What Do You Need- What to Keep and What to Get Rid of to Declutter Your Life
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Our “what do you need” questions stem from downsizing to jump into RV living. But this post will really apply to anyone looking around themselves and wondering how you got so much stuff and what to do about it.
The accumulation of things happens slowly, but eventually, you may look around and feel overwhelmed by all the clutter you see around you. I know I have!
So how can you decide what do you need? Keep reading to find out. A simpler life awaits you.
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What Do You Really Need in Life
In order to start decluttering and downsizing, you need to ask yourself this question: what do you really need in life? Take a minute to think about your priorities.
Media and marketing tell us all day about how we need to buy this and that in order to be happy. But if things could make people happy, don’t you think more people would be happy? The truth is, that there is scientific evidence showing exactly the opposite.
Being more materialistic contributes to poor emotional well being. Too often we as a society base success on how much money we make and how much stuff we have. However, if we fall into this way of thinking, we may soon find ourselves feeling more and more unhappy despite the supposed “success” we should have achieved.
But it isn’t too late to shift your focus and begin to think about what you really need in life.
The things that I really need in life will probably be different than what you need. But, if you start to really examine yourself and your life, I think you will start to find that the things that are cluttering up your house (or RV!) aren’t really making you feel happy and fulfilled.
Where to Start Decluttering
So if you’re starting to realize that you feel overwhelmed by your stuff, you are probably wondering where on Earth you should even start. Because stuff can have a lot of emotions attached to it, it is best to start with things that are easier to get rid of.
So don’t start with the sentimental items you have around your house. This is a recipe for giving up. Downsizing to just what you need takes time and practice.
Instead, start with that box that’s been sitting in your basement gathering dust for the last year or more. Do you even remember what’s in there? We had a box that we literally moved three times without unpacking.
It is honestly pretty sad when you think about it. It took us 3 years to finally go through that box and sell or give away the contents. Although you may not have moved as often as we have (we are a little crazy… can someone say wanderlust?), chances are you have a box or two of things you might “need” packed away.
Start there. With the things you may have even forgotten about. Have you even missed the things hidden in the dark recesses of the basement? You know, in those spaces you were terrified of as a child. Then, go to the things that maybe you don’t have packed away, but still, rarely use.
Do you really need 4 spatulas? Perhaps you could downsize to 2 as a start. What about that overflowing cupboard of Tupperware. (Be honest, we all have one.). How many of those do you actually ever use? Like does anyone ever use 4 spatulas at once? If you have, I seriously want to know when, because that could prove quite entertaining!
Before our second move, I got rid of probably half of my Tupperware. And you know what? I went through it again just last week and got rid of even more in preparation for this move!
Decluttering can be a continual process. It isn’t something that you are likely to do just once and be done with. We started getting rid of stuff a year ago and have been consciously trying to minimize since then.
As time goes on we still come across things we don’t even need anymore. So don’t put it on yourself to get everything sorted through in one weekend, because frankly, it isn’t gonna happen.
But starting somewhere, with those things that don’t mean much and are just taking up space, is a good move to begin the journey.
Decluttering Clothes
Oh, clothes. Americans have so many clothes, and yet, it seems we never have anything to wear. Funny how that happens isn’t it.
Society is always telling us you need this and that to be fashionable and pretty and liked. While you don’t want to look like a total hot mess, how you look on the outside shouldn’t be how you define yourself. Or how you define others.
So, if you’ve decided to get into minimalism, or maybe you just literally can’t even shut your closet door, keep reading for some tips to get that unruly closet under control.
There are lots of ways to declutter clothes. Some people recommend flipping your hangers every time you put something new up and looking at the hangers after 6 months or a year to see what you haven’t worn. Others suggest you take it all out and sort through it in a mad dash.
For me personally, I don’t have 6 months to get my moderately sized wardrobe to an RV sized wardrobe. Let me tell you, our RV has a lot of storage space, and I still need to downsize!
So I opted for the second method, touted by the professional tidier, writer, and now Netflix show lead, Marie Kondo.
Marie Kondo Method for Decluttering Clothes Helps You Decide What You Need
Marie Kondo suggests taking all of your clothing out of the closet and putting everything on your bed or floor. Then go through it one item at a time. If an item does not “spark joy” when you touch it, then you should let it go, according to this decluttering guru.
Another thing that I find really helpful when I think about what clothing I need (or want to keep) and what I don’t need is to think about who might really need it. There are tons of people out there who are less fortunate than I am.
By donating the clothing I am decluttering, I can feel good knowing I am helping someone else. I like to think “wouldn’t it be better for someone to love and wear this who maybe couldn’t afford brand new clothes than for it to just hang in my closet?”
The same can be said for a whole host of items in your house. There are so many people in need, and you can help make a difference by going through your things and deciding “what do you need” and getting rid of the rest.
