just living alone, it might be a better option for you.

Downsize the Big Stuff

Think of those big items in your life that you don’t need.  Have you had an elliptical exercise machine that you haven’t used in months?  Maybe years even?  Though I’m a big fan of exercise, if you aren’t using a big piece of equipment and you are tripping over, walking around or hanging stuff on it, it may be time for it to go.

How about your vehicle?  Do you need the big SUV, or truck?  Maybe it’s time for an economy car.  Only you can answer this, but it’s something to consider.  Downsizing a vehicle will mean less money and even less cleaning if it’s smaller. It’s amazing how much stuff we can lose just in our vehicles.

What about your furniture?  Do you have too many chairs or tables?  Think about which furniture items you don’t use and think of all of that new space you will soon have.  It might help you feel better to give furniture items that are still in good shape to goodwill. Also, minimalism is most definitely in. Why not revamp your apartment by having less?

Downsizing the Small Stuff

So maybe you don’t need to downsize your house, car, or another big area of your life, but maybe you need to downsize the smaller things.  This is something we can all relate to.  I am guilty here of too much little stuff that gets in my way.  These are things that I don’t use, but for some reason just keep hanging on to them. I’ve listed some popular items to consider downsizing.

Clothes

Are you always running out of closet hangers?  If you answered yes, then ok you may just need to buy some more hangers.  But chances are your closet could use some downsizing. I know you might be saving that orange skirt you haven’t worn since sophomore year of college, but it might be time to let it go. Go through the clothes you haven’t worn for a long time and consider either giving it to someone you know, giving it to goodwill, or getting rid of it all together.  I have a problem with throwing things away, so I make rugs out of old clothes.  Repurposing feels better to me than ditching stuff into the trash can.  If you are a crafty person,  think of other purposes for those clothes.  I’ve also made quilts out of mine and my daughter’s clothes that we weren’t wearing very often.

Appliances

Think about which appliances you never use and toss them.  If you have electrical items that are ancient, they may be a fire hazard anyway. Get rid of them.

Shoes

This may be a touchy subject for some. I used to collect running shoes. I’d wear them out and keep them for walking around or swimming in the river.  It’s crazy how those old running shoes just collected until I was constantly tripping over them.  One year I repurposed a bunch into flower pots. I put soil in the shoes and filled them with marigolds that I put on my front deck.  That way I got them out of the house and still had a use for them.  But sometimes just tossing stuff works well too.

Knickknacks and Decorations

At the time you bought your cute stuff it may have been nice to look at for awhile, but do you feel you spend too much time dusting?  Or does your house feel cluttered with cute knickknacks?  As hard as it may be, let some go.  Keep the sentimental ones and let go of some others. Look at it as there will always be room for more down the line.

In summary, letting stuff go can be a freeing experience.  Go through your house and decide which things you really need and which things you can get rid of.  Keep the sentimental things if you want to, but let go of the other stuff that you never use.  Once it’s over,  you’ll feel so much better.  I like to start a countdown timer and put my favorite music on and see what I can get done before the timer goes off.  The biggest thing is just to do it. So why don’t you start today and get rid of some of that physical clutter in your life right now?