What is Your Relationship with Stuff?

In a world inundated with advertisements, consumerism, and the constant pursuit of more, it’s easy to accumulate stuff. Over time, this clutter can take a toll on our physical and mental well-being. In this blog post, we’ll explore the concept of decluttering and delve into the deeper question: What is your relationship with stuff?

Welcome to my Year Long Thorough Declutter Series. We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Each day we do a daily task based on the room we are working on. Today, our task is to start decluttering your clutter in your garage. If you prefer watching videos, check out my youtube channel here. Today, we’ll look at some tips for decluttering any extras of anything in your garage.

The best way to develop a new habit is by slowly and daily application. We will begin a new daily declutter habit starting with the 2nd bathroom. In the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series, we will declutter 30 minutes a day, five days a week on weekdays. Sign up to receive daily encouragement and motivation.

Plus, you’ll learn your specific daily task to work toward completing the goal of a Year Long Thorough Declutter where you will declutter every space and learn how to start to purge your house. Are you ready to finally get organized? If so, will you join us? Leave a comment below to subscribe.

If you are new to the blog, welcome! I blog about cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. You can find my free printables to help you get organized in the drop down menu under the Printables category.

Currently we are working on how to unclutter the Garage. The daily task for today, Oct 5, 2023, is to begin to declutter any extras of anything in your garage. Remember, we are focusing on just the garage area, so don’t declutter your whole house. We will cover each room separately.

What is Your Relationship with Stuff? The Art of Decluttering

What is Your Relationship with Stuff?: The Emotional Connection

Our belongings often hold sentimental value, reminding us of cherished memories, people, or moments in our lives. These emotional attachments can make decluttering a challenging task. However, it’s crucial to assess whether our possessions bring joy or merely serve as anchors holding us back.

What is Your Relationship with Stuff?: The Minimalist Movement

Minimalism has gained popularity as a way of life that encourages intentional living and simplifying one’s surroundings. It invites us to reevaluate our priorities and question the excess that surrounds us. Minimalism encourages us to focus on what truly matters and eliminate the distractions that clutter creates.

What is Your Relationship with Stuff?: The Benefits of Decluttering

Reduced Stress: A clutter-free environment can lead to reduced stress levels. When you can find what you need without rummaging through piles of stuff, you’ll experience a sense of calm.
Increased Productivity: A clutter-free workspace or home can enhance productivity. A clear mind is more capable of focusing on tasks at hand.
Enhanced Creativity: Clutter can stifle creativity by overwhelming our senses. A tidy, organized space can foster creative thinking and innovation.
Better Health: Decluttering can reduce allergens, improve air quality, and create a healthier living environment.
Improved Relationships: A clutter-free home can foster more harmonious relationships. Disorganization and clutter can lead to tension and disputes.

What is Your Relationship with Stuff?: Steps to Effective Decluttering

Set Clear Goals: Define what you want to achieve through decluttering. Whether it’s creating a more functional workspace or simplifying your life, having clear objectives will keep you motivated.
Start Small: Tackling your entire living space at once can be overwhelming. Begin with one area or category, like your closet or kitchen, and work your way through gradually.
Sort and Categorize: Divide your belongings into categories such as keep, donate, sell, or discard. Be honest with yourself about what you truly need and use.
Declutter Mindfully: When deciding whether to keep or discard an item, consider its usefulness, sentimental value, and how it aligns with your current life and goals.
Donate and Recycle: Items that no longer serve you can find new life with someone else. Donate usable items to charity or recycle responsibly.
Organize and Maintain: After decluttering, organize your space efficiently. Use storage solutions that fit your needs and maintain a habit of tidiness.

Your relationship with stuff is a reflection of your values, priorities, and lifestyle. Decluttering is not just about getting rid of excess belongings; it’s about reevaluating your connection with material possessions. By embracing the principles of minimalism and making mindful choices about what you keep, you can create a more fulfilling and intentional life. So, what is your relationship with stuff, and how will you choose to declutter and simplify your life?

Steps to Take & How to Begin Tidying Up

1.Only spend time on your specific daily task.

2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted.

3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina. This is one of the most useful declutter motivation tips. Listen to your body and work at decluttering when you feel the most alert and energized.

4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. This is one specific way for How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering.

5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. The goal is to purge the dead weight. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later. Read on for more declutter motivation tips and my room specific deep clean checklist, though, as you will begin cleaning after your declutter.

High Impact Decluttering Tips for How to Begin Tidying Up

Supplies Needed:

1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)

2. sturdy trash bags

3. marker/pen to label boxes

Decluttering Tip: Avoid using storage bins to declutter. Storage bins tend to tell your brain to “store” the items for later. That is just delaying decisions. If you aren’t getting rid of items when you declutter, you are not truly decluttering. This is why I recommend a trash bag, also. A trash bag tells your brain to “trash” the item.

Obviously, recycle if you have that option. The boxes you use should be ones you are willing to part with, so I recommend sturdy cardboard boxes. As to donations, there are many charities that will come pick up your items for you at your home.

I use one in particular where you can book an appointment for pick-up online. This is so convenient, as it saves you the hassle of hauling stuff away yourself. Scheduling that pick-up also motivates you to declutter by a certain date.

How to Begin Tidying Up

1. Start by eliminating trash first- use a sturdy trash bag

2. Sort items by category if needed so you can see what you have

3.Get rid of items that don’t work or that work poorly, expired items, anything you don’t love, anything that you’ll never use again

4. Box up the donations and trash/recycle the rest

5.Select a charity to donate your items and schedule the pick-up if that is an option

How Do You Declutter Your Entire House (and get it deep clean?): Need to deep clean?

First, My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

Second, My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

Third, My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

Fourth, My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

Fifth, My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Check out the link above to see a sample page of what you’ll get in my printable set designed to help you create your personal Homemaking Checklist.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3: How do you remove clutter? How Do You Declutter Your Home?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.