Are you a Pack Rat?

Are you downsizing?  Do you have a lot of stuff that you want to clear out?  Is it hard for you to say goodbye to things in your house or apartment?

Many of us have collected decorations, mementos, furniture or things in general.  If you do have to downsize or if you are just interested in decluttering a bit it can be overwhelming.

Today we are going to suggest ways that you can cut back on things that you have so that you can move to a smaller place or just live simpler.

First, you should try to come up with a timeline and scope.  Do you want to go into each room, some rooms and based on what is there is it a week long job or a month long job?  

Once the scope is decided, work in one room at a time and don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself.  Assign your belongings to each category below.  This can be difficult.  Do some then go back later if you get overwhelmed..

Next, you set up and label containers for five possibilities:

• Keep put away where it belongs.
• Fix or mend and then put it away.
• Recycle.
• Trash meaning you just don’t need it anymore.
• Donate.  It’s still in good condition and someone else might use it.

Finally, there are some decluttering “rules” that you might find helpful:

20/20 rule: This means you get rid of anything that you can purchase or replace for $20 or in 20 minutes.

80/20 rule:  Get rid of or store 80% of your belongings.  It turns out that you and I usually use 20% of our belongings regularly which means that 80% goes unused.

Five second rule:  Give yourself five seconds with each belonging.  If you can’t remember in five seconds when you last used it, it’s time to say goodbye.

Private Home Health Care knows many people who are downsizing.  It can be hard to make decisions on belongings that you have had for a while.  It can also be satisfying to get organized and sometimes it just needs to be done.