Minimalist Decluttering Methods For Your Home

Do you strive to be like the Netflix stars and best-selling authors The Minimalists? Or do you simply desire a life with less stuff and more purpose, time, and meaning? No matter the reasons, decluttering like a minimalist appeals to many people looking for a less stressful way of life.

Minimalist decluttering focuses on keeping what you genuinely love and use frequently and getting rid of the excess. Decide what’s enough for you in your home and be realistic with your goals. Rent or borrow things you don’t use often. Go digital as much as possible, decline constant hand-me-downs from your parents and friends, and stop shopping as a hobby.

Minimalism doesn’t mean you have a bare home with no warmth or personality. Instead, it’s about focusing on your experiences instead of on stuff. If you’re ready to eliminate all the clutter weighing you down, check out these essential tips.

Start the decluttering process with a plan, so you know exactly what you want out of the experience. It might help to go room by room to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

But everyone works differently. You might prefer to gather similar items from throughout the house and go category by category.

The method you choose depends on your available time. The category-by-category process works well if you’re trying to declutter your house in one day. However, if you’re ready to make a more massive change toward a more minimalist life, you’ll need more time.

In this case, working room by room is an excellent way to go through your items without getting tired and frustrated. You can devote a day to one room or part of a room, etc.

Once you know how you’ll approach the process, gather your supplies. You’ll need to set up a staging area with five boxes: donate, toss, keep, sell, and elsewhere. (The elsewhere box is for all those things you come across that belong elsewhere.)

Instead of taking the time to put them away as you find them, toss them into the elsewhere box. After your organizing efforts, you can spend a few minutes returning everything to its rightful home. (Unless you decide you no longer need it and can pass it along to someone else.)

You’ll also want markers, tape, scissors, and trash bags. Don’t forget to have some water and snacks on hand as well to keep up your energy and stay hydrated.

Before you jump into your organizing and decluttering project, be realistic about your goals. What do you need by the end of the process? Do you need more free space, more time, or simply to find your keys in less than 30 seconds?

It’s easy to fall in love with pictures in magazines of minimalist homes with no clutter and clean surfaces. It seems so relaxing and easy. You might want to jump up and start tossing out your things, claiming an all-new minimalist lifestyle.

Many people picture minimalists as having no possessions, no home decor, and little things of value. This might be true for some extreme minimalist lifestyles, but it isn’t what minimalist decluttering is all about.

For you, minimalist decluttering could be more about getting rid of everything except the things you need and love the most. It could be that you need to reassess what’s most important to you and reframe how you think and feel about your belongings.

An easy way to approach a more minimalist spirit is to get rid of duplicate items. You might struggle to decide between what you need and don’t need. However, getting rid of something is a bit easier when you have more than one.

Make it a rule only to keep one of a particular item. Do you need three extra coffee pots taking up space in your pantry? Whether it’s a can opener, a winter coat, or a fluffy blanket, make it your goal only to have one.

Paper can take over your space before you know it. Understandably, you don’t want to toss out potentially important records. Plus, you need to keep tax documents and other records for specific periods.

Some things you want to keep in hard-copy form (like your original birth certificate or a will). But you can digitize many paper files, like receipts, tax returns, bills, and more. Organize them into digital files on your computer and shred the paper.

Going digital with anything you own, including old photographs, gives you back a lot of space. It also ensures you maintain the memories and records.

If there are items you only use a couple of times a year, consider donating or selling them. When you need them, you can rent them instead or borrow them from a friend. For example, you don’t really need to store and maintain a pressure washer if you’re only going to use it once or twice.

You can easily rent one from Home Depot or a similar place when you need it. Or, talk with friends and family about sharing and borrowing larger items.

For example, does your family always get together for reunions at different people’s houses? Instead of everyone owning four large folding tables, maybe you have one, your brother has one, etc.

How many items do you have throughout your home that you don’t use, don’t like, but can’t let go of? It’s the vase that belonged to your great-grandmother or the jacket your mom got you that’s not your style.

You hold on to all these things because you’d feel guilty if you gave them away. But you’re doing so at the price of your sanity and having a clutter-free home. If there’s anything in your home that is still there solely because you feel guilty, it’s time for it to go.

Do your parents constantly show up with items they “thought you might like” or “you could use?” They may have the best intentions, or they could just be trying to declutter their own place.

The same goes for friends and others that try to give you their unwanted items. Either way, say “no, thank you,” and suggest they pass it along to someone else or donate it to charity.

Another place to practice saying no thank you are home shows and events that give away tons of freebies. Before you know it, you’re loaded with pens, sunglasses, and stress balls (you might want to hang onto one of those).

Minimalist decluttering isn’t something you do in a day, and you never have to think about it again. Minimalism is more than simply removing some stuff and straightening up your house. It’s a lifestyle.

Therefore, view it as a process you need to commit to long-term. You might start at full speed to get ahead of the curve but then continue at a steady pace. Always remind yourself what your goals are when you see the latest and greatest thing at the mall.

Take a few minutes before bed each night to tidy up and put things away. Continue to tell others no thank you when they try to unload their treasures onto you. Stick with your plan and keep your goal in sight.

This decluttering rule applies to all items you keep “just in case.” Put simply; the 20 20 rule is if you can replace an item for less than $20 in under 20 minutes, you can let it go.

Some people tweak this rule to the 30 30 rule or 10 10 rule. For you, it might depend on your budget, where you live, and several other factors.

But the concept is the same. If you can replace an item affordably and in a reasonable time, you likely don’t need to hang onto it “just in case.”

Minimalist decluttering looks different for everyone. You need to decide what is realistic for you and map your plans to fit your goals. Get rid of items you don’t use often, don’t love, and that you’re holding onto only out of guilt.

Go digital with your files, photographs, and documents as much as possible, and say no to items you don’t want in your home. Don’t view shopping as a hobby; if you get something new, get rid of a similar thing.

Remember, decluttering like a minimalist means you refocus your perspective on stuff. It doesn’t mean you don’t own anything. It’s a lifestyle change that concentrates more on experiences, people, and living instead of material items.