My friend Angela from The Grocery Shrink, threw out a question at me that made me think “Hey! Maybe other people want to know that too!”
So, Stacy…how do you guys decide what to sell? What to donate? And what to just throw in the garbage?
Excellent question!
I decided to do this one via video – because I enjoy video and I hope you to too. I will tell you, I’m attempting to make my videos a lot shorter. 😉 I’m just a big ole blabbermouth sometimes.
When you are going to start with your decluttering project, you should make some planning to ensure it has a happy ending when you are done. So basically, where is all this stuff going to go, if not to another part of your home? You have several possible exit doors to consider.
Links mentioned in this video:
Humorous Homemaking on Instagram using the hashtag #clutterclearout
Lessons Learned Selling in Online Classifieds
I Had Enough – Clear the Clutter
Please keep posting questions and such with things you would like to know! It gives me great ideas for blog topics when I’m sleep deprived. 😉
Cute! I’m going to dig out my Fivel doll first thing tomorrow!
I hope it goes fast! 🙂
I am going to start this week! I am hoping by posting this, it will keep me motivated. I have 30 years of clutter to sort through!! Thanks for the video.
YEAH! I’ll be your motivation!
I sure hope so. I need all I can get!!
Awesome! I got my own video–I feel really cool right now. This is totally going to my head. I love the ideas. I haven’t done much selling on social media, just garage sales and Craigslist. This is something I’m going to try.
Honestly – we’ve had more luck on social media than any other way. Keep me posted!
I am so glad you answered this. I was going to come back to ask this very question!
So here is another question… My kids are still little so I feel like I could konmari their room for them, except for my seven year old. He is a quiet, obedient child, until you try to get him to get rid of a toy. And to me, the funniest part, is that he functions MUCH better in a very very clutter free environment. Hard to please both needs! I know he will be happier when it is done, I have been with the even minor progress I have been making (A van load already out of my house!) but getting there might be rough. And I get that I need to teach him… Just, lead the way for me, will ya?
Maybe I need to do a total post on decluttering with children – I think I’ll do that.
It took me a while to get Annie on board, but now she’s like “Oh…are we going to donate that?” “Hey mom…are we going to sell this?”
At first she was NOT cool with it, so they can change. And my Annie is a pack rat!
Yes please and thank you!
The book says it will take 6 months to get to the “finish line”. At first I thought that was ridiculous. But then I started actually doing it. Um, yeah…I might be done at 6 months IF I am fast and furious for that many months in a row. And I have a tiny house. Mercy. How did we get this much stuff? I don’t even shop!
I thought the same thing, “no way will this take 6 months!” Bahahahaha! I took more than 6 months acquiring it – so surely it’s going to take at least that long to let it go.
I would also like a post on decluttering with children. I am doing my stuff first, and I’ve read excerpts of the Konmari book to my 10 year old daughter hoping to get her on board.
Alrighty – you got it! 🙂
This is such a hard thing…I have one who struggles similarly. Even as a 3 year old he would squirrel away papers and junk mail and crazy stuff. I would get rid of toys I thought he had lost interest in only to have him ask me about them later, tears to follow when I told him I had donated it.
Sooo…my recommendation would be to work with him and never go behind is back. I think this is an area to compromise and work together…you give a little, he gives a little. Lot’s of room for creativity in how you approach it. One thing to try is to just pack up a large portion of his toys, promising they will not go anywhere but the basement so that he can experience a cleaner space. Then re opening boxes after a few months and talking about stuff might give him insight into what he really missed and what he barely missed. We have been doing this for about 7 mo with our older two and it has been very successful.
Also, Stacey mentioned doing this before Annie’s birthday and we have done something similar… Use the lead up to birthdays or Christmas as a chance to get rid of toys under the guise of “making room” for the new.
I have also learned to give him space to have his “mess.” 🙂 I think that learning to respectfully contain things that other people wish you would get rid of is a valuable skill. haha. So, we have confined it to different things over the years. Right now I believe he has two mid sized boxes in his closet filled with his “papers” and whatnot. And sure enough, he rifles through them and looks for stuff and finds it. But then we have clear out time when the boxes start overflowing.
Whew! I didn’t know I would type so much…but this is definitely something we have dealt with so I guess I’m just passing on suggestions. In the end it’s about teaching an appropriate and healthy view of “stuff.”
Good luck!
I am not seeing a link to the video. 🙂
Ha ha! Got my wires crossed. Fixed now. 🙂