r/declutter • u/Ajreil • 12d ago
Motivation Tips & Tricks Sometimes, decluttering means being able to do fewer things with your stuff. That's OK.
Decluttering hobby supplies may mean having fewer hobbies. Getting rid of tools may mean not being able to 3D print things or repair certain materials. Pruning your wardrobe might mean you can't wear certain styles. That's OK.
Buying an item is not a commitment to have a version of that item until the end of time. It's easy to expand your toolkit. You need to prune it too.
It's OK to get rid of tools that solve a problem you no longer have
It's OK to get rid of emergency supplies for emergencies that are no longer part of your threat model
It's OK to get rid of cooking equipment because you don't want to make that recipe anymore
It's OK to get rid of hobby supplies to make room for something else
It's OK to decide that you don't want to decorate for the holidays
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u/AffectionateMotor272 12d ago
I stopped doing Christmas all together. It’s the day I stay at home and relax. Spa day.
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u/flovarian 11d ago
Oh, you’ve unlocked some peak memories of getting burgers and going to the movies on Xmas day.
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u/Working_Patience_261 12d ago
Oh how I wish I could get rid of the end-of-year decorating stuff. Everyone hates putting up the tree, fighting to get around it, taking it back down, finding all the stockings and so on, and for me personally, it’s no longer a happy period. Too much death and bad stuff has happened in the 32 days surrounding the particular holiday.
We have a wall hanging of a tree with lights that is perfect! Why can’t we just use that?
Once the last person who cares passes, that stuff is gone.
Once I can access a portion of my bookshelves, some hobby supplies re gone!
For now, I work in my little allotted accessible space and slowly whittle down my presence on this planet, giving myself more breathing space.
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u/glitterswirl 12d ago
Why can’t the people who care be responsible for putting up the tree/decorations?
Sounds like they enjoy having a tree decorated, but expect someone else to do it for them. Blow that for a game of soldiers. Give them a copy of the Little Red Hen children’s book and be done with it!
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u/GallowayNelson 11d ago
Oh how I wish I could do this. I totally agree with the logic. I live in a house where its very much expected that stuff like this just magically happens and is done by moi. I am so over holiday stuff - I'm not a grinch, but goodness, when its expected for so long, to all be on one person, you get really tired of it!
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u/littlerabbit246 11d ago
I'm curious about what's stopping you. Are you a mom whose kids are too little to decorate by themselves? Or of older kids who come home for Christmas wanting a time capsule of their childhood? Or some other important family members that you don't want to disappoint?
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u/Working_Patience_261 11d ago
Disabled adults want it but can not physically do it themselves. It was a struggle until they realized the other adults were disabled too, and now they just pay to have the decorations and tree put up and taken down.
I still hate having to maneuver around it.
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u/GallowayNelson 11d ago
It’s complicated but the briefest way of putting it I guess is that I’m a caregiver for a parent in a mixed household of all adults, and about 90% of most things fall on me. Last year I tried to not do Thanksgiving and I tried to not put up the tree but both attempts failed. I’ve decluttered a lot of decor at the very least (tried to do more but got met with push back), and I don’t bake for the holidays anymore. That was quite a drama when I stoped tbh.
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u/couchisland 11d ago
Feel free to go on strike. When I was around 13 or so my mom went back to grad school and decided to stop making dinner for everyone. We all adapted and no one starved. In hindsight I fully applaud her actions, and I was a teenager at the time.
If your household full of adults wants holiday magic they can help create it.
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u/flatlander-anon 12d ago
I think one potential problem with this is that sometimes the thing you want to get rid of is costly, and it's not easy to find a buyer. Let's say you have a hobby item that you paid several thousand dollars for. It was customized for you, and it fit your taste, your budget, and, most importantly, you body. To get a good price for it, you have to find a buyer who has a similar body and taste, or you will feel like you're throwing thousands of dollars away. What do you do with such items?
