10 organization & decluttering tips we should all learn from

I spent a couple hours yesterday reading through organization and decluttering blog posts and took a lot of notes.

In no particular order, here are ten tips I’ve learned that I think others might benefit from reading as well:

• Get on board with Apartment Therapy’s The Cure which will offer a task a day to help you get organized and have a more peaceful living environment. I started with day one today.
• This also requires getting rid of almost-duplicates (so many things in our bathrooms we only need one type of) but decanting bathroom products may help you save money while keeping products in attractive containers that may work better for you! Buy in bulk and decant into small containers that fit in your medicine cabinent or other available space, if you want to treat yourself to something new. Don’t forget to get rid of the extra products you don’t need! via Jessica Isaac, Apartment Therapy
• Got a lot of memorabilia? Fay Wolf shares a great tip on how to downsize but still hold on to those memories!
• Stop buying stuff you don’t truly need or if it’s anything close to a duplicate of something you already have! I’m exploring this more in the coming weeks personally but we are addicted to the feeling of the purchase! It’s not worth it. Your space will be cluttered up with stuff and this will make you less happy. How many things can you think of that you were excited to buy but are now gathering dust?
• Consider what would you grab in a fire? Start refocusing on what is important to you and let go of things that just aren’t.
• You aren’t going to get your money back on that shirt that you bought that never fit you right. When you see that shirt, you probably experience negative thoughts: guilt of the purchase, bad body image, regret that you still have it. Think of this: someone else may love it and wear the heck out of it! You’re keeping that happiness from someone else and adding negative feelings to your own experience by holding on to it. Let it go!
• Undershelf baskets seem like a great tool for large shelves where there’s a lot of space that isn’t being used.
• You’ve probably heard from 207 people you should read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo. There are some totally quirky tips but all in all I think her process is very wise. Dividing things by type and sub type, holding things in your hand to assess your feelings about them, how to deal with guilt around getting rid of things you’ve spent money on or have been gifted. If you haven’t read this book yet post on Facebook asking if your friends have this book and if you can borrow it. Then you’re not adding more stuff to your collection. I don’t recommend her sequel as it’s incredibly repetitive (if anyone got anything new from the second book, I’d love to hear).
• The Minimalists have a good documentary on netflix and podcast. I haven’t listened to much of their podcast yet but plan to (while I’m cleaning! I get so much more done and enjoy the process more when I listen to a podcast), but what I’ve heard I really like. Thanks for the inspiration, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus!
• Where to donate your stuff: 100 places your clutter can do good. Via Miss Minimalist