When less is more: De-clutter with the 80/20 method

I am unsure of how so much stuff accumulates so quickly.  

We have cleaned closets, donated, and done what we thought was a house purge before.

But this time is different…

This time is for a very special reason.

We want to buy a house.

The home we have been in going on 10 years is a lease, and while I have loved it, I long for walls that are mine.

It will be hard to leave the place we are in, but we are excited about the possibility of what we might find.

And during the process I keep myself from worrying about what is out there in a crazy market, I clean.

My focus is a fresh start even if it’s in the same place.

What I need and don’t need.

And, what I would want to move.

What I have hung onto that I might need someday.  Keeping things just in case.

I want a lighter load and don’t really want to have so much stuff anymore.

So part of this is for a hopefully joyous move, the other part which you can implement too even if you never plan to move again, is to be free.

Free of stuff that we don’t need.

Free to release things that have held us back by thinking we have to have them, or if we didn’t have them, that we would miss them terribly.

I’m not sure how we get on this slippery slope of things piling up.

Perhaps it is partially being thrifty.

But for me I feel like it’s fear.

Fear that I will regret getting rid of something.

But after asking myself what is important, I found that those things are not really things, they are people, and time, and love.

So I could lose everything I have that is a possession and still have everything I need and cherish.

I know, my hoarding ways hit a crossroad at this point and I had to make a decision.

I have less, but now I have more.

Funny isn’t it how we hang onto things we don’t really need.

Who knows, maybe I will really get into this and become organized.

Whoa there, don’t get ahead of yourself Tanya.  One step at at time.

I have been in sales for most of my life, and my first manager taught me an important lesson.  That 80% of our time is used creating 20% of our income.  To look at time management this way helps me to see what the highest and best use of my time is.

When applying this my home, I see that the rule holds true, I use about 20% of what I have 80% of the time.  Once in a while I reach to the back of the cupboard to locate a rarely used item, but most the time I have my core dishes, clothes, etc…that I use on the regular.

Yep, this was shocking to realize when I have really felt that I needed to keep ALL THE THINGS.  

So here is what I have done so far and how I have looked at each space.  The first step is super important so you are not jumping up or getting distracted but stay in the same space until you are done:

• Gather three containers, garbage bags, or whatever you want to use for your sorting.
• The first container is for things that are broken, mis-matched, worn out or so far gone you cannot donate them.  These are either recycled if you can or thrown out if not.
• The second container is for things you don’t need.  They don’t fit, you don’t like that vase anymore, or you really, truly, don’t need it.  This is the donate pile.
• The third container is only for things you want to have in your life.  If you had to downsize and lose half the space you have in your home, would you keep it? Move it again and again if needed? This container I kept for things special to me, and I would buy this item again today if I had to.

So there really is no fancy or complicated method, just being honest with myself and deciding that I would remain in this mindset each time I work on a room or a closet.

I can’t tell you how good it feels to open cupboards that are neat and are not crammed with stuff.

And to bring a few loads of stuff to donate locally.

I don’t miss a thing that I either threw out or passed along, and I am excited to see how much we will accomplish as we go.

To tell you the truth, I like the open space better than seeing all the things I thought I wanted.

So if we stay put or not, I am much more ready than I was, and I have a clean home (well I still have the kids bedroom closets to do lol) and peace of mind.

It’s never really about the things anyways, and wherever they end up, I am ok with that.

As a side note, I am keeping my furniture, but the things on top, inside and next to have each been sorted thru.  

Wishing you everything wonderful and peaceful today-

Thank you so much for reading friend, as always, may your heart and home be full of everything you love…

xo, Tanya

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