When you’re feeling stressed out, overwhelmed, and can’t seem to strike the right balance, it might be time to downsize your life. But that doesn’t just mean getting rid of tangible things. Sometimes you need to eliminate other variables that are holding you back from happiness, including obligations, activities and potentially relationships. Thus, if you think it’s time to cut the fat from your life, this post is for you. Here’s how to downsize in nine easy steps:
Log Your Daily Routine
You’ve got to start somewhere, and the best place is always at the beginning. To understand why you’re feeling overwhelmed and therefore to discover how to change your perspective, you’ll need to observe yourself like an outsider would.
“Keep a daily journal of how you’re spending your time,” suggests Mindi Blythe, a professional organizer and clutter management specialist. “At the end of one week, see what you can cut to make more time in your life.”
This chronicle should include all activities, including your morning habits, your commutes, what you do at work, after work, and more.
Inventory Your Stuff
In addition to the superfluous activities in your life — maybe you’re part of an organization or group you’re no longer interested in — there may also be a lot of tangible items that are cluttering your physical and mental space.
“Take an assessment of your home and write down all the things you have not used in the past year,” Blythe advises. “Rank each item from 1 to 10 — 10 signifying the most attachment you have — and anything that gets a 6 or lower, pack up and move out.”
Katelyn Cresmer, author of the minimalist blog Taking It Back a Notch, seconds Blythe’s sentiment.
“Have a vision in mind,” she says. “You want a nice spacious room? Get rid of everything that isn’t making it spacious. I broke down my apartment into areas and went through it. Piece by piece; paper by paper.”
And while decluttering can take place at any point in time, here’s another tip for decluttering in preparation for a house move: Label items into ‘keep’, ‘recycle’, and ‘throw away’ categories.
Declutter — Then Do It Again
Once you’ve identified all the items you’d like to get rid of, begin the act of decluttering. Sell items that still have value at a yard or garage sale or online, donate in-good-condition items that perhaps don’t have a resale value, and toss the rest in the trash. After you make the initial sweep, walk away for a couple days then come back for more.
“I found that I came across items that sparked memories in me and I couldn’t get rid of it the first round,” Cresmer says. “By the second time around, my mind processed the memories and I was able to get rid of more things.”
Digitize!
Just because you’re sending your excess to the big litter pile in the sky doesn’t mean you have to part with it forever. They can live on in photos on social media, like Instagram, or files on your computer.
“Got a huge stack of papers you can’t get rid of? Piles of DVDs and CDs? Digitize everything!” Cresmer exclaims.
Get an Unbiased Opinion
When you come to an emotional crossroads — ya know, like when the people on Hoarders have a nervous breakdown — it may be time to call for backup.
Blythe says, “Hire a professional or have a downsizing party and invite your friends to help assist you if you have trouble getting rid of clutter. They can be your voice of reason.”
Live Smaller
Doing a balls-to-the-walls declutter could cause a bit of a culture shock at first. If it’s activities you’ve eliminated, you may find that you have time on your hands that you don’t know what to do with. In this case, just relax, and take a few days to learn how to live a little smaller. Your time doesn’t always have to be occupied by constant stimulation and movement. It’s OK to stay at home by yourself a couple of nights each week watching TV, reading a good book, cooking, or going to bed early.
Think Positively
The worst part about being overwhelmed with too much clutter in your life is that somewhere along the line you start to associate these people, places, and things with negative emotions. After they’re gone, it’s up to you to start thinking positively again. Try not to let outside elements get you down, especially when you’re the one in control of the situation.
Impose a Shopping Ban
If you’ve successfully accomplished what you set out to do during this downsize, you should have a home and office with only the essentials. As such, avoid bringing in more stuff to fill those voids. You’ve done well; don’t regress.
“Take a break from shopping,” advises Cresmer. “Take that time to process what you already have and then you can see what you actually need instead of making impulse purchases.”
Don’t Look Back
When you’re satisfied with your downsize, accept it and move on. Don’t dwell on the things you once had. You don’t need them. Rather, find healthy, more productive ways to spend your time, and start doing more with less. It’s totally possible, and you’ll be better off for it in the long run.
Photo Credit: Evil Erin
I’m in the middle of a full scale basement cleanup and decluttering. It’s a slow process that I get to every now and then, but the results have been amazing so far. I think I will definitely do a second round once I’m done, because you’re right, there are probably a few items that I’ve stashed thinking that I couldn’t possibly get rid of them, but may be able to after a second look.
