Hello my friend.

A very warm welcome to my little corner of Substack today. Come on in, make yourself comfortable. Let me make you a warm drink.

Spring is just the corner, teasing us with glimmers of life. Snowdrops cover the ground with a blanket of white. Daffodils and crocus will be next with their hues of yellow and purple. Tulips are pushing through the grounds surface now too.

Just as nature is doing, I feel as though I am being pulled into action now, after a peaceful winter season. Plans have been made and it is time to move forward and begin the year with intention.

Today I want to talk about decluttering. I have been watching a few episodes of Sort Your Life Out this week and I am feeling inspired to go deeper into my own decluttering journey and hopefully inspire you in your own journey.

Background

My journey into minimalism began around 2020 when I discovered Marie Kondo’s Netflix series Tidying Up. I was intrigued by the Spark Joy concept and shortly after watching the series I read her two books Life Changing Magic of Tidying and Spark Joy. I began my decluttering process using Marie’s method going through each of the five categories, clothes, books, paperwork, komono (miscellaneous items) and sentimental items. The idea is to collect everything from one category together in one place, making it easier to remove items as you can see exactly what you do have. With each piece, asking the question “Does this spark joy”?

I flew through clothes fairly easily as I don’t really hold any attachment to my clothes. I can happily say I managed to let go of at least 50%, maybe more. Marie’s method for storing clothes is genius. Only delicate items are hung on hangers, everything else is folded in drawers and on shelves. To this day I still use Marie’s method of storage as it is an effective space saver.

Books and Paperwork were slightly harder. It took longer but I was successful in removing a big chunk, although notebooks were tough. I love my notebooks. I’m sure you can relate 😊.

Komono was a different story, a lot more challenging, and suffice to say I didn’t complete this category. It was too big a category and spread too far through the house. This sadly halted my progress.

Fast forward a year or two when I joined Audible and discovered Joshua Becker’s Minimalist Home in the recommended books list. Joshua’s book was a game changer. His method is not dissimilar to Marie’s … but he takes you through the process room by room. Instead of asking the question “does this spark joy”, the questions to ask oneself are “does this add value, is it useful, do I own anything else that will do the same job, does it distract one from the things that do add value”.

Reading more about the concept of minimalism, I quickly learned it is not what we think of when we first come across the term minimalism. Imagine stark white rooms, a table, a chair, little to no decor. Doesn’t sound very homely does it?

For me, minimalism means parring back enough possessions to those that are useful, they add value to my life, or simply bring a smile to my face. To be able to walk into a room and breath, and not be stifled by the overwhelming clutter.

Remember, there is no one size fits all definition of minimalism. Each person will have their own vision of what minimalism means to them.

With this new found knowledge I began my decluttering journey again working room by room instead of category by category.

I can’t begin to tell you how much better this method is. I saw astounding results almost immediately. I questioned everything I owned and little by little I learned what truly added value to me and our home.

Anthony also got on board with decluttering his own possessions when he witnessed the results up to that point, and together we started moving forward.

Here and now

We haven’t reached a point where we are 100% happy but we understand now that there isn’t a true conclusion to the decluttering journey as, akin to nature and everything around us, life evolves. Our possessions and thoughts towards our possessions evolve. We might be able to remove a huge amount during the initial process but maintaining a decluttered home potentially needs tweaks along the way. Ones perception of clutter and possessions might change over time. I know mine has.

I am about to embark on a deeper dive into our home and see where we can simplify further. As Spring is almost upon us, it feels like the right time to do this. Want to join me?

I am starting with my home office this time. My office is in our little box room upstairs. It has evolved over the years, beginning life as our computer room, to becoming my craft room and most recently a craft and writing room.

Sitting here now, the room seems to have lost its way a little. Its character has woven its web around me so that when I walk in I don’t know whether I should be writing or sewing.

My own creative life has evolved over the last two years, since joining Substack actually. I am taking my writing more seriously now and reading a lot more than I ever have. I feel the room needs to reflect my life as it is now, not what it once was. I still want to be creative with my needlework and knitting, but writing is my priority now.

I want to create zones for this room. Everything is currently intermingled, so it is difficult to define the rooms purpose on first sight.

My Vision

My crafting life will still live here in the office, albeit much reduced in terms of volume of kit, but kept to one small area around where my vintage singer sewing table sits, on the left hand side of the room as one walks in.

By the front window is where my desk will stand. Previously my writing space faced one of the walls, which has become a little oppressive. I need light now, particularly as Spring is almost here.

On the right I will have my wooden storage chest which will be covered in cushions and a blanket, to serve not only as a storage area for miscellaneous craft items but also as a seat for my new reading nook. On the back wall I am putting up some shelves for my treasured books and notebooks.

The Benefits of Decluttering

Although our decluttering journey is far from over we have seen many benefits so far. I would like to share some of these with you in the hope that it inspires you in your own journey should you wish to follow a decluttering path.

• Decluttering opens up so much space in ones home. Instead of thinking of what you can buy to fill the gaps, you begin to enjoy and appreciate the uncluttered space.

• Cleaning becomes easier. As surfaces start to empty, cleaning them takes just seconds instead of minutes as there is less stuff to move first.

• Decisions are simpler to make. A perfect example here would be choosing what to wear in the morning or an evening out. As one has successfully parred down clothing to a minimal level, the choices are less, therefore finding an outfit to wear is easier.

• The success rate of finding things is greatly increased. How many times have you “bought something again” because you can’t find the item that you know you have in the house, somewhere? When you reduce what you own and find a permanent home for each possession, it makes finding the items with greater ease.

• Saving money. As the number of possessions in your home are fewer and generally hold more value for you, you are less likely to want to buy more, therefore saving money.

• As outgoings are reduced because you are spending less, you may find yourself in a position of being able to reduce your working hours, gaining back much needed time.

• Reduce stress. Clutter can induce physical and mental stress. Although the act of decluttering can be an overwhelming process, you will be thankful as you start to see space opening up. Creating a calmer and more peaceful environment will reduce that stress.

Had we not embarked on a decluttering journey our life would be so different.

• We would still be spending money on non important stuff. We wouldn’t be saving as much, so it is highly likely that we wouldn’t have paid off our mortgage early, we wouldn’t have the camper and we would not have been able to reduce our working hours.

• Our house would still be an overrun overwhelming chaotic space, with lots of items without a home. Cleaning would take forever.

• I probably would not be writing about slow and simple living as the concept would be lost on me.

Gaining time back is probably the most important benefit of decluttering.

Is life perfect? No of course it isn’t. Are we worry free? Definitely not. The important point is that because we have gained back some time and space, it makes dealing with life’s daily trials and tribulations that little bit easier to handle.

Decluttering and the minimalism concept truly saved us in many ways. I hope it can for you too.

Thank you for joining me today. If you feel like you need to reduce your possessions for whatever reason that may be, I will be sharing a monthly decluttering publication room by room starting in a few weeks.

Please feel free to join me. Don’t forget to subscribe so that you don’t miss one.

If you have any questions please leave a comment, or you can always DM me.

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Until next time.

Debbie xx

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