A clean sweep: Getting rid of your clutter

Truth be told: The less stuff you have the less worries & stress you have!

“ I make myself rich by making my wants few”- Henry David Thoreau

Dad was a "collector" not a hoarder. It took us nearly a year to sort through his "collections" after he died. We rented a gymnasium to hold his estate sale. I do not wish to leave my survivors with such a burden. Stuff is not a legacy.

I became a minimalist and it was the best decision ever!

My grandpa, "WWII veteran" and Georgia farmer till dementia took him, told me that "junk was something you keep for twenty years, and throw it away two weeks before you need it". Love and miss you grandpa horne💙🙍

I have Just completed cleaning out “the junk room.” It took me 10 days to get it done. It was an emotional trip...40 years worth to be exact! Boxes of cards, letters, tax returns, college papers, books, wrapping paper (threw it all in recycle), an incredible amount of stuff! Just stuff. I was so tired each night. I am deeply thankful to say, the last of the recycle and trash is going out today. I shredded about 15 sacks of old financial documents and paper items, etc. that I read through and consciously said a final farewell to and then boom...shredded and gone! Pictures! 😱 I kept pictures for a day when I can put them together for my sons, nieces and nephews, etc. and let them go. They can either keep them or throw out. Gave away huge sacks of clothes and nice shoes that I will never wear again yet someone will. I included blankets, sheets, pillows, and old but clean towels. Honestly, I feel as though I’ve lost hundreds of pounds of personal weight! I said Goodbye to my past and I am done! Talk about liberating!! What I thought would take “forever,” took less than two weeks. 👍🏼💪🏼

Great segment. I've been a minimalist since I left home at 18 (nearing 70 now). For years this preference and belief that "less is more" was considered odd by many people. Now there are TV shows and magazine articles and CBS Sunday Morning segments about how clutter is a problem. I feel vindicated. I wasn't a freak; just a little ahead of the curve.

For those who have inherited a collection and have no idea of what to do with it, I’m sharing what my cousins did with their Mother’s rather large collection of chickens, they boxed them up, drove them to the church where her first memorial was held and let everyone know they were welcome to take one or more pieces to remember her by, what was left was boxed up again and taken to her second memorial and again, they offered what was left of her collection to those in attendance. They had very little left of that collection to donate. I just think it’s the best idea I’ve heard of to get rid of a much treasured collection. I hope to not leave my children with a bunch of stuff to go through and discard or donate, that shouldn’t be their job.

I remember as a child hearing my Pastor say "We buy things we don't need to impress people we don't even like".

“Trauma-based accumulation.” That smacked me square between the eyes. It makes so much sense! That’s going to give me a whole new way to look at my stuff, and give me the courage to let it go.

“Set yourself free. It’s just stuff. It’s...just...stuff.” That statement alone is very purposeful.

3 years ago I sold everything and moved into an RV. I now live and travel in 160 square feet and have never missed anything I got rid of form my former life. We are addicted to crap we don't need!

After a while, you'll find that when you own enough stuff, your stuff kinda owns YOU. So set yourself free. It's just stuff.

Loved when she said “been meaning to have garage sale for 10 years”. I can relate

"CLUTTER IS NOTHING BUT DEFERED DECISIONS."

A friend suffered a terrible house fire some years back - everything was lost. About a year later, she said, despite losing some things that were irreplaceable, it was the best thing that ever happened to her. The sense of emotional lightness and freedom was invaluable. Makes me think I should just load important docs and photos to a cloud & let everything else go. Sort of a “managed” non-fire house fire.

I started de cluttering. 1 room at a time. 1 wall at a time. 1 hr/ 1 week. Simple and easy. So far progress is good. You only need a desire and take baby steps.

I went minimalist a few years ago and it was the biggest life-changing event I've ever been through. My life is so much simpler now, I have a lot more money, I live in a 600 square foot studio with lots of room to breathe. A word of advice. Don't separate your clutter into piles that you will donate. Just GET IT OUT of your dwelling-place. Throw it OUT. Even if you don't need it, it will all end up in the landfill eventually. Instead, adopt a minimalist lifestyle and don't buy things that end up in landfills. Done and done.

I recently donated 6 bins of clothing and accessories, and am in the process of getting rid of old furniture. It’s a great feeling de cluttering your life.

I am the "throw it out!" queen! I went minimalist a few years ago. People joke that every room in my home looks like a hotel room. That's because I have very LITTLE, and I mean VERY little in each room. But my house guests always want to come back ....because it's so roomy and peaceful in my home. You know why? Because the rooms are so airy/empty that new energy flows freely. New energy, is free to flow IN, because it doesn't have to make its way around clutter and books, and knick knacks and junk. I got rid of all that stuff years ago. And guess what, It's just stuff. Get rid of it! Take it from an old wise woman. Let it go. I've lived long enough to see numerous friends buried. And I've never seen one friend who was buried with knick knacks, clothes, shoes, purses, or pots with missing lids. YES, if you're reading this, I'm talking to YOU!! Get rid of it dear. Save yourself, NOT your stuff.