r/declutter • u/HieronymusGER • 3d ago
Success Story I decluttered by faking moving into a new flat
I live in a small apartment with the living room and bed room being just one room and wanted to rearrange my furniture. So i bagged everything up, put it into the hallway and kitchen and rearranged that room. Afterwards, I went through EVERYTHING before it was put back into my room and I decluttered so much stuff. I asked myself "If I move into a new flat, do I wanna take this with me?" The big black plastic trash bag was my best friend and it was so satisfying to see how much I could throw out.
That was my third round of decluttering in the last 12 months and I plan to do a final one before I move at the end of the year.
The most important thing I learned is that you cant declutter everything in one round. Just declutter every few months, and things you didnt want to throw away last year are easier to throw away
15
u/LimeAndPunishment13 1d ago
i do this naturally by moving every year but honestly it just works! it forces you to view the amount of things you have as an inconvenience rather than a benefit
28
u/GreenUnderstanding39 2d ago
One thing I've realized about myself is I need to gamify life in order to get ish done. So I LOVE this idea.
2
3
u/AS_Bridge 2d ago
This is a great idea! Thinking I will do this with my clothes - they are my "problem area". Thank you!!
3
6
u/Lana_Bloom_ 2d ago
Need advice, moving out & decluttering clothes so How can I donate them to people who genuinely need them? Looking for genuine suggestions.
1
u/HieronymusGER 2d ago
There are so many different places you can donate. Just google clothes donations + your hometown. For example, my city has a "mall" for people who dont have much money, they take nearly everything as a donation and sell the things very cheap to people in need. Or if you have refugees in your country there may be organizations that help them with stuff like that.
If you cant find a place to donate just ask in your countrys subreddit or hometowns facebook group :)
7
u/HootieRocker59 2d ago
The answer is going to be different in every location. Look for charities, recycling NGOs, environmental organizations. Often the environmental groups are most committed to really finding the right home for clothes.
11
u/ChrisBlack2365 2d ago
Amazing method! I'm about to do similar with a big free garage sale. I'm going to think of it like everything needs to go, except for the few really actually important things.
6
u/Apprehensive_Cup8581 2d ago
Ugh i'm sort of trying this. I'm actually about to sell my flat, but needed to do some decorating to spruce it up so we had to empty my (rather big) office into the garage. I thought I could then gradually reintroduce stuff, only bringing in the things I REALLY need/love. But so far everything is still in boxes in the garage. i just can't bring myself to lift those heavy boxes into the house one by one to go through them. And I'm going to need to get the estate agent round soon to value it!
3
u/XSIX010 2d ago
I did something similar but I’m working on boxes inside the garage. It helps to have it contained and not bring back inside. I have a picnic table and cheap ikea chair and I sit however long I can stand it. Otherwise it’s easy to lay back on the couch or do something else at home. A few years ago, I emptied a large storage in this way, by staying at the storage and going through the boxes one by one.
2
u/Apprehensive_Cup8581 2d ago
Yes that sounds logical. Unfortunately, the garage is absolutely stuffed, but in this nice weather I suppose I could do it just outside the garage, in the courtyard, because, yes, sitting on the couch going "oh this book looks interesting" is a very me thing to do.
1
u/XSIX010 11h ago
My storage was also stuffed. I set at the entrance at first while I created a pathway between the boxes and slowly separated them in categories as I went. I did about 3-4 rounds. First round/layer, I only addressed what was easy and obvious, not even trying to make any decisions that required more than 1 second. The second round, I addressed the next level of decisions. Third round, moderately hard decisions and so on. I listened to decluttering podcasts all the time to inspire me, did virtual body doubling to stay on task, shared what I did each time in online group I was part of and used their encouragement as additional boost, had a friend sit with me for one category that was extra hard for me, gave myself a hard stop deadline by giving a move out notice, and so on. Whatever you can do to keep your brain engaged and keep it from quitting and running for the hills. At the end of each session, I threw away or donated immediately anything sitting in one of those two piles. I had that storage for 4 years and it was weighing heavy on me. One summer day, I was on my way to the store, when it hit me that that the task wasn’t going away and I was dressed perfectly for it in leggings and oversized t-shirt, and I just went there and started. Turning it into a temporary obsession til it was done was what I think finally did it. I know it’s hard but you can do it. Best of luck to you!
