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    Decluttering: How to Declutter Your Home More Minimalism, Fewer Books
    Decluttering: How to Declutter Your Home More Minimalism, Fewer Books
    Decluttering: How to Declutter Your Home More Minimalism, Fewer Books
    Ebook106 pages1 hour

    Decluttering: How to Declutter Your Home More Minimalism, Fewer Books

    By Marie Scott

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    About this ebook

    The day comes when you look around your house and ask yourself, "How did all this stuff get here?"  If that day has come for you, then keep reading.

    If stuff has taken over your home, you're feeling cramped, cranky and at the end of your rope.  None of the stuff that's invaded your living space (with your willing collaboration) is making you happy.  But you're paralyzed.  You have no idea where to start!  You're hauled up short by the enormity of the task, so you put your concerns aside and keep moving.

    But there's a better way to live. 

    There's a way to take back your home from the needless clutter that has taken over.  That's why I wrote Decluttering:  How to Declutter Your Home – More Minimalism, Fewer Books. It was written with you in mind.  This book will help you not only declutter your home, but your life, your budget, your relationships – even your computer!

    This book provides motivation for the project you're facing – taking back your home from unnecessary stuff – breaking it up into categories of items and approaches to clutter in the various rooms of your home.  It's a tool made up of a series of smaller tools that you can deploy to wrestle your clutter problem to the ground.

    And if you live in a family household, you'll find out how to get everybody in on the fun!

    ●Learn how to give your reluctant spouse a push in the right direction

    ●Read about how to get your obstinate teenager on your side

    ●Find out how a Decluttering Progress Board can keep everyone on track

    Get the kids in on the action with the Decluttering Challenge

    If you've had enough of the stuff that's encroached on your home, then you need this book.  Start changing your life today by clicking here.

    LanguageEnglish
    Publisherthe heirs
    Release dateFeb 28, 2019
    ISBN9781386876717
    Author

    Marie Scott

    Marie Scott is an author, speaker, and wellness coach for widows and widowers. After she lost her beloved firefighter husband of thirty years to cancer, Marie began a quest to discover the potential of functional medicine to heal her body, mind, and spirit.

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      Book preview

      Decluttering - Marie Scott

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      INTRODUCTION

      CHAPTER 1:  WHY WE DO IT TO OURSELVES

      A recent phenomenon

      So, why?

      CHAPTER 2:  BOOKS AND KEEPSAKES

      Joy and purpose

      Divide and conquer

      Choosing wisely

      Where to get rid of books

      Dividing and conquering keepsakes

      Digitize your memories

      Sorting memory from clutter

      Is it worth donating?

      CHAPTER 3:  AN EMBARASSMENT OF CLOTHING, LINENS AND TOOLS

      Why we love clothes

      What to get rid of now

      The rest of it

      Your new closet

      For folded clothes

      Your new habits

      Linens

      What do you need?

      Tools

      Cleaning it up

      CHAPTER 4:  KITCHEN CHAOS NO MORE

      How messy is it?

      Get your counters under control

      Kill cupboard disorder

      China, cutlery, cups and glasses

      What do you need?

      Small appliances

      Tupperware

      The fridge

      CHAPTER 5:  A LIVING ROOM TO LOVE

      A communal space

      Old magazines and newspapers

      Anything broken?

      The overstuffed living room

      Stuff that doesn’t belong there

      CHAPTER 6: THE HORROR.  THE BATHROOM

      Shampoos and conditioners

      Hotel grooming products

      The rest of it

      Medicine cabinet

      CHAPTER 7:  THE HALLWAY – NOT A DUMPING GROUND

      Ground rules

      Footwear

      School backpacks and shopping bags

      Outerwear

      In transit items

      CHAPTER 8:  A PLACE OF REST

      I’ve been looking for that!

      The dresser

      The bed

      Clean it up

      CHAPTER 9:  GETTING THE TEAM ON BOARD

      Follow the leader

      The reluctant spouse

      Make your spouse your ally

      Decluttering Progress Board

      The Decluttering Challenge

      Getting teens on board

      CHAPTER 10:  KEEPING IT REAL (AND CLUTTER-FREE)

      Garage sales and secondhand stores

      One in, one out

      Donations

      Tidy as a lifestyle

      Decluttering days

      Reward yourself

      Life is for living

      CHAPTER 11: OTHER AREAS TO CLEAN UP

      Your schedule

      Declutter your budget

      Better uses for time and money

      Declutter your friendships

      Toxic friends

      Energy leeches

      Decluttering your electronics

      CHAPTER 12:  SCIENCE SAYS, TAKE A BOW!

