A New Way to Declutter

True confession time. Our family has the hoarding gene. We fight it constantly but the urge to keep stuff way past its usefulness is always knocking on the door.  Because it’s a battle, I’m always looking for a new idea…a new “something” to help me be better at simplifying our home.

Recently, I read a book by Marie Kondo called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and it changed my whole perspective on de-cluttering. First, Marie says to go through your house by CATEGORY, not by room. So, instead of tidying the bedroom, then the play room, then the family room, get all of the toys, let’s say, in one room at one time.  Dig them out of diaper bags, the car…everywhere you have toys. Put them in one space and go through them all at once. Then you know exactly what you have.

Next, Marie suggests that instead of picking out from all the toys what you don’t want anymore, ask yourself “What sparks joy?” and keep those. Anything that doesn’t spark joy in you or your kids goes. Isn’t that a great way of looking at it?

Third, Marie says, tidying should be an event, not an every day task. That way you can be intensely focused on decluttering and not get worn out because you do it all of the time. This ideas fit perfectly with Divine Consign. Our sales only happen twice a year so it’s easy to spend focused, intentional time getting ready in the fall and then again in the spring, instead of year-around.

Here are some ways Marie’s methods of tidying can be applied to Divine Consign:

1. Consigning might seem overwhelming at first so we just tell our consignors to start with the big stuff. Gather all of your baby equipment (bouncers, car seats, pack ‘n plays, strollers…so many strollers!, etc.) in one place. Decide which ones bring your child joy (or you, because they’re so occupied in it) and decide you’re going to sell those things which have outlived their usefulness.  You only need 20 items or $50 worth of items to consign, so it doesn’t take long to get to those minimums if you’re selling large items.
2. Each day tackle a new category. Tomorrow maybe it’s all of your 3 year old’s clothes. Marie suggests getting all of the clothing out of the closet when you’re looking at clothes instead of going through them while they’re hanging. Get out all of the shirts first, then the pants, then jackets, shoes, etc. Shoes are a GREAT seller at DC. We get thousands of shoes and on average sell at least 80% of them!
3. Toys are another great seller at Divine Consign. Using Marie’s method you’d get all of the toys from the playroom, the bedroom, the diaper bag, the car, etc., put them out in one room. Choose the ones that bring joy, the ones your kids go back to again and again and then get rid of the rest. If you do it this way, it will be easy to see what’s broken and missing pieces that you can just trash and what would be good to consign.

Keep going through as many categories as you have time for. Other great sellers are books, feeding and diapering supplies, outdoor toys, puzzles, games…the list goes on. If you do this just twice a year, think of how much more space you’ll have!