I am over the buying of eco-friendly cleaning supplies. They are overpriced, and they don't do a good job. Vinegar and dawn dish soap cleans most things, and I love pine sol cleaner. To disinfect.
I'm in the midst of my most recent decluttering effort. Last year when I moved from Texas to Oregon I downsized significantly, but not quite enough for my current studio apartment. But one thing that I did ruthlessly cull were my books. They're heavy, take up a ton of space, and collect lots of dust and cat hair. Now I mostly have knitting pattern books, and as I make the pattern(s) out of them that I liked, I donate the books to the little free fiber library at one of the local yarn stores for another knitter to enjoy. I am an avid reader and always have been, but I don't need to be buried alive in books to "prove" that to anyone else. Libraries are a wonderful resource, and if I really really want to own a book I buy a digital copy for my kindle. But even the smallest amount of extra clutter in a small apartment (548 sq ft!) makes the whole place feel like a disaster zone, and I'm tired of feeling stressed all the time because there's no mental resting space from having too much stuff.
Can relate to all of these! Photos are the only thing that I just couldn't do. Digital just isn't the same for me so it's worth the shoebox. Everything else could literally go and I would be fine.
I agree with you! Besides, digital may NOT be forever. Computers fail - much to the shock of so many! And I believe that it will eventually happen more quickly than the modern generation thinks.
@@carolynrisen6212 Yes! And technology does change over time. I had some very good photos and letters backed up to floppy disks, which are basically useless now. I do have some photos on CD & DVD, which is safer; but who knows for how long?
AS FAR AS PILLOWS GO - ABOUT 2 YRS. AGO I STARTED USING A VERY SOFT/PLUSH SMALL THROW FOR MY PILLOW. YOU CAN SHAPE OR SCRUNCH IT ANY WAY YOU WANT OR NEED TO. NOW A PILLOW SEEMS SO CLUNKY AND UNCOMPHORT TO ME. I HAVE 4 SOFT THROWS THAT I USE FOR EITHER PILLOWS OR BLANKETS - DOUBLE DUTY.😊
One of the first things I decluttered was cookbooks. Any recipes I used regularly, I made a copy and put it into a clear sleeve and into a binder and then donated the cookbook. Bedding/Towels/Linens, is a other good decluttering category. We have 2 towel sets and 2 sheet sets per person/bed. The rest donate to your local animal shelter.
Office supplies/ homeschool supplies is definitely an area I need to tackle 😅 We are already a minimalist family but things for crafts can easily add up quickly.
I just recently found out about The Edgy Minimalist- through her I was able to start a 5am morning routine which I love! For myself I remember when I started to declutter it was listening about it at first, then I got out a few old items of clothing. 2nd thing I went through, because I was sick that day and just hanging on my bed, was pictures. I went from 5 items of clothing first round to hundreds of physical pictures. I downsized 10 photo albums to one box. That did it - for most of 6 months I worked hours a day going through book shelves, kids books, kids workbooks, toys, clothes, kitchen etc. 3 months into it when I wanted clear space on a wall that was when I acknowledged I embraced the Minimalism life style. Recently I gave my daughters a lot of my Lush collection of bath bombs and bubble bars and never thought that day would happen. I do still enjoy pens but not to the excess that i used to live.
I have started a minimalist journey for myself. I have come to realize stuff gives me anxiety. Like, I just come home, look at all my stuff and have a panic attack. I started with my makeup and skincare. I have decluttered 90 percent of that and I've started on clothes as well. I think one thing I really need to do is my kitchen.... I have so many coffee cups and cookbooks it's ridiculous. But I have also recognized that my minimalism isn't anybody's else's. I've tried it before and I quit because I couldn't justify only keeping one of certain things or living up to someone else's reality. It took me years to declutter all of my makeup, but in the end, it was a minimalist collection for me. I may need 3 primers while someone else needs 3 foundations. That was hard for me to grasp at first.
We started decluttering by creating 2 boxes...keep and throw. We went through 1 box daily. I was excited and sped it up. I don't know how much I decluttered that year, but my office went from a store room overflowing with stuff to an actual office. Every year since then I have weeded more stuff out annually. It is hard to believe this is the same house.
Oh goodness…digitize them to save them. (So easy) PRINT out the ones You love or want to gift. Remove and add new ones each year and the printed ones are easy and flat to store.
Oh my goodness! My mom sold Merle Norman in the 70s. It was my first makeup and all I wore until college! We also got makeup for Christmas. What a memory!
I really edited down my closet....but then I had empty hangers....and I bought new clothes....I keep watching minimalism videos trying to get back on track.
Great video. I appreciate how you can identify the values in early life/famiy traditions that started the habits of using/repurposing things, but you are gentle in stating that those values trickled down and were not so unusual, but you are moving (and have moved) in a different direction. So many times the 'wrong and right' of the issue scars the context in which our families survived and passed down some of those beliefs to us. Until we made different choices. TY.
I used to Love going thrift store shopping and still do on occasion but I can really relate to "on the hunt" vibe. I got to a point when I decided we had enough. Now my attitude in those stores is to appreciate the history. Recognize things from my childhood or family homes. I don't need to own the thing. If I do get a project idea (like having a collection of angels for Christmas decor, or a vintage cake pan for a wedding present package) I sit on it and mull it over. I really consider all the angles. Will I actually follow through? Maybe not, but it is nice to have ideas for projects and look into all the sides of completing it. Sometimes the project idea gets lost in the enthusiasm. Sometimes the idea merits. But I no longer need to collect all the things for all the potential projects. Which for me has been progress.
