The prospect of decluttering and downsizing one’s world can seem overwhelming. When you’re planning to sell your home and make the move upward to another level of success, such de-cluttering is necessary. We’re told, though, that it isn’t a one-time chore that can be checked off the daily list. The experts we know in the business of property styling St George and other Sydney suburbs tell us that decluttering and downsizing is, or should be, a lifestyle choice. It’s an excellent habit to cultivate.
We watch with interest the recent trend towards living little. There is a growing movement toward shrinking one’s footprint and moving into what is called a tiny house. These places are built to be no more than 45 square metres and house the totality of the owner’s treasures. For the true declutterers among us, this is nirvana. Imagine being so very good at weeding out your world that every last thing you own has a specific place to be. Okay. Perhaps for most of us this is excessive. However, given the property prices in and around Sydney these days, there is a good argument for downsizing your belongings.
It’s quite possible that you are lugging around boxes and bundles of things that you neither need nor love. What’s more, you may be contemplating buying a home that is many square metres larger than you actually need just to be able to store this excess. In terms of housing prices today, you could be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars more to simply put a roof over those knick-knacks you never wanted in the first place.
So, in the interest of allowing you and yours to get more for your money, we offer a few tools for successful decluttering.
What do you really need?
In order to successfully declutter your world, you have to ask yourself a few questions about who you are and what you want. If entertaining friends is an important part of your lifestyle, then by all means maybe you really do need a set of 12 dinner plates in each of the three primary colours. Perhaps you could come to grips with this gigantic space taker by settling for one set of 12 place settings in a neutral colour. Poof! Your decluttering adventure is well underway.
Be disciplined
It may be nice to add things to your inner sanctum because you saw (fill in the blank) online and wanted it, but if you join the ranks of minimalists you must exercise some discipline. If you don’t need it don’t buy it – or allow anybody to give it to you. If you love it and cannot face another day without it, load it up. Decluttering is all about prioritisation.
Know your enemy
Look around yourself. Is your space cluttered with things you bought because you wanted to make changes in the way you live? If the treadmill in your bedroom looks more like an extension of your wardrobe, where clothing is draped over and dangled from, you might be the sort of clutterer who has good intentions but struggles with commitment.
If you just love to shop and buy extras of everything, or happen to be a souvenir hoarder, you need to get a grip on yourself. Realise that there will always be more and newer items to consider. Change the game. Shop until you drop, just don’t buy until you’re absolutely certain that the widget in your hand is the only widget you’ll ever need, thus putting an end to the game.
It’s a marathon…
Decluttering isn’t a sprint. If you are to be successful at organising your life and the tools you acquire to live it well, you must be ruthless. Our experts at property styling St George and elsewhere in the Sydney region, advise you begin by putting your hands on each and every thing you have stacked or stored in your home. If it doesn’t warm you with love and happiness, or if it isn’t absolutely necessary to the work of every day, then dispose of it. The end result is more space for you and yours, less stress, more money, and a quality lifestyle that is dictated by what you love and not just those things you’ve acquired.
