10 Tips to begin decluttering

I used to be a terrible hoarder. I had tonnes of things just in case I needed them. I was reluctant to part with anything I considered remotely sentimental. I used to keep shelves of my favourite magazines in case I wanted to look back at them (hint – I never did look back at them). There were lots of things that I had two of. I kept clothes I didn’t like or that didn’t fit just in case I needed them. I had an enormous collection of DVDs and books. I had lots of trinkets. Somewhere along the line though I came across the idea of minimalism and decluttering. At first I was reluctant but gradually the seed flourished in my head and I began to pare my things down more and more. Now I have significantly reduced my clutter and my house feels much more spacious, inviting and organised. I thought I would share my tips on how to I did it.

Disconnecting from hyper-connection

A while back I decided to re-activate my Facebook account and set-up a Twitter account. I installed the apps on my phone. I vowed to try and use social media in a positive way. I intended to embody an antidote to all the mundane, self-promoting, vanity material that exists. Well that didn’t work.

Health and free time are the new rich

In western society we are virtually all “rich”. By any historical measure we are all richer in material terms than even the elite of society was only 20 or 30 years ago. Only a generation ago flat screens tvs, smart phones, tablets, laptops and high speed internet, cars with iphone connections, air con and Bluetooth would have seemed like science fiction. With our centrally heated, pleasantly but affordably furnished dwellings we live more comfortably than even royalty were living probably only 30 or 40 years ago. But what is the price of this wealth? We work long hours, often in sedentary jobs which cost us our time and our health.

Minimalism is Occam’s Razor applied to stuff

Occam’s Razor is broadly speaking a way of scientific reasoning which says that the simplest answer to a problem is usually the best. In my opinion minimalism is the Razor applied to stuff.

Enough is best

In the West our consumer society tends to value chasing more and more stuff as if each new thing adds more and more value to our lives. But when we really think about it, it doesn’t. Really what we need to do is query exactly what we need in our lives, what stuff actually improves our lives and what stuff is just unnecessary doo-dads that we buy because everybody else has one or because it’s the latest thing.