Easy steps to simplify your home and declutter with ease.
Our home is a reflection of our taste and our lives, filled with things we need and items we’ve collected over the years. These special things can also become overwhelming when we realize we have “too much stuff” and have no shelf/closet/drawer space to display or store them.
Sometimes we have so much stuff that even cleaning the house becomes a huge chore.
Here are a few tips to consider to help simplify your life:
Special jewelry and heirlooms can be given to children or grandchildren as birthday or holiday gifts. Write a little note about where they came from, their history and meaning to you, and wrap them up for them.
Too much kitchen stuff? If you’re not an entertainer, there’s no need to have two dozen wine glasses and ten serving dishes. Host an “indoor family garage sale” and have them pick and choose what they want - donate the rest to charity.
What about that special china and collection of crystal bowls? USE THEM. Otherwise, they are better off being sold for a few dollars, or donated. Don’t kid yourself, your children don’t want the stuff anyway – and even if they did, why not hand it down to them now when they can probably use it?
Clothes: If you haven’t worn it in two years, get rid of it. You don’t need all those boots, winter coats, belts, and suits. Keep two special ones and donate the rest. If you’re keeping all those extra clothes “just in case” you lose unwanted weight or fit into it one day, don’t bother. If one day you happen to work hard and reach your ideal body shape, then celebrate by treating yourself to a couple of new pieces of clothing!
Same goes for all those tools. Keep your father’s special tools, and just the ones you use the most, but hand down the others to family members (you can always borrow them back!) ~ or donate them to a local high school.
Feeling overwhelmed at doing these tasks? Set a timer and take on small portions. For example, give yourself ten minutes to clear out a couple of messy drawers and place donation items in a cardboard box. Or propose yourself to clear out just five items of clothing in five minutes, over the next five days. You’ll get through it! •
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Article originally appeared in our Silver and Gold magazine Winter 2017 issue. Click for more articles! www.silvergoldmagazine.ca
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