Sorry to jump in here, but I wanted to offer my minimizing method. I always start with a list. When I write the list, I imagine... not what I want to get rid of, but what I'd like to have if I started out with nothing at all. Once I've made my list, it's really easy to discard anything that's not on it, even if it means I have to buy something new. As an example, I had "one black cardigan" on my list, but all the black cardigans that I had in my closet weren't what I wanted, so I ditched them all to Goodwill and waited until I found the one I liked that I would wear every day. Same was true for my coffee mugs. But for my jeans, I just wanted two pairs that fit great. I had one pair that I liked and bought a second identical pair in a different wash, and then got rid of all the rest. For my kids clothes. I laid out all the pants and picked 10 pairs (he's a toddler, so that's about a weeks worth), and did the same with t-shirts, jackets, etc... and I do this every time I feel smothered by our stuff. Eventually, he'll start helping me to pick out his favorites and give the rest to charity. It helps that I don't buy anything until this process is complete too... that way new stuff doesn't add to it. The problem I have is trying to keep other people from buying crap for us too. Good luck! :)
post #21 of 22
11/12/12 at 11:35am
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