You’ve decluttered your home and your life, and it feels amazing, you love your life after decluttering. You’re finally able to breathe again, and you like the way your home looks without all of the clutter. But now what? How do you maintain a minimalist lifestyle? And what do you do with all the clutter that you put aside?
Let us face the truth: life after decluttering can be either really good or the same. You might think that once you declutter – you are done. But an important ongoing step is to maintain & prevent your space from cluttering again.
Another important point to remember is that decluttering is the first part of the project, the second one is to get rid of all the clutter by donating, selling, recycling, or just throwing away.
Once you master these two things, a clutter-free home is guaranteed for the rest of your life. Therefore, a happy, healthy, and productive life too!
What happens after you declutter?
You will probably find that you have more time on your hands after decluttering. This is because you are no longer spending time searching for things or cleaning up clutter.
Some people find that their relationships improve after decluttering, according to this article, because they finally focus on what matters to them and not consuming their energy on unnecessary things.
Others find that they have more money after decluttering because they are no longer tempted to buy things they don’t need and can save/invest their money.
Whatever the case may be, decluttering has the potential to change your life for the better in many ways.
What to do after decluttering?
Congratulations! You have done a great job with decluttering your stuff. But those items are still in your house, so what can you do with them?
Donate
The easiest and most common thing to do with your decluttered items is to donate them.
There are many charities that would love to have your things. And it is a great way to declutter your house and help others at the same time.
Things to remember when you want to donate your stuff:
- Make sure all the items are in good condition.
- Do some research and find a charity that accepts the type of items you want to donate.
- Get a receipt for your donations so you can use it for tax purposes.
- Ideally, you want to sort and distribute them to make it easier for the charity.
- Let go emotionally and feel good about your decision to help others.
Give to friends and family
If you have items that are in good condition and you think that some of your friends or family members could use them, then you can give them away.
By doing this, you declutter your house and help your loved ones at the same time. It’s a win-win!
Maybe your sister could use that dress that you never wear because it’s too big. Or your brother could use that tool set that was gifted to you but you don’t need it.
Just make sure that the person you are giving it to actually wants it and will use it.
Sell
If you want to make some money from your decluttered items, then you can sell them. You can have a garage sale or sell them online.
Things to remember when you want to sell your stuff:
- Take good pictures of your items if you are selling them online.
- Write a product description that is accurate and honest.
- Price your items reasonably.
- Make sure all the items are in good condition and working properly.
- Do some research and find out what similar items are selling for.
- Be prepared to negotiate the price.
- Promote your garage sale in the neighborhood.
Tip: It is best to have a garage sale over an online sale because it takes less time. Usually, it takes a lot of time to sell stuff online, which means that those items are still going to stay in your house and take up space.
Recycle
If you have items that are no longer usable, then you can recycle them.
This is a nice way to declutter your house from broken or unusable items and help the environment at the same time.
Things to remember when you want to recycle your stuff:
- Check with your local recycling center to see what items they accept.
- Make sure the items are clean and dry.
- Remove any batteries or light bulbs and recycle them correspondingly as well.
- Follow the instructions of the recycling center.
Repurpose
If you feel creative, then you can repurpose your decluttered items.
This means that you can use them for something other than their original purpose.
Things to remember when you want to repurpose your stuff:
- Use your imagination and be creative.
- Look for inspiration online or in magazines.
- Give the item a new purpose that BRINGS VALUE to your house.
How to maintain a decluttered home?
There are some key things you can do to make sure that your home stays decluttered:
1. Implement the one in, one out rule
One way to make sure that your home stays decluttered is to use the one in, one out rule. This means that for every new thing that comes into your home, you have to get rid of an old thing. This rule helps to prevent your home from becoming cluttered because you are always getting rid of things as new things come in.
However, it doesn’t mean that you are allowed to buy new things all the time, it just means that when you do buy new things, you have to be conscious of getting rid of something else.
Another thing to be aware of is that the one in, one out rule doesn’t just apply to physical things, it can also apply to digital things like subscriptions or apps.
Related: How to Get Rid of Sentimental Items With No Regret?
