3 Ways to Reduce the Clutter

One way to help yourself to feel more relaxed and peaceful at home, is by reducing the clutter that surrounds you. It's not the easiest thing to do and does require effort, but you can do these three things to reduce the clutter and feel better mentally when you're at home. 

1- Donate

Donate unneeded or unwanted items to relatives, close friends, Goodwill or other charitable organizations. Some of the items may have sentimental value to you, or you may be handling household belongings after the death of a loved one. Understandably, that makes it even harder to part with certain items.

A good idea is to donate these items to people that you know that will wear or use them with love. It's a great way of keeping the deceased person's memory alive and around you always. It can also be very meaningful when they send you photos of them wearing the clothes of your deceased loved ones. I know it brings a smile to my face.

2- Sell

As I mentioned in last week's post, eBay works for both buying and selling. If some of your items have monetary value and you don't want to give them away for free, try selling them on eBay or other auction web sites. You can also have a garage sale, or sell things through online garage sales.

Another idea that some have not thought of is to sell things to stores that sell similar used items.  For instance, you can sell unwanted Cd's, Dvd's and books to stores that sell used ones. Many times they will give you cash for your items. It's best to find out the store's policy before you make the effort of carrying many items to the store. Based on demand, some items will bring in more money than others.

Remember however, with technology advancing so rapidly, and with the world moving towards digital, you need to act quickly with such items. For example, if you've waited too long to sell your old VHS tapes you are most likely out of luck. They've become obsolete and no longer have monetary value.

3- Toss

After you've given items to relatives and friends, donated them to charitable organizations, sold them through various avenues- the only choice you have now is to Toss the rest.

If you have a hard time parting with things (as is the case with many people), start tossing a few items at a time. This will gradually desensitize you to parting with things that you really don't need nor want. When you build up momentum, you'll find it a bit easier each time you toss something.

It's s always possible for someone with determination to recondition themselves to think in different ways. Clearing the clutter around you is a mental cleansing that will free your mind for even more rewarding life adventures.