Organising

5 Questions To Ask Yourself To Declutter With More Purpose

December 7, 2020

When you begin a journey to declutter your home and start living with less. It can be hard to part ways with your belongings.

You will soon discover that you have a unknown attachment to just about everything in your home. Just by picking up an item that you have kept in your home for years. You mind will start scrabbling to to find an excuse for you to keep it.

Whether it is because you may use it later so it needs to stay. Or you forgot you had it, even though it was stuffed at the back of your wardrobe for years. You will find some reason to put the item back where you got it, because it has some value or use to you. Even when it really doesn’t.

This is a natural behaviour because humans are natural collectors.

We like to have things in our live. Having belongs can be comforting, however when those thing start to take over. That is when the problems start to begin.

We will spend money on stuff, just for the sake of buying it. Because is someway we have rationalised the purchase of the item. The stuff that we buy doesn’t just take up our money. It also takes up space in our home. Which then leads to it taking up our time as we now have to care for this item. Even when it ends up stuffed somewhere in the back. of a cupboard or in a box in the garage. It is still take up some aspect of our life.

READ : Why I Have Decided To Declutter

That is why it is important before you begin to declutter to understand the values and vision that you have for each living space in your home. You need to be focused on what items you want to keep in your home the make you happy, rather than what you want to get rid off. This will help you to declutter with more purpose and make things so much easier on yourself during the whole purging process of decluttering.

But how do you do this?

I can hear you asking. You must have this vision for your home. How you want to live each day. Then when you have space you wish to declutter, you can simply ask yourself these 5 question that will help you decided whether something stay. Or it goes.

Does This Item Have A Purpose In My Home/Life?

I understand that any item can have a purpose in your home. You can make thousands of excuses as to why an item is still serving you or in the future. You really have to ask, is this item serving your anymore right now? Can your live without it? If you have an an item that no longer has a purpose then let it go. While it is in your home it is still taking up space and time. If you are starting to decluttering you want more space. And everyone wishes they had more time.

Do I have A Something Similar Already?

The biggest problem about consumerism, is getting items that have very similar purposes. Clothing is the best item to talk abut with this. If you have eight tops that are the same colour and similar design. But you only ever where three of them. Then why do you need to keep the other five? You have three that you use and the other five are so similar but you just don’t wear them. This makes those five other tops easier to let go of. You just don’t need that many.

How Often Will This Item Be Used?

The biggest reason we hold onto things we don’t really need, is the what if. You might be keeping a dress that you have owned for the last five years because you love it. But you have only have worn it twice the first year you owned it. Now it is sitting at the back of your wardrobe because you might wear it again some day. Does it have a useful purpose in your life anymore?

When decluttering it is important to have a good perspective of usage. Setting boundaries on items you don’t use is a big step. If you haven’t used an item in the last six months and you won’t use it in the next six month then it is time to purge this item. You are not using it as often as you like and it is taking up space in your home and life.

Does This Item Bring Happiness Or Value To My Life?

Having items that have purpose in your life can bring fulfilment. But if you have items that just don’t bring you that much joy and happiness, they can have the opposite effect. Marie Kondo explained it so well, that if something doesn’t bring you joy than it has no place and value in your home. It must spark joy within you and make you happy. You want keep items that fit into your vision and ideal of home life. And rid your home of things that make you unhappy and take up your time, your thoughts and space. That is why, when you get stuck you need to remember the vision you had for the space you are working on.

Do I really Need This Item?

This is the question I have been using not only in my home as I try to declutter with purpose. But I have also started using it when shopping and making purchases. Do I need really need this item? This is how I work out whether I need it and make quick decision on items. It is the final push you need in your design making to make you space more what you envision it to be. If it doesn’t fit your vision and you can see your life without it, then it is ok to let it go. It has served its purpose in your life and now it is time for it to move on.

What is really important to remember in your journey of living with less….

It is important to remember why you are one this journey to living with less. You can not compare your life with stuff to someone else. The decluttering process is a personal one and although we can help each other out with advice or guidance when thing get tough. Nobody else can do go on this journey for you. So if your process is slower than someone else. don’t get overwhelmed or stressed. Just take one item at a time and keep moving forward. It is not a race and we all want to have a little more purpose in our lives. You are creating a safe, loving space for yourself and your family. Enjoy the journey even when things get hard. It is all worth it in the end.

READ : Why Organising Our Home Never Worked Until Now