2. Have a place for everything
Another way to maintain a decluttered home is to have a place for every item in your home. This means that you know where everything is supposed to go and it has a designated spot. When everything has a place, it is easier to keep your home decluttered because you can just put things away when you’re done using them.
Otherwise, those items are going to end up in a pile somewhere and eventually create clutter.
3. Declutter on regular basics
A well-kept home requires decluttering regularly. This means that you go through your things regularly and get rid of anything that you no longer need or use.
You can do this once a month or every two months, depending on how quickly your things accumulate (the slower, the better, obviously).
The important thing is to declutter regularly so that it becomes a habit and your home stays clutter-free.
If not, all of your hard work will go to waste and you’ll be back to square one.
4. Set limits on things
To maintain a decluttered home, it is important to set limits on the number of things you own. This means that you only allow yourself to have a certain number of items in each category.
For example, you might only allow yourself to have 50 pieces of clothing in your wardrobe.
Related: Minimal Capsule Wardrobe: How to Build One?
Or no duplicates of anything (if you have two of the same thing, you get rid of one).
This helps to prevent your home from becoming cluttered because you are only allowing yourself to have a certain amount of things.
It also helps you to be more mindful about the things you do allow into your home.
Related: 30 Things I Stopped Buying as a Minimalist
5. Be mindful of your purchases
No impulsive buying!
This is probably the most important rule of all when it comes to maintaining a decluttered home. You have to be mindful of your purchases and only buy things that you need or will use.
If you’re not careful, it is very easy to let your home become cluttered with things that you don’t need or use.
One way to do this is by creating a list of things that you do need. And then only buy those things. If you see a cute cup in a store and you are tempted to buy it, remember that it is not on your list, which means that you don’t need it.
You can also give yourself a cooling-off period before making a purchase. This means that you wait 24 hours or more before buying something. This gives you time to think about whether or not you need or want the item. If after the cooling-off period you still want the item, then you can go ahead and buy it. But more often than not, you will find that you don’t want it anymore.
6. Keep a decluttering box
Keeping a decluttering box is a smart way to prevent your home from becoming cluttered.
A decluttering box is a box where you put all of the things that you no longer need or want.
So, let’s say you peacefully walk through your house and you see a pillow on your couch that you think doesn’t add any value to your home.
You would then put that pillow in your decluttering box.
The idea with the decluttering box is that when it gets full, you get rid of it. This way, you are constantly decluttering your home and getting rid of things that you don’t need.
Also, you keep all of your clutter in one place which makes it less noisy visually.
7. Have a regular cleaning routine
Having a regular cleaning routine is essential for maintaining a decluttered home.
This is because clutter can also be associated with dirt and dust. It plays the same role: it feels like it’s everywhere and it’s just too much to deal with.
So it is better to have a regular cleaning routine to help you keep your home decluttered and clean.
You can create a cleaning schedule and plan to clean certain areas in your house. For instance, you can dedicate Monday to cleaning the bathroom, Tuesday to doing the laundry, and so on.
8. Have enough storage space
This one is a little bit contra intuitive, and I get it. But let me explain.
I live in a house with only the essentials. So I have only what I strictly need. But I also tried to stay pretty minimum with furniture. And that is where a problem has arisen.
I had so little space to put my things that everything was constantly out in the open.
And that led to visual noise and a feeling of being overwhelmed every time I looked around my house. It was a disaster.
So, I’ve learned that it is very important to have enough storage space in your house. This way, you can put things away and avoid visual noise.
You don’t need a lot of storage space, but you need to find that sweet spot where you have just enough to put your things away.
Related: How to Finally Get Into the Decluttering Mindset
Life after decluttering: Final thoughts
You have done a hard job of decluttering. It’s a lot of work but it hasn’t finished yet. You have to constantly keep up with it or else your house will become cluttered again.
But it’s not going to be that hard anymore once you get into the habit of decluttering. In fact, it could become quite an enjoyable activity.
And it will be worth it because you will have a clean and organized house that brings you joy.
I hope this was an insightful article that helped you understand what to do with your life after decluttering. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I will get back to you.
Cheers, Diana