Decluttering Breakthrough

I’m all finished with gift wrapping for the holidays and January birthdays. So it’s time to put everything away. It’s always a big job to get it all boxed up again. But this year, I’ve had a decluttering breakthrough!

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Decluttering Breakthrough — The starting point

Between being ultrafrugal and not wanting to get rid of perfectly good wrapping materials, PLUS inheriting several more boxes from my sister in law, I have far too much to easily store.

For years, my “method” of storing has been to keep putting more items into more boxes so that the wrapping supplies have kept growing. But I no longer have little kids and all their birthday parties to use up these supplies.

My approach saved a lot of money over the years, and it also let me tread more lightly on our environment by using the sustainable gift wrapping I already had.

But this year, I’ve had a decluttering breakthrough and made a decision to only keep what I can fit into one large bin.

Since wrapping paper rolls won’t fit in any bins or boxes, I’ll only keep what fits in my current storage container for wrapping paper: a tall kitchen trash can.

This has not been an easy decision for me. I had to let it sit overnight. And I backpedaled, thinking, “I’ll just do Christmas, not all occasion.”

I think I kind of have a problem with clutter. I can hear my kids now, “Kind of?!?”

It’s not like I can’t get rid of things. In fact, when I have the time to sort and cull I love to get rid of things. I’m happy to sell it, give it, donate it, upcycle it or recycle it. But I hate throwing things out!

Is It Worth Saving Things You MIGHT Use?

Growing up, I lived on a farm in Pennsylvania. We had a large house, a big barn, a garage, a carriage house, an old pig pen, the wood shed, a root cellar and a big old chicken coop we transformed into a pasture shelter for the horses. That’s a lot of places to store things that might be useful.

You may wonder how much I actually use items I’ve saved. In fact, we find uses for such items on a routine basis. For instance, when we built the chicken coop and run, we had a lot of materials, hardware, tar paper, lumber, plywood, screws, tools and more. It saved hundreds of dollars.

I don’t remember how many times we’ve needed to fix something in the house and my husband found the right tool or part in our collection. And we give an extra thank you to God and our Dads who left it all to us.

But where is the line between keeping useful stuff and hoarding? I think it depends on the person and on the space you have available. No one thinks farmers with hundreds of planters are hoarding. Keeping the wood shed full of usable lumber is necessary for all those farm and home projects. It saves a lot of money and time.

Why I Needed a Decluttering Breakthrough

I’ve been telling my dear husband, Dana, that it’s not fair to the kids if they inherit this house someday with this much stuff in it! I was complaining about my husband’s “stuff.” But I was overlooking my own!

Here in Connecticut, I live in a much smaller house. I find that when we accumulate too much of anything, it tends to spill over into our living areas, or makes navigating the basement more difficult. That means it’s high time to do something about it.

The Decluttering Process

I found the bin I was looking for! Last spring, it was a brooder for my baby chicks! So it comes with great memories. (Don’t worry, it was thoroughly cleaned.)

My First Brooder: An extra large plastic bin covered with an old window screen.

To begin, I started sorting everything. As I sorted, I pulled out items that were ripped, faded, discolored or crumpled.

Then I went through each category to further eliminate items I don’t really like, or just don’t think I’ll use. My goal was to elimate between one-third and one-half of items in each category. Here are my categories:

All Occasion Gift Bags
All Occasion Wrapping Paper
Christmas Gift Bags
Christmas Wrapping Paper
Bows
Ribbon
Tissue Paper
Rolls of Wrapping Paper

I came to two important realizations while I went through everything. First, if I felt something wasn’t good enough to use outside the family, then I shouldn’t keep it for family either. Second, when I found myself struggling with a decision or arguing with myself to justify keeping something, that meant I needed to let it go.

Nitty Gritty Details

It was easy enough to dispose of the crushed bows. I still have too many! I’m going to give them one more sort and donate some.

I have to admit I had fun seeing all the tissue paper colors and patterns. It always helps to find some fun within a big job!

It was easier going through the paper than I thought. Since I decided on size and quality guidelines ahead of time, it really sped up the process. I couldn’t believe how many gift bags I had!

What’s Left?

I’m pleased to see how much is in good shape that I can give away! There are almost 50 gift bags, plus unopened gift wrap packs, tissue paper and 3 spools of ribbon. In addition, I’ve decided to give away at least a couple dozen bows.

I’ll be offering these on the Buy Nothing group I joined. It’s sort of like Freecycle but meant to be a community and you only join a local group. I’ve picked up some water glasses after breaking a record number this year. And when I shared that my daughter’s blender had stopped working, I had a new one in my hands in about an hour! I definitely recommend checking to see if there’s a Buy Nothing group for your town!

Decluttering Phase II

I still have all of THIS to get rid of.

I’ll be able to make use of a few items elsewhere. For instance, I’m putting a chunk of tissue paper with my Christmas decorations. I noticed when I wrapped up the fragile ornaments this year that the tissue I keep reusing has outlived its usefulness! I already moved plain, handled bags near the door for anything going to a neighbor or someone from my Buy Nothing group. There are also some items slotted for the craft area. But I may have been kidding myself about those. I’ll give them one more look. What can I say, it’s a process, right?

I’ll be pulling every bit of recyclable material from the pile of debris. I’ll be using the giant plastic gift bag for clothing donations or storage.

Ultimately, a lot of the gift bags that are worn out will have to go in the trash. But I need it out of my house. I’ll have to content myself with the knowledge that they prevented me purchasing new ones and were enjoyed over and over. I hope sustainable gift wrapping becomes the new trend.

The Final Analysis

Bin holds Christmas and All Occasion wrap, bags, tissue, bows and ribbon

This process was empowering. I decided that my space and peace of mind are more important than some item’s potential use. Letting go, literally and figuratively, means less stuff to take up space in my house and in my mind. That means less stress.

Now I need to multiply this attitude and this effort times every drawer, cabinet and nook in my house and garage. Doesn’t that sound horrifying?! But I need to make it happen one space at a time. I can live with that.

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