In 2021, only 8.4% of Americans moved. It is less than half the move rate since the Census Bureau started tracking it in 1948. It's a fact that people are staying in their homes longer than ever before. But are they keeping their homes clutter-free? Probably not. Many homeowners rent space in a storage facility to get rid of stuff they don't want in their homes, resulting in excess spending, material, and stress. Visit this post about the stats on clutter. It's an eye-opener.
Know this: you can stay in your existing home and be clutter-free. This week, we are talking about downsizing your home without moving. Yes, that's right, WITHOUT MOVING.
Downsizing is not just for older individuals. It is a process for anyone sick and tired of not enjoying their home. Think of downsizing as lightening up the load in your home and heart. Doesn't that sound more uplifting? I propose that you consider the process of downsizing as "enlightening" to lighten up your life. Now, let's begin the process of enlightening without moving.
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Before you start downsizing, you may wonder where you should begin. Get a free copy of our FREE How to Awaken from Clutter Blindness step-by-step guide to help you see the clutter you are forgetting about. This printable ebook and the three-post series will help you understand the areas you need to focus on when decluttering and downsizing the things in your home.
First, schedule your time to declutter.
Pick a time during the week when you consistently have nothing to do. Maybe it's when you are watching a movie or taking a nap. It can be on the weekends or during the week - whichever works best for you.
Some of the best times may be:
- From 6 PM to 8 PM
- From 5 AM to 7 AM
- From 12 noon to 2 PM
Ensure a 2-hour block to complete a decluttering session and devote yourself to the downsizing process. From my experience, two hours will take you to the halfway point of decluttering sessions, where you can purge items you do not want. However, depending on the size of the room and area, it may take another 2 hours to reorganize the remaining things.
Then, determine the trigger that stops you from finishing the job.
These triggers or blocks are things like memorabilia that reminds you of loss or an expensive item that reminds you how much you spent on it - anything that gives you a pause to take action and make a decision.
Now, decide on the best way to combat that obstacle. You need to have the strength to get through these areas. Making up a saying or phrase to remind you that you can get rid of stuff is just one way of dealing with your obstacles. Feel free to visit our 18 POSITIVE MANTRA SAYINGS TO KEEP YOU ON THE DECLUTTERING PATH or 13 SIMPLE WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO CLEAR THE CLUTTER for affirmations (Affiliate Link) or statement examples.
If you are stuck on what to do with your items but are 90% sure you want to get rid of them, try taking a picture of the things you treasure but no longer want. Keeping a digital folder to store these photos called "Stuff I enjoyed" will help, too.
Below are additional tips that will help you downsize the home right now.
11 Things to Do to Reduce the Clutter in Your Home Right Now
Now, let's go through the nitty-gritty of the decluttering process! Below are additional tips to help you eliminate the clutter in your home without moving.
Commit to giving away or eliminating one piece when you bring one item in.
If you don't, you become a collector, not a minimalist. To remind yourself to do this, hang a sign, write a note, and read it whenever you bring something into the home. The one-in-one-out rule is vital to keep the clutter at bay.
Clear out the closets.
The closets are a place we all store stuff we don't use. So, clearing these areas of clutter will eliminate your things in the home. We have a lot of posts about clearing the closets; visit them here.
Teach the kids to give away toys they no longer use or want.
Read this post, "Explaining Needing and Wanting to Kids," for tips on how to show your kids the difference between needs and wants. Toys that are not used should be given away so that they can be used and enjoyed by others. Keeping them for too long will result in them not being in demand any longer and may just have to be thrown away.
Books are dust collectors.
Only keep the ones you usually reference. If you love your books, commit to taking care of them. Dust them each week. The more you have, the more time it will take to care for them. I have several popular posts about book decluttering and organization if you want to visit them.
5 WAYS TO ORGANIZE BOOKS ON BOOKSHELVES
EXTENSIVE LIST OF USED BOOK DONATION PLACES AND TIPS
7 BOOK STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL SPACES
Have a giveaway box in the garage for those items you don't know if you want to give away right now.
Place the items in a cardboard box (Affiliate Link) and revisit them in six months. If you don't need it within the six-month timeframe, you probably can get rid of it without any regret.
Moving Boxes Large Pack of 12 with Handles– 20" x20" x15"
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Clear the kitchen clutter.
Leave out the pans you regularly use for one week for kitchen supplies. Anything left in the cabinet can be reviewed and donated. I love a well-organized kitchen. For help with this area, visit all my kitchen organizing posts.
Make shredding old documents an evening event while watching TV or streaming.
Pull out boxes (Affiliate Link) older than three years (7 years of you were audited) from your basement or closet and start shredding and purging. Be sure to shred sensitive documents. Visit the IRS page called "How long should I keep records?" for more information.
