If you’ve ever dabbled in minimalism, I’m going to guess there are things you get stuck on. Things you just can’t declutter. Often this is because the item holds some sentimental value. And sometimes because some of your identity is in the item.
Both of these are actually valid reasons for taking your time to declutter. I never advocate for the ‘overnight’ approach to minimalism. A slow and steady approach will be longer lasting and gentler.
Over the past almost 8 years I’ve decluttered thousands of items out of our home. But I’ll be honest – there are some things that are harder to let go of than others.
Shall we make a deal? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours 😁
My decluttering nemesis
I purchased her in 2012. She’s blue and white and although she’s almost a decade old she’s still pretty magnificent. Together we have travelled thousands of miles and seen some beautiful places. She has helped to nurture a part of my identity, as an athlete, that I’ve loved for such a long time.
Except this year I’m considering decluttering/selling her 😢
My road bike has been in storage more than not over the last few years. And when I recently bought a second-hand mountain bike to join the kids, I realized I needed to make a decision. Do I keep storing her, in the hopes that one day I’ll have more time and motivation to get out regularly? Or do I declutter her and save the storage space?
As someone who is known for being ruthless when it comes to decluttering, my indecision has come as a bit of a surprise.
It’s not that I feel sentimental about her. But if I let her go, what does this say about who I am?
I’ve always been proud of the fact that I completed a half ironman and various other triathlons. And while running is my favorite, three disciplines have always helped keep me injury free.
As a teenager I was clumsy and uncoordinated. I also had the normal weight gain associated with hormonal changes, and a dislike of all forms of exercise. So when I began running and cycling in my twenties I was so happy to find something that didn’t require much coordination, and helped keep me fit and at a healthy weight.
So what does it mean for me to get rid of something that’s been such a big part of my life? It’s certainly not like when I donated our hand held vacuum cleaner a few years ago!
How to declutter tough things
1. Untangle your intrinsic worth with physical things
It was easy for me to declutter my hair dryer that I never really used. I am not the sum of perfectly dried and straightened hair. My worth as a human lies in what’s on the inside, not what can be seen outside.
But what about something, like my bike, that’s contributed positively to my identity? The idea still holds true. My worth doesn’t lie in an identity as an athlete. It’s much deeper and longer lasting than that.
2. Try a packing party first
The Minimalists coined the concept of a packing party for decluttering. They suggest packing up all the items you are thinking of decluttering and putting them in boxes like you would if you were moving.
Then put those boxes in the basement or garage for 3-6 months. If you haven’t opened any of the boxes in your chosen time frame, then declutter away – no reopening!
This works like a charm for those items you are tempted to keep ‘just in case’.
3. Find alternatives
Alternatives help with smaller and duplicated items. Those jeans that haven’t fit since *cough* 2013? Commit to the alternative right-sized ones and donate the old ones!
The old mis-matched dinner set that was cluttering up my drawers? The alternative was sitting in another drawer, waiting for the fancy dinners that we never had.
Sometimes it just takes thinking outside the box and making a commitment to make the swap to alternatives.
4. Do without
And then sometimes we can just do without. I purchased a garlic crusher last year. It lasted about 3 months unused in the kitchen drawer before I finally succumbed to adding it to the box for the thrift shop. It was the same with the spiralizer that came a few months later.
I prefer to keep my kitchen drawers minimalist and make do with simple things – like a set of good sharp knives!
It’s fairly easy to get rid of smaller things like these. I usually follow another guideline from The Minimalists. If it can be replaced in under 30 minutes and $20, it can go. This is especially helpful for those ‘what if I need it next year’ arguments.
But what about the bigger things, like a second car, or my second bike. If I get rid of my road bike, it would take at least $2,000 to replace her. Something I wouldn’t be able to afford to do on a whim.
And yet, here she is, collecting dust in the shed.
So. Here it is… here’s the bit where I finish by telling you I decided to let her go.
Except I would be lying.
I still haven’t decided. And that’s okay.
But there’s one quote that’s got me much closer to a decision.
“Clutter is not just the stuff on the floor. It’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.” ~ Peter Walsh.
I don’t want to commit to using my bike more regularly to justify keeping it. This season of life, youngish family and building a business doesn’t allow for it.
I don’t want to feel obliged to spend hours cycling to justify keeping it.
I want to spend hours with my kids, outside exploring. And hours doing what I love, creating sentences, paragraphs and pages.
I want to choose the life I want to live, not let my belongings choose for me.
I’ve given myself a deadline to decide. By the end of May I’ll list her online or keep her. Stay tuned to find out what the decision is!
So, I told you mine, now it’s your turn. What is your biggest nemesis when it comes to decluttering? Or what’s the biggest thing you’ve succeeded in decluttering?
Uncluttered is a 12-week long course created by Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist, and over 30,000 people have participated in the course over the last 3 years.
The course is broken up into four modules;
Module 1: Know your why’s
Module 2: Change your home
Module 3: Develop new habits
Module 4: Experiment with less
Each module contains a video or interview with a leader in the minimalist movement and a guide to the week’s challenge. It also includes 3 live webinars, where you can ask Joshua some of your more tricky questions.
And possibly the best part – you get access to a private Facebook group of other Uncluttered participants. Here you can get pretty constant access to motivation, tips, and inspiration from current and past participants.
If you are considering taking the course this year, I’m very pleased to be able to offer you a friends and family discount of a huge 25%! (just enter FF25 at the checkout).
If you want to find out more about Uncluttered before signing up visit the webpage. You can also email me at simpleslowlovely@gmail.com, or PM me on Facebook or Instagram.
P.S This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, which goes towards funding Simple Slow & Lovely. Thank you so much for your support!
