Letting go of stuff

As always, I am a collector of crap. Before I know it, I have shelves full of things that I barely use and items that have seen better days.

I always like to keep little extra things in case they come in handy, whether this be pens, keep cups, cooking magazines or clothing, the list goes on. However, there are times (especially when I am cleaning or moving) that I notice I have more clutter than I realised.

I find shelves and drawers full of messy miscellaneous items and I don’t know where to start. After a few hours of fumbling, I usually get into a groove, and I find there are a few steps that help me.

1. Taking baby steps: When sorting through a whole locker, or cupboard or house it can seem daunting. I find I usually struggle to start the task at hand until I identify achievable blocks to work towards. This could mean starting with a single shelve, or drawer or even just cleaning a single item.
2. Creating piles: When I start sifting through my things I can get attached and lost in all of my possessions. That’s why I find creating three piles helps.

• Firstly, one pile for rubbish. Things that I know I never use, don’t need and are rubbish (in the sense I can’t donate or recycle them).
• Secondly, I have the donation pile. A pile that I know is good enough quality to donate and that I don’t want.
• Finally, I have the ‘maybe’ pile. This literally consists of items that I am on the fence for. If I find I can’t decide in that moment, I put it in a pile and come back to it with a clearer head.

Are you a budding Marie Kondo and have any tips for dealing with clutter?