What Is the 80/20 Rule for Decluttering? Tips from a professional organizer in Cleveland, Ohio

Minimalism and Simple Living: Creating More Space and Less Stress

Today we're going to talk about how to declutter your home for simple living.

First, I'm going to talk a little bit about minimalism and how that connects to simple living. Then I'm going to define simple living and talk about some of the aspects of it. Next, I'm going to give some concrete strategies on how to declutter for simple living. And lastly, we're going to wrap up with talking about what to do if you're struggling, the pitfall and how to overcome that.

I just wanted to touch base on minimalism. That's actually how I got into home organizing. I really started by loving the minimalism movement. I used to watch Tiny House Nation, and my favorite parts were when they were getting the family to pare down. At the end, there was usually a follow-up where they visited the families several months later and talked about how it was going.

I loved hearing what they said and how simplified their lives were. I think minimalism really connects if you're looking for simple living. It's just less. We have accumulated so many items, and we don't realize how much time, energy, and headspace they are taking up.

I also love to think about vacation life. When you go on vacation, part of it is that you're in a clean space. There's no things there, and a lot of that mental load is gone. I think about how we can bring more vacation life into our everyday life.

What Simple Living Really Means

Thinking about simple living, what does that mean and how does it connect with minimalism?

When I think of simple living, I'm thinking of slow. We're not rushing from here to there. We're slowing down. It's easy. It's not a lot of frustration. It's not a lot of friction. It's ease.

It's being able to do the things you want to do and having sufficient time to do them. Room and time, both in your space and in your schedule.

For me, I love to putter. If you have time to just putter and do nothing or do whatever strikes you, and time feels like it's expanding, that to me is simple living.

I think there's a lot about your schedule that contributes. Courtney Carver is a wonderful writer, and she talks a lot about simple living. One of her sayings is that if you have time to catch up, that's not free time, it's just catching up.

If you get half a day where maybe your kids are gone or you're off work, and then you're just catching up on things, that's not free time. I think simple living is more free time.

Just saying no to things that your heart doesn't want to do is going to free up more time in your schedule. Reducing the number of commitments you have can help.

Habits can affect things too. At first when I decluttered, we didn't really have great habits. The dishes wouldn't get done regularly. Even though our home was decluttered, it still felt cluttered and messy because the dishes were always dirty.

There's a combination of decluttering and habits that really contributes to simple living.

Decluttering Strategies for a Simpler Home

I am a big follower of Joshua Becker, the minimalist, and one of the first things to do is identify your why.

For some people, it's really important to know the end goal. What's the vision? Why are you doing this? Determining that can be extremely motivating. When you get disappointed or discouraged, you can remind yourself why you're doing this and refocus.

One strategy is to get a trash bag and start.

One of the pitfalls for decluttering is thinking, listening, or reading too much about it. You just have to do it. The hard part is getting started and getting over that initial hump.

Get a trash bag, set a timer, and just look for trash. Walk around your house looking for trash. That's a great start, and maybe that's enough for today.

Joshua Becker really encourages less. There are probably many items in your home that you could live without, and life may be more comfortable and interesting with fewer of those things. That's where simple living comes into play.

You can declutter room by room or category by category. You might decide to do all the books, all the office supplies, or all the kitchen items. Choose whichever method works best for you.

Experimenting With Less to Find Your Balance

The Minimalists have a strategy where they boxed up everything in their apartment and only took out the things they actually needed over a period of time. At the end, they got rid of what remained in the boxes.

That's obviously very extreme, but if you're looking for a dramatic change, you may want to try something similar on a smaller scale. Maybe look at your desk and box up all the extra stuff to see if you miss it. After 30 days, if you haven't looked for it or needed it, you probably don't need it.

Another tip from Joshua Becker is to experiment with less.

We know what it feels like to have too much. We know what it feels like when the linen closet is overflowing or when a dresser drawer is stuffed so full that you can't find what you need.

You're trying to find a balance. You have to experiment with the other side of having too little. It's just an experiment.

A great example is the refrigerator. I like having a smaller amount of food because then I can see what's there and use it up. Other people prefer to keep it much fuller. There are different styles and different comfort levels.

Experiment with less, even in small categories, and find your balance point.

Maybe you get rid of all the underwear you don't like and discover you don't quite have enough. Then buy three more pairs, not twenty. Find the amount that works for your lifestyle.

That's going to help with simple living.

Maintaining Simple Living and Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Decluttering is like peeling an onion.

When you go through a room, you'll get rid of everything you think you don't need. Then if you come back a month later, you'll have fresh eyes. You'll notice items you thought you would use but never reached for.

You'll be able to get rid of more and more.

I probably decluttered my house three or four times, getting rid of more each time. We got rid of thousands of items. Now my son has turned 13, and items have built up again. We're ready for some strong decluttering.

Whatever progress you make, even if it's not totally satisfactory, you can circle back later and you'll probably be ready to get rid of more.

What if you've decluttered everything you can and you still don't feel like you have simple living?

Circle back and ask yourself whether it's your schedule or your habits.

Rooms can look messy, but if you can pick up within a matter of five minutes, you're probably in good shape. If it's taking a long time to pick up, or if more and more is coming into the home, that's something to look at.

The other side of the coin is what's coming into the home. Are you or someone else filling the home back up with stuff?

Your decluttering work may be getting sabotaged because the home is filling up again. We are a consumerist society, and if you're not paying attention to what's coming in and what's going out, it's going to build up again.

That's the pitfall to watch out for.

Once your eyes are open to these things, you can begin to make changes. It's often about having that initial insight and thinking about things a little differently.

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I hope that is helpful, and I would love to hear how it's going as you search for simple living.