I have been on this new kick of decluttering and stepping into minimalism. At first, the thought of cleaning up the material parts of my life seemed rather daunting, but honestly, taking those first steps to reorganize and minimize have been so beneficial. People have claimed that practicing regular decluttering does, in fact, lower stress and even bring more focus, but I was skeptical. Turns out, they were all right, and now I can attest that yes, it's so worth it. So here are few ideas if you want to test out some minimalistic practices!
1. Clean Up Your Computer Files
Yes, I totally get it, this sounds awful. We all have those files, old college lecture powerpoints, half-started papers, awful pictures from junior high that the world should never see, but they all are tossed into one big list with no organization. It may take an hour or two, but by deleting unnecessary files, it can free up space on your computer and help it run more smoothly. Aside from that, putting items into folders sets you up to put future files into those folders. Another thing to do is go through weekly and delete the files you won't be needing again.
2. Empty Out The Clutter In Your Bathroom
This includes the shower, cabinets, and medicine cabinet. What this involves is laying out all bottles, soaps, perfumes or colognes, and medicines. Take a look at what is used, what could be expired, or what simply cannot be used. I recommend emptying bottles and recycling them. Toss everything else. Keep only the items you would use regularly, and I mean on almost a daily basis. Go through drawers and find any hair supplies. For ladies, bobby pins like to scatter themselves everywhere. I recommend consolidating all hair supplies in one place i.e. a tray or bag. Now, during your daily routines, you only have to pick from supplies that you need and grab them from the proper place.
3. Sell Some Books
Chances are, you might have some old books lying around that you once swore you would read again, but somehow, you haven't gotten there. I encourage you to take those books, not the really special ones, but the ones that honestly, you won't get around to again and sell them. You can make a bit of extra cash all while creating more space. In the future, you can consider using a library card or using e-books. This will save you money and space. (I also highly recommend Overdrive, this site allows you to use your library card to check out both e-books and audio books all from an app. Definitely check it out here!)
4. Sort Through Your Clothes
Most people put this first, so I purposefully saved this for later, but it is pretty important. The reality is, in America, a vast majority of the population has more clothes than they could ever need, myself included. I am a huge fan of pulling all my clothes out and finding the things I haven't worn in months. It is then that I take my clothes to either Plato's Closet for credit in their used clothing store or donate them to Salvation Army or Good Will. Find the set wardrobe rotation that is necessary and stick with that. When you buy something new, commit to getting rid of an item to even it out. I suggest doing this quarterly, or at a minimum, twice a year.
5. Clean Up Your Social Media Accounts
So, remember that girl or guy you met seven years ago for an hour on some vacation you had that you added on Facebook? Doesn't seem to ring a bell? I think far too often we assume that a five-minute interaction with someone only once in our lives constitutes as necessary of befriending them on social media. We tend to allow people who might always be perfect strangers into the vulnerable posts of our lives. Sometimes, it's okay to remove people from our feed for various reasons, whether that is to quiet down intense political posts or just remove people that we may not truly know on a semi-regular basis. I also encourage looking at the social media groups that you have been added to randomly and leaving the ones' whose notifications flood your feed unnecessarily.
Enjoy the benefits of cleaning up these different parts of your life. There is so much to appreciate about minimalism and decluttering. Let the decluttering begin!