Just discovered your channel. This is my first video of yours that I've watched so far. I can relate so much. It's funny when you got to the furniture, I can still remember the first time a friend of mine came to my new (at the time) place. The first words out of her mouth were "You have a lot of tables." 😂 And she was right. I bought a few small ones, some to paint, but all to display knick-knacks *shudder* and framed photos. Within a few months, four or five were donated, and it encouraged me to continue downsizing. I could relate to so much of what you said. I was like yup...yup.. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. 😊
I started with a rolling cart with boxes and trash bags. Garbage first and if I found something which grabbing the obvious trash that I was shaking my head saying "what the heck were we thinking when we got this" went into the donate box. Another box was just for tools (we had storm damage that messed up parts of almost every room so screwdrivers etc everywhere to put things back together). This process opened up a lot of areas for me to be able see exactly what was left. One round through kick started a second round. I didn't pick a specific room until I got 3 full rounds in with my cart set up. It made the whole house feel a little bit lighter and really made me want to dive in full throttle.
Re: Nail Polish. one thing I recall was not only new paper print being legible decades after going to the landfill but tightly closed bottles of nail polish being useable. Last summer I as active in the trash nothing group and someone put in a request for nail polish, any color. I went through my then reduced stash and gave up an additional 10-15 bottles. I do have nail polish and my intent is to bring my own bottle when I get a mani-pedi done and to do more of my own at home. I am not really super into trends or fashion so having some colors I think I look good in are sufficient for me. I likely will get down to one bottle some day and I'll be just fine with that too. So adjusting what I own and my attitude went hand in hand with me whittling down that supply.
I have a lot of flatware. The only category i have extra of. But then i use it all, often and regularly with great joy. So except for those, i have no problem purging ruthlessly.
Office supplies was the worse in my home. Three years ago with Covid . I had transitioned to work remotely and I purged all my office supplies. The binder clips were repurposed to clip on chip bags or on a garbage bag in the bathroom. Now I my goal is to use what I have and not bring more.
That's what I use them for! They come in very handy. I also have some clipped to the top of chili mix & salad dressing mix bags, then I hang them from little command hooks on the inside of a cabinet door.
Reminds me.., i used old nail polish in art work once. I never used it.., but I asked for peep's old bottles, on the local list serv.., and was given a pile of them. I dribbled them on an immense kimono shaped painting that i used an old mattress cover to make. It's up on one side of one of our old barns.., and very weather proofed by the variety of paints including that nail polish;-) and the polishes are sparkly and silver and gold and reds. Your mention of 'furniture' has me thinking it might be the next thing for me to focus on.
@melissawrite: I’m glad that works for you. But some of us have large (6-12+ children) families, many of us grow, can/freeze and process very large quantities of food every year. At least 3 times each month I take a dish for fellowship meals at my church congregation, and that requires larger pans and baking dishes. We are food producers, not only food consumers; so we do need larger bowls and pans than people who are only food consumers. For example, when it’s time to make 50 quarts of apple butter, or to butcher chickens and turkeys, we use several electric roaster pans at once. These are shared among my family members, so we all get together at the time of food processing, help each other and make it a party. Similar thing when it’s time to harvest peaches, green beans, can cherries or make a year’s worth of jam or salsa in a few days. So I’m glad just a few pans works for you, but it would not work for every family- Especially not large families who garden or farm, and produce much of their own food.
Your name made me giggle 😄. My adult daughter had a friend named Danielle. As a teenager, Danielle would leave messages on our answering machine saying " Hi this is me..ah Danielle, give me a call!" So everytime I saw her I would call her Meah Danielle!😂🥰
I can really relate to the hand me down clothes thing!! I’ve gotten hand me downs from a few aunts and my mom. But now I try to be a lot more discerning with my clothing. And then the mindset “if it’s free and useful then take it!” - I didn’t even realize that was a mindset I’ve had until you said it!! 🤯 I’ve been able to move away from that a little bit, but oh man I used to have that kind of mindset before!!
I love your video! I consume minimalism content almost daily and your perspective is the first one that really resonated with my own personal journey. I'm excited to watch more! :)
Wonderful! You don't have to declutter the things you love or that inspire you ❤️ Just the things that no longer serve you or your space. If your hung purple scarves make you happy, enjoy the moment!
At first I just ripped through my entire house. lol. Mostly it was obvious things like multiples, things I never used, expired things, worn out things, things that don’t fit, broken things, etc. I think I did ok with paper tho. Got my whole life in one cute little fabric box thing. 😅😅 I kept the one clear nail polish only. Wound up using it on a small stool I use to seal off the bottom with high gloss so cat hair would stop sticking to it. Lol.
I am sure glad I saved various electronic gadget plugs. As I go through the house, I come across something I want to use that needs a specific one. Like my old iPod, portable radio and CD player.
All the cords were driving me nuts. I got them untangled. I don't know what most of them are for but I am afraid to get rid of them. I took each cord and put each one in a snack size ziplock bag. At least they are organized.