Books to Help You Declutter Your Life
I have two absolutely FAVORITE books that I read while starting to declutter and minimize a year ago. I’ll give you a quick rundown so you can decide if one or both of these would be helpful for you.
The More of Less
The first is The More of Less, by Joshua Becker who also has an awesome blog called Becoming Minimalist where he offers tons of great information to his readers. His book really made me think about my values and how my things (and my actions) contributed to or subtracted from what is really important to me.
The More of Less Helped open my eyes to how much better life can be without everything around you cluttering it up. With less stuff, we have to devote less time and money to maintain it. This, in turn, leads to more time and money for the things that really matter.
For me the things that really matter aren’t things at all. Rather I value traveling, experiencing new things, and spending time with my friends and family. Stuff is just stuff, but those memories I make from what truly matters is what will last.
I 100% recommend this book! I know it sounds super cliché to say it, but I’m gonna say it anyway. This book is truly life changing. Joshua not only shares why minimalism is so fulfilling in his book but also how to get there. It is a step by step guide that will inspire you to simplify your things and your life.
Even if full on minimalism isn’t your ultimate goal, I think there is still a lot of great information to be gathered from The More of Less. Joshua Becker doesn’t advocate minimalism as deprivation or say that you can’t have any decorations on your walls or anything like that.
Some books I have read have made minimalism seem almost like a competition to see who can have the least. This is just another extreme of the societal issue of measuring success based on how much stuff we have. I think The More of Less presents a much healthier way of looking at things.
It is definitely worth the read!
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
The second book I recommend to anyone feeling overwhelmed by how much stuff they have accumulated is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Method of Decluttering and Organizing. Man, that title was a mouthful! I guess she didn’t opt for decluttering her book title.
Marie Kondo, the author of the book has some… let’s call them unique perspectives. Some of her ideas seemed a little crazy to me (such as thanking an item for its service before getting rid of it). But, the overall principles of the book were solid and informative.
If you can’t get over a bit of quirkiness though, stick with The More of Less. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up definitely has its quirks. But if you can overlook a bit of that, I think you will be incredibly happy from the practical applications this book has to offer.
In this book, Marie Kondo also walks you through step by step how to decide what you need and what to get rid of. Minimizing and getting rid of your things can be seriously overwhelming (trust me, I’ve been there!). Having a blueprint to get your through it makes it SO much easier.
She has an entire system to help you work through and declutter literally EVERYTHING in your house. It is seriously amazing!
If you feel like you have way too much junk and you have no idea where to start, this is a book you are definitely going to want to add to your list.
What to Do with All that Stuff
Some of your stuff might be worth selling, but some of it you may just be better off giving away. Here are a few of my favorite (and easiest) ways to sell items if you are looking to make some extra money to help pay off your debt or just build your savings.
Sell Things on Facebook Marketplace or Local for Sale Facebook Groups
These groups can be a great way to sell bigger items like furniture or appliances. So far, Joel and I have sold 2 couches, a dining room table set, an inflatable hot tub (literally the best purchase you can ever make, but not conducive to RV living), skateboards, and more.
We have made close to $1,100 selling unwanted items on Facebook.
Selling Items on Ebay
We have also had a lot of luck selling more unique items such as ski bindings, RC cars and parts, etc. on Ebay. You may even get more than you expect by setting up an auction for your items. Just keep in mind you’ll want to account for shipping costs so you don’t end up losing out on that money.
Decluttr
This is a pretty nifty app that you can use to sell electronics and things like DVDs and video games. For the latter, you can just use the app to scan the barcode and it instantly gives you a price they will pay. Add the items to your list, print out a pre-paid label, ship your items, and boom! Money in the bank.
While you won’t make a ton, many of the items Decluttr will pay you for are often harder to sell. So it is much easier than waiting around for someone to buy them. But you can still make some money as opposed to donating or giving these things away.
Bookscouter
BookScouter is the absolute best way to get the most money for your old books especially textbooks.
You just go to the website, enter in the ISBN number, and it automatically searches for the buyback price from 42 different vendors. This guarantees you get the most money in a matter of seconds. No more searching through different sites to find the best price and wasting a TON of time.
When Joel and I sold our old college textbooks, we got close to $300 between the two of us (aka, the amount of one new textbook…ugh. But hey, money is money, so I’ll take it for something that was just gathering dust.)
Check out my post on online yard sale tips for even more advice and to learn how Joel and I made around $2,000 by selling our old, unwanted items!
What Do You Need?
Hopefully, you are starting to get a bit better of an idea of how to answer the “what do you need” question now. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your stuff or like you are constantly cleaning things and maintaining them, what you need in life is probably less stuff.
If you are thinking to yourself, “YES! YES! That’s exactly what I need,” but have no idea where to start, be sure to check out the two books I mentioned above. I can guarantee they will start you on the path to a much simpler life.
And a simpler life, is usually a happier life. So go get your happy on by getting rid of all that junk! Don’t be like me and haul it around in a box for 3 years first…
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