Declutter Challenge: What Works Best for You?...

Next Avenue readers share their top tips for getting rid of junk My 30-Day Declutter Challenge ended in a flurry as I scrambled to complete the last three days of clutter collection. The goal of the challenge, started on Aug. 1, was to collect one item on Day 1, two on Day 2 and so forth for 30 days. By the end, on Aug. 30, I had culled more than the requisite 465 items, really closer to 500. My declutter pile is big (see ugly photo) but not as big as I imagined when I started the challenge — maybe because I didn’t have large items like furniture to shed. Instead, I have amassed a large pile of small items like books, toys and electronic flotsam and jetsam. The challenge was well suited to a declutter procrastinator like me. Having rules to guide (and force) me to collect a certain number of items per day was really helpful. It occurred to me that you might also do the challenge backwards starting with 30 items when you are most fired up and work down to one item for Day 30. However you get there, you’ll be glad you did. Readers Share Their Declutter Tips We invited readers to join the challenge (it’s not too late to start now) and asked them to share their best tips for paring down their possessions. They had some great advice: “I keep a shopping bag and fill it with things to give away, and donate that full bag every week to a local thrift shop. Then I open a new shopping bag to fill.” Pamela Koller, Queens, N.Y. “I decide what has value for me today. What do I really need and want in...

How to Lose 1,000 Square Feet — and Keep It Off...

This writer found joy downsizing to a small apartment and offers five tips Five years ago, when I sold my 1,700-square-foot condo in St. Louis County, Mo., in preparation for a move to a small apartment in San Francisco, Calif., I knew I had to get rid of at least two-thirds of my stuff. That required touching every single thing I owned. I sold, donated or gave away everything from a crystal chandelier to a recliner I’d bought six months earlier to a package of powdered onion soup from the pantry. The man who painted my condo prior to the sale bought the pub table and chairs from my kitchen, so I gave him the concrete elephant statue from my deck. I pared down my Christmas decorations from five boxes to one. I found good homes at a university, a prison and a senior center for 46 boxes of books. And once and for all, I got rid of my collections of paper bags, plastic bags and cardboard boxes. What did I bring to California? My grandmother’s golden oak rocking chair, her dresser and her cedar chest. My mother’s living room lamps and her black sequin beanie. My father’s jewelry box and his Navy duffel bag, to hold jumper cables in my car. My son’s grade school art projects. And my Mickey Mouse Club membership certificate. OK, I admit I am a sentimental sort. If you are making plans to run away from the life you’ve always lived, if you are downsizing or if you are just weary of living with the same old stuff, here are five tips from someone living small and loving it: Don’t leave your past behind A fresh start does not require erasing who...

Leading A Simpler Life

When I was younger, there was a point where I was moving every six months, whether it was just to a new neighborhood, or across the country to a new state. Although this was sometimes stressful, it did bring something positive to the table – it kept me from accumulating a lot of things. Every time I moved I only brought the essential things I needed, the things that were most dear to my heart. Now, having been in the same place for a while, with no plans to move anytime soon, I’ve noticed that over time, my once pared down collection of items has grown substantially. As we get older, it is easy to accumulate belongings and habits that no longer serve us. It is also harder to keep track of excessive belongings, to remember what you have, and where everything is located. Simplifying your life by clearing out some of that proverbial clutter can help you be happier, think clearer and make room in your life for things that are truly important. As you enter the second half of life, don’t be weighed down by the things of your past. Allow yourself to grow from them, and let them go. The easiest way to start simplifying your life is by following these two simple steps: identifying the important things in your life, and then eliminating everything else. However many people need more guidance than just that. Here’s a more detailed list of things you can do to simplify your life: What Does Simple Look Like to You Begin by writing out what a simple life looks like to you. What makes you happy? What brings joy into your life? What causes stress in your life? What feels...