@@TheDriftwoodlover I agree, the same thing happened with us. It was extremely expensive to replace! Right now I have our extra cords in a small Rubbermaid tote, and I’m trying not to buy anymore.
Start with literal rubbish, you'll be surprised just how much there is around your house! Clothes next, because you're probably already a minimilist here anyway (wearing the same outfits week in week out) The view from your bed. Clear it up, declutter keep on top of it before bed so that as soon as you wake up you have a clean start to the day.
I wish more minimalists mentioned the value in reducing makeup. It expires! So many ppl dont know that. It's a benefit to our health to keep it simple vs over collect.
Totally! I found that the better quality the makeup was (and taking care of my skin) resulted in LESS! It's definitely one area that is easy to accumulate.
I'm just beginning this journey. I'm starting in my kitchen. I live alone in an apartment...why do I need enough gadgets and appliances to host a small event. I work a lot and don't do a lot of actual cooking and I rarely entertain. What I think is going to be the hardest for me is sentimental items (I have totes and totes of memorabilia) and pictures. My daughter is 21 now and I have saved enough things from her childhood, that it's taken up a big portion of my garage...drawings, paintings, dolls, baby clothes, stuffed animals 🥺😞
In regard to your daughter’s drawings and paintings, you could buy an art portfolio on Amazon with clear pockets (unless you’ve already done this), so it’s ready to hand to your daughter at the right time. If you took photos of the dolls and stuffed toys and used an app like shutterfuly or chat books to create a coffee table book of beautiful memories, including the baby clothes, perhaps including pics of her wearing the clothes as a baby. (Credit to Brittany Vasseur for this idea). There may be children in need of the comfort of the toys and dolls after the disaster in Florida , if you can donate the majority after taking all the photos of them. Wouldn’t that be a lovely legacy so the good qualities and purposes and past happiness associated with those things can be a blessing to someone now? 😊 like in Toy Story 2 Of course you may want to keep a box with a curated collection of physical memorabilia for giving to your daughter at some point.
@@lilyandrose8557 these are beautiful ideas 🥺 thank you so very much ❤️ i have not done the art portfolio and love this! I know it's silly to have such an attachment to "things" 😢😞 moving forward, letting go... always been extremely difficult for me. Both of my parents have passed away for 6+ years. I still cannot bring myself to delete their number from my contacts. Thank you so much for your suggestions 💖
On the pictures: I’d love to digitize, as well, but I don’t trust that they might last. I’ve had hard drives crash before, taking all the files with them. I don’t want to lose my pictures to tech failure. I’m too scared to do it.
In addition to what Silvia says, outsourcing your data is a reliable way to ensure it persists. While your individual hard drive may crash, you can reliably assume Google's (or Apple's or whoever's) clouds storage won't.
I’m older than you, and I did have very many good, old family photos and letters from grandma and great grandma Etc backed up on floppy discs- which are now useless. The problem with technology is that it’s constantly changing. I do have a lot of photos backed up on CD/DVD, but who knows how long that will last? And my Apple cloud storage is nearly full. In my family we are photographers. We have always traveled a lot to certain places to take photos of Nature, national parks and unique historic places, we enter competitions with our photos, we frame and give them as gifts. We take classes on photography, and we have old films made by my parents and their parents from when we were young. I do know we need to get those transferred to DVDs! It’s a goal for me this year to find a place that can transfer our old family movies to disks. Does anyone have a recommendation for a place that does this?
Gaudy decor -my family and our community have a belief that if someone gave it to you , you must use it . We have a huge collection of magnets and stupid wedding guest candles etc
Guest candles? I guess I have not heard of that one, but it’s my belief that candles are meant to be used. We went through a phase when I was younger where we made candles, and now we are using those up.
What a wonderful chanel I just found you. I'm just starting my journey in to minimalism. This was very insightful. Thank you so much I have subscribed 💓 and 👍 up too thank you great advice
New fan! Thanks to Get Organized HQ. I'm really wondering what you used to digitize your photos? Taking a picture with your phone or using a scanner? I need to do this! Thanks for the tips
I definitely see your point but things you can hold in your hand can also be gone in a flash. I'm actually less comfortable with keeping a single hard copy of something because once it's damaged there's no going back
Love the video, just uncomfortable with the recommendation to go digital to declutter as pieces of paper may take space in our homes however, going digital has a huge environmental impact as it consumes energy every second of the many years you want to keep them. You just rehome your things in big datacenters. Do what you want but please keep in mind this reality 🙏
Technology also changes over time. 30 years ago I backed up some old family photos onto floppy disks, which are useless now. I do have many on DVD, but I have far too many that are only located up in the cloud. My printer doesn’t work so I have not printed them out for a long time. I would feel safer if I had them in a CD/DVD format.
I made a workable list for myself. But, you mentioned cords. I think that was number two. What kind of cords are talking about. I don't think I have any. I will be working on the rest of your list.
Many devices come with a charging cord or extension cord, some type of special plug that is not always used. Many of these are removable and then later you’re not sure what device it actually goes to! For example I have some for a camera, phone, tablet, coffee grinder, blender, air mattress pump, humidifier, and many other devices. I also have short medium and long extension cords, a heavy duty outdoor extension cord as well as power strips.
Computer mostly. You should always have back-up storage for digital files, google drive, Dropbox, etc. works. Even and external hard drive that you check regularly will serve. Just don’t rely on one digital copy. I learned this the hard way.
