Junk in the Trunk

A recent poll on my Facebook page showed that “junk” is what weighs people down the most when it comes to feeling overwhelmed in their homes. This word gets a pretty bad rap in the minimalist world because some people feel as though it diminishes the value of your stuff. Whatever you choose to call it, we’re talking about those THINGS. You know, the items in your home that you don’t necessarily have a use for, and definitely don’t have a designated space for.

This is a sore spot for many because one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. What someone gifted you - thinking it was perfect, of course - has been in the same spot on top of your dresser since you brought it home. Or those Happy Meal toys that your kids don’t play with, but will definitely notice as soon as you throw them away. You know, that junk. But I’ve got some good news. We’re not doomed to wallow in that junk forever. Let’s talk about some simple things we can do to have less, so we can stress less.

For most, the problem can be solved in 5 steps that, when repeated consistently, can make junk an endangered species in your home.

1. THROW IT AWAY

This is the most effortless part of the journey to junkless, but it’s also the one that you have to do the most in order to maintain simplicity. It’s also pretty self-explanatory. The rhythm of clutter is that when things start to pile up, we get stressed out and tend to pile even more on top of it. I mean this physically and metaphorically. So, pick a room. My recommendation would be a high-traffic area in your home, like an entry way or the kitchen. Take your trash bag with you and immediately throw away anything that is actual trash, is broken, is dirty beyond cleaning, or poses a risk to your health (ie: moldy). This is a space where you don’t need to second guess.
Is it trash, broken, dirty beyond cleaning, or hazardous? Then it’s gone.
Do not move on to the next step until you have totally and completely finished this one. I recommend spreading it out over established increments of time if you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed.

2. SORT IT OUT

Now that the yucky stuff is gone, we can see what we’re really working with. There are a few variables in this step, and they heavily depend on what type of space you’re working in. The main goal, however, is to sort things into groups. You can use big boxes or just make piles, but the end goal is that you’ll have “like with like.” Shoes go in the shoe pile. Toys go in the toy pile. Dirty dishes go in the dirty dish pile. You get it.
Sorting this way accomplishes a couple of things. First, you begin to get an idea of how much you really have. Let’s take clothes, for example. If my pile of socks is stacked to the ceiling but my underwear pile is made up of 3 ratty old granny panties, I know where I can afford to get rid of something, and where I might need to invest. (That’s a later tip, though.) Second, you can clearly see when one thing is not like the others. Why is the drill in the kitchen? Obviously its “like with like” pile is in the garage, so it needs to go there immediately.

3. DO IT FAST

One of the biggest places people get hung up is in the deliberation process. Hopefully you won’t meet too many snags in step one, but I know how I was in the beginning, so I know there was probably at least one thing that will make you second guess. This is where people start to think minimalism gets a little crazy. Here is my advice: go with your gut. The beauty of these five steps is that they’re meant to be worked again and again. No one expects you to become a minimalist during the first sweep of your house, but over time you may begin to grab ahold of how good it feels to not be weighed down by things you don’t want or need. Over time, your decluttering muscles will get stronger, and you’ll start identifying and acting on items that need to be trashed or moved before they even have time to linger for a day. If it feels or looks like trash, it’s trash. No need to think about it.

4. FIND THE BALANCE

Now back to the granny panties. As you continue through this process, you’ll start to see some discrepancies in the things you own. You may see that one of your kids somehow has six pairs of shoes that fit while his brother only has two. Three pairs each seems like a safe number, so you’ve got some balancing to do.
One of the biggest areas I saw a need for this was in my kitchen. For some reason, we had like 67 drinking glasses. My husband prefers disposable plastic cups, and I drink out of the same thermos every day. So, something wasn’t adding up. We had to agree together to get rid of the cups we didn’t use and guess what? It was totally fine. I don’t miss them, definitely don’t miss washing them, and couldn’t actually tell you what a single one of them looked like.
There will be a nuanced way to handle this step in each area of your home and you may even have to take it drawer by drawer. It’s here that we have to put in the real work. We may not have the resources to buy what we determine we lack, and it may take time to sort through or let go of the things we have too much of. I could probably talk about this step alone for several more posts, so stay tuned on that. But the important thing to understand is that it can be done. Whether you choose to work five minutes at a time, or go screaming through it in one day, when you come out on the other side of this step, it feels good.

5. DO IT AGAIN

You may be thinking, “Ugh, I have to put myself through all of that and it will be so hard, and I already don’t want to do it again.”
I’d simply ask you to take some time and think about how far you can go. Whether you focus on one area or your whole house, choosing to begin this process means acknowledging that you deserve better. You deserve a clean, healthy space that leaves you with feelings of peace and safety rather than stress. You can make for yourself an area that is inviting to others, however humble it may be. You can establish a pattern of taking care of your home, and in turn taking care of yourself and the people you care for.
Make a calendar, set a timer, set monthly goals, or put it on your vision board. Whatever system you need to put in place to turn these five steps into daily/weekly/monthly habits is a system that will make your whole life run more smoothly.

There truly is no time like the present. I would strongly recommend documenting your progress in some way, if only just for you to go back and look at what you’ve done since you first began.
There are numerous Facebook groups and other resources you can find to share your progress as well, if accountability is something that motivates you.
I cannot wait to see how your lives begin to change as you implement these processes. It does get easier, and it can even start to be a little fun.