Many of us tend to find comfort in things. The sense of familiarity offered by old possessions brings us security at times. At other moments, the idea of having a new item sounds reassuring and can be a proxy for feeling accomplished. However, having too many things ultimately leads to clutter. And clutter can be extremely exhausting- mentally, physically, and spiritually. That is why decluttering the right way plays such a crucial role in leading a life of purpose.
One of the foremost tenets of minimalism is to know how to declutter effectively. This includes assessing correctly what is needed in your life and which things can be omitted. Minimalism is not just about owning less stuff through random decluttering. It rather warrants us to be mindful of what we let into our lives. That could mean a number of things- materials, relationships, or even ideas.
In this article, let’s take a look at X things that you can do without in your life. The whole process of decluttering is aimed at providing you with more mental capabilities, more time, and most importantly, leave you with less stress.
“Clearing clutter—be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual—brings about ease and inspires a sense of peace, calm, and tranquility.”
Laurie Buchanan, PhD
Why Is Decluttering Important?
Decluttering your possessions to practice minimalism has several benefits. However, the most noticeable of them is the reduction in your stress levels. Living a minimal life results in less anxiety.
My friend Jessalynn from Doable Simplicity has written a great post titled Minimalism and Intentional Living = Less stress now! You should definitely check that out to understand how this practice can make you more intentional and less anxious.
Apart from low stress levels, less things mean less effort spent on maintaining them. Thus, this frees up your time to do more important and meaningful stuff.
Things To Declutter
When we talk about things to declutter, we do not only refer to physical things. Since clutter can be found in any area of our lives, decluttering efforts have to be all encompassing.
So, without further ado, here are 10 things that you need to start saying goodbye to to live more intentionally.
1. Clothes That Don’t Fit Or Suit You
I used to have this habit of clinging on to clothing items only because they still fit me. Most of them were either well past their prime or in a style that wasn’t flattering to me anymore. These clothes would just sit in my closet, unworn, and taking up space.
If you have the same habit then stop right now. Decluttering your closet is one of the easiest and yet most satisfying ways to welcome minimalism into your life.
2. Paper Clutter
Even though many documents have become digitized in today’s world, we still end up with paper clutter. Take time to go through your files and cabinets and clear out any paper that is not needed. This could be bills past their dates, expired vouchers, extra copies of documents, or even random papers.
For other important documents, you can sort and scan them to keep them in a digital format. Store the originals neatly away in a folder and take them out only when absolutely necessary.
3. Most Of Your Junk Drawers
This one is a no-brainer. The junk drawers in our homes need to be cleaned often. They become the catchall for all the random tidbits that are usually not even required. So take out some time and start decluttering those messy drawers.
4. Your Calendar
Yes, you need to take a look at your schedule and declutter it if necessary. The modern society keeps on telling us that being busy equals to being productive. However, that is not entirely true. Cramming your calendar with so many things will eventually do you more harm than good. Soon you will feel burnt out.
Hence, it is important to have a well-paced calendar in order to have a sane and fulfilling day. Start with events that you can say no to or aren’t really important to you. Maybe you are doing certain things just because of habit and the time has come to make a change.
When we think of decluttering, we only usually focus on physical clutter. However, intangibles like an unnecessarily busy schedule have a significant impact on our well-being in the long run.
5. Mismatched Cutlery And Other Sundry Kitchen Items
Unless you absolutely adore certain pieces, there is no reason to hold on to the mismatched items in your kitchen. Keep what you use, need, and love. Donate the rest
6. Things That Bring Back Unpleasant Memories
Things have this unique ability to hold our memories. That is generally good, especially when these things are items of sentiment and are connected to happy memories. However, every once in a while, we own things that may bring back some unpleasant reminders. If you have any such thing then it is time to start decluttering them.
7. Your Phone
Our phones are the gateways to the modern connected world. Generally, that is a good thing. However, the excessive information thrown our way can be exhausting at times. We also get overwhelmed with the news, especially during difficult times like the present.
That is why it is important to take some time to streamline the apps and resources on your phone. Keep the applications that you absolutely can’t live without. For social media apps, ask yourself if you really need all of them or can delete some. Similarly, for news and games apps as well keep what you genuinely need.
8. Those Bathroom Cabinets
The bathroom cabinets are another place that collects unnecessary items. Expired medicines, empty tubes, dried cosmetics, and other similar junk items can be found here. Keeping these cabinets neat and decluttered allows you to find necessary things when you actually need them.
9. Items That You Have Outgrown
This could be anything that does not fit your current life anymore. Decorative pieces that no longer go with your home decor, toys that your kids have outgrown, or even duplicates of things that you had kept.
10. Your Thoughts
And last but not least, take some time to weed out your thoughts. This is especially important during the current difficult times when it is too easy to fall into a slump. Negative thoughts have this habit of spiraling out of control if not checked on time. Additionally, we often fall into the practice of worrying too much or envisioning unfavorable outcomes.
Life will always have its challenges. But how we think about the future can affect our present significantly. Hence you must declutter your mind and strive to bring in good vibes into your everyday life.
To Sum It Up
Our lives are what we make out of them. If we want to live more meaningfully, then we have to take charge. Practicing minimalism is an excellent way to spend our energies on what really matters while eliminating the noise.
Start your journey towards an intentional life with these 10 decluttering tips.
Peace.
Do you have any related experience or story to tell? Please share in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
Related Reads
- How I Became a Minimalist: My Story of Living with Less
- 8 Ways Minimalism Improved My Mental Health
- Why Minimalism Was The Answer To My Anxiety
This is such a detailed post. All these tips are super helpful!
Thank you Chelsey! Glad that you found the post useful. 🙂