Decluttering…time to let it go

Every so often I go through my small condo and declutter…purposefully looking for things to give away.  Even though I work very hard at keeping the amount of “stuff” down, it creeps in over time.  I buy another vase, add a few more books, someone gives me a cute dish they think I might like…little by little, one thing at a time, my space for storing and displaying fills up.  I can actually physically “feel” when my house is getting overloaded.

So yesterday I pulled 3 shopping bags of stuff to give away.  And it’s not that I don’t like the stuff I am giving away, I like it very much…one of my favorite duvet covers and pillows shams left yesterday.  Candles that I have been hanging on to, kitchen items, a vase that was on my table every day for years…these were things that I thought I would have forever.

But, they served their purpose.  I have other things to take their place which need to be used, so I don’t want stuff just hanging around taking up space.

So many of my All Things Home Organizing clients worry about giving things away…”but what if I need it someday”…”my sister gave me this”…”I paid a lot of money for this”…meanwhile they are drowning in their stuff.  Every horizontal surface in their house is spilling over with items that should live in a cabinet or drawer, except that it can’t because the cabinets and drawers are already stuffed with things they don’t use!

Everyone of my clients who goes through a decluttering session with me is shocked at what has been living in their house.  Everyone of them says the same things…”didn’t know I had this, that’s where that is, I just bought another one of these because I couldn’t find this one, I don’t use/wear that thing/stuff anymore, that hasn’t fit me for years, I wonder how that got there”  on and on it goes.

Just take a few minutes and travel through one small area of your house…what’s living there that you can easily let go of.  Grab a bag and stuff it in.  Give it to your housekeeper or gardener, put it out on the curb…some one will come a long and take it, trust me…