Declutter with Danielle
I began my decluttering process once I moved into my first home in Indianapolis. I packed up all my things from my Mom’s, Dad’s, and my storage unit and essentially placed it all under one roof. I use the term "all" lightly because I still have a lot of things at my Dad’s house that I need to go through. The reason I’m telling you this is I didn’t realize how much STUFF I had until I was trying to put it all in ONE location. Once everything was right in front of me, I thought “Wow... I’m a hoarder” (LOL!) It was so over-whelming. So not only did I have to pack up all my stuff in a U-Haul, but also my boyfriend Mikey’s. And let it be no surprise he has a TON of stuff too. (Guess us hoarders are meant to be LMAO) Upon moving in, we knew it was an older home. therefore, there isn’t a lot of storage space like the houses that are built today. From the beginning I knew it was going to be a struggle to find a place for everything. But that also gave me the incentive to downsize tremendously. We were both bringing furniture, clothes, and miscellaneous items from both our parents’ AND college houses. Yikes! This is when my decluttering journey began. It isn’t easy, but it’s so worth it. It’s the start of a new life in a new home and where I truly feel a new chapter of adulthood began. Here’s how I got started.
Declutter
1. Selling
My very first step was just going through all our boxes to see exactly what we had. Some hadn’t been opened in months! Once we started going through our items, we decided what we ultimately wanted to keep and what we could part with.
Our furniture was the first big items we talked about getting rid of. We had an old sectional and futon from college that just had to go. Instead of donating it I wanted to get a little money out of it, so I added it on the Facebook Marketplace. If you haven’t considered selling your items on there, you should! It can be so easy! To be honest, you will get unreliable people inquiring but blow them off and focus on those who are serious buyers. Also, ALWAYS have someone with you when you’re meeting with a buyer or if you can't have a friend with you, meet at a police station or at least a public place. Be smart and safe when using marketplace and you’ll make some damn good money. I sold the sectional and futon within a week! I was ecstatic.
Next I started going through clothes and set aside things I didn’t want. I sold some clothes on Poshmark. It’s an app where you can buy or sell, new and used clothes. You can check out my closet here: https://poshmark.com/closet/danielledestroy The rest of the clothes that didn’t sell right away I took to Platos closet and believe it or not, I made decent money! Hooray! (I’ve had terrible luck selling there in the past) Then as far as the rest of my clothes that didn’t sell at Platos, I am having a garage sale with my family this summer. I also plan to put miscellaneous items in the sale as well. Then I’ve decided whatever doesn’t sell there, I will donate to the local churches. Cause it’s just time to let the stuff go, honey! You can’t have a re-sale value on everything. This leads me to my next step.
2. Donate
Like I said unfortunately you can’t get your money back out of everything, so there is always donating. I have donated to Goodwill and plan to donate my gently used clothes to local churches. While you’re not making any money, hopefully you will get the satisfaction of helping someone out that is in need. Also a tip, you can take donations out on taxes at the end of the year.
Organize
Organizing is my life! Mikey always asked me where something is and I reply: “It’s on the third shelf behind the notebook, next to my headphones” haha It’s just such a great feeling to be organized and know where everything is. Plus, it eliminates unnecessary stress. Here are the steps I took to get my new home organized:
Totes for Storage
Totes are your best friend when it comes to storing keepsake items. Boxes are nice to have but they wear down over time plus they don’t protect your items as well against weather and bugs (yuck). So with the advice of my Mom, Sheila I went to Walmart and bought several plastic totes. Sometimes they carry seasonal colors which is perfect for our Christmas and Halloween decorations.
For the neutral colored totes I just labeled on the side what they contain. It’s easier than opening each one when I’m trying to find something. I have used totes for:
keepsake items
Decorations / Seasonal
Extra items from various rooms
I'll get into this more later... Keep reading!
The Bathroom
Let me start by saying, my bathroom is super small! (ugh) And like the rest of the house there isn’t much storage space. There is a cabinet under the sink and that’s it. I can’t lie... I’m a girl and this was a struggle because I have so many products! Under the sink I have my straightener, curling wand, and blow dryer. I also put a few quick hair products that I use almost every day. Luckily, I also had a three shelf over the toilet storage from college—so this came in clutch. I’m so happy I held onto this. I added more baskets on the shelves to conceal some of my items. This made it look cute, organized, and clean. As for the rest of my products, there is one closet in the hallway this is used for some toiletries. They are organized by type in plastic totes on the top two shelves. I also keep my towels in here and other various bathroom items.
Before After
As you can see from the before and after pictures, I also changed the color theme of my bathroom. This is an inexpensive way to change up the vibe. Out with the old and in with the new!
The Kitchen
Let me just start by saying my kitchen counters are not always this chaotic. This was in the middle of me cleaning and I had to snap a picture before I re-organized the countertop. I decluttered my whole kitchen by organizing the counters, draws, and cabinets. When I graduated from college, I had a lot of kitchen supplies. This due to my family buying me items each year to prepare me for my first home (God bless them). Also, I managed to collect too many Cousin Vinny and Mug Club cups in college! (Whoops! Haha) But with my stuff and Mikey’s combined... we have a lot of shit. I went through everything and found we have doubles of appliances, a million hand towels, and too many zip lock containers. But instead of throwing these things out because they were still basically brand new, I stored them in a plastic tote in the garage. So, when the items we are currently using break or wear down I can pull out the duplicates from the tote. It’s a relief to know I downsized in my kitchen, extra appliances are neatly tucked away, and I don’t have to buy anything new anytime soon.
The Laundry Room
We don’t really have a laundry “room”, our washer in dryer is just off the kitchen. When we moved in there were doors, but once we installed the W/D the doors wouldn’t close. So, not only could you see the W/D but also the shelves that are on top filled with misc. things for the laundry and kitchen. I hated it! Then I thought one day... “I wonder if a curtain would look good there”. I found one that is almost identical to the colors of our walls and as you can see, it looks great! It’s no longer an eye sore and hides everything.
Before After
The Office
Our office was one of the last rooms I tackled. I have a desk and bookshelf that holds most of my office supplies. I began by reading through notebooks and folders. I shredded and threw away what I didn’t need, and I placed the papers I wanted to keep back in organized folders. Aside from papers, I am drowning in office supplies. (s/o to 4 years of college) I found way too many pens and pencils to count. I went through all the supplies and put duplicate items in a tote. It’s safe to say, I am stocked up on office supplies at least till 2022 (haha!) Now my office space looks professional and tidy.
Look below:
All these changes happened throughout the course of a year. We have cleaned, decluttered, and gotten ride of so many things. It’s a tough job, but I promise once you learn to let go of things that are no longer benefiting your life—it's so refreshing and easier to move on. Plus, being organized is a great habit to have. When you have an open, clean, and relaxed home you feel good. Everything just seems to fall into place. I’m not going to lie, there are still other things I want to tackle in my home, but I am appreciating how far I’ve come and looking forward to making more changes. Mikey and I are so fortunate to have learned what it takes to have our own house this past year. As we continue our journey together, we will take all that we’ve learned to our next home.
If you have any tips when it comes to organizing and decluttering definitely send me a message! I love to hear new ideas and perspectives.
xo,
Dani Kaye