Getting a good-quality, heavy-duty shredder (Affiliate Link) will make the shredding process much more manageable. Below is one I found on Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate).
Shredder 12-Sheet Cross Cut Paper , 5.5 Gal Home Office Heavy Duty Shredder
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Assign clearing out various seasonal areas.
For areas that tend to collect items through the seasons, like the shed (Affiliate Link), visit these areas at the end of each season to clean them out. These areas could be three-season rooms and the garage (Affiliate Link) as well. Below are some outdoor organizing posts to help give you tips.
Get rid of old unused furniture that may be cluttering up rooms.
You may not need more than one table in your home. You may have two sofas and only use one because the other is on the floor you no longer visit. These areas can be reduced to only the things you need to free up space.
I love doing upcycling projects where I update old pieces of furniture (Affiliate Link), and they give them away as gifts. Check out my DIY furniture makeover projects with step-by-step instructions below.
Reduce the clothes to only the ones you wear.
If you want a minimalist wardrobe, visit this post, "The Minimalist Wardrobe: How to Love All Your Clothes." I recently decided to create outfits with all my clothing to see what I didn't want or need. To do this, I pulled out all my items and created days of the week hooks for each outfit. These days of the week, labels (Affiliate Link) can be made by hand. See the posts below to make your own to use for creating your outfits.
HOW TO MAKE CHALK PAINT DAYS OF THE WEEK CLOTHING ORGANIZER
HOW TO MAKE REPURPOSED DIY DAY OF THE WEEK CLOSET DIVIDERS
DIY AFFORDABLE WEEK DAY CLOTHING ORGANIZER
HOW TO MAKE MASCULINE DAYS OF THE WEEK CLOTHING ORGANIZER
Paint your interior walls.
This one sounds funny, but recently, we got our entire first floor painted. We had to remove EVERYTHING on this main living open floor plan area. So we went together to decide what we used the item for, and it was still helpful. By the time we were finished and the painters were done, it was a week or two later. This process gave us time to ponder even more on objects we couldn't decide when moving them out of the room. As we removed things, the main living area started appearing larger and larger. I was so glad we didn't rush this process because we could get rid of about 20% of the items we had and were able to repurpose items in the space more effectively.
Visit and Declutter Your Drawers
There are probably a lot of drawers in your home, from your kitchen junk drawer to your garage (Affiliate Link) tool drawer; there can be so many places to clear the clutter. Pick a drawer a day and declutter and reorganize it. Ensuring the area has a purpose will go a long way toward being a decluttered drawer.
Feel free to visit our other downsizing posts for more tips and inspiration to downsize your home.
Remember that it will take time to minimize your home, especially if you have many areas to declutter. But rest assured, if you stay consistent and work at it each week, you will see a transformation. I've worked with clients who decluttered their entire houses, and it took about nine months to one year, four hours each week. It is possible, and it will transform your life.
I hope this helps you get inspired to declutter and downsize or enlighten your existing home. What is your favorite way to declutter your home? Please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.
If you need help finding focus in your decluttering process, check out my virtual organizing services. I offer three different types of services to help you get motivated.
Janet Schiesl says
I love the give-away box for items you not sure you need. Putting it in the garage is also good, since it gets these items out of your living space. I also like the stats on clutter link. Great info.
Seana Turner says
I love the idea of talking about downsizing in a context other than moving. We can downsize the clutter, and then stay put! Any space is more pleasant and easier to care for if there is breathing space. We can improve our quality of life simply by reducing the amount of stuff we maintain. It seems so often people declutter and improve their home in order to sell it, but why not do the same and enjoy it?
Linda Samuels says
I don't know about you, but I am fascinated by the tiny house movement. I love looking at tiny houses and watching some of the shows about them. And why? Aside from enjoying the clever storage solutions, I'm amazed by how few things people need. All of the stuff we think we need, we don't. So much of what we own sits being unused, collecting dust, and taking up space. I get that certain things aren't used, but are appreciated- decorative items, photos, artwork, or collections. And I've got lots of those. But there are a host of other things with no meaning or use that can go. I love your idea of downsizing or "enlightening" without moving! It's the idea of right-sizing and clearing your life. More enjoyment. Less stuff.
Diane Quintana says
Great post! I loved the idea of a folder with pictures to hold the memories of things we love but have removed from our home.
Janet Barclay says
Thanks for #7! I tend to go through a few file folders at a time when I have nothing else to do, but it's been a while and is long overdue. Why not bring a few out to the living room to go through while I'm watching a movie (especially one my husband picked that's not to my taste!)?