@@rachelwatson9170 yes, the thing is that my family and I are spread to different countries and we would all like access to the digital copies. :) and there are like thousands og pictures
I recently got a fire safe that is also waterproof. I plan to put back up copies of precious family photos in that safe, along with other important documents.
Interesting, but does not work for everyone: getting rid of books? some yes...the majority, no. And digitising pics is not necessarily a solution. The rest I sort of agree with.
I agree. Since visiting Biltmore mansion & estate as a child it was always my goal to have my own library! I did use this for homeschooling, and I still do use it for reference, although lately I have been meeting people who would be blessed or encouraged by reading one of my books. A few of them I asked to be returned, others I have not used for many years, usually I just give away when I know they will be well loved. Also with digitizing photos - technology does change over time. 25 to 30 years ago I took the trouble to back up old family photos onto floppy disks, which are now useless. Many other photos from about 10- 20 years ago I have on CD and DVD. These are safer, but for how long? My cloud storage is nearly full, and that is not an option without Electricity and Wi-Fi. So it’s my plan in the next year to print many of those off and make several physical photo albums. I plan to give small albums to specific people as gifts, with the photos relating to their life.
Lol yes😜 thank you. I had a think about it and came to that. I’ve always called them cables. Power or charging cables. Those things multiply on their own, some kind of cable breeding programme. 😂😂😂
I think it’s cables, cords, coax, hdmi, all the types for whatever gets plugged up or plugged in! I have a full basket that I’ve been hauling around for at least 20 years, but tech and equipment has advanced so much!
*** When you digitized your photos and files, what format did you use? Did you scan them or take photos of them? How do you store them? On a computer and/or a portable device? ***
For most of my photos I use Google photos once they're digitized. I create albums there and have my phone set to auto backup to Google photos. For files I use Google Drive. :)
Does anyone know a similar non-Google option? In my family we don’t use any Google products, the closest we come is watching RUclips but we have all the security options set as private as possible. Google does not respect your privacy. We use DuckDuckGo for example, as our search engine and email; this prevents tracking and selling your personal information.
I haven't experienced this first hand. Perhaps if you live somewhere where the power drops frequently this MAY be an issue... but in the many years I've had things digitized I haven't had any problems.
those frames behind you are a distraction to me. for me personally, i would remove the frames, move the aroma thing to center and put the pampas grass to the right of it on the table 😁 i stopped doing nails. i just use burts bees cuticle lemon balm. i get more compliments now than i did when i painted my nails, plus its getting really expensive. i would rather buy groceries.
If you click the Gear Icon in the upper right, you will see Captions. Click on the word Captions, then choose Auto Translate. This will bring up a list of languages to choose from, and Arabic is the first option. This will not be a perfect translation, but more like voice to text Automated computer translation. I have used this for many foreign language videos, and while it is not perfect, it is usually quite good enough for me to understand what is happening. ✌🏽🕊☮️
I am over the buying of eco-friendly cleaning supplies. They are overpriced, and they don't do a good job. Vinegar and dawn dish soap cleans most things, and I love pine sol cleaner. To disinfect.
Yeah, vinegar mixes do tend to do a good job and they're still eco-friendly :)
@@MiaDanielle and cheap
Smell of pine sol is awful health wise.
@@malissakirby3608 I grew up with pine sol, so I guess that smell grew on me. It hasn't killed me yet.
@@malissakirby3608 thank you! It really is harmful!
I'm in the midst of my most recent decluttering effort. Last year when I moved from Texas to Oregon I downsized significantly, but not quite enough for my current studio apartment. But one thing that I did ruthlessly cull were my books. They're heavy, take up a ton of space, and collect lots of dust and cat hair. Now I mostly have knitting pattern books, and as I make the pattern(s) out of them that I liked, I donate the books to the little free fiber library at one of the local yarn stores for another knitter to enjoy. I am an avid reader and always have been, but I don't need to be buried alive in books to "prove" that to anyone else. Libraries are a wonderful resource, and if I really really want to own a book I buy a digital copy for my kindle. But even the smallest amount of extra clutter in a small apartment (548 sq ft!) makes the whole place feel like a disaster zone, and I'm tired of feeling stressed all the time because there's no mental resting space from having too much stuff.
Can relate to all of these! Photos are the only thing that I just couldn't do. Digital just isn't the same for me so it's worth the shoebox. Everything else could literally go and I would be fine.
I agree with you! Besides, digital may NOT be forever. Computers fail - much to the shock of so many! And I believe that it will eventually happen more quickly than the modern generation thinks.
@@carolynrisen6212
Yes! And technology does change over time. I had some very good photos and letters backed up to floppy disks, which are basically useless now. I do have some photos on CD & DVD, which is safer; but who knows for how long?
AS FAR AS PILLOWS GO - ABOUT 2 YRS. AGO I STARTED USING A VERY SOFT/PLUSH SMALL THROW FOR MY PILLOW. YOU CAN SHAPE OR SCRUNCH IT ANY WAY YOU WANT OR NEED TO. NOW A PILLOW SEEMS SO CLUNKY AND UNCOMPHORT TO ME. I HAVE 4 SOFT THROWS THAT I USE FOR EITHER PILLOWS OR BLANKETS - DOUBLE DUTY.😊
One of the first things I decluttered was cookbooks. Any recipes I used regularly, I made a copy and put it into a clear sleeve and into a binder and then donated the cookbook. Bedding/Towels/Linens, is a other good decluttering category. We have 2 towel sets and 2 sheet sets per person/bed. The rest donate to your local animal shelter.
