2024 Decluttering - Minimalism thread

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Hello all. Late last year, especially after watching some Youtube videos (especially The Minimal Mom and Simply This Life) and after watching Minimalist documentary on Netflix i finally resolved to make some major changes and start on a minimalism journey. I realized after all these years, the main reason why keeping home tidy was so hard and stressful for me was that , like so many , we had wayy too much stuff in the house. It was so hard to manage. Also, i've always been interested in sustainability in general and all the excess/overconsumption in our culture today was really getting to me. Plus, i realized with my kids now teens i only had a few years left with them at home and I want to maximize the time i have with them...I don't want all that time to be me constantly stressed out.

progress so far
- October, November
- listed/sold various things on Poshmark (clothing, accessories)
- cleaned up/redid my teen son's room - sold his old nursery furniture on FB marketplace , set up new elfa system ( reused what we already had for a lot of it)

- December-
-paid teen son to pressure wash/clean the back patio (i had to show him how to use it, it was kind of fun)
- sold many of the designer bags/accessories i wasn't using much to local designer bag resale shop (made about $4000)
- decluttered pantry and kitchen of unused/duplicate kitchen accessories

- January
- We got back Tuesday after midnight from holiday travel. I took this week off of work mainly to declutter the game room upstairs, since that had been a disaster for months. Also to finish decluttering since i know once i go back to work next week i will have far less time.

this week's progress so far.
- Sold ds's old wooden train storage racks on FB marketplace ($50) - we got a good ten years use out of them!
- worked with DS to completely clean/ detail inside of DH's honda ody (was bought new in April and had never been cleaned, filled one trash bag worth of stuff)
- donated a bunch of unused Tupperware and misc kitchen stuff on local buy nothing group
- decluttered game room upstairs with kids (halfway done, will finish today) - filled 3 large trash bags of trash so far
- dropped off 3 boxes of unused kids books, magazines to Half Price bookstore
- dropped off one trunk load of stuff at goodwill

What was shocking to me was that ALREADY, with my kitchen decluttered my kids (my TEENAGERS) were ACTUALLY DOING CHORES. WiLLINGLY. Without me even having to ask!! Y'all don't understand...my kids have almost no chores.. DH doesn't believe kids should be forced to do them. So I always felt keeping house tidy was always a losing battle for me.I would have to nag kids to pick up and it was never fun. They never wanted to clean up. Though this past few days after me offering incentive to pay them ($100) to help me declutter the upstairs they totally helped get the going. It went far easier when you have 3 people decluttering a space than just one! The other day i was making lunch (pasta) and my DD went and set the table! (We never set the table in our family) and DS made the pasta on the stove. The kids eagerly helped me drop off donations.

I think they are starting to see the benefit of getting decluttering/having less stuff . They also are probably seeing that with decluttered/organized home, mama is a much happier and nicer person to be around - LOL!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

helpful minimalist Youtubers for me:
https://www.youtube.com/@FancyThatwithCandice
https://www.youtube.com/@TheMinimalMom

These two are the ones I was drawn to the most primarily bc they were 1) moms of multiple kids and 2) were more "realistic" to me 3) did not come across as judgy at all. I think Candice was a former shopaholic/hoarder (which i can relate to the shopaholic part). Their videos seem to come at it from a compassionate and understanding point of view. TBH i was kind of turned off by many minimalist youtubers /IG'ers for the longest time because too many of them seemed to lead unrealistic lifestyles for me at this stage in life. A lot of them were in their 20s or early 30s, no kids, lived in warm climates, and were just unrelatable to me in general. I recently watched a few other YT'ers where they said they had no TV's in their house, they did not wear any makeup, kids did not have phones, never ate out - and i was like y'all - that aint happening here - lol. But seeing some minimalists who were able to make HUGE changes and still appear "normal" (at least to me) was a key selling point.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Decluttering progress so far

DONE (for now)
- kitchen
- master closet
- pantry
- guest room
- DS room
- DS closet
- back patio

in progress
- game room

still left to do:
- DD room
- DD closet
- kids computer room
- kids bathroom
- downstairs craft area
- master bath
- master bedroom
-garage

[jgenie]

Congrats!! Sounds like you’ve great progress!

I have realized that I have very little time left with DC at home. I want to clear out as much as possible so we’re not spending our time moving stuff. I made progress the last few years but still have more to go. I’m copying my list from last year to concentrate on those areas first.

Um - guess I didn’t get that much done last year after all…..


