It’s Time to Simplify

Here is the update to The Great Purge of 2014 as I promised!

Can I first just say how freeing this whole process has felt? It’s as though all the stuff I had wasn’t only taking up physical space in my house but also in my mind.

I shared that my goal was to get rid of 50-75% of my personal possessions and while it’s kind of hard to measure, I do feel as though I was successful.

One thing that was easy to measure was my reduction in my fabric stash, take a look at that photo above, I went from two of those big tubs filled with fabric (so full I couldn’t even close one of them) down to that tiny little wire basket. And the best part is, I have plans for most of the fabric in there.

Here are a few purging tips that have helped for me:

1. do what works for you – for me that meant tackling one area at a time (a drawer, a closet, a room) and doing it at one time. I know for others it works better for them to get rid of 3-5 items per day. I just found that since  my schedule has no routine to it some days I had no energy and others I wanted to get rid of stuff. Find what works for you and do that!
2. don’t keep everything for sentimental reasons – I am the first to admit that I’m the worst for this, I can get sentimental about anything. I’ve come to realize it’s not the stuff I want to remember and cherish, it’s the memories. I think if you have a few sentimental things, that’s totally fine, but don’t let that be the reason you keep everything.
3. find a good place for the stuff you are getting rid of – some of my stuff got donated, some I sold and some stuff I gave to friends. I shared a few weeks ago that I had some art supplies that were just too awesome to donate and I didn’t know anyone here that would use them, so I shipped it down to a friend who is a great artist, I know she’s going to make something beautiful with them.
4. set a time limit – decide how long you want it to take you to purge. No matter what your method, you will want to be done purging at some point, I made the end of February my goal.
5. ask for accountability – a few weeks ago I asked for accountability from you, that’s what really gave me the kick to get it done, nothing like trying to avoid embarrassment to complete a job!

That’s all for purging! Next week I will be sharing my tips for keeping your stuff to a minimum after you have purged.

Do you have any purging tips? I would love to hear them!