You spend your entire life accumulating things that represent the ebb and flow of your existence; styles and interests pass on and on like the waves of the ocean, some dying as they come crashing into the shores of time while others flow out into the middle of the ocean to capsize some poor fishing vessel of self-awareness. Interesting metaphors aside, these things represent your temporal life. The timeline of your soul, in a sense. In that way, decluttering can be a stressful affair. Fortunately, you don’t have to trash all your belongings for your move (Mobile Attic is here to make sure your things move with you), so we can start small. Removing all the stress and anxiety, let us declutter your home together. What is the meaning of this decluttering thing anyway? It’s a weird word, I give you that. The idea is to simplify or organize your home/life by reducing the items that are either redundant or are not so useful. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t touched it in 3 months, you may want to consider getting rid of it. To get your mind in the right direction, here are a few ideas to make the process less anxiety-inducing.
Have some charity! The first step to the decluttering process is to cultivate some sort of compassion and selflessness. What exactly is keeping you from decluttering your home? The attachment to certain objects. That seems inherently selfish, especially when there are others who could use those items. The most obvious solution would be to help Mother Nature and make look as beautiful on the outside as she feels on the inside. Recycling is the way to go if you can’t find any alternatives. It would be a shame to add to that plastic continent floating around in the middle of the ocean, though the water bottle people that will inevitably spring up from the radiation and fused plastics will thank you. In preparation for your move, you can also give things away to your neighbors. This may give them a lasting impression of you and it makes a good last farewell. Just don’t pass on that 13-year-old fish tank that still smells like a piranha (I get people go through phases).
Do something with the tech! If you are anything like me, you have printers, scanners, monitors and wires that are all reaching their 10 or 20th birthday. This is going to be a huge pain when it comes time to move. While you declutter, consider recycling the old electronics (in the proper recycling areas because, you know, batteries and acid and stuff) or giving them away to your techy neighbors. You may be able to strip down old computers for parts (build that chore robot you’ve always wanted) or rig up something entirely new and awesome. Like a toaster that makes meteorological predictions and plays the Bee Gees when the toast is ready. If the electronics are on the newer side, you can consider selling them on Craigslist for some easy money. Just meet in a public place. For me if not for anyone else.
Recycle those extra tools! Unless you are a super mechanic or you have 4 arms, there is no reason to have half a dozen flathead screwdrivers, all exactly the same aside from varying rust patterns. This also goes for other supplies like cups and utensils that have been accumulated over the years. Again, the simple suggestion to declutter your home tools would be to recycle them, but you could also give them away. Think about that college-bound niece of yours who will be eating with her hands for the first 3 months or about your brother who saw the inside of a car once at the site of an accident on the freeway. Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he won’t work another day in his life (or something like that).
Donate that clothing! If you have kids, this might be easier to practice because they grow out of them so quickly (to the disdain of your poor, worn-out wallet). Clothing is one of those things that slips the mind until the last seconds of your move where you must figure out where to cram them all and, spoiler alert, they probably won’t fit nicely crumpled up in some boxes. The three-month rule can be shortened to one or two months here, depending on how much clothing you have. Take all that extra textile material and donate it to your local clothing warehouse store that we cannot name specifically to not show any preferences. You can grace some thrifty shopper with your stylistic expertise. At the very least, you can pass on the curse of your tracksuit.
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