It’s hard to argue that most of us are lying around a little too much, but getting rid of your things can be difficult. Perhaps you have developed a personal bond with certain items, or you really believe that one day you will have a practical use for them. Most of the time, however, “personal worth” means “guilt” and “some day” never comes.
We’re not talking about going ultra-minimal here, we’re trying to keep only the things in your life that you use that are actually important to you. To do this, you need to know how to identify the crap in your home, how to get rid of it (so you don’t just throw it in a landfill) and most importantly, how to keep unwanted crap out of the way.
Step 1: Identify the Recycle Bin
Crap is just rubbish, like a company t-shirt from five jobs ago or a birthday card from 1994 that your grandmother will ask for the next time she visits. If you still have things like that, stop reading this post and dispose of it right away: recycle the cards (or put them down for safe keeping), tear off the shirts for rags, and in general, do what you need to do to get it The garbage got done first.
Now that you’ve got rid of your easily identifiable crap, we can start with the rest and decide what can stay and what can go.
Step 2: cut down on excess material
First, narrow your focus by sorting your clutter into categories. These categories should include things like books, clothing, cables and gadgets, as well as any hobby-related clutter that you may have a lot of. For each category, sort each item into one of three piles: items to keep, items to throw and tie. Be Inconsiderate: When was the last time you used that bulky electric juicer? Are you actually going to use it in the future? If the answer is “probably not,” then you should probably get rid of it.
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When you’re done sorting, go through the pile of items that you are not sure about and remove as much as you can. If you have duplicates (or triple duplicates), choose what you like best and remove the rest.
Step 3: reset everything
Now that you’ve messed up your home by throwing your things on the floor, it’s time to put it all away. First, put whatever stuff you’re getting rid of in a carton, trash bag, or whatever you prefer – as long as it clearly moves on to the next life. Next, put all of the things you keep where they belong (and admire all of the storage space you have created). Finally, take the things that you are not sure about and move them to a different place, such as the bathroom. B. on one side of your closet or in a separate drawer. For the next month, keep an eye on how often you use that “undecided” stuff: if you barely touch it, it’s time to let go of it.
Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3
No, not right away – you just had to part with a number of things that are important to you that you may not be emotionally ready to part with your possessions again. Wait 30 days and try again. After a month, when things have settled down, you will find it much easier to let go of even more things that you don’t need. You might even like it.
Step 5: tackle the unique pieces
By now, you’ve probably got rid of most of your unnecessary junk, leaving behind things that you don’t have a lot of but that still take up unnecessary space in your home. Do you have an electric guitar that you never play or an elliptical trainer machine that you mostly use as a clothes rack? You must go.
Step 6: Get Unwanted Items Out of Your House
When the time comes to get rid of all of this crap, you have three basic options: donate, sell, or trade. (Technically, “The Dump” is the fourth option, but hopefully you’ve gotten rid of your literal junk by now.)
Always make sure potential donations are clean and in good condition before attempting to get rid of them. Goodwill and the Salvation Army are fine, but your old things are much more likely to be used if you keep them locally. Many homeless shelters and other aid agencies list their most needed donations on their website. Check if any of your products qualify, then bring it over. Your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook and the free Craigslist section take care of almost everything else.
Selling or trading items with higher tickets on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or / or eBay can help you get some cash back, but it does take some work – so save it for things worthwhile. If you have outdated electronics that aren’t being sold, check to see if the manufacturer or retailer has a trade-in or recycling program. Amazon, Samsung, and Apple All of them do, to name a few.
Step 7: digitize if possible
You can also free up space by optimizing your physical recordings. Files, photos, invoices, bank statements and other documents can take up a lot of space. digitize what you canBack up everything and throw away any physical copies that aren’t special or valuable to you. Going paperless is quite a processbut more than worth the effort.
Step 8: keep it up
Scratching your entire home is a tremendous hassle, but all of that effort is wasted if you can’t wait for it. To do this, you will need some rules, guidelines, and tricks to stave off the excess things that once plagued your life.
You may have heard that you should toss it if you haven’t used it in the last year. This works great – for people who don’t tend to hold onto things they don’t need. If you have this tendency, your guidelines should be a little stricter:
- Set up a one-in-one-out policy: If you want something new, you have to get rid of something old. It doesn’t have to be the same type of item, but it should take up roughly the same amount of space (or more).
- Set expiration dates for infrequently used content: Give yourself a certain amount of time to use an item, then set a calendar reminder. When the date comes and goes and you haven’t touched it, say goodbye.
- Sleep on it – twice: Don’t buy new things until you’ve thought about it for 48 hours (or more). If you still think it’s a good buy, go for it.
- Put your things where you can see them: The FIFO principle does not only apply to kitchens. If you organize your things so that you can see what you have, then you can actually use them.
The troubleshooting process isn’t exactly fun, but chances are you’ll love the extra space more than anything that was there before. Hopefully this guide will help you get your crap under control and get away from home.
This article was originally published May 2011 and was updated with new information on May 18, 2021 to be in compliance with Lifehacker style guidelines.