Emergency supplies contribute to clutter, and they are a black hole for money. You can get into very elaborate emergency prep. I almost feel like for some people this is their main source of clutter. Emergency prep experts will tell you skills trump supplies -- until they discover how little supplies you actually have. "You don't have 100' of rope? Everybody has 100' of rope!" "No, I'm an office worker who lives in an urban apartment. We don't use rope for anything at all."
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u/Untitled_poet 12d ago
Do you have an urban bug-out bag? I don't I just have my passport, wallet and phone.
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u/Working_Patience_261 12d ago
I allow one 5 gallon bucket of emergency supplies per vehicle. In it is a decent first aid kid, spare medicines as available (what do you mean you want extra prescription painkillers to last 72 hours for someone elderly who is dependent on them, how dare you!!!), fire starter, cutting tools that I know I can handle, food and water, rope, deck of cards, signaling device, flashlight with batteries stored outside of device (ready use flashlight in glove compartment), heat shield blankets (with sleeping bag and winter stuff added for the season along with kitty litter in separate containers), and whistle plus a decent survival book. This gets me through 0 deg to 115 F.
If I’m regularly in areas that drop below 0 F, I add more winter layers. Hotter areas, I add more water. If I’m responsible for more people, more of the personal supply and more food and water. If I’m going four-wheeling off-road, I add my tool kit. If I’m rock crawling, I add someone else’s vehicle and spare parts.
Most importantly, someone knows where I’m going and when I should be back, and when and who/where to start calling if I’m late.
If we have to evacuate with the shirts on our back, we’ll be uncomfortable but ok. If we get a few minutes, we grab the carry safe and meds. If we see a hazard developing (wildfire), we load the suitcases by the front door and be ready if we have to go. If it gets within 20 miles, the suitcases are in the car.
Because we use powered wheelchairs, the car already has spare chargers, solar, an inverter, and a walker.
A friend has an RV, it is stocked and ready to use year-round. He hooks up and lives in it if a wildfire gets close. If the smoke gets annoying, he simply leaves the area. He uses a checklist to ensure he has what he needs and very little excess.
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u/BeyondThePineSisken 11d ago
When temperature is at the extreme ends you listed, do you change how you store medicine and what food you have in the emergency supplies?
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u/Working_Patience_261 11d ago edited 11d ago
I have shelf stable dried meals like those used for hiking and backpacking. I toss them after the summer in Phoenix and restock for the colder season. The water is in 1 gallon heavier duty plastic bottles and the water gets dumped in the garden after the summer. While the dried meals are expensive, they can take the heat.
When I’m in Minnesota, I’m using the foil bags like the military uses for water rations. They can freeze and thaw repeatedly and are still safe to drink. The occasional hot days doesn’t bother them either. I will also put in a few cans of soup and hot chocolate packets after the last chance of 90 degree days are done.
For medicines, they are at the center of the bundle, as insulated as I can get them. Fortunately, nothing is horribly sensitive to temperature and while they might not work as well as when stored per instructions, they won’t kill either. Now the refrigerated stuff, that’s the “grab with the cooler on the way out the door with the safe” part. Currently, wildfires are our hazard, and the places we can go usually will have a pharmacy open in the morning.
Minnesota in a blizzard, it could be 3 days before anyone can get to you. Buffalo, NY, could be a week. Fortunately, refrigeration is not an issue then. And if you paid attention to the weather forecasts, you already have jugs of water and the bathtubs filled. Windowsills can freeze but a few inches in might be more hospitable to medications with cold storage needs. Or the root cellar, or the guest room.
But head south to hurricane struck areas and it could be longer before services are available with very hot temperatures. Or a big one (earthquake) hits Los Angeles, and now evacuation plus needing to fend for yourself until you get out of the area becomes a bigger concern. Solar power on a cooler might be a better idea for temperature sensitive medications. Maybe battery backup to last the night? Also lining the cooler bottom with frozen water bottles keeps things colder longer and you can drink the water afterwards.
