Taking the plunge to move from the spacious suburbs to a chic-but-petite row house? Or maybe just ready to put a stop to bursting at the seams of your current home? It’s time to lean out your living space! Tackling a whole house’s worth of junk can be overwhelming, but we have your definitive guide to getting started.
1. Spread Out
Whether it’s an old chest of drawers or a kitchen cabinet, it’s best to empty it all out on a rug or counter. This will force you to acknowledge those forgotten items near the back, make sure you didn’t miss anything tucked in corners, and most importantly – with everything out in a mess, it will motivate you to purge and put away the rest!
2. Make it Personal
Maybe you love keeping every band tee from every concert since high school, but you couldn’t care less about old birthday cards…who cares! Don’t let social norms guilt you into keeping (or purging) anything. We all have different priorities and memories. There’s no sense in hanging onto something just for the sake of hanging onto it! This should help relieve any purging anxiety that’s been keeping you from leaning out.
3. Get Creative
If something is really important to you, consider crafting it into something useful or artistic that will get more enjoyment than being buried in a box. Turn old shirts into a quilt, or make a tile mosaic from old mugs. Something old just became something new!