How I’m Learning To Throw Out What I Don’t Need - 4 Lessons I've Learned

Hello Everyone!

It’s been a while since I last spoke about an interior design or even an organisation topic. Of course, that’s all because I’m back on track with my blog posts now, and we can get back to the planned schedule. Anyway, let’s move on, because I’ll talk about this in another blog post, and let’s talk about throwing out things you don’t need. For some of you, you’ll know that I’m a little bit of a hoarder (if I’m a hobby hoarder, you’ll know I have stashes and stashes of things that I “need” for my hobbies), and sometimes, things get tucked away and never see the light of day again.

Well, over the past few months, because I’ve had time, I’ve started to reorganise some of my things. I’ve thrown out quite a bit, maybe not from my hobby hoard, but most definitely lots of personal items. I have things that are kept tucked away, under my bed, or at the back of my wardrobe that I haven’t touched in years, and quite frankly, are no longer part of my routine, and as I slowly whittle away the things I don’t need, I now have space for what I do need. Essentially, I learned a lot about being resourceful and learned that I don't always need to replace something old and worn with something new. So, here are 4 lessons I learned, while throwing out what I don’t need.

1.   Do It Slowly

It can be nice to see a whole pile of old junk that you no longer need, going into the bin, or hauled off to a charity shop, but sometimes, doing a full clear-out can be pretty damaging. I don’t’ mean for the environment, although that is one reason. What I mean, is it can be damaging for you, since you’ve cleared out things that you might have needed in the future, without realising it. Essentially, when you clear out some of your belongings, you might actually be throwing away something you do need.

Think about it like this: when you throw away a cute backpack that you think you’ll never use, after some time has passed, you realised that perhaps you need a new one, because you threw it out. So, you buy one. You wouldn’t need to have bought that new one, if you hadn’t thrown the thing out in the first place. So, when you do a clear-out, maybe do it a few spaces at a time. What I mean is one month, clear out your kitchen, the next, your bedroom, and then the next your office. Don’t do it all at once, because you never know what you’re going to need.

2.   The 1-Month Rule

Now, this is usually applied when you buy something new, but it can also be applied when reorganising your space and home. Usually, when looking at the things you have in your home, you’ll probably ask yourself, if you’ll use whatever it is in the future. Give yourself 1 month. Rather than making a decision, based on a nebulous amount of time, ask yourself if you’ll use the item within the next month. If not, throw it out.

I know this rule has been said multiple times before, but it is a good factor when making a decision about your personal belongings. The truth is we all hoard something. If it’s not collectibles and decorative pieces for the home, then it’s clothes, and devices that we assume we’ll need, sometime in the future. When reorganising and decluttering your home, think about the things you do use every day. You don’t need 5 different grease cleaning bottles for your kitchen, because you know you’ll only use the one, and the other 4 very occasionally. Throw those extra bottles away. You don’t need them.

3.   Little & Often

This ties into the first lesson. You don’t always need a big clear out. Sometimes, it’s best to do it often, especially if you have a big home, or a lot of stuff. It can be overwhelming to look through every item in your stores. So, clear out what you don’t need, often. Do it in small chunks, and perhaps, exercise some self-control, especially when you buy things for yourself (and I don’t mean groceries and things you use every day). If you often clean out your stores, you’ll find there’s less stuff to actually clean, and if you don’t buy it back, you can use whatever space it will take up, for other things.

I’ve learned to frequently clear out my room, since I don’t have much space (literally, the right people will know what I mean), I’m also learning to use up the resources I currently have, because I have plans for other things that I will need to buy for, in the future. So, by using up, or throwing away the things I don’t need, now, I’m freeing up space for the future. It’s not a noticeable difference, when you do this, but later down the line, you will find yourself finding more space for things that you couldn’t find space for, before. Does that make sense?

4.   If It’s Complicated, It’s Redundant

Nowadays, big companies will tell you that their latest gadget will save you more time and energy for something you could have done with your hands. Let me be clear, these gadgets are not aimed for the abled-bodied. They are aimed for people who have motor-function issues. They are not for you. They may look like a shiny, new gadget that will entice you, and will be marketed as a boon for you and your home, but they most certainly are not, especially when you can do the thing yourselves.

These gadgets are not always time savers, they are not always energy efficient. In fact, they will do the things you can manually do, in double the time you do it yourself, and require more power to do it. For example, if you bought an electric peeler for your kitchen, you don't need it. It’ll probably take a good 2 or 3 minutes to peel a carrot with it, than if you manually peel that same carrot. You'd probably take half a minute to do it, and it actually helps with hand-eye coordination. Essentially, that electric peeler is a complicated, and potentially dangerous device (because it is a sharp object and it may have a battery that might explode, if it was assembled incorrectly). So, there's no need for you to buy it. Now, again, I must emphasise that these devices can be useful, but for those who actually need it. For those of us who can do things manually, and I’m going to say this as nicely as I can, don’t be lazy.

Learn To Throw Out What You Don’t Need

Ok, the last one might have taken a turn in tone, but I guarantee you, at some point in your life, you will find yourself hoarding things in your home that you don’t need. Keep track of them and throw out the ones you haven’t used in a while, and the things that you think you won’t ever use again. It’s not just about keeping your home clean. It’s about keeping your mind clean too, because as the old adage goes, a clean home is a clean mind. It’s true that when a space that’s been dirty and unkempt for a long time is cleared out, you’ll find that you’ll have space in your mind as well. It throws out the old sentimental things that have no use being there anymore, and you can move on, and do things in a more positive light.

Ok, I didn’t mean to go too deeply into things, but you guys get what I’m saying, right? I’m sure you do. Anyway, I think I’ll go clear out some of the things under my bed, and maybe one of my hobby bins…I really do need to get on top of that. While I do that, please don’t forget to like, subscribe, comment, share and follow me, here on Feather’s Charm, on my YouTube channel, on my other social media channels (Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok), and on Patreon. Your support really helps me make more content like this, for you guys.

And as always, be kind, be creative, and be unique.

I’ll see you later!

Feather, out!