Let's Declutter Our Lives

Take a moment to look around you. Look at your space. What does it look like? Clean and fresh? Messy and dirty? Or are you just consciously realizing the state of it while you were busy with other things in life. Sometimes, clutter can accumulate really fast when we don't pay much attention to it. And one fine day, it just falls upon you like a burden you've been carrying all along and you never even realized it.

The whole concept of decluttering hit its peak in 2019 when Marie Kondo's book on 'Tidying Up with Marie Kondo' was released as a Netflix documentary. Most people lean towards decluttering at the start of a new year as a part of their new year's resolutions. A fresh start with a clean space was the goal on everyone's list.

Why You Should Declutter?

Now, having a clean space definitely has its perks in terms of lifting your mood. It not only clears your personal space but also brings about mental clarity. Clutter can accumulate not just in our homes and offices but also in our digital spaces.

The decluttering hype was big after people started discovering Marie Kondo's book and her unusually simple methods of decluttering. So you should definitely check out her book or the documentary on Netflix.

Take It Slow

Before we begin, let me put out a disclaimer. If you're planning on decluttering your entire house, it is gonna take a few days or even weeks. Don't try to get it all done in a day because that will just make you overwhelmed and you don't want to end up quitting later. This is a gradual process so give it some time and I promise you that the results will last.

Start by making a list of the things that don't serve you any purpose. Begin small by targeting one part of your room. Let's start with your study or your closet. Set a target for that day.

For instance, your goal for the day can be something like 'I'm going to tackle my closet today and arrange my clothes in an orderly manner.' Build that momentum and you'll be surprised with how much you can get done.

30 Days of Decluttering

So, this is a kind of challenge where you declutter one item each day for 30 days in a row. This makes the process a whole less daunting and more fun. You just have to get to it one at a time until your 30 days are done.

Now, some of you may feel 30 days is a bit much and you don't have a lot to declutter. In that case, you can make a plan of all the areas you want to tackle and schedule them. It can be a 2 weeks plan or even just 5 days. If you really aren't sure how or where to start, there are dozens of templates for the '30 days declutter challenge' on the internet. I'm sure you can find one that works for you.

Image from kellygolightly.com

Donate & Recycle

While decluttering can be an incredible way to free up space and live more intentionally, the items decluttered need to be handled with responsibility.

You can either donate the items to charity or directly to people in need. If you feel the item won't be of much use, recycling them is a great option and environment-friendly.

Digital Declutter

• Uninstall those 'just in case' apps because it's likely you will not use them.

• Unsubscribe from unwanted mailing lists.

• Store your photos on your cloud and free up space on your phone.

• Deactivate or delete your unused social accounts.

• Arrange apps into folders which will clear up screen space.

• Schedule regular clean-ups for your phone and your PC.

• Go through your documents and keep only the important ones in a separate folder.

Books on Decluttering

1. 'The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Marie Kondo

2. 'Goodbye, Things' by Fumio Sasaki

3. 'The More of Less' by Joshua Becker

4. 'Digital Minimalism' by Cal Newport

Decluttering should be done every few months to maintain a clean space. It's because no matter how much we try, things will eventually start accumulating at some point without our knowledge. Start today to make space for the more important things in life.

Take care!