3211: Decluttering: How to Decide What to Keep? by Jennifer of Simply Fiercely on Simplicity & Minimalism

[00:00:00] Delicious, meat nutritious and the snack that packs a real protein punch, Wonderful Pistachios. Each 1oz serving has 6g of protein, giving you over 10% of your daily value and making Wonderful Pistachios one of the highest protein nuts out there. But perhaps more than that,

[00:00:16] I love all of the flavors they have. Their sea salt and vinegar ones are my favorite when I'm craving that flavor but still want to keep it healthy. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, Wonderful Pistachios come in a variety of flavors like chili roasted, honey roasted,

[00:00:30] smoky BBQ and jalapeno lime to name a few. Perfect for enjoying with family or friends and taking them with you on the go. Whether you're a pistachio purist who loves cracking open every nut or you prefer the convenience of no-shells pistachios, Wonderful Pistachios

[00:00:46] has got you covered. Grab Wonderful Pistachios and elevate your snacking game today. So fill up with a healthy snack when hunger strikes. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more. That's wonderfulpistachios.com. Before we start, please check out our new podcast,

[00:01:04] Good Sleep. Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships

[00:01:15] Daily is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep. So press play on Good Sleep tonight because a

[00:01:30] good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Daily Episode 3211, Decluttering, How to Decide What to Keep by Jennifer of SimplyFiercely.com

[00:01:50] and I'm Justin Mollick. Happy Monday. Welcome back to Optimal Living Daily or the OLD podcast where I read to you from some of the best blogs I can find and get permission from, mostly covering personal development and minimalism on this show. But we cover a

[00:02:04] bunch of different topics in the Optimal Living Daily podcast network which includes four other shows. Definitely subscribe to those if you like this one. Just search for Optimal Living Daily to find them. For now let's get right to it and start optimizing your life. Decluttering, How to Decide

[00:02:24] What to Keep by Jennifer of SimplyFiercely.com. Lying before me on the floor are three pairs of winter boots. Each pair is tempting me. My trendy ankle boots, my timeless black booties,

[00:02:37] and my coveted vintage riding boots. Practically I know I only need one pair, but how do I decide which one? Maybe I should keep them all. This was me five years ago when I was just getting started

[00:02:50] with my minimalist lifestyle. I knew my life would be better with less stuff, but I was struggling to decide what to keep and what to let go of. My decluttering attempts were slow and painful and often complete failures because I constantly faced overwhelming decisions and I didn't know

[00:03:05] how to handle them. I know from the many emails I get from readers each week that I wasn't alone in feeling this way. The number one question I'm asked time and time again is how to decide what to keep.

[00:03:18] I'll try and answer this today by sharing what I've learned about decision making, and this goes well beyond decluttering. From your closet to your career, here are a few tips to make difficult

[00:03:27] choices easier. Pause and create space to reflect. The first and most important thing I do when I'm facing a difficult decision is to pause and step back from the situation. This is because when

[00:03:40] we're facing difficult decisions about anything, not just clutter, it's easy to get lost in our thoughts and to lose sight of the big picture. For example, when decluttering I've often struggled with guilt about past mistakes like spending $200 on a dress I've never worn, self-acceptance, accepting

[00:03:57] I'm beautiful because of who I am and not because of my 100 pairs of shoes, external obligations, feeling obliged to keep or do things because I don't want to let anyone down, and deep emotions, letting strong memories overwhelm me and cloud my judgment. These feelings often make it difficult

[00:04:13] to think rationally and can turn simple decisions into difficult ones. After all, deciding to clean out our closets or say goodbye to our junk drawers should be easy in theory. Pausing and taking a moment to remove ourselves from the situation creates space to make rational decisions and to

[00:04:31] think about the big picture. Define boundaries. Speaking of the big picture, one of the most powerful things I've learned to do is use boundaries to help me make decisions. Let's look at my

[00:04:42] wardrobe for example. Five years ago I decided to embrace minimalism and my closet was my first challenge. What a challenge it was. I was using my entire second bedroom to store my huge collection

[00:04:53] of shoes, handbags, and clothes. Decluttering my closet felt like an impossible task and at first it was. I made several attempts and failed over and over again until I decided to change my

