Decluttering: Going minimalist for maximum happiness ❤

Spring is the time of rebirth of all the nature around us, of starting anew. It’s a time for spring-cleaning our tiny Hong Kong apartments.

Decluttering one’s possessions is becoming a growing movement under the minimalist ethos. Getting rid of all the unnecessary stuff that remind us about our past will be a tremendous weight off your shoulders.

And there is a difference between conserving A FEW things that are of emotional value versus refusing to throw away anything AT ALL!

Memories reside in your head not on your shelves, they say.

Owning less will not make us worth less!!! Here are our top 10 tips to start decluttering:

1. Prepare your mindset - Prepare your mindset and keep your goal to keep only those things you need or truly like in your space. The rest should be gone from your home. Extra points if you can get your family members’ support.

Don’t treat your home like a warehouse - keeping something because you might need it someday is like paying mortgage to a storage company.

2. Gather sorting bags - Gather at least 3 different large bags-one for donation, another for trash and third one for further sorting in the relevant room. When sorting your items, the ones to keep should be placed on a flat surface. Your still good quality unwanted items might be useful to others-resell or donate when you can.

3. One-in-one-out - With each new thing that comes into your house to stay, rid of one other thing. It helps keeps your storage-math straight: You shouldn’t accumulate one extra thing if you truly stick to this rule.

4. Challenge yourself – With the 90-day rule - if the item is unused in the last 90 days and you will not use it in the next 90 days to come, then out it goes. Or try the no-buy month challenge where you don’t buy anything except essentials for

30 days.

5. Toss or Donate Now- If you already know you want to toss or donate it, then in the bags they go! When you look at your donation bags full of outgrown clothing or broken appliances, you'll realize you probably already had the intent of getting rid

of them—so now is the time!

6. Start #lessisnow challenge – Get rid of one thing on day one, two things on day two, three things on day three and so on… see if you can last entire month.

7. Be true to yourself, give up your fantasy self – If you have a closet stuffed with cocktail dresses but your biggest social event is going to a bar with friend - get rid of them. If you own home exercise equipment but your idea of a workout is going out hiking – you get the idea… 😊 When you let go of your fantasy self, you let go of a cascade of clutter-physically and mentally.

8.Organise, organise, organise - Create storage for everything.

Label them.

9. “Packing party” – Act as if you were moving out of your apartment. Pack all your belongings into carton boxes and label them carefully. Unpack only those things that you really need. It might turn out that 80% of your stuff will stay in boxes. Our volunteer – Ania – had this revelation when moving here, indeed we need so little and we own so much. 😉

10. Rethinking your space - when going through clothes, be mindful of local weather and layering techniques. In the bathroom, put all toiletries in one space then get rid of those that are expired or no longer fit your lifestyle. Invest in high-quality hygiene products. In the kitchen, keep only those kitchen tools you need. You can be the best chef only with one pot and a frying pan!

Isn’t it exciting? 😊 You gained space, so much space! Space in your home, your heart and your mind. Such space creates a fabulous opportunity for self-discovery. Decluttering gives us clarity - for what we want to do, how we want to live, who we want to be.

Start your own journey with decluttering. We did it, so can you!