Transcription
Today I want to share with you my simple rules for owning less stuff. These are just very easy rules, or guidelines more, that I've been using myself for years, and that will automatically result in you owning less stuff and less clutter in your home. So whether you want to pursue minimalism, or you just want to simplify things, or you want to spend less and save more, then this video will have some helpful ideas.
Welcome back everyone. And if you're new here, this is a place where you can get tips and inspiration for living a simpler, happier and calmer life. Definitely hit subscribe down below if you haven't already, because I would love to see you again next week. And today's video is kindly sponsored by Skillshare. I will chat more about them later. And I also have kind of a cool announcement that I want to share with you, so I will do that at the end of the video.
So these are my 20 rules that help me to keep my home, my wardrobe and my life simple and clutter free.
Number one: if you wouldn't have paid full price, you also don't need it if it's on sale or free. This is a little trick I like to use, and it makes it a lot easier. Because if something is on sale, or someone offers you something for free, it can be hard to decide whether you should take the deal or not. So ask yourself if you would also have paid full price for this item, if you could afford it. Because if you would, that means that you actually value the item itself. And if not, then that means that you probably don't really value it enough. And it is very likely to going to end up to be one of those things that you hardly ever use.
Number two: reduce gift giving. When it comes to the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, it kind of seems as though gifts are just always going to be a part of it automatically. And that there's always going to be a huge amount of stuff coming into your home. But it doesn't have to be the case. You can't just decide amongst yourselves to, this year, maybe do something else instead of gifts. So maybe doing something fun together, valuing shared experiences over material possessions. My partner and I have almost completely stopped gift giving between the two of us. So sometimes we will give each other something for our birthdays, but we never give anything for the holidays or for our anniversary. So we just choose to do something fun together instead and celebrate that way.
If you would feel relieved if it was no longer there, then you can feel good about letting it go. This is a rule that really helps me out a lot when it comes to decluttering. Whenever I'm not sure if I want to keep something or not. Ask yourself if you would feel relieved if one day you woke up and the item was just magically not in your home anymore. So it's just gone it's not something that you did, so you cannot feel guilty about it. But it's just not there anymore. And if you would feel relieved or lighter or happier, or some other positive feeling, then that is a good indication that you could probably feel good about letting it go.
Number four: one in, one out. A classic, but definitely very helpful. This rule means that whenever you bring something new into your home, something else needs to be decluttered as well. So that way, you will never increase the number of things you own. Definitely this one can be applied carefully, because I don't think it always works or with every category of things. But for example right now, this is what I'm doing with my own wardrobe. Because I have been really craving a change when it comes to my wardrobe. And that's because like probably three quarters of my clothing items are really old, like we're talking eight years or older. Which wouldn't be a problem, but it is really starting to show. And most of them have also gotten like one or two sizes too big for me. So I've been feeling a little frumpy. So I'm slowly working through my wardrobe, kind of mindfully replacing some items here and there. And then getting rid of the old one. And that way, I can really improve my wardrobe, but it will stay around that like 40 items that it is now.
Number five: be careful with gateway purchases. These are things that make you want to buy more of those things. And for example for me, plants is a good one. Whenever I buy a new plant, I notice that I'm always on the lookout for more plants like the weeks after that. Maybe for you, it's decor items, or clothing, or purses. Or books. I think is also a common one. Maybe it's skincare. So be careful with these gateway purchases.
Number six: if you didn't know you had it, you probably don't need it. If you're decluttering and you come across items that you didn't even realize or remember you had, then chances are very high that you don't really need that item. And you can feel good about giving it a second life somewhere else. This also works the other way around. If you go shopping and you see an item that you didn't know existed, then it is very likely that you also don't really need it. Because there wasn't really a problem or some kind of issue that you were facing that made you go out look looking for such an item. You're just seeing it and you think like: oh, that exists. So that can also be a good indication that this item would probably be excess.
By the way, this video is not meant to make anyone feel bad about buying some new things, or not being a typical minimalist or anything like that. So please take it the way I meant it. It's just a way to be more intentional with the stuff that we bring in and the stuff that we let go.
If you don't know where to put it in your home, be careful with this purchase. I always ask myself if I'm thinking of getting something new, where am I going to put it where in my home? Where is it going to live? And if I cannot think of a good place for it, then I'm very careful with that purchase. Because things that don't really have a home, or a place where they can comfortably fit in your home, are very likely going to make it look very cluttered and complicated.
