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It’s Time to Simplify

ByChantel

Here is the update to The Great Purge of 2014 as I promised!

Can I first just say how freeing this whole process has felt? It’s as though all the stuff I had wasn’t only taking up physical space in my house but also in my mind.

I shared that my goal was to get rid of 50-75% of my personal possessions and while it’s kind of hard to measure, I do feel as though I was successful.

One thing that was easy to measure was my reduction in my fabric stash, take a look at that photo above, I went from two of those big tubs filled with fabric (so full I couldn’t even close one of them) down to that tiny little wire basket. And the best part is, I have plans for most of the fabric in there.

Here are a few purging tips that have helped for me:

  1. do what works for you – for me that meant tackling one area at a time (a drawer, a closet, a room) and doing it at one time. I know for others it works better for them to get rid of 3-5 items per day. I just found that since  my schedule has no routine to it some days I had no energy and others I wanted to get rid of stuff. Find what works for you and do that!
  2. don’t keep everything for sentimental reasons – I am the first to admit that I’m the worst for this, I can get sentimental about anything. I’ve come to realize it’s not the stuff I want to remember and cherish, it’s the memories. I think if you have a few sentimental things, that’s totally fine, but don’t let that be the reason you keep everything.
  3. find a good place for the stuff you are getting rid of – some of my stuff got donated, some I sold and some stuff I gave to friends. I shared a few weeks ago that I had some art supplies that were just too awesome to donate and I didn’t know anyone here that would use them, so I shipped it down to a friend who is a great artist, I know she’s going to make something beautiful with them.
  4. set a time limit – decide how long you want it to take you to purge. No matter what your method, you will want to be done purging at some point, I made the end of February my goal.
  5. ask for accountability – a few weeks ago I asked for accountability from you, that’s what really gave me the kick to get it done, nothing like trying to avoid embarrassment to complete a job!

That’s all for purging! Next week I will be sharing my tips for keeping your stuff to a minimum after you have purged.

Do you have any purging tips? I would love to hear them!

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19 Comments

  1. great tips because I really need to do this. I don’t know why but I tend to hold on to things and I need to stop that. No I’m not a total hoarder but a little mini one I guess. I tend to hold on to sentimental things and like 10 pairs of almost the same sunglasses haha.

    http://www.boardingtogether.blogspot.com

  3. I like these tips. I had to laugh when I read #2 because I keep everyting for “memories”

  5. great tips! we are gearing up for a move and I’m looking forward to getting rid of some things and really cluttering! Thanks for the tip.

  6. I love this. My mom started getting rid of her collection of material and gave it to me. Add that to the collection I have and wow. However I am determined that I am going to make stuff with it this year. What I don’t use then I am hoping to donate in some way. (Even if I use it as rags. LOL)

    1. Haha, yeah, it can be tough to go through it all. Last week I found that our local thrift store takes small pieces of fabric and send them away to get shredded down and they use them to fill some mattresses. I love that, then nothing goes to waste!

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