I have too much stuff. Way too much freaking stuff. It’s overwhelming. I’m that borderline sentimental/hoarder who recently realized we live in this amazing home with plenty of room for four people and yet I’m shockingly running out of room. Let’s be honest: it’s not that we don’t have enough space, it’s that we have too much stuff. I think too many of us are guilty of the same. Over the weekend I did a big purge, which not only made me abundantly happy, it got me thinking that we all have at least five pieces we can instantly toss.. now.
Here’s a few tips where to start:
1. Closet: start with the obvious. Get rid of old tees that are in your pajamas section yet you never wear. Throw out older underwear and bras and ill fitting sweatshirts. Donate anything you haven’t worn in at least a year, and be honest with yourself if you’re ever going to wear it again. Donate or sell old purses, shoes and other items gathering dust that aren’t able you to see the gems you really do have. Accessories? I mean why does this Florida girl own at least 15 scarves? Hiding anything at the top or bottom of your closet? I hoard shoe boxes and packaging; time to say goodbye.
2. Bathroom: what’s lurking in that medicine cabinet or under the sink? Toss prescriptions past the expiration date, nail polishes that you haven’t worn in years and any hair tools that you never picture touching your head again. Have towels you never use? Donate, or put them in the garage to use as extras. What about dated make-up? Throw it out.
3. Refrigerator and pantry: sadly, I can imagine there are plentiful studies about the amount of food we waste as a society. Personally, we try really hard to buy based on what we need that week but plans change. Go through your cabinets, read expiration dates, and even check cans. You’ll probably be shocked how long a few of them have been sitting there. Take stock of what you’re tossing so you don’t keep buying.
4. Kitchen Cabinets: this was the source of much purging joy this weekend. The fondue maker still in its original packaging (with notecard!) from our wedding… err, 10 years ago? Considered vintage? What about the beer mugs, odd-shaped serving platters with weird prints, an old-school plastic timer and more cooking utensils than I can count? Did I mention my — not my children’s, mine — awful painted pottery from tipsy girl’s nights out never once used? Garbage.
5. Kid’s spaces: prime purging ground! Get your kids in on the action — my daughter amazingly went through and narrowed down her stuffed animal collection — or do it when they’re in school. Promise, promise, promise you they won’t miss it, or know it’s gone. This also goes for kid’s artwork. We have a wall to showcase recent art, and I recently went through 3 years of art and recycled 100+ pieces. Hurts, but not really: it enables me to focus on the pieces I love. And, did I mention the at least dozen shoe boxes stored in her closet, for let’s pretend, some science project five years from now? Clearly, I’m enabling shoe-box hoarding throughout my home.
6. Random drawers and closets: do you have pens from 1997? Random gross candles with more dust than burned wax? Birthday cards from your 24th birthday…. and you’re 32? Assignments from your college days? Papers and pamphlets, and dated coupons? An old aero bed that likely won’t stay inflated the whole night? What about old decorative pillows you’ve since swapped out? Feel pretty confident that you won’t need these things again. Even if you have the shelf or closet space, toss.
What did I leave off? Books, odd knick-knacks, clipped recipes, your broken iPhone 4 (or your flip phone), boxes from all those techie devices, and things stored in those few random drawers. We know it’s there. I’ll validate that some things are worth saving — my daughter’s first pair of sneaks, my size 12 american eagle jeans from my pre-weight watcher days in 2002, anniversary cards with beautiful messages from my husband, a ‘contract’ my papa made when I was in middle school for us to help around the house, a model airplane my other grandpa made, and a handful more pieces that bring back incredible memories.
Yet everything else? Toss the crap out. It clogs your space, your brain, and you from living a life where you can fully see and soak in the world around you. Special pieces will become undoubtedly even more special when you can display them, see them clearly and focus on what matters. Right now you’re clogging your world. It’s not easy to unclog overnight but take a trash bag and a donation bag and hit one space at a time. A month from now you’ll be glad you did.