52 projects in 52 weeks
1. Library - counters, shelves, cabinets, toys
2. Mudroom - drawers, hooks, cabinets, closet bins, hanging clothes
DONE 3. Playroom closet - right shelves, left shelves, top shelves 4/22/23
4. Playroom cabinets - right, left, drawers, bottom
5. Dining room - china cabinet
6.
7.
8. Guest room large closet - right side, left side, shelves
9. Guest room large closet - bins, cedar chest
10. DS1 room - closet, dressers, book case
11. DS2 room - closet, dressers, book case
12. Office - bookcases
13. Office - closet
14.
15. Master closet
16. Master bath
17. Guest bath
18. DC bath
19.
DONE - 20. Kitchen - Drawers 2/1
DONE - 21. Kitchen - cabinets - 1/29
22. Basement - pantry
DONE 23. Basement - small storage 3/6/23
24. Basement - large storage middle
25. Basement - large storage right
26. Basement - large storage left
27. Basement - kitchen
28. Shed - shelves
29. Garage
30. Digital files
DONE - 31. Laundry room - 1/6
32. Taxes
33. FSA
34. Contacts / glasses reimbursement
35. Photography course
36. DC physical photos
37. My physical photos
38. Hallway linen closet
39. Hallway large closet - left
DONE - 40. Hallway large closet - right 2/6
41. Hallway large closet - center
42. Shed - floor
43. Outside - cabinets
44. Admin week - insurance quotes, going to get to it items - digital frames, outside camera,
45. Office - desk
46. Organize “If I were abducted by aliens” files

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks jgenie! i like how you put dates on yours, that is smart. i need to do that.

i'm almost done with the kids game room upstairs - the kids helped a TON.
today
- did second drop off at Goodwill
- made second trip to Half Price Books to trade in more kids books. DS also traded in 3 small unopened LEGO sets in addition some books - it added up to $17 cash back!
- i donated a few MM LaFleur dresses/skirts that I no longer wore to a friend who is a mentor to a woman who just started a new job - so happy !

now for past 1.5 hrs been doing DD's closet with her. Ended up tossing about half of her tops in the donation pile bc they were waay too small (kids size 10-12, and now at almost 13, she's a size 14-16 / womens XS) . Went through and tossed a bunch of stuff in the trash. There were unopened lollipops that looked like they were there for years.

even though the weekend is coming up, i've been in a major rush today bc tomorrow morning BIL and his family are coming over to stay with us for the weekend, so i will not be able to declutter anything while they are here. DN (who is 14) will be staying in DD's room with her so her room has to be decent shape. Up until recently it was the type of room where you could barely walk in it! It wasn't too horrible but DD has a full size bed and a desk/vanity in her room, so there's not a ton of extra space.

[essnce629]

I've been decluttering a bunch over winter break. I took one trash bag full of clothes (mine, DH's, and DS2's) to the thrift store this week and gave away a bunch of stuff on Buy Nothing. Today I'm Marie Kondo'ing all my clothes as I've run out of hangers and refuse to buy more! So every piece of clothing is currently sitting on my bed and so far I have another 2 trash bags full to donate and just started a 3rd bag.

[baymom]

Thanks for starting this thread— I’m inspired to move beyond aspirational decluttering to taking concrete steps! Love the idea of making a list of what to tackle by week, jgenie— I’m going to make one, too! On top of just making our house feel more peaceful and organized to be in, I’m hoping it will make it easier when we eventually move in a couple years.

ETA— I’ve been posting/giving away miscellaneous items every week since November, on my Buy Nothing group. For me, making the goal to post at least ONE item weekly was helpful.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Latia - love that concept of not buying anymore hangers - i have to tell myself too when i'm tempted to buy more!
baymom - Buy Nothing groups are awesome! i've been listing stuff all week in a local gifting group. It's a bit of a hassle sometimes to coordinate with folks on pickup timings and who's next in line for what...but overall it's effective. i get a dopamine hit every time someone claims something. Yesterday I gave away a Nerf gun rack with tons of Nerf guns (I had gotten the Nerf gun rack for free from that same site, but realized DS had outgrown/ lost interest) and the giddiness of people getting something so big for their kiddo for free was so cool to see. I do think it is definitely a good motivator so good job!!

[KrisM]

Wow, you're doing great! I am going to watch the You Tube videos. I have tried similar and found the same thing as you with not being realistic for us. My kitchen is pretty good as years ago I got rid of a lot and rarely buy gadgets or new appliances. It is pretty easy to keep it looking good. But the rest of the house is a lot harder. I keep saying I need DH to take the kids on a vacation for a month and I'll just declutter everything. But really I just need them all to help!

I feel like I start and then get distracted by something - college visits, robotics, etc. I like the idea of 52 projects in 52 weeks and may try that with small enough items that most weeks I should be able to pick something to get done. I struggle to just start something some times too.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

updated progress 1/7

DONE (for now)
- kitchen
- master closet
- pantry
- guest room
- guest bahtroom
- DS room
- DS closet
- back patio
-game room - 1/5
-DD room - 1/6
-DD closet 1/6

in progress
-master bath
- kids half bath (this also has a storage closet inside it, which is why it takes a while)


still left to do:
- kids computer room
- kids bathroom
- downstairs craft area
- master bedroom
-garage

areas that already decluttered somewhat, but probably could use more work later after everything else is done

-mudroom
-laundry room
-entryway console