[00:05:06] approach. Instead of haphazardly making decisions as I went, I decided to step back and decide what I wanted most for my wardrobe. I looked at the items I loved and wore most often for inspiration

[00:05:18] and I took note of patterns. I loved neutral colors. I preferred a skinny silhouette and I always chose to wear comfortable and low maintenance pieces. Using this information I decided ahead of time what things I would no longer keep including maxi skirts, flared jeans, or anything voluminous on

[00:05:35] the bottom. Anything white or dry clean only. I'm not good at laundry. Or bright colors. I feel more me in neutrals. What I did was create a vision for my wardrobe and then use this vision to define

[00:05:48] boundaries. Doing this took the stress and emotion out of decision making and it also helped with decision fatigue. The overwhelm we feel when faced with too many choices. This simple system can be

[00:05:59] applied to so many areas of your life. If you're decluttering your bedroom, decide the purpose of your space and then define what belongs. If you're decluttering your schedule, ask what you want to

[00:06:10] get done and then define your priorities. If you're thinking of changing careers, ask why you work and what you want to achieve then define your search criteria. With any decision, focusing on your vision

[00:06:22] and using it to define boundaries can help you make better choices. Acknowledge and address your fears. Even with your big picture in mind and clearly defined boundaries, you might still struggle to make decluttering decisions. When this happens, it's often because there's a fear that needs to

[00:06:38] be acknowledged and addressed. Usually this fear manifests itself as a general fear of making the wrong decision but if we dig deeper we can usually get more specific. I'm afraid to get rid of my

[00:06:49] black jacket because I might need it to put together an outfit. I'm afraid to get rid of my extra dinner plates because I might have company over. I'm afraid to quit my job because it might

[00:06:58] mean I can't get another one later. From the trivial to the important, specifically acknowledging your fear will help you make a better decision. Now that you know what's holding you back, you can address it. Consider the worst case scenario, then the best case scenario, then the likelihood

[00:07:14] of each scenario happening. Armed with this information, we're better equipped to face our fears and make a decision. After all, acknowledging the worst case scenario of borrowing a dining set from your neighbor might give you the perspective you need to move forward. Except there isn't always

[00:07:30] a right or wrong answer. Finally, when faced with a tough decision, sometimes we need to accept that there isn't a clear right or wrong answer. You might not be able to predict how many saucepans

[00:07:41] you'll need in the future or if you'll regret saying goodbye to your high school yearbooks or if two sets of pillowcases are really enough. But this isn't a bad thing. Instead, it's an amazing opportunity. When there is no best decision, we're given an amazing opportunity to redefine ourselves.

[00:07:58] As a philosopher Ruth Chang tells us in her TED talk, quote, when we create reasons for ourselves to become this kind of person rather than that, we wholeheartedly become the people that we are.

[00:08:09] You might say that we become the authors of our own lives, end quote. To me, this means that when decluttering or making any difficult decision, we have the opportunity to redefine who we are.

[00:08:20] Instead of worrying which pair of boots to keep, we can decide to be someone who throws any pair of shoes on her feet on the way to new and exciting adventures. You just listened to the post titled

[00:08:35] Decluttering How to Decide What to Keep by Jennifer of SimplyFiercely.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Thank you, Jennifer. Some good tips here. I personally like the idea of creating a

[00:08:49] vision for your wardrobe and going from there. It reminds me of the idea of picking three words to describe yourself. For me, that might be practical, entrepreneurial, laid back, and then using those

[00:09:02] words to curate your clothing. Like if you have too much, you can get rid of pieces that don't fit with who you are as a person. There are also some random ideas that have come up over the years

[00:09:13] on Minimalist Mondays. The Minimalists, they recommend a packing party where you box things up and then unbox the things you use. Then what's left in the boxes after a couple of months to

[00:09:25] a year or more can be donated. Another trick is when you hang your clothes back up after washing them, meaning you use that article of clothing, turn the hanger around so it's facing the other way.

[00:09:38] Then after a period of time, you can see which ones you haven't used and think about donating or selling those articles of clothing. So just some practical tips you can use. Hopefully that

[00:09:49] helps. That should do it for the Minimalist Monday episode. Thank you for being here and listening every day. Have a great start to your week, and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.