3267: The Questions to Ask When You're Decluttering by Rachel Jones on Minimalism & Simple Living

[00:00:00] It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily episode 3267, The Questions to Ask When Youre Decluttering by Rachel Jones of NershingMinimalism.com and I'm Justin Malik.

[00:00:13] Happy Monday and 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. And we're going to get right to it as we optimize your life.

[00:00:25] The Questions to Ask When Youre Decluttering by Rachel Jones of NershingMinimalism.com After you have an action plan of how to declutter one room at a time, you need to think through these three questions.

[00:00:43] Do I love it? Do I need it? And does it help me live the life I want to live? And the last question is very important.

[00:00:52] So many times we keep things because they portray a life we desire to project, not necessarily the life we are living but the life we think we are supposed to live. Does it help me live the life I want to live?

[00:01:07] Not the life your mother wants you to live, not the life society says you should live, not the ideal life your peers say you should live, but the life you actually live and want to live.

[00:01:19] This might mean getting rid of law books because even though you went through a year of law school, you never want to pursue it further and those books make you feel like you failed.

[00:01:29] This might mean getting rid of the KitchenAid mixer because although you love homemade bread and work to save money to buy it, you found that you don't really enjoy making the bread, you just enjoy eating it.

[00:01:41] And this might mean getting rid of the broken furniture that you were saving to repurpose because that is what responsible, crafty people do but in reality, you'd rather spend time in the garden.

[00:01:52] Think about some items that you kept because you felt you should and ask yourself, is this helping me live the life I want to live? The correct decluttering method.

[00:02:04] Pull out three boxes, a giveaway box, a trash box or bag, and a to put away box for things that you need to keep but they don't belong in the room you are working on. Then work on one shelf, cupboard or category per day.

[00:02:19] You probably can do more depending on how much time you have and how determined you are to get this done, but to start out, just make your goal to do one small area a day.

[00:02:30] This way it's easy to complete and the more you feel like you accomplished your goal, the more motivating it is to keep going. As you work on each space, pull everything out and look at what is in front of you.

[00:02:42] Ask yourself the three questions, do I love it? Do I need it? And does it help me live the life I want to live? If anything answers yes to any of your three questions, put it back into the cupboard.

[00:02:55] If the answer is no, put it in the trash or donate box. For example, cooking utensils. Put all of your utensils out and lay them out on a table or counter where you can see them.

[00:03:07] Make sure you get them from other drawers in the kitchen or near the stove, sink, etc. You want to be able to see all that you have. As you look at them, you already know which spatula you like using, which flipper you like, which can opener, etc.

[00:03:22] So put out all the ones you know you prefer using. Put them back into your utensil drawer. Ask yourself the three questions with what is left. If they don't make the cut, then put them right into the donation or trash box.

[00:03:36] What should be left? Duplicates you don't use often and odd job type gadgets. Probably uni-purpose gadgets like a pineapple core that can only be used for one thing. Side note, I purposely have multi-purpose equipment in my kitchen,

[00:03:51] but if you live in Hawaii and get fresh pineapple once a week or more and use that pineapple core, then by all means put that in your keep and use pile.

[00:04:00] But if you can't remember the last time you bought fresh pineapple or you've never actually used a pineapple core, then donate it. After you've sorted, you can organize the drawer as you see fit.

[00:04:12] For us, I have a small basket in our drawer that keeps the garlic press, can opener, ice cream scoop, and veggie peeler together, and the large spoons, soup ladle, and flipper goes on the side of the basket.

[00:04:25] Then I have a very shallow drawer that holds my spatulas and wooden spoons. Organize in a way that complements your cooking style. If you always mix dough on one counter, store your dough in baking utensil within reach of that counter.

[00:04:40] If you use a grill more often than the stove top, then find a drawer near that area. You don't have to go out and buy organizational things. Simply look around the house for a divider or shoeboxes that will fit your needs.

[00:04:54] If you don't have any, wait till you're done decluttering the entire room and then reward yourself with organizational tools that fit the needs of your newly minimal kitchen. Determine ahead of time how many just-in-case items you will keep.

[00:05:09] We've talked about the just-in-case items here and how you should think through deciding if it's worth keeping or not. Regardless, some will have major difficulty getting rid of certain things.

[00:05:20] If you feel that you'll be too torn up and not be able to get rid of all the just-in-case items, decide ahead of time how many you will allow yourself to keep. Perhaps having a box labeled just-in-case, and as you sort through your kitchen

[00:05:34] and you can't make a firm decision to get rid of the item, but you know you don't need it, then put it in that box. Once the box is full, don't let yourself add any more to it. You can store this box for a time.

[00:05:47] I personally used a garage and after six months, I knew I didn't want any of that extra stuff to ever come back in and clutter up my kitchen. Approaching it this way can make the decluttering process not feel quite so rigid. Remember, this is your home, your life.

[00:06:04] You're the only one that knows your personal struggles, so you do whatever you need to do to make the process easier. Keep in mind that the more you touch an item, the more difficult it is to get rid of it.

[00:06:17] So once you put things into the just-in-case box, avoid rummaging through it. You've decided that it's not detrimental to your home, so let it just rest in the box for now.

[00:06:27] After a few months, if you decide you really don't want to bring any of that excess back into your home, avoid looking in the box or rummaging through it. Instead, just take it right out of your car and donate it ASAP. You have the strength to do this.

[00:06:43] You have the ability to make decisions. You know how your home is used and you know what tools your family uses most. You know what is your favorite mixing bowl. Which pans are the best size and cook evenly?

[00:06:55] You can sort through your kitchen and easily pick out all the things that are the most used and enjoyed items, and you can get rid of the rest. Nothing bad will happen.

[00:07:05] In fact, once you do let go of the excess, you'll find that your kitchen is easy to use, it's easy to clean, and the idea of making dinner will be appealing, because you know exactly what you have and where everything is. You just listen to the post titled,

[00:07:24] The Questions to Ask When You're Decluttering by Rachel Jones of nourishingminimalism.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Thank you, Rachel. Some good tips to keep in mind? It's really easy to get sucked into the mindset of, oh, I need organizational things to keep organized,

[00:07:43] like lots of bins and containers, things like that. But do we really though? If it's more about aesthetic and you'll love your space if you have those organizational items, then go for it, I won't judge. But don't let that stop you from starting.

[00:07:59] And don't let that trick you into thinking you actually need more when it can be done quite easily with less. I'm also a fan of the idea of putting something away for a specific period of time,

[00:08:10] and then if you still haven't used it after that time, you can let it go. It's long, but personally one year makes sense to me because of seasonality. You don't want to donate your best thick coat just because it's hot out for the next six months.

[00:08:25] Oh, one other thing I want to mention, she said to have a giveaway or donate box, a trash box and a put away box. But don't forget that selling things is another viable option. Some of that stuff is valuable

[00:08:38] and money could be the motivation you need to actually let something go. So I would add one more box to that list. With that, thank you for being here and minimizing with me. Hope your week is off to a great start

[00:08:51] and I'll see you tomorrow where optimal life awaits.