      Chaos is destructive

      Chaos is distracting

      Chaos robs you of sleep

      Chaos makes you cranky

      CONCLUSION

      INTRODUCTION

      Whether you live in a house, a condominium or a sprawling estate, you’ve got stuff.

      Lots of stuff.

      Stuff creeps into your domicile, almost magically appearing and then disappearing.  Sometimes it appears years later.  And sometimes, like the mythical sock that gets lost in the dryer, it is never again seen.

      And the longer we stay wherever it is we live, the more stuff we seem to accumulate.  Sometimes the process is gradual.  Like many people, we continually vow that we’ll change our stuff-accumulating ways.

      This pledge usually coincides with a move.

      And we usually keep our pledge until we’re again tempted by more stuff:

      ●  That sad-eyed velvet clown painting at the garage sale. 

      ●  The electric drill to replace the one, which has disappeared (but which is really in the basement – just not in the toolbox). 

      ●  Those fabulous shoes in that super special color that will perfectly match that dress. 

      And all that conserved tinfoil, wrapping paper and bubble wrap you’re going to use one day sits in a drawer or cupboard. But, like the ball of rubber bands, it’s most likely you will never do any such thing.

      But it’s stuff and it’s yours - even that pair of shorts with the hole in the butt. 

      The things we accumulate and fill our homes with may have no reason to be there.  But accumulating things we don’t need is not rational. There’s something else at work there – like the underlying sense of security being surrounded by stuff gives us. This is the reason people experiencing homelessness travel with often nonsensical items, like broken radios.  It’s their stuff.

      But you’re not experiencing homelessness.  You live in a home with too much stuff in it and you know you’re doing this thing the wrong way.  If you’re ready to do it right, then you’ve come to the right place. This book is about decluttering or more specifically how to declutter your home – more Minimalism, fewer books.

      Less stuff.  Yes.  We have included books because you’re probably not going to read them again. Well, maybe a few but we’re not talking about those. In this book, you’re going to learn some solid tips for decluttering your home, based on solid advice and experience on getting to where you need to go. Let’s not waste any more time.  Let’s get decluttering!

      CHAPTER 1:  WHY WE DO IT TO OURSELVES

      I hinted at this the introduction you just read.  When we settle, we begin to fill our homes with all manner of stuff.  It’s easy to explain the phenomenon away by saying it’s a consequence of consumer society.  While that may be partially true, this reasoning does nothing to explain the emotions we attach to our stuff.

      I’ve seen some very interesting examples of the accumulation of what amounts to clutter.  In one instance, I found a stash of half-used jars of Vaseline.  There must have been a dozen of them in that dark corner of my aunt’s bedroom.  I was a kid, so I didn’t mind asking her about the weird find.  She told me it was for her feet. She didn’t tell me why she never finished a jar before starting another one, or why she had repeated this act of oddness on what appeared to be about a dozen occasions.

      But that’s only one of the weird, inexplicable examples of stuff accumulation.  Collectors have a genuine problem with stuff accumulation, being physically unable to pass a secondhand or curio store without having convulsions. The promise of a stray vintage button is just too enticing and it would go so well with the other thousand at home, right?

      A recent phenomenon

      The Industrial Revolution is where I’d be willing to bet the genesis of having way too much stuff began.  With this historic turning point came a new prosperity and that meant people had disposable income.  Some call it play money or mad money. Honey, money’s money.  It’s an asset.  You worked hard to make it.  Why on Earth would you blow it on junk?  But a lot of people do.

      While the phrase disposable income may rankle some (me, for one), disposable income is what people began to have, as the Industrial Revolution attracted people to urban centers and away from an agrarian lifestyle and subsistence living.  For once, there was money in their pockets after the rent, food, clothing and other necessaries were paid for. Suddenly, people had money to spend on decorative items, more clothing, things for the kitchen and other items.  The homes of Western Civilization began to fill with stuff.

      But mass production kicked the Industrial Revolution into warp speed, making it possible to fill our homes with stuff whose obsolescence was planned, compelling us to buy replacement stuff for the mass-produced stuff that had become obsolete 10 minutes after we bought it.

      And then came the mall; that inimitable magnet for hair flicking teenage girls and their hopeful potential consorts.  The mall is a collection of stores.  Its entire existence is predicated on making it convenient for consumers to spend money – all under one roof!  How exciting!

      The rise of shopping as an entertainment has also been responsible for the spiriting home of a lot of stuff.  At no time is entertainment shopping more in evidence than in the months leading up to Christmas.  Western society is addicted to the Christmas season and its intense shopping.  Retailers plan for it all year, knowing that Christmas shopping is what keeps them afloat, in many instances.

      While I’m sure there have been people throughout history who loved to surround themselves with stuff, never has the phenomenon been so widespread and as pervasive as it is

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