4131: Where Do I Start Decluttering? by Rachel Jones of Nourishing Minimalism on Minimalism

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[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_01] It's a Minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily. Where Do I Start Decluttering by Rachel Jones of NourishingMinimalism.com and I'm Justin Malik. Happy Monday. Welcome back to Optimal Living Daily or the OLD podcast where you can start or end your day on the right foot by simply listening to the best blogs I can find and get permission from. So with that, let's get right to today's post on decluttering as we optimize your life.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_01] Where Do I Start Decluttering by Rachel Jones of NourishingMinimalism.com You know you need to simplify, but with all the stuff around the house, where do we even start decluttering? Simplifying is a two-part task. Changing habits and decluttering the excess. First off, changing habits. Picking up regularly, doing dishes after each meal, and avoiding shopping as a way to enjoy recreation. Then decluttering all the excess in your home.

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_01] And by decluttering, I mean to get it out of the house. We're not rearranging. We're not reorganizing. No, we're removing it from our lives. That is going to make our lives easier. Number one, changing habits. Picking up regularly. This is something I didn't want to do. I didn't enjoy putting things away, so I wouldn't. I'd leave things out and say, I'm just too lazy. I don't feel like it. I'll do it later.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_01] As if I would ever feel like putting things away later. And how is that even lazy when I was actually making myself work twice as hard? Deciding to pick up after yourself as soon as possible puts the power back in your hands. When we leave stuff laying around, we're allowing it to control us. Does a coffee cup really care if I put it in the sink or leave it out? No. But if I don't deal with it now, it's almost as if that coffee cup sits and mocks me. I'll have to be dealt with at some point.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_01] And I'll sit here until you do. Just you wait and see. Doing dishes after each meal. I used to hate doing dishes too. I'd wait until every single dish in the house was dirty. And then I'd begrudgingly go into the kitchen and spend hours washing everything. Thinking the entire time what a victim I was. And how I sacrificed for my family so they could eat off clean dishes. And no one ever appreciated such sacrifice. When I finally learned to wash dishes after every meal,

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_01] I found that it only took me a couple of minutes. Maybe even one and a half minutes. It wasn't much. And the sink was always clean. Everything was ready for whatever task I needed to do. And just like that coffee cup sitting out mocking me, well, the dishes couldn't do that anymore either. No more, oh yeah, I still have to deal with the dishes. Nope. They were done. Then there is recreational shopping.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_01] We can't possibly simplify our home if we're continually shopping and bringing more things into it. Don't get me wrong. I like stuff. I love going to Target or the home store and finding fun new ways to decorate and organize things. I desperately wanted to declutter and embrace minimalism. And it certainly wasn't working when I'd bring things home each week. For me, it's helped to stop scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest. Magazines had to go as well. Sure, it was inspiring.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_01] But it also gave me a deep sense of discontentment. I wished my husband liked DIY projects and would build me things. I wanted different paint colors on the walls. There was always better shelving and cuter pictures. Shopping fed into that as well. And every time I went out, I came back disliking my house a little bit more. There are so many more things we can fill our days with when we aren't shopping. But I'm going to have to save that for another post.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_01] And number two, decluttering the excess. Okay, so what about the actual decluttering part? Here's what I teach in all my courses. First, start in the kitchen. Work category by category until you are completely done in the kitchen. Then and only then do you move on to another room. I know it's more fun to flit around from one space to another, picking up a little bit here and a little bit there and donating a big box of random things.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_01] But if you want to see results, you have to focus on one room at a time. Save the sentimental items for last. Most of us think about the piles of whatnots in the dark recesses of our homes and immediately jump to the most dreaded tasks when we decide we need to declutter. I'm here to tell you, no. The sentimental items are the most difficult and emotionally charged items. They're going to take time and will probably be a challenge. So save them for last.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_01] Declutter the non-essentials in all the main living areas of your home first. Make your everyday living easier. Streamline your kitchen. Simplify your closet. Reduce the toy collection at least by half. Limit the amount of furniture and decor items you have to take care of. It'll make every aspect of everyday living more efficient, leaving you a good chunk of spare time on your hands. Also, making decisions is hard at first.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_01] We have to work out our decision-making ability. The more we do, the stronger we will get and the easier it'll be to make a decision. And then when you're confident in your decisions, you have your home under control, then you can work on reducing the number of sentimental items that are stashed away. Questions to ask as you declutter? However, my three main questions are, do I love it? Do I use it? And does it help me live the life I want to live?

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_01] Too often, we base our decisions on who we were in the past, who we hope to be in the future, or who we think we're supposed to be. Embracing minimalism means we have to come face-to-face with ourselves and figure out what we want our current life to look like and ask if the things in our home are actually helping us live that life. Everything in our homes should assist us in some way. If they aren't, then they're weighing us down because we have to manage them, dust them, move them, keep track of them.

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_01] So exhausting. I'm not saying we have to discard everything that isn't some sort of tool. Even a beautiful piece of pottery can assist us if we enjoy looking at it. What I'm saying, though, is that we should not keep things out of guilt, shame, or fear. If you need motivation, join a challenge. When you're feeling stuck, reach out, talk to people, and share your journey. You are not alone. You just listened to the post titled,

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_01] Where Do I Start Decluttering? by Rachel Jones of NourishingMinimalism.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Every time I go in for a physical, they run a dozen markers, and I walk out with the same sentence, You're fine, see you next year. Fine compared to what? I've watched conditions run through family and friends, and fine has never felt like a plan. That's why I'm fascinated by what Superpower is doing.

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[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_01] For a limited time, our listeners get $20 off to unlock their new health intelligence. Head over to superpower.com and use code OLD for $20 off your $199 Superpower membership. And after you sign up, they'll ask you how you heard about Superpower. Tell them OLD sent you to support the show. Back to school starts now. Get long-lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop powered by Series 3 Intel Core, so you can work from anywhere.

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_01] Now starting at $699, with exclusive student pricing starting at $599. Complete your setup with savings on select monitors and must-have electronics and accessories. Limited time deals and free shipping on PCs and more await you at dell.com slash deals. That's dell.com slash deals. Thank you to Rachel Jones. She had three questions you can ask yourself in there when decluttering.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_01] They were, do I love it? Do I use it? And does it help me live the life I want to live? That's a great place to start. What I'd add is a little tactic to figure out if you really use it or not. Because what I run into and see others running into is this idea that we think we use it or that we'll need it sometime down the road. One recommendation is, if you're not 100% positive, box it up and then mark the date on the box.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_01] Then if a year passes, so you've been through all the seasons and you didn't even wonder what was in the box, well, it's already boxed up to donate or sell. Another thing you can do that requires even less work than that is, for hanging clothes specifically, just reverse your hanger. Like, the way it's hooked, reverse it the other way, when you use an item. Then, after a period of time, look at all the hangers that aren't reversed.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_01] Those are probably clothes that you can get rid of since they weren't worn. So, something to try out. And with that, have a great rest of your day and week. And I'll be back tomorrow reading to you where your optimal life awaits.