Love that!
Take a scan and store recipes in the notes ap on your phone.
The cookbook idea is a great idea!
Office supplies/ homeschool supplies is definitely an area I need to tackle 😅 We are already a minimalist family but things for crafts can easily add up quickly.
but...
they are so fun!!!
(me too)
I just recently found out about The Edgy Minimalist- through her I was able to start a 5am morning routine which I love! For myself I remember when I started to declutter it was listening about it at first, then I got out a few old items of clothing. 2nd thing I went through, because I was sick that day and just hanging on my bed, was pictures. I went from 5 items of clothing first round to hundreds of physical pictures. I downsized 10 photo albums to one box. That did it - for most of 6 months I worked hours a day going through book shelves, kids books, kids workbooks, toys, clothes, kitchen etc. 3 months into it when I wanted clear space on a wall that was when I acknowledged I embraced the Minimalism life style. Recently I gave my daughters a lot of my Lush collection of bath bombs and bubble bars and never thought that day would happen. I do still enjoy pens but not to the excess that i used to live.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It sure can progress quickly
Link till edgy minimalist please. Thanks
I have started a minimalist journey for myself. I have come to realize stuff gives me anxiety. Like, I just come home, look at all my stuff and have a panic attack. I started with my makeup and skincare. I have decluttered 90 percent of that and I've started on clothes as well. I think one thing I really need to do is my kitchen.... I have so many coffee cups and cookbooks it's ridiculous.
But I have also recognized that my minimalism isn't anybody's else's. I've tried it before and I quit because I couldn't justify only keeping one of certain things or living up to someone else's reality. It took me years to declutter all of my makeup, but in the end, it was a minimalist collection for me. I may need 3 primers while someone else needs 3 foundations. That was hard for me to grasp at first.
We started decluttering by creating 2 boxes...keep and throw. We went through 1 box daily. I was excited and sped it up. I don't know how much I decluttered that year, but my office went from a store room overflowing with stuff to an actual office. Every year since then I have weeded more stuff out annually. It is hard to believe this is the same house.
Problem with digitizing all photos is that you have to have power/electricity to look at them. I see it as a good backup just not only digitized.
Oh goodness…digitize them to save them. (So easy) PRINT out the ones You love or want to gift. Remove and add new ones each year and the printed ones are easy and flat to store.
@@sandymutert8495 what do you do with the ones you remove?
Thank you for your content, there's so much stuff we don't realize, we don't actually use or need that takes up space..
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. And that's so true ❤️
Agree 100% about the cords, we had a rubbermaid tote just full of random old usb cables and extension cords 😆
Oh my goodness! My mom sold Merle Norman in the 70s. It was my first makeup and all I wore until college! We also got makeup for Christmas. What a memory!
I really edited down my closet....but then I had empty hangers....and I bought new clothes....I keep watching minimalism videos trying to get back on track.
I know you did not mean to be funny . . . but, yeah.
If you actually wear the clothes and like all the clothes I think its okay.
Great video. I appreciate how you can identify the values in early life/famiy traditions that started the habits of using/repurposing things, but you are gentle in stating that those values trickled down and were not so unusual, but you are moving (and have moved) in a different direction. So many times the 'wrong and right' of the issue scars the context in which our families survived and passed down some of those beliefs to us. Until we made different choices. TY.
I used to Love going thrift store shopping and still do on occasion but I can really relate to "on the hunt" vibe. I got to a point when I decided we had enough. Now my attitude in those stores is to appreciate the history. Recognize things from my childhood or family homes. I don't need to own the thing. If I do get a project idea (like having a collection of angels for Christmas decor, or a vintage cake pan for a wedding present package) I sit on it and mull it over. I really consider all the angles. Will I actually follow through? Maybe not, but it is nice to have ideas for projects and look into all the sides of completing it. Sometimes the project idea gets lost in the enthusiasm. Sometimes the idea merits. But I no longer need to collect all the things for all the potential projects. Which for me has been progress.
Just discovered your channel. This is my first video of yours that I've watched so far. I can relate so much. It's funny when you got to the furniture, I can still remember the first time a friend of mine came to my new (at the time) place. The first words out of her mouth were "You have a lot of tables." 😂 And she was right. I bought a few small ones, some to paint, but all to display knick-knacks *shudder* and framed photos. Within a few months, four or five were donated, and it encouraged me to continue downsizing.
I could relate to so much of what you said. I was like yup...yup..
Looking forward to watching more of your videos. 😊
Great video!😎 so many wonderful tips!
Glad you like them!
I started with a rolling cart with boxes and trash bags.
Garbage first and if I found something which grabbing the obvious trash that I was shaking my head saying "what the heck were we thinking when we got this" went into the donate box. Another box was just for tools (we had storm damage that messed up parts of almost every room so screwdrivers etc everywhere to put things back together). This process opened up a lot of areas for me to be able see exactly what was left. One round through kick started a second round. I didn't pick a specific room until I got 3 full rounds in with my cart set up. It made the whole house feel a little bit lighter and really made me want to dive in full throttle.
