If you’re reading this post, I’m assuming that you’re ready to commit and start shedding possessions. If you’re not sure yet, check out part 1 – why you should get rid of your stuff here. Raring to go? Great, then let’s begin:
1) Start small to build momentum
I want you to picture a self-contained part of your house that you know you need to sort out. Don’t choose your garage that’s so stuffed with decades of detritus you’re afraid to enter it. The key is to select a place that has a few items you know you can get rid of and is small enough to deal with in a single sitting. A drawer or bookshelf is usually your best bet. When you’re done reading this, go there and follow the steps below. Don’t stop until you’ve actually got rid of a few things. Seeing your success will motivate you to tackle the rest of the challenge.
2) Set your keeping criteria
Your keeping criteria are the reasons why you would keep an item. The precise reasons are personal, but at a high level it boils down to just two things:
i) Keep items that you need
This one is pretty self-explanatory – you need some shoes to go out in; you don’t need ten pairs of designer trainers. The main risk here is that you talk yourself into keeping items that you might need “one day.” A rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used it in the past year and it’s not an important legal document, you probably don’t need it.
ii) Keep items that make you happy
The goal is to become minimalist, not spartan. This means you shouldn’t feel guilty about keeping things that bring you joy. I decided to keep my school yearbook because it’s my only record of people and memories from those formative years. Be careful with the nostalgia card as it’s easy to overplay, but it’s fine to keep the odd memento. Musical instruments, sports gear and hobby equipment that you use regularly can all be keepers. What’s important is the experiences they create for you and the people you care about.
3) Sort your stuff
You’ve thought about your criteria; now it’s time to apply them. For whatever area you’ve selected, get everything out in the open. I lie things on my bed, but a big table or the floor can work just as well. Once you have a good view, start dividing it into piles for keeping, selling and getting rid of. Remember that just because an item isn’t saleable doesn’t mean it has to end up in landfill: offering it to friends, donating to charity shops and recycling are often viable options. Challenge yourself and make those difficult decisions to get rid of things which don’t embody your criteria.
4) Sell your stuff
I had lots of electronic items in my selling pile that I knew would have resale value. It’s helpful to check the prices of similar items on eBay to see if they are worth listing. There is a wealth of material online about which websites you should use to sell your things. Personally, I used eBay for the vast majority as the app makes it extremely easy to list items and you get access to a large pool of buyers. The downside is the final value fee they charge on the selling price which usually comes in at around 10% of the transaction. For me, it was still worth it because of the sheer convenience. If you’re a first-time seller on eBay, check out this really helpful video which walks you through research, title & description, photography, selling format and shipping on the platform.
The one category where I did not use eBay was books. I had 50+ old books that I was trying to shift and it would have been hassle to separately list and post each one given the low individual value. The fastest solution here is WeBuyBooks. Their app allows you to just scan the barcodes, then gives you an instant quote and free postage label. There’s a minimum order value of £5 and they pay the money straight into your account on receipt. The caveat is that you won’t receive much per book – mine sold for an average of around £2 each.
5) Divide and conquer
Make peace with the fact it will take time to complete your clear-out. You’ve accumulated this stuff over years and you won’t be able to shift it all in one weekend. Once you’ve achieved your first victory in step 1, think about how you can divide up your remaining possessions. You might want to go room by room through your house, or you might want to do things by category: clothes, books, paperwork, kitchen utensils etc. There’s no right or wrong here as long as you continue to make progress in a structured way. Keep the eBay sales ticking over in the background and try and carve out some time each week to tackle a new area. The feeling of liberation can be kind of addictive and is a powerful motivator for seeing the project through.
6) Maintain your new lifestyle
You did it. You’ve been through every room in your house with a fine tooth-comb and bartered, binned and bestowed your surplus possessions until you attained minimalist nirvana. Now the only thing to do is sit-back with a self-satisfied grin and tell all your friends how zen you feel, right? Wrong. You need to maintain your hard-won gains or stuff will inevitably come creeping back into your life. It never ceases to amaze me how birthdays, Christmases, paperwork and packages lead to a renewed accumulation of stuff.
I don’t mean to dishearten you here. You may rest assured that the hard work is done. As long as you keep a weather eye on new items coming into your home and do a modest sort-out every season or so, you’ll be laughing. And remember, if someone wants to treat you to a gift, experiences beat things every time.
Photo credits:
Drawer: cordeliasmom2012 <ahref=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/100813531@N04/49178753031″>Messy Home Office Drawer</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <ahref=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a>
Frying pan: Casey DeViese
Sunflower: Olia Gozha
Sorting hat: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)
eBay logo: eBay Inc.
Bookstore: Glen Noble
Great wall: ixtussy <ahref=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/88100135@N02/11695745856″>Jinshanling sunset</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>(license)</a>
Lookout post: Amanda Dalbjörn