Do you want to purge your possessions? Are you waiting for that day of decluttering that never seems to come? Let me share some ideas for “decluttering in the margins”, or decluttering little by little. Sometimes, a little done is better than none!
As the school year started winding down, our school shelf has become stuffed with completed math worksheets and free books we snagged from a pile. Our toy collection in the garage has a few “riot-inducers” that need to be rehomed. The entire house feels a little overstimulating for me, and probably for my kids, too.
So I began daydreaming about a summer day of decluttering. I imagined sending the kids to Grandma and Grampa’s house. I envisioned hours of unencumbered stuff-trashing. Loading boxes and bags with no one worrying about what was leaving. I imagined everyone coming home and enjoying a lighter, breezier home.
A couple weeks into my daydreaming, I received a text from my bosom friend. (She is the Diana to my Anne, the Ann Perkins to my Leslie Knope. She is the real deal and I love her dearly. You know who you are, you earth-toned, shade-dwelling moss-person.) She said her kids were sick, sitting on the couch watching a movie, and she was turning on a podcast and attacking the shelves and closets. She was getting rid of stuff!
Later that afternoon, she sent me a picture of the trunk of her car. It was packed with everything from rainboots to school supplies. It was all headed to the donation center. I cheered! But I envied her day of decluttering.
When will my day of decluttering come?
The daydream started again. But my day hadn’t come yet. It wasn’t even scheduled. But as I looked at this photograph of a trunk of burdens leaving my friend’s home, I thought: “A little is better than nothing.”
Over the course of the next week, I simply – and very literally – did what I could. I removed two, or six, or maybe eight things in the margins of each day. Sometimes it meant that I saw a broken toy and decided to discreetly throw it away rather than put it away. Sometimes, it meant finally getting rid of the toys we just can’t seem to play well with.
Pictured: Broken sunglasses, trash, ill-fitting socks, mistreated Playmobil vehicles, an unsettling doll obtained free at a garage sale, metal pots and pans (I have decided we are not metal-toy people), and Atticus’ cactus wearing a sombrero. It’s time to say goodbye.
I did not empty a single drawer or rifle through the back of cabinets. I just paid attention and noticed opportunities to unburden myself as they came.
During the week, I got rid of a good little pile of things. It was’t a trunk full, and I still have a lot I’d like to weed out during the summer, but it did feel good, and it was progress.
Perhaps you, too, want to lighten your load, but you don’t have days or even hours to devote to the task. Let me remind you: a little is better than nothing.
“Decluttering in the Margins”: Five ways to make it happen
1. Toss the Trash
I hear this suggestion in almost every decluttering list or challenge. I always think: “Who has trash laying around their house?” Turns out I do. (You probably do, too.) Look for obvious trash like used tissues and candy wrappers, but also look for more subtle trash, like broken items or expired food, medicine, or truly sad dishcloths.
2. Get rid of something that irritates you.
Sometimes you can harness negative emotions for good. Use irritation for good! Does that one spatula never work how you want it to? Don’t try to make it work, just put it in your donation box. Does that one puzzle cause tears every time it comes out to play? Maybe it is time to end things. “It’s not us, IT’S YOU!”
3. Address an over-stuffed space.
A drawer that is hard to close, or a closet rod that is so full you can’t move the hangers, or any other crowded location can have some “long hanging fruit”. If you are decluttering in the margins, you may not even have time to empty a single drawer to do a thorough look-through. That is fine. When you come to a crowded spot, look for one or two things that are honestly only getting in the way. Weed them out. Your drawer will close more easily, and you’ll feel a rush of satisfaction that will motivate you to do more.
Maybe my husband saw me sneaking things out to the garage, or maybe he just felt crowded, too. Either way, he our glassware cabinet was a little too full, and suggested we part with some of our stemless wineglasses. We never drink wine, we have yet to use more than four glasses when we have company, and yet we have had the same set of twelve since we got married. Half left our kitchen, and all the glassware has more breathing room now.
(We also got rid of these bowling pins, because they are weapons. Also, they are battery operated. Read more about toys-turned-weapons and battery-guzzling toys here.)
4. Toss some old coloring pages.
My children color a LOT. During the school year, we do an average of three coloring pages a day. My kids love to color, and it gives their hands something to do while their ears listen. This is a lot of papers, and we aren’t keeping them all forever. I look for opportunities to swap out more recent coloring pages for older ones on the fridge or other display spots. By recycling a few pages every week, I keep myself from a HUGE job at the end of the year. Getting rid of loose papers really brings the chaos meter down a few notches, too.
5. Return an impulse purchase. (Or: Decluttering before it becomes clutter!)
Maybe it was the clearance rack, or the Target Dollar Spot (or Bullseye’s Playground, or whatever they call it now), or an Amazon sale. Just because you just bought something doesn’t mean you need to keep it. If you get home, and feel an instant pang of regret. Don’t live with it. Just return it. Get your money back and save that precious storage space.
During my week of decluttering in the margins, some friends posted a picture of a beautiful old writing desk they were rehoming. It was old and full of character, a small charming place I imagined my kids using to practice handwriting. It was even one of my favorite colors: a dark red-orange. I snatched it up immediately. As soon as my husband brought it home, I wondered what I had been thinking. We have NO room for another desk. But we put it in the garage and said we’d find a little spot for it.
A day or two later, someone else asked if the desk was still available. A second chance! I reached out to this other old-furniture-appreciator and told her we wanted to pass the desk along to her family. I am now free of the worry of cramming in another piece of furniture, and I am happy knowing someone who actually needs the desk can carve a space for it in her home.
Sure, we’d all like to “Marie Kondo” our homes, manically dumping everything we own onto the floor into a giant pile, dutifully addressing each item. But most people don’t have space in their lives for such a drastic step.
Whether it is decluttering, or washing the windows, or starting your manuscript, most projects can be tackled bit by bit. Who wants to take a small step with me?
Love it! I can get so stuck in all or nothing thinking. Little by little is an area I ‘m trying to grow in too!