Number eight: always do the math. You probably don't need 40 pairs of socks. But only owning two pairs of socks is also going to be annoying. So do the math here. It really helps. Just to quickly think like how many pairs of socks do you wear and how often do you do laundry. Just a quick math trick to determine how many pairs of socks is right for you. And this can be done with all kinds of household items that you don't know what to do with. Plates, even shoes, towels, bedding, sheets, you name it.
Number nine: shop from your own home first. I have made it a rule that if I feel like I want or need something, I will first just check to see real quick if I already have something in my home that I can use. And it might not do the job perfectly, but if it gets the job done then that is what I will try to do first. And this has definitely saved me from making a lot of unnecessary purchases in my life. For example, you might not need a new outfit for every event that you've got coming up. You know, depending on what it is and what the dress code is, there could be something that really works well already in your closet right now.
Number 10: wait with replacing things until it's actually necessary. We don't need a new phone every two years, or a new TV every couple of years. These kinds of purchases, I always try to postpone and make do with what I already have as long as possible. And that can really save you a lot of money over the years. Now there is a risk of going overboard here, and I've definitely gone there a bunch of times. So do be careful, because if something is falling apart, or if it takes like 10 minutes for your laptop to start, don't feel bad about replacing things that really need replacing. So try to find a balance here.
We have 10 more to go, but first I want to quickly tell you about today's sponsor which is Skillshare. I've been a huge fan of their platform for like three and a half years at this point, and I still continue to get so much value from their classes. Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes, on basically every topic that you can think of. I have used them to learn to take better care of my plants, or make my cappuccinos better, get back into playing the guitar. But also for my work. I have learned about digital design, and videography. Basically if there's something I want to learn or get better at, I watch a class on Skillshare. For example, one of the most fun classes I've done is called Illustrating expressive portraits from Maya Fadoul. She is so so talented. I use this class to make my very own first portrait ever, which was this one. Please let me know in the comments if you know who this is. Obviously, this isn't the best portrait out there, but it was my first one and I feel like it went pretty well. And I love learning from her. And you can even try them for a month completely for free. Because the first thousand people that use my link in the description box will get a one month free trial. You can try as many classes as you like, and if you don't like it, then you can just cancel within your trial and you won't be charged. But if you are anything like me, then I really think you'll love it. So check them out.
Number 11: don't own things that only serve one very specific purpose. Avocado slicers, pizza scissors, even something like a pancake pan (unless you make a lot of pancakes). But these are usually kind of like small things, but together they can really clutter up your space or your kitchen. Same with your wardrobe, buying shoes that you can only wear for one very specific occasion. There's always going to be exceptions of course. If you think that you will get a lot of use out of the item. But most of the time, these are things that could also just be done like the regular way, and you don't need that very specific item that supposedly is going to make it easier, but it doesn't really.
Number 12: just in case means never. Just in general this is more often true than not. So if you come across an item that you haven't used in years, there's very likely going to be a reason for that. So you might just say, you know, I will wait one more season, or one more year even, but if I haven't used it by then, out it goes.
Be careful with backlog items and use things up. For example this goes for beauty items, hygiene items, things like makeup, perfume, skin care. These things expire. And buying a new one when you haven't used up the old one yet is very likely going to result to a lot of clutter, and possibly a lot of waste. So you can use this with anything. Try to use things up before you buy a new one. You can also use this principle for books, reading them before you get new ones. So basically with anything that you can use up.
Number 14: own one of each category. My bathroom has become so much simpler and less cluttered when I started applying this rule, of just only owning one of each category of items. So I have one eye shadow palette, one mascara, one foundation, one lotion, one moisturizer, etc. And of course there's room for exceptions, so do what works for you. But in general, this can really help to decrease the number of things you own drastically. And save you a lot of money. Because you're not tempted to buy this new pretty lotion in the pretty stand in the store, or this new shade of something or other, because you already have something that you like.