Hope you found a few more items in your second search. Thanks for sharing!
Impose a shopping ban….. at Christmas time. I think I will focus on the other steps first, before attempting that battle with the wife. Good article.
Lol, please do. I don’t want any blood on my hands. Happy holidays!
De-cluttering is very tough. I always complain that our house doesn’t have enough closet space. I’m just starting to get rid of stuff we’ve been hanging on to, and trying to live within our storage space. On the one completed closet, we actually found that we could get rid of a lot of old coats, etc., that weren’t being used and the closet seems larger. The tough part is living with a family of pack rats who think everything is going to come in handy some day.
The closet is the only place I have a problem cutting down. I’m getting better at it though. Now if i could just cut back on the amount of clothing I buy…
I am a pack rat and come from a family of pack rats. We have lived in the same home for 22 years now. We are anticipating a move, our youngest is off at college, our oldest got married, my Mom died last year, (and we have what’s left of her and Dad’s stuff), so it’s time. I’m aiming for ten items a day. The thrift store and local library’s fundraising book sales, have been the greatest beneficiaries. Somehow it’s not as painful if you know something you give away will benefit others.
Up all night one more time anxious and worried about my possessions when I’m gone. (I’m 71 and healthy). I’ve death-cleaned single-handedly the Jones’ and contents of my parents, my grandmother, my husband’s family home, my stepfather. I can’t imagine my kids doing what hell I did. Never again.
A lifetime of travel and two kids with spouses in their 40s, everything I have is beautiful and/or meaningful. When I ask friends to help they beg me to keep the cool stuff! I’ve moved many times. I know how to group stuff, store it. I’ve had sales, sold online and gifted in the past.
But now I don’t want the responsibility and burden my stressed adult kids sorting through my life when I’m gone.
Yours is the only site that gives me inspiration and why I write this. Thank you.
And thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Bonnie!
Amen Bonnie. We have just done this with 3 parents who passed away, and an old timer going into care. The kicker was my father in law’s art and the old timers tools and stores. Paintings and supplies by the ton….books, cds, on and on. No one wants old books, in fact a local used book store has a limit of nothing over 10 years past publishing date, titles irrelevant. Try getting rid of a piano. Paintings are bought for the frames….by other artists. Restore took them with the treasured furniture.
I will never do this to my kids. Ever. My older brother asked me to be executor 20 years ago. I told him fine, but a local company will be doing the estate sales, and no I don’t need any tools. No, I don’t want your boat. They have a warehouse in Vancouver that has hundreds of upright pianos waiting to be destroyed….at any given time. Sad….we all have too much stuff.
November of 2018, I set forth to remove 100 items from my house in a year. i kept a log and set to the task. The first round was pretty easy, clothes that I had not worn in years, a hidden cache of the ex’s doo dads that were buried in a closet ( I returned those to her) and other things that I really had no use for. I just kept at it and before the year was up, I was over 400 things eliminated. It was quite cathartic. I quit counting at that point.
I am still sorting and purging through decades of collections and keeping only what matters to me. There is still much work to be done and i had stalled out until recently. Really need to get off my duff and start up again, big time.
I have realized that mortality likes to smack you in the face every once in a while, to remind you that no one here gets out alive. (with apologies to Jim Morrison). I have no desire to saddle my son with trying to disposition all of the crap that I have accumulated over the years. So, I am donating a lot of things and feeling even better about letting someone else enjoy it. It is a burden from my shoulders and preventing it being one for my kiddo.
Still keeping my Rush farewell tour T shirt though.
‘Doing a balls-to-the-walls declutter could cause a bit of a culture shock at first. If it’s activities you’ve eliminated, you may find that you have time on your hands that you don’t know what to do with. In this case, just relax, and take a few days to learn how to live a little smaller. Your time doesn’t always have to be occupied by constant stimulation and movement. It’s OK to stay at home by yourself a couple of nights each week watching TV, reading a good book, cooking, or going to bed early.”
Sounds like Ann Landers. Less patronizing advice for young people: “Don’t get wound up in all this angst in the first place.
Maybe so, Dave. That being said, I’m not sure I ever read an Ann Landers column that contained the phrase “balls to the walls.” Maybe it was her sister (Dear Abby)? 😉