Preparing for a move to South Dakota, we recently discovered a mindset that will supercharge your decluttering — assume you’re moving to an apartment, not a house with lots of storage capacity.
We’ve Been Decluttering for Years
We’ve been in the process of downsizing and decluttering for most of our 50 married years.
Decluttering your home is not a one-time, one-pass process. You’ll do it every few years; and when you declutter, you’ll likely make multiple passes.
After we declutter, we continue to buy more stuff, and then there is a need to declutter again. If we had a one-in, one-out, rule, we wouldn’t have this problem.
We made it a practice to declutter before every move, and in the U. S. Air Force, there were many moves. Even after leaving active duty service and living in three homes for 8 or more years in each one, we’d periodically declutter.
In our experience, the most effective decluttering is not done in one pass, but multiple passes.
We were raised and live in a consumer culture. We were taught to keep things because “you might need them in the future.” And it seemed wrong to donate expensive items that no longer served any purpose.
We’ve found that by making multiple passes, all the tough decisions don’t have to be made at the same time. When we revisit a room on the second pass, the “low-hanging fruit” of easy decision items has already been plucked.
A subsequent pass makes it easier to not cop out on making an emotionally difficult decision, like donating or selling an expensive item we no longer use or need. The decluttering goes much deeper.
To Supercharge Your Decluttering, Assume You’re Moving to An Apartment
When we realized we’d be moving into an apartment, it brought a new urgency to decluttering.
It was no longer sufficient to remove a few things and feel good about it. We knew we’d have drastically less storage space than we do in our present single-family home.
Looking closely at the videos I took of our new apartment and the floor plans forced us to realize that several pieces of our furniture would not fit in our new home. We had to cut deeply, and have continued to do so even while packing.
We’ve never decluttered to the depth we have in preparing for this move. Knowing we’re moving to an apartment with limited space and storage has supercharged our decluttering.
Questions to Ask to Promote Decluttering
• If we haven’t used this item in the past 8 years we’ve lived here, why keep it? Good intentions don’t count. If you haven’t used it, it’s likely you never will. Time to let it go. Years ago I participated in WWII reenacting. It was something I enjoyed, and I’d spent a lot of money on my uniform impressions and gear. For the past 8 years, that collection had gathered dust in a large storage cabinet in the garage and my closet. I knew I’d likely never use it again, so I made the tough decision to sell and discard all of it. It was hard to do (I was emotionally and financially attached to it), but necessary. I have my memories and many photos to remind me of that period of my life.
• Why keep backups of common household goods? Why do we have 10 pretty bath towels in the linen closet when there are only two of us using them? Even when we have guests, we have no need for that many extra towels. Get rid of the excess.
• Will this fit in the home or apartment we are moving to? If not, get rid of it. It’s better to sell, donate or discard items before you move than afterward. In preparing for this move, we realized we wouldn’t have room in our new apartment for a gas grill, a storage unit, a bookshelf, and a queen-sized bed. We’re getting rid of them in the coming days before we load the truck.
• If we know we won’t have room for it, why pay to store it? People pay hundreds and thousands of dollars a year to store items that don’t fit in their homes. I can understand if it’s specialized equipment for camping or backpacking or some other sport they regularly participate in, but what about furniture and unopened boxes of goods? Why would anyone choose to pay for the privilege of holding on to items they don’t use?
Try the Apartment Mentality to Supercharge Your Decluttering
Decluttering your home is a process that should be done periodically, not just once. Making multiple passes and revisiting rooms allows for more effective decluttering by eliminating the easy decision items first.
The mindset of assuming you’re moving to an apartment with limited storage capacity can supercharge your decluttering efforts by forcing you to evaluate what items are truly necessary.
Asking questions such as whether an item has been used in the past several years, if backups of common household goods are necessary, and if items will fit in your new home can help promote decluttering. Additionally, it is important to consider the cost of storing items that are not being used and whether it is worth paying to hold on to them.