I’m not generally a messy person, but I’m the type to keep things for both sentimental value and out of obligation. For example, there is not a single dried out pen in my room. Every article of clothing is in my size. Makeup doesn’t enter my vicinity, let alone expire. There are no moldy foods in the deep folds of my bed nor are there thick rolls of dust on the top of my shelves.
However, I’ve got sticky notes of cat drawings from my coworker’s kids in a box. There’s a deer-shaped piggy bank that my brother gave to me in 2014 for Christmas. Nametags from all the anime conventions I’ve attended are in a box under my bed. Print outs of Library Science articles are in about 4 binders with my notes and highlights. Textbooks of subjects I’ve never even read are on my shelves, including my dad’s electrical one from like 1985 or something.
I need a lot of help with this. Common decluttering articles on the internet simply don’t connect with me because I don’t have old plastic containers in my cabinets or magazines that I don’t read. I’m more focused on my room and I have fanfiction on the good ol’ web. You see, I’m different than other clutterful people.
Actually, no; I’m not any different. But my point still stands. I needed to do more digging to find some techniques that would benefit me and my goals. For my basic research on Google, I’m not looking for what to throw, but how to throw.
There are a few “rules” that are commonly found on the inter webs that come with very pretty infographics. A few that were relevant to me were:
- the 5 by 5 Rule – If it won’t matter in five years, don’t spend more than five minutes worrying about it.
- the 5 Second Rule – If you can’t remember when the last time you used it in 5 seconds, get rid of it!
- the 20/20 Rule – If you can replace it for less than $20 dollars and under 20 minutes, let it go.
- the 80% Rule – No part of your home should be more than 80% full, nothing feels comfortable at 100% fullness.
- the 90/90 Rule – Have you’ve used it in the past 90 days or going to use it in the next 90 days? If it’s no, time to go.
- the One-in-One-out Rule – For each item you bring into your home, take another one out.
Other tips that I found included:
- If you have multiples of items you know you only need one of, keep only the best one.
- Dispose of items responsibly like recycling or taking them to a charity stop. Allow your items to get a second home.
- The container concept by Dana K. White: keep what you can fit.
- Margareta Magnusson’s idea: declutter your things before you die so that they aren’t a burden to the loved ones you leave behind
- Marie Kondo tips: get rid of things immediately if you don’t need it; let go with gratitude
- “Does it spark joy?” – Marie Kondo
- “If it’s not a ‘hell, yes!’ it’s a ‘no.'” – Fumio Sasaki
Most importantly, I found a very kind reminder from Eve O. Schaub who was quoted on MG Lifestyle, “I made a deal with myself: I promised to forgive myself for the inevitable ‘mistakes’ that were bound to crop up. I tried to remember that, in life, it’s rare to make decisions that are clearly ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ and to remind myself that there won’t be anyone waiting around with a red pencil to give me a letter grade on how I did at the end.” It means that even if I make mistakes like keeping something I know I should be throwing away or doing the opposite where I threw something away that I would later regret, it will be ok.
References:
- The 20/20 rule created by The Minimalists
- The 90/90 rule created by The Minimalists
- The 80% rule by The Home Edit
- The One-In-One-Out rule from A to Zen Life
- Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki
- Eve O. Schaub’s blog, https://eveschaub.com/category/year-of-no-clutter-blog/
- Marie Kondo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying
- Margareta Magnusson’s book, Swedish Death Cleaning
- Dana K. White’s book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life
- Website: mg lifestyle
- Website: A to Zen Life
Now that my research is over with and that I’ve procrastinated enough, a full week has past since I started my 100 day process. Here is the first 8 days!
The first things I grabbed were little personalized souvenirs that I received from two people who I wasn’t entirely too close with anymore. I gave myself permission to be grateful and to let go of them because to be honest? I don’t know what to do with them.
The bracelet with my name on it was a gift from a friend who went to Mexico over the summer in 2019 to build houses. She picked out the colors based on my two favorite colors at the time, but they were entirely too bright and it’s simply something that I wouldn’t wear.
The bottle of sand and shells were from a former friend who thought he was doing something nice after I made an offhanded comment about how I could never find things in giftshops with my name on them due to how non-white “Han” is. He transformed “Ian” into “Han,” but I literally told him that I didn’t want it and that useless stuff would clutter my room. A nice gesture, but that’s all it was. A nice gesture. Originally, I wanted to dump the sand out into my backyard and mix it in with potting soil, but I’m never going to get to it. Therefore, good bye!
There were more items that I had to give myself permission to toss, too.
I got a ribbon from a friend to use during my Disneyland trip with some friends who I regard as sisters. The mirror was something my mom bought me during high school from Forever 21. The yellow frames were from last summer in 2022 that I wore with my coworkers. Fond memories, but definitely it’s ok to let them go.
The 5th day is a special day, so I had a stack of user manuals that I was willing to part with. I sifted through a few of them and found that I had one from a laptop from 2008. I don’t know why these are something that I’m always keeping, especially because I tell myself that if I really need to troubleshoot something, I could just look it up online. Instead, I just let them all accumulate over the years. Even now, I’m keeping two or three that I liked.
Don’t rush me, I’m getting there.
The rest aren’t exactly special enough to write out something for them, but… I’ll do it anyways. I’ve got a pair of cheap chopsticks from my childhood that I keep telling myself I’ll use for my hair. Some blotting paper to use on your oily face to soak up the nasty from Daiso that I bought in High School. A keyboard that my brother got from a friend that he then passed onto me. A mouse I’ve had since college that doesn’t work very well anymore.
Summary:
- Day 1, 4/14: Bottle of Sand & Shells from Galveston, Texas
- Day 2, 4/15: Bracelet from Mexico
- Day 3, 4/16: Yellow Ribbon
- Day 4, 4/17: Mirror from Forever 21
- Day 5, 4/18: Pile of User Manuals
- Day 6, 4/19: Yellow Frames
- Day 7, Blaze it: Near Empty Bottle of Nail Polish Thinner
- Day 8, 4/21: Pair of Chopsticks from Childhood
- Day 9, 4/22: Oil Blotter for Face
- Day 10, 4/23: Old Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
Onto the next 10 days!
Diving in the Deep 