Purging Your House of Junk – Getting Rid of Stuff You Don’t Need

The signs of spring and summer are often as classic as yard sales. Spring cleaning, which really should happen with every seasonal change, is all about purging your house of junk. And look, we all have it!

What may surprise you is how liberating and cleansing the removal of life debris from your home can truly be. Spiritually speaking, which may be a bit far-fetched for many people (but hear it out anyways), there is a universal adage that says when we refuse to let go of things in our life, we restrict the ability for new things to come our way. This is absolutely true when it comes to the hoarder-like tendencies that many of us develop in the name of storage.

What it translates to is the fact that keeping those tote boxes piled high in the garage, shoving things into the attic to be saved for later, and piling more and more stuff upon more and more stuff—only makes you a prisoner in your own home. Too much stuff can get in the way of life. And when too much stuff piles up on top of even more stuff, you eventually run out of room, both literally and metaphorically, for new things in your life.

Lots of people grew up with parents who refused to throw anything away. Ever. This included every memento from their childhood, newspapers, or articles of clothing that have long since gone out of style. For these people, the ingrained belief that you have to hold on to everything in life as tightly as possible is a limiting belief. Sure, things are stored and put away with the outward intention that there may come a time when it will be needed again, or you’re saving it for a yard sale. Perhaps you’re keeping it until you “get enough stuff” to call the Salvation Army for a pick-up. But the truth is, people often keep things around—useless things—simply because they get some emotional comfort from them.

Purging your house of junk is a great way to gain a new and clear perspective on many things in life. For one thing, the environmental chaos caused by heaps of ‘crap’ all over the house can make life stressful, to say the least. It can also make it difficult to manage tasks at home or find the simple things you need daily to function effectively. How irritating is it when you have to push aside 30 things just to find the nail clippers? Plus, when you go through all the stuff you’ve accumulated, you become more aware of your needs versus your wants. How much of the stuff that’s now deemed useless did you pay for with a credit card? Can you see any patterns in your impulse to buy or collect things around the home?

The Benefits of Letting Go

Sometimes, saving things for later is simply a matter of being thrifty. You keep the bouncy seat because you might have another baby. You store the extra set of dishes because you may need them one day. However, consider this: always trying to save and plan your future needs around what you can store in your home doesn’t leave much room for faith in how the future will unfold. And ask yourself, is there really any benefit to cluttering up your home just so you can keep old shoes and hundreds of items that you “might use” one day? Sure, it would be nice to sell all of this stuff and make a buck, but the bottom line is you probably don’t have the time or inclination to do so. And if you have a yard sale, chances are you won’t unload most of the stuff you have because it’s simply useless! So why not donate, give away, or repurpose the things that are making your life complicated? This way, you can truly live in the space you have, with the things you need—right now!

There is nothing more fulfilling than going through a child’s toy box and getting rid of all the broken bits and pieces of Happy Meal toys that have resided untouched for years at the lonely bottom. Yet many people find it difficult to make the same purges with their child’s intact toys (that are collecting dust in the corner) or outgrown clothes.

Is it because getting rid of these things means that phase of your life is over?

Often, getting rid of things in your home IS about moving to the next phase of life. But what’s so bad about that?

Expert organizers suggest going through your home one area at a time. Ask yourself: Are you ever going to use this item? And if you haven’t used it in three months or more, is it really that important? Then start making piles or stuffing trash bags full of things that you don’t want, need, or use. Some of it will just be trash. Other things can be donated to local charities. What will amaze you is that you won’t miss any of these items in the days ahead. But you will feel a huge sigh of relief that you’ve cleared more space in your home and streamlined your life.

If there are some things that are sort of useless but you’re just not ready to part with, store them sensibly for later. Additionally, make sure your efforts to stay organized aren’t actually making you more of a junk collector. Often, baskets, totes, and organizers end up being catch-alls that accumulate clutter. The same goes for toy boxes and chests. So, be careful of having too many of these areas around.

Another great idea for keeping your home junk-free is to designate one place (or tote) where family members can put things they are ready to part with. Then, every few weeks, the outdated sweater your husband gave you, the old radio that doesn’t work, or even your child’s collection of My Little Ponies that she’s outgrown, will be collected and donated to people who can use the stuff you no longer do.

The last piece of advice is this: If you’re a minimalist but live with a family that constantly collects stuff, try this! Send them out for a few hours and secretly trash and ditch everything they don’t use anymore, need, or want. Just make sure you have all the junk out of sight before they return, lest they try to retrieve their “things” from the trash bag.

Just think—by removing the ‘junk’ from your life, you’ll actually make room for the things that you truly want and need now!