Number 15: if you cannot use it a year from now, don't buy it. This is about avoiding super trendy things in general. And this is a great way to just have a lot less stuff. Because the things that you have, will be timeless. And you can just continue to use them year after year after year after year. Especially if you take care of them with a little love. Like these twister wiggly spoons with all the colors that you see everywhere right now. I mean I guess yeah, they are fun to look at. But you can immediately tell that this is going to be a very short-lived trend. When it comes to these hyper trendy, very specific things, they are very likely just going to look a little ridiculous a year from now. When they're no longer trendy. And it's one thing if something isn't trendy anymore but you still like it, then by all means keep using it. But it is very likely that you are also just kind of going to to be a little tired of it like a year from now. And that's just a waste in my opinion.
Number 16: become an outfit repeater. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing the same outfit again and again and again, in my opinion. And I think it's great. Because using things often will decrease their carbon footprint, it will decrease their cost per use. So the more use you can get out of a clothing item, the better. You can always try and mix things up or style them in different ways, if you want some more variety. And again, there is a balance here. If something is just used up and it shows, then don't feel bad about getting rid of it. But being an outfit repeater is just a really great way to get the most out of your wardrobe, without having to buy new things for it all the time.
Number 17: start a get rid of it box. Make it easier for yourself to declutter on the go. So as soon as you come across an item in your home, then you can drop it in the box. We have a little drawer that we use for that purpose. And once the box is full, you can just quickly go over all the items. See if there are any of them that you've actually missed in the meantime. If so, take them out. And the rest can be sold, given away, donated, recycled or tossed.
Will this actually make my life better in a real way? I've often had the feeling that so many items just exist out there in a world to solve imaginary problems that we just don't really have. Kind of like a solution to a non-existent problem. Certain tech gadgets can be a good example of this. Like sometimes they can actually make our life better, or easier, or more fun or whatever. But sometimes, I feel like if we didn't have the item our life would be exactly the same. Or maybe even a little bit better because we would have saved that space for something that actually has value for us.
Number 19: get rid of unnecessary duplicates. Really simple way to drastically decrease the number of things you own. Here again exceptions can be possible. If you have several of one thing, and you use them all the time, then that is fine. But you probably don't need like five teapots, or six different pairs of scissors, or three different kinds of woks, etc. Is it woks? Wok? It's a very strange word in English. If you want some easy decluttering, then just go over your stuff and identify some duplicates that you might have. And if you don't use all of them, then just keep the best one, the one that you use most of the time, and get rid of the rest. Easy peasy.
Number 20: the wish list. The best and most classic tip of all, the wish list. I have a rule for myself that I never buy things on impulse. So if I want something, I will write it on my wish list, or I'll take a picture of it in the store. And I have a rule that I will think about it at least for a few days. Or even a few weeks or months, if it is a bigger purchase. Impulse buys were definitely the biggest reason that I used to have way too much stuff. And that I was spending more money than was necessary. So if I write it down, I think probably four out of five times I end up not really wanting it anymore after a few days have passed. So if you want to decrease the number of things coming into your home, then start a wish list. And have a rule that you want to think about it at least for a few days.
Now that we are at the end of the video, I want to share a cool announcement with you. And that is that I've been asked to do a talk at this year's Get Organized HQ Virtual. This is an annual online conference with over a hundred creators speaking, and I am being interviewed on how minimalism relates to self-care. So it's a really cool event. There are sessions about home organizing, meal planning, budgeting, cleaning, decluttering, self-care, a lot more. The conference is from September 11th till 15th and the cool thing is you can attend it completely for free. I have a link in the description box that you can use to claim your free ticket. And you can watch all the sessions that you want for free, within the first 24 hours that they are up. So you can just select all the sessions that spark your interest, and you will be alerted when they are available for you to watch within the first 24 hours. You can also choose to upgrade to an all access pass. And this will give you lifetime access to all of the sessions, and also a lot of cool bonus content. So if you use my link to sign up and you upgrade to the all access pass, then I as a speaker also get a commission. So it's a great way to support the channel. It's also just really great value. But whether you you know get the free pass or your access pass, I definitely recommend signing up. Because there's going to be a lot of very interesting and inspiring sessions this year. If you have any questions about this, leave them in the comments. And you can also get your one month free trial of Skillshare, link in the description box. As always: questions, comments, conversations down below. Have a wonderful day and I will see you all again next week. Bye bye.
Alright, did you or did you not notice the little candle in the background of my video? Let me know in the comments. Because I always love watching videos with a candle, but I really don't know if it was noticeable.