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Moving frequently teaches valuable lessons about minimizing clutter. After moving three times in as many months, I’ve found that being skilled in streamlining the process helps, but mistakes were still made. One major error is lugging around unnecessary items.
I’ve identified four things that I removed during each move, and I wish I had left them behind from the beginning.
Disposable Cleaning Products
I hate to waste, so there are a lot of cleaning products that got packed in the first batch of items that would have been a shame to toss: a mostly full jug of bleach, disinfecting wipes, unused sponges, litter deodorizer, and the like. But just because I’ll need them eventually, doesn’t necessarily mean I should have brought them along in the first place.
I should have passed them off to a neighbor or friend who could have put them to good use instead of lugging them around with my things for a few months. I unloaded most of them on my sister, who has been putting them to good use, but at the cost of having to lug them around for a whole move.
If I had been moving from one lease to the next, I might rethink decluttering these items, but I stayed with my sister for a few months and then in a sublet. These are places where I’m not going to unpack my own cleaning items, especially when they’re packed away with other cleaning and decor I simply don’t need to access.
Clothes I Haven’t Worn in Ages
As I was packing up my apartment, I kept pulling things out of the closet that made me think “oh wow, I totally forgot I had this!” Never a good sign.
Instead of evaluating whether or not I needed or was ever again going to wear said items, I blindly stuffed them into a moving bag without second thought. Since then, I’ve had to sift around these items to get to the clothes I actually want to wear—also a bad sign.
Even though a lot of the clothes are really cute, I’ve started setting aside these items when I come across them. At the end of each stay, if I haven’t taken it upon myself to wear the item at least once, it goes to donation.
Shoes
Along with clothing, but in a different vein, I’ve collected a lot of shoes over the years. The difference is that with most of these, unlike with clothes, my thought was “why did I even have these in the first place?”
I cycle through a pretty consistent rotation of six or so pairs of shoes, and really don’t need much else: three sneakers, one pair of running shoes, my house shoes, and my formal shoes (Doc Martens and a pair of cowboy boots). Aside from that, I have a single pair of winter boots, my hiking boots, and some flip flops for when the beach calls.
Everything else I pulled out of my closet went straight to the donation bin (which is what I call my sister’s entryway closet). I know I’m not going to wear them—I know I definitely don’t know how to style them—and they’re probably uncomfortable anyway.
Decor Items I Don’t Care For
This one seems pretty self-explanatory, but it was an important one for me to realize. I started furnishing my own spaces when I was 20, and a lot of my decor is still from that time; it felt as if I got rid of those things that I would be ridding my home of its personality.
It took me some time to come to terms with the fact that my taste will change over time, and not everything I collect has to be displayed at all times. And also that my early ceramic pieces are ugly. And that it’s perfectly okay to give these pieces a new home without compromising the personality of my space.
Read the original article on The Spruce
