Step Three: Declutter Your Stuff

Welcome back!

Are you ready for Step Three?

You've moved out the stuff that doesn't belong in your garage, and you've sorted the stuff that's left over into groups. Now let's take a hard look at what's in those piles so that we can move it out permanently! 

What's Worth Keeping

A perfectly useful object becomes clutter when it no longer serves a purpose in your life, whether that's a practical purpose or an aesthetic one. For some people, a little clutter is fine--even comfortable. For others (like me, for example), having things around that I don't need or want can be stressful. I'm a lot happier when I can keep clutter to a minimum. 

Today, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I use this object enough to justify owning it?
• Do I use this object for a special purpose or keep it because it means something special to me?
• Do I have more than one of these objects? Do I really need extras?
• Do I have a convenient way to store this object?
• Do I have the time, energy, and knowledge to maintain this object?

Creepy lifelike plastic rabbit = clutter.

Pack It Up, Move It Out

When you've decided what you no longer want to keep, sort that stuff into containers for delivery (that's our next step). Here are some possible destinations for garage clutter:

Tools and Materials Related to Construction or Landscaping

Habitat for Humanity ReStores
School building and construction trade programs
4-H programs
Community or school gardens


Recreational Equipment, Games, Toys, Hobbies
Scouting programs

Day cares, schools, after-school programs
YMCAs/YWCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other nonprofit community outreach programs

Appliances (Like that old beer fridge, maybe?)

Local utility collection programs

Recycling centers

Charities or nonprofits

For more ideas on resources, visit my resources page. 

How about you? What objects in your garage are going to stay, and what are going to go? Do you have stuff that reflects your aspirations rather than your reality? What charities or organizations will benefit from your donations? Leave your comments below and you'll be automatically registered to win a free Kindle! I look forward to hearing from you!

Step Two: Sort Your Stuff

Turn your attention now to the things that you want to keep in your garage. Give yourself plenty of room for this step--leave the vehicles outside temporarily. Start putting like things in groups. At this stage, don't make it too micro! The important thing is to see what you have. So, for instance, here are some possible categories. Which ones apply to your situation?

• landscaping and gardening
• home maintenance and repair
• sports equipment
• toys 
• hobbies
• hazardous materials
• food storage 
• grilling
• camping and recreation
• crap belonging to _________ (fill in name of family member)

If you can, assign every item in your garage to a group. You might start to notice that you have some duplicates or some items you haven't used in a long time. Maybe there are some things that represent activities you've left behind. One of my personal goals in decluttering is to live by Victorian designer William Morris' adage: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." There may not be much that's beautiful in your garage (unless you love your lawn mower), but there are plenty of things that are useful. Identifying what's truly useful is tomorrow's step ... so stay tuned!

Junk I removed from my garage that needs a new
home. Preferably not my home.

How many trowels does one gardener need? Hmm.
And why is that bicycle pump sitting there?

How have you grouped things in your garage? Any unusual categories? One of my unusual categories is Ironman triathlon (cross-referenced with crap belonging to). And how did you do with Step One? 

Leave a comment and you'll be registered for my Kindle giveaway on Friday!

The Right to Refuse

Can you fit your yearly output of household trash in a quart-sized jar?

Bea Johnson can.

Recently I spoke by phone with Johnson, author of a book entitled Zero Waste Home, which details her family’s life of voluntary simplicity. She told me that after years of living a “big American life,” her family decided to move closer to town (they live in a California coastal community).  While they house-shopped, Johnson, her husband, and two young sons rented an apartment and stored everything but the basics. To Johnson’s surprise, living with less was easier and more enjoyable. They shed 80% of their stuff and now live in a house one-third the size of their previous one. “Living more simply is so rewarding,” she says. “A simple life has allowed our family to travel more, to have more experiences together. Life should be based on experiences, not things.”

 

Bea Johnson lives by this mantra: “refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, or rot” (compost). “Refusing” comes first for a reason, because it stops clutter at its source. For instance, imagine the pile of junk mail that arrives in most mailboxes weekly. Johnson prevents junk mail delivery by opting out of mailing lists. Stop it, don’t just recycle it. “If you accept junk mail, then turn around and recycle it,” Johnson says, “you are basically telling that company, ‘Send me more of your stuff!’” Contact the Direct Marketing Association to opt out of unsolicited commercial mail.

Johnson also refuses freebies or giveaways—the t-shirts, pens, and gewgaws she is offered at trade shows, conferences, or events. “Once you pick up a freebie,” she says, “it becomes your problem. Then you have to figure out what to do with it.”

Packaging contributes a huge amount to household waste, so Johnson refuses it by buying her food and household supplies in bulk, bringing her own jars, reusable bags, and baskets for items such as deli meat and produce. By providing her own containers, buying whole foods, and choosing loose or bulk items, she has no plastic bags or containers to dispose of. Occasionally a grocery store clerk will question putting deli turkey in a Mason jar, but Johnson says, “I just tell them I don’t have a trash can.”

What about refusing family heirlooms? “I have told my family that I don’t want more stuff in my life,” says Johnson. “Stuff is not irreplaceable.  I prefer to remember loved ones by the things I did with them versus keeping the stuff they lived with. I’m sure my grandmother would not want me to have something I don’t want or can’t use.” She does own heirlooms, she told me, but she uses them every day instead of storing them like museum pieces.

Johnson told me that her family’s zero waste lifestyle has been a gradual process, and that there are some things she will compromise on. However, she would never return to her life before she downsized. She’s having too much fun.

I'm reading Johnson's book now, and I'm totally inspired. Here's another place to find it:  Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste. Follow Johnson on Twitter (@zerowastehome).