My new motto as I declutter is “I am not a storage facility.” Now I’m working on extending that motto to encompass old resentments as well. “I am not a storage facility” seems to be helping me clear my mind as much as my physical surroundings.

@AbundantlyMinimal

7 ай бұрын

This is an excellent motto!

I get sad when I remember the pile of books and clothes in my childhood house, the pile of clothes in my cousin's house. I thought we were like this because my mom and aunt were working, but maybe it was a sign of depression. You seem to be advising to be kind to yourself. I am very impressed by your compassionate and decisive display of your method.

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

Being kind to yourself is always important, and I'm glad you felt that from the video!

@chicky6three

2 жыл бұрын

I could just be a pile of clothes...

I had a gigantic decluttering lasting a few months on my house. Lots of old relationship items, even my stamp collection of many years (10 removals boxes!) all went. Even my job, I just quit. It hasn’t served me for some years. Interesting thing is, during this process I met someone new, got offered a better role within walking distance and am generally now a much happier person. It makes a huge difference so thanks for the videos here

@AbundantlyMinimal

Жыл бұрын

That's amazing! Thanks for sharing!

#7 Comparing oneself Remember dear reader: these videos arent made to make you feel bad, theyre meant to inspire you and give you better ideas about things you might not have thought about!

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

These are all good points which I will think about as I plan my decluttering. I helped a good friend downsize into a senior living apartment to pack up and declutter even as she recovered from a (thankfully somewhat minor) car accident, and I VOWED silently "you are NOT going to have this problem, you will finish the task of 20 years and you will NOT take any more castoffs." I find I can make 2% better efforts to move stuff on, donating, recycling and throwing out, by just thinking of her friend sitting in her kitchen so overwhelmed by picking, packing, discarding 20 years of "I never threw anything out, not even the size 6 clothes of 50 years ago." (A few years ago I moved into a studio apartment for a year, and I realized I could let go of 90% of the stuff I had with no pain. Unfortunately I did not act on this.)

Paper clutter, digital photo clutter and email clutter is my worst. Thank you for the good tips!

@carysw8967

2 жыл бұрын

me too!

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

You're so welcome! I'm glad it could help!

3:30 mark or thereabouts, lol thank you: "succeeded in making a bunch of piles". I have totally been there. In too many places at once, not focused, just made a big mess! Now I am pretty good and if, on any given day, stuff (that has made the cut/keeping) starts to "set up camp" (even books that are reference or cooking, baking), I return them to their home/tidy up sooner I have been on a minimizing journey for a while. Currently dealing with the paper tiger, it is the hardest for me but getting better and going to master it. 8:40 excellent advice. I'm doing some scanning but you are correct, only scan/save what is truly needed. Don't become a digital hoarder. And yes, it's work to label and describe all the digital versions, and save, so you have to make time for that. Otherwise, what's the point? And chipping away at things and certain segments/areas is definitely less daunting. One literally feels lighter when space is made and/or an area is clearer and stuff has moved on/out. I really enjoyed your video and tips, including your fluid and articulate delivery.

I started transferring my collection of records, compact cassettes and Video tapes. Most of this is in real time and as collections grow the time to get back to an album or re-watch a film or television series expands. The result is an organised set of files (with metatags) in a small array of hard drives that was transported in thirty 50 litre storage boxes. Sorting out what is really wanted to keep can take longer than just transferring the lot. Over 15 years more than half of tape transfers have been replaced with higher quality digital versions. If I could sign up to a streaming service and pay per view/review of all the films, television and released music, books and magazines I would delete the lot. But we have seen artists leave certain platforms and series or feature films removed from the play list. Documents can often be converted to a machine readable file, taking longer and even if you are searching spreadsheets and word processor documents that could still fail to find the item that you know is there. It is still more likely to find something than wading through several large boxes of documents. If you don't have them you can not refresh your memory and get the "facts" straight. It depends on you whether you can let it go and not need to set events (usually finance) straight.

Comparison is the thief of joy

I just found your channel. Thank you for the very helpful videos ! I am recently widowed and retired and slowly decluttering fourty plus years of belongings to prepare for a downsize move within the next couple of years. I’ll be watching more of your content!

Thanks Sarah I've been a minimalist for 5 years now and have things mostly under control but I find your videos still very helpful and inspirational. Sending hugs ❤

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad to hear that, Cathy! Thank you!

I decluttered many items through the years and the one thing I regret are some of the books I gave away. I am now purchasing them again but they are more money than anticipated. I encourage people to think through items your passionate about. In my case it was Stephen King books.

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the insight, Maria!

@kimbucha2949

2 жыл бұрын

and check thrift stores! my sister in law found all the books from a particular author over several years of thrifting. it became a fun game/challenge to find the last few.

So clearly explained. I am not about to declutter but when I decide to, I will keep all your advice in mind.

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you enjoyed the video, Richard!

Thank you for another important video! It's important to let go every once in a while! I am in a phase where I feel like I'm getting anxiety by clutter but reluctant to let certain things go because I know that I only have what I actually use. It's a lot. Think another issue is I don't have anyplace that I can put anything besides my bedroom. People get things and can put them in their living room but I share a living room with seven other people. I don't have my own bathroom either so I find my shampoo and face cleaning stuff must be in my room, other people will use it. Children will squirt stuff everywhere. I found toothpaste on the mop handle before and in the bucket. It's a disaster. Basically everything I own must be in my bedroom and I don't have my own space outside of it. My room is smaller too. I think that condition matters so I'm glad you brought that up.