Re: Nail Polish. one thing I recall was not only new paper print being legible decades after going to the landfill but tightly closed bottles of nail polish being useable. Last summer I as active in the trash nothing group and someone put in a request for nail polish, any color. I went through my then reduced stash and gave up an additional 10-15 bottles. I do have nail polish and my intent is to bring my own bottle when I get a mani-pedi done and to do more of my own at home. I am not really super into trends or fashion so having some colors I think I look good in are sufficient for me. I likely will get down to one bottle some day and I'll be just fine with that too. So adjusting what I own and my attitude went hand in hand with me whittling down that supply.
I have 7 of the 15: ornaments, pillows, office supplies, make up, detergents, shoes, hobby stuff, (books are now on kindle - all 803 of them)
I have a lot of flatware. The only category i have extra of. But then i use it all, often and regularly with great joy. So except for those, i have no problem purging ruthlessly.
Office supplies was the worse in my home. Three years ago with Covid . I had transitioned to work remotely and I purged all my office supplies. The binder clips were repurposed to clip on chip bags or on a garbage bag in the bathroom. Now I my goal is to use what I have and not bring more.
That's what I use them for! They come in very handy. I also have some clipped to the top of chili mix & salad dressing mix bags, then I hang them from little command hooks on the inside of a cabinet door.
@@JamieM470That’s a great idea - thank you!
Reminds me.., i used old nail polish in art work once. I never used it.., but I asked for peep's old bottles, on the local list serv.., and was given a pile of them. I dribbled them on an immense kimono shaped painting that i used an old mattress cover to make. It's up on one side of one of our old barns.., and very weather proofed by the variety of paints including that nail polish;-) and the polishes are sparkly and silver and gold and reds. Your mention of 'furniture' has me thinking it might be the next thing for me to focus on.
We have 3 pots and 3 pans of small, medium, and large sizes and it's truly all you need.
Works for you but not all.
@melissawrite: I’m glad that works for you. But some of us have large (6-12+ children) families, many of us grow, can/freeze and process very large quantities of food every year. At least 3 times each month I take a dish for fellowship meals at my church congregation, and that requires larger pans and baking dishes. We are food producers, not only food consumers; so we do need larger bowls and pans than people who are only food consumers. For example, when it’s time to make 50 quarts of apple butter, or to butcher chickens and turkeys, we use several electric roaster pans at once. These are shared among my family members, so we all get together at the time of food processing, help each other and make it a party. Similar thing when it’s time to harvest peaches, green beans, can cherries or make a year’s worth of jam or salsa in a few days.
So I’m glad just a few pans works for you, but it would not work for every family- Especially not large families who garden or farm, and produce much of their own food.
Your name made me giggle 😄. My adult daughter had a friend named Danielle. As a teenager, Danielle would leave messages on our answering machine saying " Hi this is me..ah Danielle, give me a call!" So everytime I saw her I would call her Meah Danielle!😂🥰
Hahahah that's a funny story, I love it 😂
I can really relate to the hand me down clothes thing!! I’ve gotten hand me downs from a few aunts and my mom. But now I try to be a lot more discerning with my clothing. And then the mindset “if it’s free and useful then take it!” - I didn’t even realize that was a mindset I’ve had until you said it!! 🤯 I’ve been able to move away from that a little bit, but oh man I used to have that kind of mindset before!!
Love that you were able to have a breakthrough while watching this 🙌 the mindset work can be the HARDEST part of it all.
I love your video! I consume minimalism content almost daily and your perspective is the first one that really resonated with my own personal journey. I'm excited to watch more! :)
I can totally relate to the make up!! My late sister in law sold Mary K!!
Oh, I can imagine! :)
First 4 mins in you just described my current bedroom, purple sequined and scarves hanging from here or there. It’s eclectic. I like it. Haha
Wonderful! You don't have to declutter the things you love or that inspire you ❤️ Just the things that no longer serve you or your space. If your hung purple scarves make you happy, enjoy the moment!
At first I just ripped through my entire house. lol. Mostly it was obvious things like multiples, things I never used, expired things, worn out things, things that don’t fit, broken things, etc. I think I did ok with paper tho. Got my whole life in one cute little fabric box thing. 😅😅 I kept the one clear nail polish only. Wound up using it on a small stool I use to seal off the bottom with high gloss so cat hair would stop sticking to it. Lol.
I am sure glad I saved various electronic gadget plugs. As I go through the house, I come across something I want to use that needs a specific one. Like my old iPod, portable radio and CD player.
All the cords were driving me nuts.
I got them untangled. I don't know what most of them are for but I am afraid to get rid of them. I took each cord and put each one in a snack size ziplock bag. At least they are organized.
I did and later found I decluttered one I really need for an expensive item I might now have to repurchase. Use caution.
@@TheDriftwoodlover
I agree, the same thing happened with us. It was extremely expensive to replace! Right now I have our extra cords in a small Rubbermaid tote, and I’m trying not to buy anymore.
I remember Goodreads and having soooo many books in college. I miss my books ngl
That was all really helpful. Thank you from Utah.💐🐦
I love your channel! A question: how do you digitalise your photos?
Scan them. Most libraries have a scanner you can use and will show you how.
Inteligent! How do you keep your beautiful hair? What about hair products in a minimalist view?