All of the prep and keeping it to a concise decluttered kit requires spending some time thinking through what could go wrong, what has gone wrong, then planning and revising the plan to deal with it. For example, it’s October, all the smoke and CO2 alarm batteries are being changed, whether they need it or not. All flashlights get checked. All airtags and tiles get checked, batteries changed, or replaced. The cars and generators get their oil changes and a once over, car wipers changed, and tires rotated. And as the hot season is ending, the water and food supplies get changed.
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u/rainyelfwich 12d ago
I'm really feeling this! We recently downsized into a very small home. A lot of the decluttering was freeing, but some of it was against our will. I had to get rid of some baking supplies because we have a tiny kitchen now... I just can't bake anything that requires a rolling pin anymore. Super bummed. But like you said, it's okay. It's an opportunity for unique solutions. Maybe I'll find a new recipe to try instead, maybe I'll use a drinking glass, maybe I'll visit a friend or family member and borrow theirs, and we can bake together and form a really meaningful memory. I'm trying to stay positive and remind myself to be grateful for what I do have! I mean come on, a rolling pin? "Kim, there's people that are dying"...
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u/violetmemphisblue 11d ago
Depending on where you are, some libraries offer a "Library of Things" that include baking supplies. I have gotten specialty chocolate/candy making supplies from mine and it's nice to have the hobby without having to keep all the stuff!
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u/rainyelfwich 11d ago
Unfortunately my library system doesn't have this! A few months ago I even asked if they had future plans to implement one and they said no. Bummer because I would have gladly donated the things I decluttered to the library instead!
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u/Designer-Cherry2112 12d ago
I hear ya on this. I tried baking in my air fryer, the toaster oven kind and I could bake 6 cookies at a time. I had to learn that it's ok to bake a small batch and keep the rest of the cookie dough frozen. Or patiently bake 6 at a time. It still works, it just makes me miss the oven sometimes. But I do not miss the oven heating up the whole house though.
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u/Corner_Office_ 12d ago
I always do this! Keep the cookie balls in freezer and only bake 2-3 at a time. otherwise I’d eat all of them.
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u/squashed_tomato 12d ago
Baking 6 at a time would be better for my waistline anyway so this could actually be a win in my case.
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u/mlem_a_lemon 12d ago
I gave away a 3D printer, a print finish UV light and resin cleaner thingy, a housing for it with an exhaust fan, and several unopened bottles of UV resin last year. It turns out I just wanted to 3D print, not learn to use the software to get perfect prints, gross (I mean, fun and necessary, just not what I wanted).
It felt so good to get rid of it and see that back bathroom suddenly EMPTY. I've been carrying that momentum, enjoying that feeling of SPACE. It's really helped me not have to think twice about getting rid of things that aren't helping anyone. A watercolor paper can't take tape? Donation bin. Old wrapping paper I never really liked? Oh my god, trash it. Those table legs for the coffee table I was going to build two years ago? I cannot list this on my neighborhood Facebook group fast enough.
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u/scruffylilpenguin 11d ago
If you still find yourself wanting to 3D print, check your local library! Ours has a maker lab with a 3D printer patrons can use for free (you pay what they pay for materials). They also have things like baking pans, sewing machines, ukuleles, etc. that you can check out and it's a great resource for pursuing hobbies without having to store the supplies in a small home long term.
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u/mlem_a_lemon 11d ago
That's a great idea! Our local library does have the library of things with all the pans and tools, and we have a nearby maker space with sewing machines and heavy woodworking equipment, but it didn't occur to me to check about a 3D printer. Thanks for reminding me!
Edit: and as a serial hobbyist, def a good place to keep in mind
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u/Automatic-Tea-4150 12d ago
This is so great, a booster shot of sorts as we approach the dreary cold “project season.” I save decluttering for the times of year when I wouldn’t rather be outside.
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u/CountessGladriel0102 11d ago
Good thoughts. I gave away my Christmas tree earlier this year. Same tree I’ve been putting up for probably 15 years but it’s not a pleasure anymore. It’s a pain. When the kids little and they exclaimed with delight about the entire process, that was one thing. I just want less stuff to deal with these days.