Inspired by From Pauper To Princess’ 30 Day Declutter Challenge and Zero Waste Week I’ve decided that for the whole of February I’m going to take on a similar mission. I was already planning to have a clutter-free 2015, but it’s time that I set the wheels in motion.
It recently dawned on me that when I finally have enough money to buy my own place (hopefully at the end of this year) I am going to have to take every single thing that I own from my parents’ house and into my new home. And let me tell you, there is a hell of a lot of stuff.
From toiletries to pants and books to old paperwork, I’ve accumulated so much stuff over the years and it’s time to get rid of the things that I rarely use.
Rather than simply buying a pack of binbags, filling every one and heading straight for the tip I’m going to try to make use of what I can.
Here’s the plan…
Finish what you started
Hoarding half used toiletries is one of my worst habits, and so I’ve put all my unfinished fake tans, body lotions and toothpastes in a big basket to gradually work my way through.
Sell sell sell
If I spot anything that I don’t need anymore that I believe will fetch a decent price, I’ll either be selling it at a carboot sale, on Facebook Buy Sell or Swap groups, or on Ebay.
Just giving
I must admit that even though I love to buy from charity shops, I’m not so great at actually giving to them. I rarely donate things, as I tend to save my best stuff to sell myself. So this month I am going to be good and try to set a few really nice things aside to donate instead of sell. It’s going to be tough.
Recycle
My bedroom is overflowing with old artwork, essays, reciepts, bank statements and other bits of paper. Enough is enough. Even though getting rid of old documents and paperwork is incredibly boring, they’re also some of the easiest to physically recycle. It’s just the endless hours of ripping and shredding that I hate the most.
So anyway, we’re now four days into the month and I’ve at least made a bit of a start.
Underwear
I had a good sort through my old drawers and have managed to bin the vast majority of bras, knickers, socks and tights that I’ve been hoarding for years. I’ve made the photo black and white so you don’t have to look at my pants in great detail 😉
Documents
I took a trip down memory lane and made a start working through all the paper that I’ve been storing in wardrobes, boxes and under my bed. The photo below shows all the stuff that has been hidden away in my tiny box room. There’s more in my parents’ garage! It feels good to make a start though, and so far I’ve got a box full of paper I can recycle straight away and another with stuff that I need to shred first.
Clothes
On Saturday I’m attending a clothes swapping event in Manchester and as you’d probably expect, I have to take some of my old clothes with me to swap with other people. You might argue that if I’m bringing clothes back then I haven’t really got rid of anything, but as far as I’m concerned it’s not clutter if you’re going to use it. I’m going to exercise some self control though and only bring back clothes that I’m positive I’m going to wear. Here are a few photos showing just some of the clothes I intend to take with me.
If you have any top decluttering tips, please share them in the comments below 🙂
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