Minimalism and Tidying Up: Ways to Clear Up and Clutter Out

February 21, 2019

McGuinn Hybrid Homes Clear Up Clutter Out

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about home organization, particularly with the recent popularity of Marie Kondo, best-selling author and expert on decluttering (and who has proclaimed 2019 as “the year of tidying up”). Since your home is intended as your place of joy—and clutter disrupts it—the effort to seek peace in organization is a valuable one. McGuinn Hybrid Homes can help you with some suggestions for pursuing minimalism and tidying up. Follow these ways to clear up and clutter out your home. Start with a goal. Just like you wouldn’t build a home without a blueprint, you need a plan for your decluttering adventure. What do you want to achieve? Better organization? More space for other things (furniture, hobbies, a new baby)? A total cleansing of the past?? When you clearly understand your purpose, use it as your focal point. Weigh every choice against how it supports that mission. Visualize your results. Now that you know your goal, picture what you want your home to look like when you’re done. If you’re aiming for minimalist design, what do you want to do with the space you create? Minimalism isn’t just about reducing the clutter, but creating functional space. Everything you keep should provide purpose. As you go through the tidying and decluttering process, ask yourself how your possessions contribute to your new and improved decor. Map out your route. Depending on the amount of clutter you need to tackle, the process could take more than a few hours. Avoid the urge to wander through your home, randomly grabbing things. Instead, decide on a plan that keeps you focused on one space at a time—like the garage, bedroom closet, or kitchen cabinets. Don’t go on to anything else until one area is completed. Purge with power. Marie Kondo promotes the idea that everything should bring joy to your life. Anything less than that isn’t worth keeping. As you move from one clutter collection to another, be ruthless in your choices. If something has been tucked away in a box for months or years, it’s probably going to stay that way. A real treasure needs to be where it can be appreciated. Put it on a shelf, hang it on the wall—display it! While you rid yourself of the excess, think about places that would welcome and use what you’re discarding. When you can rehome these pieces, you’ll feel a lot better about parting with them. Here are some suggestions for purging with purpose:

Animal shelters welcome donations of towels, blankets, sheets, pillowcases, quilts, and other bedding.
Senior centers appreciate books, magazines, games, puzzles, and craft supplies.
Books for Soldiers is a great way to give your used books to our service men and women around the world.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and homeless shelters need clothing for people of all ages. BBBSA would also love your used sports equipment, games, and toys.
Shelters for victims of domestic violence in your community are helping families restart their lives. Any household items, clothing, and gently used toys are a big help.
Local thrift shops turn your discards into income that supports the charitable work of non-profit organizations.
Suiting Warriors dresses veterans for success, helping them return to the civilian workplace, so donate your suits and suitable interview clothing to this organization.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore sells donated household goods, furniture, building materials, and accessories, with the profits going to support their mission.

Peruse your donations carefully. Charities are not dumping sites. If your items are broken, stained, scratched, or just don’t work, don’t pass them along to busy volunteers. It’s okay to throw them out. Once you finish decluttering and tidying up your home, it’s possible you discover that it no longer meets your lifestyle needs. You might be ready for something that offers low maintenance, like a townhome, which provides the spaciousness of a single-family home, without the exterior upkeep. McGuinn Hybrid Homes build communities of both new construction homes and townhomes throughout the Columbia, SC, area. With floor plans from just over 1,400 square feet to more than 3,600 square feet, we can build the energy-efficient home that gives you the minimalist or maximalist style you crave—and check out our move-in ready homes to see what’s available right now. Let’s find you a home that fits you just right!