Start with literal rubbish, you'll be surprised just how much there is around your house!
Clothes next, because you're probably already a minimilist here anyway (wearing the same outfits week in week out)
The view from your bed. Clear it up, declutter keep on top of it before bed so that as soon as you wake up you have a clean start to the day.
I have decluttered under my bed...I only have now a container for my scrapbooking; and 4 sets of shoes...
I enjoy and appreciate your videos!
I wish more minimalists mentioned the value in reducing makeup. It expires! So many ppl dont know that. It's a benefit to our health to keep it simple vs over collect.
Totally! I found that the better quality the makeup was (and taking care of my skin) resulted in LESS! It's definitely one area that is easy to accumulate.
I'm just beginning this journey. I'm starting in my kitchen. I live alone in an apartment...why do I need enough gadgets and appliances to host a small event. I work a lot and don't do a lot of actual cooking and I rarely entertain. What I think is going to be the hardest for me is sentimental items (I have totes and totes of memorabilia) and pictures. My daughter is 21 now and I have saved enough things from her childhood, that it's taken up a big portion of my garage...drawings, paintings, dolls, baby clothes, stuffed animals 🥺😞
You aren't alone! Everybody has to start somewhere. 🙂
@@MiaDanielle thank you. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed; it's comforting to know I'm not alone 💓
In regard to your daughter’s drawings and paintings, you could buy an art portfolio on Amazon with clear pockets (unless you’ve already done this), so it’s ready to hand to your daughter at the right time. If you took photos of the dolls and stuffed toys and used an app like shutterfuly or chat books to create a coffee table book of beautiful memories, including the baby clothes, perhaps including pics of her wearing the clothes as a baby. (Credit to Brittany Vasseur for this idea).
There may be children in need of the comfort of the toys and dolls after the disaster in Florida , if you can donate the majority after taking all the photos of them. Wouldn’t that be a lovely legacy so the good qualities and purposes and past happiness associated with those things can be a blessing to someone now? 😊 like in Toy Story 2
Of course you may want to keep a box with a curated collection of physical memorabilia for giving to your daughter at some point.
@@lilyandrose8557 these are beautiful ideas 🥺 thank you so very much ❤️ i have not done the art portfolio and love this! I know it's silly to have such an attachment to "things" 😢😞 moving forward, letting go... always been extremely difficult for me. Both of my parents have passed away for 6+ years. I still cannot bring myself to delete their number from my contacts. Thank you so much for your suggestions 💖
@@lilyandrose8557 btw, thinking about toy story 2, I got pretty teary eyed. This is lovely and it will help me to take the necessary steps
On the pictures: I’d love to digitize, as well, but I don’t trust that they might last. I’ve had hard drives crash before, taking all the files with them. I don’t want to lose my pictures to tech failure. I’m too scared to do it.
Have a backup flash drive or two. It’s better to have backups they actually don’t take too much space.
In addition to what Silvia says, outsourcing your data is a reliable way to ensure it persists. While your individual hard drive may crash, you can reliably assume Google's (or Apple's or whoever's) clouds storage won't.
Same
I’m older than you, and I did have very many good, old family photos and letters from grandma and great grandma Etc backed up on floppy discs- which are now useless. The problem with technology is that it’s constantly changing. I do have a lot of photos backed up on CD/DVD, but who knows how long that will last? And my Apple cloud storage is nearly full.
In my family we are photographers. We have always traveled a lot to certain places to take photos of Nature, national parks and unique historic places, we enter competitions with our photos, we frame and give them as gifts. We take classes on photography, and we have old films made by my parents and their parents from when we were young. I do know we need to get those transferred to DVDs! It’s a goal for me this year to find a place that can transfer our old family movies to disks. Does anyone have a recommendation for a place that does this?
Thank you! This was AWESOME!💟
Thank you, have a great day!
You too!
Gaudy decor -my family and our community have a belief that if someone gave it to you , you must use it . We have a huge collection of magnets and stupid wedding guest candles etc
Guest candles? I guess I have not heard of that one, but it’s my belief that candles are meant to be used. We went through a phase when I was younger where we made candles, and now we are using those up.
@@salyluz6535 the candles are small ones that are given to all the guests attending the wedding. ( party favor )
What a wonderful chanel I just found you.
I'm just starting my journey in to minimalism. This was very insightful. Thank you so much I have subscribed 💓 and 👍 up too thank you great advice
You are so welcome! Happy to have you here :)
Great video.
Keep what you love and memories.
Thank you!
Oh my goodness. We have some of the same issues with clutter: art supplies, papers, clothes, books, unused furniture. MAGAZINES.
What kind of matress did you buy?
The mattress is a 'Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid Premium Silver Chill Plush Mattress' 😊
New fan! Thanks to Get Organized HQ. I'm really wondering what you used to digitize your photos? Taking a picture with your phone or using a scanner? I need to do this! Thanks for the tips
There are lots of neat apps you can get that allow you to "scan" with your phone. I personally used an app called Photomyne.
@@MiaDanielle Thank you so much for your reply! :)
Yes !😊
What type of pans do you use?
I use pans from Caraway (ap.carawayhome.com/mia-danielle10). I love them! 🙂
Stainless Revereware ™ lifetime
im trying so hard to be minimalist
Keep at it! It can be challenging but so worth it!
