Having less clutter positively affects your wellbeing. Often when we declutter we think of old clothes or that crowded drawer, but here are 5 things to declutter that you might not have thought of. Keep in mind that decluttering is a long journey that should take time and intention, if you get overwhelmed stop, take a break and look at it again with fresh eyes.
A home is a living space not a storage space
– Miss Minimalist
Empty Cards
I use to keep every greeting card I received. Every birthday card from my friends, every thank you card after events… everything. Though I kept hold of them I found that I rarely looked through them. I realized that by keeping all of them I never got to appreciate any of them. So I went through and I tossed every one that only had someone’s name tagged on the end of a generic message. I only kept the ones that when I read it again brought me joy. Now, going though the smaller but meaningful stack of cards is a pick me up on a bad day. Its a curated collection of messages from those I love most and its not so overwhelming that I spend the extra time to look back on them more often.
Teas and Coffee
Most likely you are either are an avid tea drinker or a coffee drinker or both. Whichever category you relate to in the pursuit of the best tea or coffee you end up buying ones that you dont really love. I found myself keeping teas in my kitchen cupboard for a just in case, or if someone came over. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t drank it in a while and dont love it now then pass it on. For every person the number can be different, I personally have over 30 types of tea but each one brings me joy and stays on a constant rotation.
Back-up Cables
Everyone I know has that known cable. Its mysterious and most likely came with an electronic that is no longer in use, or worse having multiple HDMI cables or AUX cords “just in case”. We get lost in the “just in case” but I can grantee you, you will not need multiple back up HDMI cables. Consider letting go of those cables and only keeping back-ups of things you know or will be useful if a current cable breaks. If you are decluttering them consider donating them to a local STEM program, or to Best Buy to recycle.
Books You Will Never Read
We all have books that we have read and will never read again or books that we bought and for one reason or another and have never finished. Books are some of the hardest things to give away but one of the best things to pass on. Your giving someone else the opportunity to read that book and cherish it, as well as giving your self a clearer and most cherished space. Hold onto the books that you like to reference, or have special memories, but let go of all the rest. Sometimes it helps to set rules, for example decluttering 1/4 of your current book collection. If you have 12 books then you are only allowed to keep 9. Donate the rest to your local Used Book Store, almost every major area has one or two.
Old Samples
I have been one to take the extra hotel samples, the fabric samples, the mini products, ect. There is nothing wrong with samples or even having some saved up for your future travels or guests. The part to declutter are the ones you have kept for over a year or two and most likely are not longer good. In addition if you find yourself like me having 10+ shampoo samples consider keeping 2 or 3 and passing the others on to your close friends and family. I try not to keep more than 3 of the same type of sample.
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