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing! That situation definitely sounds frustrating!

Great video I find that I either rush or I move from project to project. I recently have started to change this approach and I have been working through my guest bedroom and it is working. I am going slow and steady and not jumping to other places. If there is something that I decide I want to keep but it does not belong there or I don't want it there I have a box that I put it in. It is making a difference in my progress

@AbundantlyMinimal

Жыл бұрын

You're doing amazing!

Mistake #3 jumping from one area to another and achieving a big mess.....guilty!!! 🙋‍♀️🙈😅

Thanks Sarah 🐢 Yes, I've found a temporary area works to keep the flow going 🙌 Useful, thought prompting and reassuring 👍 Comparisons are useless, brilliant 😂 Yes, our own journey is truly the only reflection of progress etc required 😊

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Sandra!

@vanessamay3689

2 жыл бұрын

Have just found an area that I thought was pretty sorted but going back through the stuff, realise it needs further sorting. Love your video and your gentle manner. Thanks 😊

Thank you for adding the psychological aspect of clutter. It makes so much sense, I am a collector and I keep items to use at a later date for crafting then wind up never using, would appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad this video could help, Fara!

@alamedadanceparty

Жыл бұрын

Some people suggest putting things in a "Maybe Later" pile/bin for a certain amount of time that makes sense (6 months? 1 year?). Put them out of sight and see if you ever think of them or need them. If you don't, then consider donating them to a group who could put them to use and free yourself from owning less "maybe later" items. Hope you find a way forward. 💪

@maryann7619

Жыл бұрын

Maybe give up crafting for a while? You may be using it as an excuse to clutter.

@farasanchez2618

Жыл бұрын

@@maryann7619 interesting I will ponder thank you

Great speaking through taking things for your path that may look different than others.

Been at #1 for years 😂. Thankfully I finally got a clue!

You were successful in learning about skipping from project to project. Then you remembered that and shared it with us today. So , I still call that a win!

@AbundantlyMinimal

Жыл бұрын

Great point, Deborah!

These are excellent. I’m maybe midway through the process and have made almost all of these mistakes. Your advice will help me more easily complete the second half. And a little encouragement for others embarking on this journey: it really is getting easier and I’m already feeling the positive effects of owning fewer things.

@AbundantlyMinimal

Жыл бұрын

That's amazing to hear, Lori! I love it!

One of your best videos for me! So helpful! Thank you, Sarah 🙏🏽

@AbundantlyMinimal

Жыл бұрын

I'm so glad it was helpful, Iris!

Hi, Sarah! Good to see you! Always good advice!

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Melinda!

Love love your channel

One of your videos was the first I found on my recent journey to declutter my home, and I’ve since watched so many other videos on the topic! I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the past 2 weeks and would like to thank you for helping give me the motivation to tackle this all ☺️

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad I could help, Jude! That's amazing to hear!

You are so right

I love mistake number 7, the information you provided made lots of sense and gave me so much to think about. How did you get so smart for one so young? Loved this video, Sarah, thank you....

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Julie! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

Hi Sarah - I discovered your channel from Vera - simply happy zen. Thanks for the guidance in this one.

@AbundantlyMinimal

Жыл бұрын

Welcome to the channel! :)

Thank you! I am so surprised from all courses i did kept many notes, and also many diaries, feedback from jobs, and official papers...it's a lot. I am living alone but filled already 3 banana boxes with papers. And previous weekend 2 boxes. I feel very tired now, because i was rushing this morning (sunday morning), as you mentioned. Did you have situations like that too?

Having kids brought in 30 years of their stuff and after they moved they left it all because they don’t want the clutter but they don’t want to get rid of their memories so it’s all overflowing in my house.

@AbundantlyMinimal

Жыл бұрын

This is a tough situation, but if they are all moved out and grown up, there is no reason you should be left with all of it in your home. Could be an important discussion to bring up for a future gathering.

Staging areas: "It is not going stay there forever" Three years later...

Thanks Sarah. Very interesting. I am a 'old' minimalist and since doing the big declutter with the kon marie book in about 2018. I have then changed habits going forward and continued to declutter as go along. Do you have any tips for an 'old' minimalist in going deeper with decluttering? I sort of feel that should go through the book again- but can't face this amount of depth.

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

I think a lot of the same strategies can apply...one of my favorite approaches is to use a numeric approach, such as trying to declutter 10% of a certain type of clutter. The one in, one out approach can also be great for maintenance!

@vanessamay3689

2 жыл бұрын

@Heather O'Toole Thanks. Your comments are helpful.

How ae things?~ great video-work! talk you later! 🤗

Sounds like someone needs to apply minimalism to their workaholic tendencies lol. But I know you're trying to run your own business, which can be time-consuming.

@AbundantlyMinimal

2 жыл бұрын

You are definitely right! Some big changes are coming in late July :(

Christ's alive! Maybe you can declutter your video next? This information could have been put across in under 2 minutes.