Tackle the Excess

Simplify Your Space: Tackle the Excess (Part 2)

In this two part series, I cover my own journey with stuff and how you simplify your space. Part 1, A Mindset Shift, shares how I became inspired and the books that helped me change my approach to stuff. Part 2, Tackle the Excess, covers practical approaches to taking baby steps to tackle the items that no longer serve you.

Last week, I wrote about my journey to a more minimalist lifestyle.  I know this topic is super on trend (eye roll), but it did change my life so I wanted to share my experience.  This week we’re going to talk through some practical tips for simplifying your space.  These are tips and tricks that have worked for me and have come to me through a variety of sources.  

Why Should I Simplify?

But Dabs, you’re a real estate agent?  Why are you talking to me about minimalism? 

If you are interested in selling your home, any good agent (*clears throat*) tells you to “pre-pack” the bulk of the items in your home. Pre-packing makes your space feels bigger and allows a buyer to soak up the space, not your stuff. If you are pre-packing anyway, why not get rid of the stuff that doesn’t need to travel with you?

Buyers lack imagination.  This lack of imagination is why prepping your home is so key before you list your home for sale.  If buyers see your knick knacks and bric-a-brac in the space, most of them are unable to picture their own items in the space.  It makes it much more difficult for a buyer to fall in love with a home and put in a ragingly awesome offer on it.

I digress.  Even if you aren’t listing anytime soon, you might want to simplify your possessions just so you stop struggling to find things on a daily basis.  If you spend 5 minutes a day looking for items (keys, shoes, that bowl your grandma gave you), that’s over 30 hours each year you spend looking for missing items!

The Big Release

The number one thing getting in your way is not time, its the emotions attached to your stuff.  You’re thinking “but Jenny gave it to me, I can’t get rid of it” or “this was Nana’s, I have to keep it” or “I paid good money for this, I can’t just give it away.”  

I’m not saying you need to get rid of all these things, but you’re going to have to sort through what you want to keep because you love it and want it around and what you can let go because it is no longer serving you.  You can free up that item to serve someone else’s family.

Marie Kondo tells her readers to “thank” the items for their service to you.  So when I got rid of those eight drama production tees from high school, I thanked them for the fun we had and sent them on their way.  They were serving no one in that rubber bin tucked in my basement.  I hope some Hipster is wearing my tee around Detroit while riding his bicycle.  If not, the cotton can be recycled and made into something new that someone else can wear.

Don’t Tackle the Excess at Once

You know that point in a project, where you are about 2/3rds of the way through and the project feels like it will never be finished?  You’ve come too far to turn back, but you lack the will to keep going to the finish because it has becoming depressing and overwhelming?

Yeah, don’t do that here.  Simplifying your space does not have to be a massive overhaul done in a weekend.  That’s too much pressure on yourself, and you will drive the people in your household insane.  

Think Categories

When you think about slimming down your collections, overwhelm often hangs around.  Focusing on like items as a group, helps you narrow down your vision to what amounts to simplifying tunnel vision.  

Marie Kondo recommends you start with clothes, but if that seems drastic there are other places you can start.  For example, start with your coffee mugs.  

Pull them all down, ever single one, and eye them up as a group.  Now pick up the ones your family uses every day and set those aside to start the “keep” pile.  (You know the ones to pick – the one you look for and get really mad when it didn’t make it into the dishwasher yesterday).  

Sort through the rest – there’s always one that was a gift, but you don’t like it.  It’s shaped funny, or it is too big, or too small, or too blah.  Get rid of it.

It doesn’t take long to sift through your 19 coffee mugs.  You will feel lighter and more free almost immediately.  

What am I going to do with all this extra stuff?

In Metro-Detroit, getting rid of your excess items has become quite a bit more challenging since the pandemic. Here are my go-to organizations.

Salvation Army & Goodwill.   Both Salvation Army and Goodwill have become very picky about what they will or will not accept.  Stuff in reasonably good shape – small appliances in working order, home decor, shoes and clothes – can all be donated to these organizations if you have the patience to wait in the drop off line.

Nextdoor.  For other household items, I like to put stuff on the Nextdoor app for sale or for free.  I do a bustling trade in getting rid of items using this method.  I price my things to move and take lots of pictures so people can see what I am offering.  Items are posted for porch pickup. Once someone agrees to purchase, I leave it on the porch at the agreed upon time and they leave the cash. 

And here’s a kicker for you:  My five year old has me sell her toys that she has outgrown on Nextdoor.  Yes, you read that correctly.  She brings me toys to sell for her and then we allow her to keep the money.  She uses the money (once in a blue moon since we don’t go into stores very often) to purchase something she would like to augment her toys.  My daughter also enjoys knowing that toys she no longer uses are going to another kid.

If you put something on the app for free, it usually moves in a hot second.  My discards are someone else’s treasure and vice versa!  I highly recommend Saturday morning for posts. People scroll this app while drinking their coffee and come to pick stuff up before noon.

Resale shops.  I do take some items in mint condition to resale shops.  I like Once Upon a Child in Canton for my daughter’s items.  They will pay you in cash or with a bonus if you choose store credit.  

For my own clothing in good shape, I take my stuff to Second Time Around in downtown Plymouth.  This is a great small, local business run by two sisters.  They sell on consignment, so if they can sell it in 70 days you get part of the sale. If they don’t sell it, you can either pick it back up or the item becomes theirs.  I do find a treasure there on occasion (they usually have a nice collection of designer handbags), so my sales often wind up applied as store credit.  

Simple Recycling. In Plymouth, we have access to Simple Recycling.  Check to see if your town has a relationship with them.

Now, this company is a for-profit organization.  I call this fact out because some people prefer to give their items to charitable organizations, which is cool.  I am comfortable using Simple Recycling because I have no problem with someone building a company where they see a need for a service and profiting from that work.  

Simple Recycling will pick up clothing from your home at no charge. Here is why I like them — they pick up ALL the clothing.  Stained? Ripped? They will take it.  The workers sort through this clothing and either send it on for resale, ship it to other countries or sell to recyclers, furniture makers etc.  Click here for a cool infographic on The Life Cycle of Secondhand Clothing. 

That wraps up our series on simplifying your space, I hope you gleaned at least one or two nuggets of wisdom.  In case anyone is wondering, I did manage to finish knitting that scarf last week.

As always, reach out if you have any questions or if I can connect you with any resources to tackle the excess!

Photo credit: Max Vakhtbovych from Pexels