There is no other way to say this. If you are serious about decluttering, and minimalism, there's only two words and one rule: LET GO! No, you don't have to hold the thing close to your heart to see if it gives you joy, coz guess what? Such feelings are not to be trusted. Trust me!
During the crucial time of decluttering there is no room for any feelings.
Steps:
1. Keep a discard container ready, such as a trash bag, or a box, etc.
2. Pick up thing.
3. Simply stare at it blankly, and do not ask yourself, I repeat- DO NOT ask yourself ohhh, do I need this? Believe me, you don't! Say adios, sayonara, hasta la vista, or a simple goodbye, and place it in the discard container.
4. Repeat Steps 2, and 3 until discard container is full.
5. Repeat Steps 1, 2, and 3, until more discard containers are full.
6. Place full discard containers in your mode of transport. A minivan works real well.
7. Drive to the nearest donation place such as Value Village, Savers, or Goodwill, etc. Donate. Pick up tax receipt. Hey, might as well!
8. Drive back home. Make yourself a nice cuppa, sit, relax.
Repeat Steps 1-8 the next time around. You gotta do this diligently, and nonstop until you have truly truly gotten rid of minimum 60% of your original accumulated stuff. After the 60% mark, it'll be a piece of cake to get rid of the remaining 30%. As for the last 10%- eh, keep it.
Now if you feel that the above seems like a very cold and heartless way to go about with the process of decluttering, and you'd like to put some amount of thought into it (ahem- honestly, thinking is a waste of time, if you ask me!) my go-to tip that always works for me is: If I haven't used something for a month, or max 6 months, then I know that I don't need it. And so it can go into that discard container.
Now that you've done a great job of getting rid of unneeded stuff, remember to always remind yourself when you see something that makes you feel like "omg, I need that," that you in fact don't need that. Tyvm.
