Declutter summary

Still room for improvement on this one!

I would like to think our apartment is fairly clutter free:

I’ve completely thinned out my clothes and have spare hanging space in my single wardrobe
I get rid of unwanted items and gifts on a regular basis… and have to be a bit ruthless sometimes.
I keep our limited kitchen cupboard space as clear as I can by getting rid of out-of-date food (things like spices that you buy once for one recipe and never use again…)
I don’t buy items unless I actually need them.

But I would like to be even more of a minimalist… I still have a great deal of books stored in flat boxes under my bed that I never read and I’m probably not likely to. These need to be sorted and taken to a charity shop.

And while I would prefer less physical clutter I also need to look at my lifestyle. This is the last weekend of December and the first weekend I’ve had at home since October. Having a busy life of weekends away is fun and exciting but sometimes its good to slow down a bit, relax and enjoy the freedom of doing nothing. Except for catching up with blog posts! Apologies for the little flurry of them today 🙂

De-clutter update

The last major clutter clearance I had was back at the end of March however with a busy and active summer schedule and gorgeous sunny weather, this hasn’t been a priority for a while.

I’m still keen to further reduce my stuff and with my daughter Zoe moving back last weekend it was time to get back on the de-cluttering case! For the last 5 years, my husband Chris and I had used her room as a spare room meaning we had to find a new home for items we had kept in there.

Feeling motivated I had a full day yesterday as follows:

I got rid of more clothes (I definitely can’t put on weight now as the last of my size 12’s have all gone and everything is now a size 8 or 10).
I cleared my bedside cabinet of all receipts and bits of paper and shredded anything containing personal data (some receipts dated back to over 12 months ago…)

This was followed by a trip to the tidy tip and the charity shop to drop off unwanted items accordingly… most of them had belonged to Zoe…

So a successful day although still more to do between now and the end of December!

Beginning my clutter overhaul

In many ways I would like to think I lead a fairly minimalist lifestyle. Five years ago, my husband Chris and I downsized from our house and moved into a smaller apartment. Before we moved we significantly reduced our possessions and spent many weekends taking stuff to charity shops and to the tip.

Nearly 5 years on and the clutter is starting to build again… I’m not overly keen on spending time ‘tidying up’ as there always seems something better I could be doing. So I have to be in the mood to have a sort out…

Well… I’ve made a start today! The first bit of decluttering I’ve undertaken this year began with a clothes sort-out. As this ties in with my ‘capsule wardrobe‘ challenge, I’ve put the details under that heading.

As well as finishing off my clothing declutter, I also need to focus on the following:

Sorting through my paperwork (tends to build up however hard you try to reduce it)
Sorting through my books (I now buy Kindle books but have quite a few books that I haven’t even looked at for 5 or even 10 years…)
Sorting the kitchen cupboards (checking everything is in date and fit for consumption)
Sorting the freezer

So, as mentioned above, I’m not entirely new to the concept of minimalism and de-cluttering. One of the main reasons for doing this is just to keep life simple. Sorting through heaving wardrobes trying to find something to wear is stressful and I’m keen that my life is as stress-free and easy as possible.

Decluttering isn’t just of the material nature… I’ve got my meditation classes starting next Tuesday in order to do some mind de-cluttering!