Decluttering for minimalism

Lau2976

Hope this is the right place for this! I'm moving and have decided to downsize my stuff considerably. I'm no hoarder but I have a lot of stuff from the last few years living alone and was hoping I could get some tips for decluttering and doing some minimalist decorating.

It's a 2 bedroom house with very little in it as is. So any tips would be really appreciated!

MisseyB

Storage, storage and more storage. You can't have a minimalist life without it

MsMarrielle

Decluttering can be tough work. Donate some stuff you don't need or don't use anymore.

Lau2976

MsMarrielle wrote: »

Decluttering can be tough work. Donate some stuff you don't need or don't use anymore.

It's taken me days but I'm finally nearly done! I brought stuff down yesterday Thanks for the suggestion.

padraig_f

I'm reading this book at the moment:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Haven't got around to putting it into practice yet, but seems to have some good ideas.

Lau2976

padraig_f wrote: »

I'm reading this book at the moment:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Haven't got around to putting it into practice yet, but seems to have some good ideas.

I'll have to give it a read (digitally of course to avoid clutter!) thanks.

Extrasupervery

I love Marie Kondo's book, she has a second one now too. It made my decluttering so much easier.

Me too… sounds crazy but probably the only book that actually did change my life! Everything has it's place, house is calmer and I no longer fear the doorbell and the 'ooh sorry for the mess' convos :-) It's somehow added lots of extra free hours to my week.

Ciara Eloise

LEARN TO BE RUTHLESS!

I generally live by one rule - if it isn't beautiful or inherently useful get rid of it.

Of course I know there will be sentimental pieces, you've kept for nostalgic reasons. Learn to store these efficiently.
IE if you have a tonne of old photos lying around, get these printed digitally into books, with clearly labelled binders (eg Joe & Anne, Portugal, 2013) or scrapbook them yourself into smart binders.

Be ruthless with books. Set a realistic goal to read them- if you honestly don't think you will, then give them to a local charity shop, a friend or a colleague, give them to someone else who will read them.

Clothes- come on- have you honestly worn all the clothes in your wardrobe in the last four seasons? Create what's called a capsule wardrobe- find simple and good quality pieces that can be mixed with a load of other things in your wardrobe. Stop buying small and start investing in good quality (not necessarily expensive, but look at labels, buy smartly in sales, not just for the sake of it).

Use all the wall space you can find. Every nook and cranny can be used for storage. If you have a low bay window, have a window seat made with under seat storage. If you need an ottoman, get one with a secret storage compartment. If you have open shelving the ikea storage boxes are great at keeping everything hidden and keep it all looking really streamline. My office is technically an organised mess but it all looks so tidy and streamline thanks to my ikea storage boxes!

When I mentioned above "Get rid of it" I mean of course; offer things to friends, family, students starting off, put up on adverts or buy and sell, put up a notice on your supervalu notice board. Don't just make a bee line for the dump or bin. Bring clothes, furniture, etc down to any charity shop that can take them. Ring around first as some of them can sometimes be at capacity and if you are rejected you tend to get fed up and throw things in the bin.

I like the idea of reading the books mentioned above but if you spend all your time reading, you'll never get anything done. Just start. Empty out cupboards, clean them out, put back what you NEED or really really want and box everything else. Look at your furniture. for a minimalist look, furniture should be low balance but lifted far off the ground with slim legs for a light airy feel. Imagine you have to be able to get your hoover in under it. furniture should be practical, beautiful, and with any added benefit of hidden storage and/or a talking point. Invest in decent pieces and stop buying small and looking for instant gratification, which is what we all tend to find (temporarily) with the cheaper pieces we fill our homes with.

Hope I helped.