5 Easy Steps to go from Pack Rat to Minimalist

Letting go of belongings can be difficult. In our house, I’m the minimalist (sometimes extremely so), and my husband tends to lean more toward the pack-rat side.

It hasn’t been easy over the years, but we’ve been able to strike a balance between our two personalities.

Being a minimalist doesn’t mean getting rid of everything you love! It just means you appreciate what you have and thinking before buying more.

If clutter is overtaking the house, garage, and closets (to the point where you’re thinking of adding a second shed in the backyard), check out my tips below. There can be a happy medium between throwing everything out and having more than enough.

5 Tips to go from Pack Rat to Minimalist!

STEP 1: Start slow

Decluttering is as much a mental process as a physical process. Don’t procrastinate, but start slow…one room or area at a time. Think about the room or closet weighing the most on your mind and start there. You know, that corner of the basement where boxes are stacked to the ceiling or the hall closet busting at the seams with clothes you’ve been storing.

STEP 2: Employ a helper

My husband and I are very different when it comes to how we view our belongings. He tends to say “That’s still good, I can use that later” or “I don’t want to get rid of that, I paid a lot of money for it”.

While it’s good to be frugal and reuse what you have, sometimes good intentions can morph into hoarding mode quickly if you let it.

Here’s an example, last week I mentioned to my husband that the garage needed to be cleaned out again. To appease me, he went out there and threw away a few things, then came in and said the garage was clean 🙁

More could be done, so I went out to help. The garage is his space, so I didn’t want to be too bossy, but I did point out things like old paint cans and a broken rake.

My point is, that sometimes clutter has been there so long that it becomes almost invisible. Other times clutter can just be overwhelming to the point where it makes a person shut down.

In these situations, it can be helpful to have someone you trust help you determine what should stay and what should go.

STEP 3: Three questions to ask yourself when clearing clutter

1. Do I have duplicates of this item?
2. Have I used this item in the past year or will I ever use it again?
3. Does this item bring me joy? (a nod to the KonMari method)

STEP 4: Put items to donate in a one-month “hold” pile

I have to admit, over the years I’ve thrown out a few items I wished I hadn’t. For this reason, I now put items that I plan to donate in a bag or box and place them in a “hold” pile for one month. One month seems to be enough time to be sure that I don’t really need the items.

Occasionally, I’ll fish through the pile for something I was planning to donate and pull it out to keep. It doesn’t happen very often though. It’s usually out of sight, out of mind! After one month, I will gather everything up and drop it off at Goodwill.

STEP 5: Enjoy your clutter-free space

Ahh…no piles of stuff and roomy closets. I love how an organized space can make you feel calm and in control.

If you’ve been living with clutter for a while, you’ll truly appreciate an organized space even more. Enjoy it and don’t fill up your space with more stuff. You’ve worked hard, so don’t go to the dark side again!

Do you have a great tip on how to stay organized? Share your ideas in the comment section below.

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