Summer is the perfect time for reorganizing and decluttering your home. We like to call this two pronged approach The Summertime Purge. Not only will this help you mentally and emotionally, because a cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind, but it will also help your home! With less clutter your home becomes less hazardous to occupants and less likely to be damaged.
There are a lot of experts out there claiming to be the voice of wisdom when it comes to purging your home and doing so well. However, it is important to have a nuanced approach when doing so. In this blog we're going to take the practices of three home organization and decluttering experts, and show you how when joined all together they can help you navigate this process productively.
We're going to begin with The Minimalists. Their mission is to simplify your living. Instead of owning 47 pairs of socks, you only own 10, because that's all you really need. They created the Minimalism challenge where, over a period of 30 days, you get rid of 465 items. On day one, you get rid of one item. Day two, two items. Day three, three items. You get that point. Items can be pieces of clothing, old books or collectables, kitchen and bathroom products, décor, toys, etc.. This system forces you to keep purging for 30 days, so you're constantly evaluating what you really need.
The approach of the Minimalists is cut throat, which is why we want to temper it with Marie Kondo's approach. Purging your home should never mean crying over a dumpster of your most prized possessions, it's just about getting rid of all the extra items we accumulate because capitalism and consumerism tells us we need stuff we actually don;t. Marie Kondo challenges people to hold an item in their hands and think, "does this give me joy?" An old sweatshirt from your high school team may bring you tons of joy even if you don't wear it, but that random tubberware lid with no container definitely shouldn't give you joy.
Once your 465 items (or more!) that don't bring you joy are sitting in front of you, organize them into piles to: recycle, donate, sell, and throw away. That last pile should be as small as possible! What you are left with is a home of items that are useful and meaningful, and this is where The Home Edit comes in. These two women are the masters of organizing. They have professionally organized closets and pantries and homes for professional athletes, actors, reality stars, business titans and more. Their mission statement is that things should be organized, but that organization should also look beautiful. The picture used for this blog is an example of their work! Let their mission statement (and Instagram feed) guide you as you organize the items you have left.
This is a huge project, but so worth it at the end of the day!
(Photo via Canva)
Leave A Comment