The Quick Purge – Purging Your House

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We’ve happily closed the door on 2020 and are moving on to a new and better 2021. Many things are out of our control, but purging our house is not one of those things.

Did you know having fewer things can make your stress levels go down? If you have watched or read anything about organizing your home, stress-reducing is mentioned a lot.

Purging May Be Emotionally Hard

First, let me start by saying purging is hard. It is emotionally (and sometimes physically) hard to let go of things. Because it is emotionally hard, I’m not going to talk to you about letting go of personal or sentimental items yet. I’m talking about items you don’t use and you don’t love. Those items are taking up valuable space in your home.

Second, it takes time. Start slow and in small areas. If you don’t, you can get very overwhelmed and give up. All that will lead to is more of a mess and more stress.

If you look at any of my social media channels (Instagram, Facebook), I post pictures of my house all the time. Sometimes I will even do a swipe right hashtag to show you what my house looks like when it is not picture perfect. See the picture below to see how it looks like it could be in a magazine on the left and then an average house on the right? Don’t believe everything you always see on social media. Your house probably looks like everyone else’s house, so don’t beat yourself up. Know you will get it more clutter-free as the months go by.

On the left, you see my house when it’s cleaned and when the kids’ aren’t home. The picture to the right shows my house how it looks most of the time.

I have two versions of how I purge around my house. One method is quick and easy. The other one, I call “The Great Purge,” takes time. I recommend everyone start with the “Quick Purge,” and then you can move on to the “Great Purge” when you are ready.

The Quick Purge – Purging in Ten Minutes

Grab a garbage bag and a box for donation items. Set a timer for ten minutes and get as much stuff as possible in the garbage bag and the donate box. You don’t have to pick a room you can move freely about your house.

An example of me doing this would be going through junk mail on the counter, seeing toys that the kids haven’t played with in a long time or are broken and need to be thrown away, going through my closet quickly to get clothes that do not fit or are not in style and I won’t wear.

  • Messy countertops
  • Closet
  • Kid’s room
  • Junk drawer
  • Vehicle
  • Toybox

Sometimes if I don’t even have 10 minutes, I make a habit of grabbing a piece of clothing every time I go into my closet or the kid’s closets.

The “Quick Purge” is a no-thinking-involved purge. Just do it quickly and without thought. Then get the bag in the garbage and put the donate box in your car so you can take it to Goodwill or any other local donation place ASAP.

Once you have tackled a Quick Purge, tackle a drawer as I did in the picture below.

The top picture shows the bathroom drawers before, and the bottom shows what grouping things together and purging makes it look like.

Questions To Ask Yourself

If you answer no, then you can probably throw away or donate:

  1. Do I use this item?
  2. Do I love the item?
  3. Will I miss it if it’s gone?

If you answer yes, then you can probably throw away or donate:

  1. Is it expired?
  2. Is it old?
  3. Do I have too much of this item?

Homework

**Tackle one small area/drawer in your home and comment below how many items you could donate. 

Stay Tuned for “The Great Purge”

If you have mastered the Quick Purge and are ready for the next step, stay tuned for Part 2 of this series.

In the meantime, if you want to get started on your digital life, check out my post here.

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