My #1 Tip for Decluttering Your House this Spring

It's always a little strange coming back to the blog after playing hooky. Whether it was an intended hiatus or not, you're a little hesitant. Do I have to address my absence? Jump right into today's post? Does anyone really care?

Since the answer to the last question is a definitive "no," I'm going to get on w/ it. Today I'm talking about decluttering, which means I'm basically here to brag about how awesome Brent and I have been with purging the stuff we've amassed in our house the last few years.

Decluttering and minimalism are all the rage, and look at me for once, on point with a trend. Right in time for spring cleaning, no less. 

You've got your rubber gloves and mop at the ready, the Windex nozzle is turned to "spray" and you're armed with a duster that's finally going to see the baseboards and ceiling fan for the first time since you've moved in. Awesome. 

Sorry to do this to you, but before you roll up your sleeves and plug in the vacuum, you'll need to declutter. Why spend time dusting and cleaning stuff that you might end up donating or throwing out? 

Step 1: get a bunch of boxes. Step 2: cut a hole in the box. Just kidding, we all know that's step 1. (kidding again, but if you don't know that reference, are we even friends?) You've assembled your boxes and are ready for the final step, so here it is: pack up all the stuff you ABSOLUTELY NEED and move to a house that is approximately a third of the size of your current house. Anything non-essential can be donated, sold, or trashed. FYI: selling your stuff isn't easy and it's never worth as much as you think it is, so learn your nearest Good Will, Salvation Army, Savers location since you'll be making a lot of trips there. 

My number one tip for decluttering is a little different than finding what sparks joy, and it certainly isn't on any minimalism websites I've seen, but I'm here to tell you that it works. If you follow this guide, you too can live in a space without the crap you've been dusting and "organizing" around your house. 

I hope this helps make your spring cleaning easier, since you'll have so much less to actually clean. Brent and I are currently setting up shop in our new, smaller space, all 802 square feet of it. Small? Yes. I prefer the term intimate. Snug. Our cozy new home with so much less stuff and so much more possibility.