The Little Things
December 22, 2014

Freedom From Stuff- one of my 14 challenges in 2014. Almost exactly 6 months ago (June 25th), I wrote a post on “Freedom From Stuff“, based on a podcast that I listened to that was changing how I viewed the stuff I chose to keep around me.

I haven’t been able to shake this podcast for the past 6 months, and it has spurred me onward in trying to eliminate more of the things around me. This is SO hard for me to do. I am not a hoarder by any means, and have lots of open space in each of my rooms, but I definitely feel that I have too much stuff, and it’s finally started to get to me. I need more breathing space (maybe it’s that I’m busier than I’ve been since grad school…), and part of that is coming into my living space.

I posted this in my previous post: “So far this year I’ve gotten rid of about 110 articles of clothing, a few books and movies, 4 pairs of shoes, 4 old belts, and a bunch of other random things. On top of that, I’ve tossed about 70 old magazines (YIKES- why was I saving all of them!?!), and tossed about 5 or 6 other bags of old papers from school, notes, articles, etc… that I was saving. I think about some of the stuff from time to time, but overall I’m enjoying the extra breathing room more than being able to visually look at the stuff.”

Freedom From Stuff- part 2

Last week, as I had a good chunk of time off work, I decided to once again attack the various rooms of my house and clean things out. It all started with one of my favorite new games “Let’s find a bag’s worth of stuff to throw away” (I like to challenge myself to this at least once a month). This led to finding stuff I wanted to donate instead of just toss, and I started a pile for those things. In turn, that led to me decided to get stuff together to drop off at Goodwill on my way to work (since I had extra time). I managed to find another 40 articles of clothing, 16 kids books (my parents had brought them down recently, and I finally had time to go through them), and 2 other bags of random things (headbands, purses, etc…) to donate. I also decided to part with the 40 Runner’s World Magazines that I had stored up, and tossed them too. Between these two purges I got rid of another 20+ clothing items too.

What’s shocking to me is that I have gotten rid of about 170 articles of clothing, and it doesn’t appear to have made any sort of dent at all. That actually sort of disgusts me, and leaves me feeling sort of selfish (I mean, I certainly don’t need all the clothes that I have, even though I like them!). Does anyone else feel frustrated when you get rid of so much, but don’t seem to be able to tell? I try to keep reminding myself that it does make a difference, even if it’s just small. I have more room in my closets, meaning I have less clothes to wade through when I pull out my work clothes. I do have less to look at on my book shelf- and I believe that every little bit counts, so I take that truth and plow forward.

Here are a few things I’ve been doing differently the 2nd half of 2014:

1. Keep a bag of things to donate, and contribute to it regularly. It seems like a far less overwhelming task when it’s just a thing I do when I notice something I don’t regularly wear vs. actually setting out to go through everything I own all at once.

2. Play the “find one bag of things” game. Again, this makes it far more manageable to go through things, and helps you to be honest fairly quickly about what you want to get rid of.

3. Remember that “every bit counts”, so even if it doesn’t feel like it makes a difference, it does.

Here’s to a cleaner, less cluttered 2015 (I can dream, right?)!

Now it’s your turn to share! How are you finding “freedom from stuff”? What’s one of your tips for decluttering and getting rid of items?

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4 responses to “Freedom From Stuff – Part 2”

  1. Jess says:
    December 22, 2014 at 10:24 am

    I also have been sticking to the “keep a bag of things to donate”, and I find that tends to work for me pretty well! I still swear by Marie Kondo’s method (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up), and I think her emphasis on getting rid of things that don’t bring you joy is a great way to look at “stuff.”

    Great job on clearing out and decluttering!

    • littlethingscaroline@gmail.com says:
      December 22, 2014 at 11:11 pm

      YES! That book is on my list to read in 2015, and I’m excited about it 🙂

  2. Heather Runs Thirteen Point One says:
    December 29, 2014 at 4:17 pm

    This is something I’ll be working on in 2015 – I add sentimental value to everything, which of course makes it harder to purge. However, I am trying to let go and just keep things that are meaningful.

    • littlethingscaroline@gmail.com says:
      December 29, 2014 at 6:52 pm

      I sometimes dislike how much sentimental value I place on things- it DOES make it harder to toss. Good luck on your journey!