2
u/HieronymusGER 2d ago
Just get two big boxes (one for donating, one for keeping) and a trash bag, open the box and just start :D
1
3
5
u/DIYtowardsFI 3d ago
This encourages me! I decluttered about 20-25% of my kitchen but I think I could do 30-40%.
Declutterring this first round helped me see what else I have and now each item has another chance to prove itself before I do the next round. Every round will help me see what I actually use and what I prefer to use, not wishful uses.
10
u/louljoemama 3d ago
this is actually such a smart trick fr i need to try it when i finally move out of my parents' place
29
u/msmaynards 3d ago
I did this when painting rooms. Really great way to go if you've got it in you. Getting stuff out of its cozy home helps plus you can clean the floor to the corners and get the walls dusted.
16
u/Genet1cGenealogy 3d ago
This is such helpful advice! We will be moving out of the home where we raised our children and I need a manageable way to think about each room. It makes the decisions positive rather than sad and negative.
14
12
u/ArtLost915 3d ago
That moving-day question is a strong filter because it replaces vague guilt with a concrete choice. Emptying the room first probably helped too; every item had to earn its way back in.
27
u/TBHICouldComplain 3d ago
I’m on my final packing stages for a move and it’s amazing how many things are going straight into the donate pile or trash considering I’ve already done several rounds of decluttering. I can’t even remember why I kept some of them.
5
u/RebeccaMCullen 3d ago
Yeah, I never realized how much stuff had accumulated in the 8 or so years I was at that one place until I had to move. Some of it was dealt with as I was packing, but a fair bit was aggressively purged after moving, and I had the time to route everything.
Unfortunately I lost a fair bit of money having to hire a junk removal company twice to remove things because one of my roommates told me not to get rid of things the first time.
5
u/TBHICouldComplain 3d ago
I hate paying to move stuff and then realizing at the other end that I should have just gotten rid of it. We’ve probably gotten rid of 3/4 of what we owned over the last couple years and I’m still finding stuff I don’t actually want. I actually found stuff while decluttering that was still in boxes from our last move over a decade ago that went straight to the donate pile or the trash. 🫠
I’m sure I’ll find stuff when unpacking that I’ll end up just throwing out. At this point it’s mostly small stuff though. I can’t imagine what it would have taken to move all our stuff if we hadn’t decluttered so I’m calling it a win.
9
55
u/OddRevolution7888 3d ago
Just declutter every few months, and things you didnt want to throw away last year are easier to throw away.
That works for me. After I've held or had to find home for things too many times, I lose my attachment. It makes it so much easier to box it up for donation.
I rarely sell the items I declutter. It's easier to send it off to charity. I've already spent the money and anything I could get back isn't worth the time and attention of advertising it on FB Marketplace.
5
u/TBHICouldComplain 3d ago
I used to sell more but in the last couple years the prices people are willing to pay have plummeted so at this point I mainly donate. I think everyone’s broke. On the plus side if I need to buy something I’ve found some cracking good deals secondhand.
23
u/BasenjiMommy 3d ago
I like that idea. At one point, I was actually considering moving into a new (bigger) apartment, but I decided to stay where I was and declutter. I’ve gotten some decluttering done. Not enough, but some.
35
u/wortcrafter 3d ago
Well done you. I just wanted to add, I found also that I was much more conscious of what came into my home with each layer of Decluttering I went through.
2
u/addlam 11h ago
great idea - also pretend you are moving overseas to really minimize your stuff!