Today, I look at the difference between minimalism and decluttering and share what my philosophy and end goal are. More at www.bemovingforward.com.
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Decluttering series
Minimalism vs. Decluttering
I purposely avoided calling this the "minimalism" series because that word doesn't quite fit with what I'm doing. To me, minimalism is a philosophy that entails doing without, to the point where you are largely possessionless. I'm oversimplifying but from the books I've read on the subject, it's more a way of life with strong philosophical underpinnings. The iterations can vary with the most extreme example being that everything you own can fit into a backpack or a single box. While there are times I find that notion appealing, especially the freedom and hasslefree nature of that lifestyle, it's neither feasible nor even desirable for me.
"Decluttering" is not the ideal word for what I'm doing either as it's really the process by which I'm trying to get to my end goal. I suppose if I had to come up with a word it might be "mediumalist" though that too is not perfect. Thus, I'll share my end goal as a pair of results.
To achieve, and be at the point where I have purged (by donating, selling, recycling if at all possible) all things that no longer serve a purpose; that I no longer need or want. The latter is important because I'm not strictly seeing this from a utilitarian standpoint. Some items I'm keeping arguably serve no useful purpose but are nonetheless things I want to keep as in the case of a few vintage t-shirts.
That what I'm left with has a purpose, place, and point, as defined below.
Purpose: the items I keep are either useful and used regularly or are items I really want to keep.
Place: the items I keep are organized and logically categorized.
Point: that I know all the items I own, where they're located, and why (see the first two P's).
As discussed in prior episodes, I anticipate this will take 8-12 months to complete. Once there, I will maintain a regular annual decluttering process to purge what is no longer necessary, especially as I replace old or worn out items such as shoes or clothes.
Thus, my end point isn't minimalism. I'm not aiming to own a specific number of things or as few things as possible. If that were the goal, I have already fallen way short of that. Instead, I want to know what I own, and more importantly, why I own it.
Decluttering tip
PangoBooks is a great platform to sell used books. It does offer a QR code for shipping if you don't have a printer for the mail labels. If you use this option, you'll have to ship out packages during regular USPS business hours and stand in line to get the code scanned as they don't work with the self-service kiosks.
Figure out and articulate why you want to declutter, and what your end goal is. Are you simplify purging unnecessary items that have accumulated over the years or are you looking for a complete overhaul of your life towards a minimalist philosophy?
Decluttering resources
Books
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (*****) (affiliate paid link)
Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki (****) (affiliate paid link)
The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker (****) (affiliate paid link)
The Swedish Art of Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson (****) (affiliate paid link)
Donations with pick up service
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) (clothing and other donations)
Purple Heart Foundation (PH) (clothing and other donations)
PCs for People (non-profit org that has locations across the country for donating old computers and laptops)
Tools
Digital postal scale (affiliate paid link)
Hard drive enclosures (affiliate paid link)
Hard drive (multidrive) bay enclosures (affiliate paid link)
My bookstore on PangoBooks
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My books on Poshmark
The office party or holiday white elephant gift
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What I’m reading / read
Adrift: America in 100 Charts by Scott Galloway (****) (affiliate paid link)
Audiobook narrated by John
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