Some good ideas, BUT digitized books, papers, photos, and even music, can be gone in a flash. If you can't hold it you don't own it.
I definitely see your point but things you can hold in your hand can also be gone in a flash. I'm actually less comfortable with keeping a single hard copy of something because once it's damaged there's no going back
Wow. This is so me. Thank you 😬😬😬
Love the video, just uncomfortable with the recommendation to go digital to declutter as pieces of paper may take space in our homes however, going digital has a huge environmental impact as it consumes energy every second of the many years you want to keep them. You just rehome your things in big datacenters. Do what you want but please keep in mind this reality 🙏
Technology also changes over time. 30 years ago I backed up some old family photos onto floppy disks, which are useless now. I do have many on DVD, but I have far too many that are only located up in the cloud. My printer doesn’t work so I have not printed them out for a long time. I would feel safer if I had them in a CD/DVD format.
I made a workable list for myself. But, you mentioned cords. I think that was number two. What kind of cords are talking about. I don't think I have any. I will be working on the rest of your list.
Many devices come with a charging cord or extension cord, some type of special plug that is not always used. Many of these are removable and then later you’re not sure what device it actually goes to! For example I have some for a camera, phone, tablet, coffee grinder, blender, air mattress pump, humidifier, and many other devices. I also have short medium and long extension cords, a heavy duty outdoor extension cord as well as power strips.
I'm in the process of soon digitizing my photos. Where do you store your digitized pictures ? 😁
Computer mostly. You should always have back-up storage for digital files, google drive, Dropbox, etc. works. Even and external hard drive that you check regularly will serve. Just don’t rely on one digital copy. I learned this the hard way.
@@rachelwatson9170 yes, the thing is that my family and I are spread to different countries and we would all like access to the digital copies. :) and there are like thousands og pictures
Mia replied to someone else that she uses Google photos, she can create albums there. Maybe your fam would like that?
I recently got a fire safe that is also waterproof. I plan to put back up copies of precious family photos in that safe, along with other important documents.
Interesting, but does not work for everyone: getting rid of books? some yes...the majority, no. And digitising pics is not necessarily a solution. The rest I sort of agree with.
I agree. Since visiting Biltmore mansion & estate as a child it was always my goal to have my own library! I did use this for homeschooling, and I still do use it for reference, although lately I have been meeting people who would be blessed or encouraged by reading one of my books. A few of them I asked to be returned, others I have not used for many years, usually I just give away when I know they will be well loved.
Also with digitizing photos - technology does change over time. 25 to 30 years ago I took the trouble to back up old family photos onto floppy disks, which are now useless. Many other photos from about 10- 20 years ago I have on CD and DVD. These are safer, but for how long? My cloud storage is nearly full, and that is not an option without Electricity and Wi-Fi. So it’s my plan in the next year to print many of those off and make several physical photo albums. I plan to give small albums to specific people as gifts, with the photos relating to their life.
Please can you let me know what ‘ Cords’ are? Are they curtain cords? I am Confused, thanks.
She means cables to charge something like a phone for example
Lol yes😜 thank you. I had a think about it and came to that. I’ve always called them cables. Power or charging cables. Those things multiply on their own, some kind of cable breeding programme. 😂😂😂
I think it’s cables, cords, coax, hdmi, all the types for whatever gets plugged up or plugged in! I have a full basket that I’ve been hauling around for at least 20 years, but tech and equipment has advanced so much!
Old electronics cords
A few scammers talking about investing.
Report them!
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When you digitized your photos and files, what format did you use? Did you scan them or take photos of them?
How do you store them? On a computer and/or a portable device?
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For most of my photos I use Google photos once they're digitized. I create albums there and have my phone set to auto backup to Google photos. For files I use Google Drive. :)
Does anyone know a similar non-Google option? In my family we don’t use any Google products, the closest we come is watching RUclips but we have all the security options set as private as possible. Google does not respect your privacy. We use DuckDuckGo for example, as our search engine and email; this prevents tracking and selling your personal information.
What happens if you digitise everything . Then things go wrong and you can’t access them🤷♀️
I haven't experienced this first hand. Perhaps if you live somewhere where the power drops frequently this MAY be an issue... but in the many years I've had things digitized I haven't had any problems.
I like this video and I want to note that your background is not like a minimalist person
What happens when the internet goes down!! Very foolish to rely on anything else other than yourself!!
October 13, 2022
As soon as you mentioned photos, I had an anxiety attack.
Looking at the back drop I find it has too much in it
🖐🏼🙂
those frames behind you are a distraction to me. for me personally, i would remove the frames, move the aroma thing to center and put the pampas grass to the right of it on the table 😁
i stopped doing nails. i just use burts bees cuticle lemon balm. i get more compliments now than i did when i painted my nails, plus its getting really expensive. i would rather buy groceries.
Please add translate arbic
If you click the Gear Icon in the upper right, you will see Captions. Click on the word Captions, then choose Auto Translate. This will bring up a list of languages to choose from, and Arabic is the first option. This will not be a perfect translation, but more like voice to text Automated computer translation. I have used this for many foreign language videos, and while it is not perfect, it is usually quite good enough for me to understand what is happening. ✌🏽🕊☮️
🤍
Can you slow down how fast you talk a little bit?
The ambassador of happiness is looking for a wife