DECLUTTERING WHAT I KNOW NOW & MY JOURNEY TO MINIMALISM | How to Decluttering Tips!

if you're new here my name is Danielle and I have been on a decluttering journey for well over a year and a half almost two years now and there's a lot that I have learned I've discovered uh breakthrough moments emotional emotionally draining moments there have been those times moments of confusion why [Music] who needs to study spatulas similar to spatulas the spoons hey is this still too much having four is that still too much no doubt about that it's been a lot it's been a roller coaster ride but the most important thing is that the results of decluttering have been overwhelmingly positive so I wanted to make this video because I wanted to talk about some of the things that I've learned some of the do's and don'ts of decluttering some of the things that have helped me some of my breakthrough moments I kind of wanted to recap this journey with you and also explain where I'm at currently I first started my decluttering journey with my mud room shall we go back let's go back let's go back to the mud room this was alive this mud room was wow looking back at it and seeing all of this stuff it's wow it was I remember the feeling of being super overwhelmed and this room this area causing a lot of anxiety uh it always stressed me out there are certain areas in my home that I don't like this mud room is one of them I wanted to make over this mud room for I don't even know how long now and in my opinion it's it doesn't serve a purpose there isn't a function for it it's also not aesthetically pleasing so areas that are not functional areas that don't really serve a purpose or are not aesthetically pleasing to me especially all three I can handle areas that aren't aesthetically pleasing but if there are areas that aren't serving a purpose or they're not functional these are the areas that tend to accumulate a lot of clutter this was one of those areas um the basement is another area the garage was kind of another area for me the entryway hallway was another area let me show you let's go back to the basement and the entryway closet this these two areas also were very overwhelming for me they they were always in the back of my mind always stressing me out and there's still work that needs to be done with these three areas but going back to the mud room oh and underneath my bed that looks take a journey back there yeah I thought it was gonna be a lot worse I'm not seeing any surprises that I like either well that's really that's where that dress went [Music] it's it's not bad yeah right or is it bad is this bad hmm I tell you uh when I decluttered my mud room for the first time and I basically got rid of I would say 90 of what was in there I did keep some stuff I moved some of that stuff I don't know I think I some of the stuff I wanted to keep I I'm pretty sure I just placed back in the house but most of it was donated most of it went and it was because most of the stuff was just sitting there collecting dust there was no purpose or reason for this stuff it was just simply sitting there we're gonna get into that in a moment but it wasn't until this very moment this moment when I was showing the mud room and it being completely cleared is when it hit me this was the moment I wanted to become more minimal I wanted to do this to my entire house it was and I know I say this a lot but it was truly a weight lifted off of me that's what it felt like becoming a minimalist wasn't something that was on my radar I didn't think that I could accomplish that I thought becoming a minimalist would be much more difficult for me than what I than what I thought because throughout this journey that's exactly what it has become my journey to minimalism the goal was never to be an extreme minimalist because I knew that that wasn't going to work for my family and I I knew that that just wasn't going to be the goal the goal was to simply be more minimal but what transpired was me becoming a moderate minimalist and that's and I don't like labeling things but the reason I do is to give you an idea of where I've been and where I'm at currently uh it's just that's just if I had to label it moderate minimalists would be the label that I would choose for my family and I and we're very comfortable there because we are by no means a Maximus but by no means an extreme minimalist but just being somewhere in the middle finding that balance is where we are most comfortable I started to work on my kitchen then still to this day one of the hardest areas for me to declutter and organize let's take a journey back to the kitchen these muffin tins here's I'm gonna be honest with you I don't bake I'm not a baker so what I don't understand why I have these I don't even remember the last time I made muffins but what if I do should I keep them what if I need them seriously I'm asking myself this question because I don't know the muffin pans are tripping me up if I can't remember the last time I used them and I can't foresee using them again in the future I buy all my muffins I know I should make them but I don't that was fun the spatulas the spoons the muffin tins good times good times when you start to declutter you may notice yourself it's almost a little bit of a rush you you feel really good about removing a lot of stuff because it's like you're seeing your areas and your spaces cleared and you feel like a weight slipped it off and you want to do that to the whole house and my problem is one of the things that I wish I hadn't done was rushed as fast as I did see I am a very very impatient person like incredibly impatient and when I want something done I want it done now so that was one of the things that I wish I would have done differently is not moved as fast as I did not that I regret letting go of basically any of the stuff go at your own pace take your time do little by little don't take on a whole room if that's something that you don't have time for or you didn't schedule out you know a day and time because I recommend if you're decluttering to sketch out a date and a specific amount of time uninterrupted time to get that done sticking to that time blocking out uninterrupted time it's going to help you flow and move quickly and more efficiently when you're decluttering because there's been so many times where I'll just declutter on a whim and then I'll I'll have to stop a project and what I'm doing because I have a schedule an appointment something going on and it can be frustrating and harder to get back to what you're doing when you're getting interrupted and that's when I get the most scattered because I'll start something I won't finish it I'll get it interrupted and then I'll start something else without finishing the first thing you want to finish a task first before moving on to another task another project going back to some of these areas that are not functional they don't really serve a purpose these are the areas that I'm still working on to try and give it a purpose and make it functional the kitchen is one area where to me the layout is so it's not functional in my opinion so it makes it very difficult to keep things organized I think organization is the hardest thing when it comes to my kitchen and I'm still trying to figure that out I really do believe that in order to or get organized stay organized is to declutter first because if if you have a lot of stuff it's going to be much more difficult for you to organize and one of the things that I recommend doing when you're starting to declutter don't purchase anything don't don't purchase any organization materials any storage stuff if you want to do that I would recommend doing that after you've decluttered and you kind of have a better idea of what you have because I I've done this before because I used to actually have quite a problem with purchasing organizing Asian materials specifically bins baskets wicker baskets pretty organization stuff because it's fun you know organization can be a lot of fun and buying that stuff is fun and I think that sometimes it can be counterproductive when we're purchasing all this stuff because we're kind of and my mom is like this too let's flash back to working with my mom come on since 1952. Danielle was 19. oh she first it's so cool well it's lost a little bit but you know when it dries on it's really good it's musky oh my one is for one side and one is for oh my gosh look how old they are they're so good I've never seen anything like it I have two I think if I was two that was fun I've been helping my parents declutter well my my dad hasn't been in the video but I'm trying to get him in the next video I'm hoping the next video we're heading back over to my parents house my mom and dad have not decluttered their house ever there's 30 plus years of stuff in their home and my parents have no interest in becoming minimalists but they do want to minimize they want to become a little bit more minimal because a lot of this stuff is becoming harder for them to manage my mom was inspired by my journey and wanted me to come over and kind of help her go through stuff and they are I have to admit one of my favorite videos to make if not my favorite videos to make my mom and I I think we have more fun than we do work I mean we've gotten rid of a lot of stuff we've donated a lot of stuff she's made amazing progress but shopping is an issue for her and shopping was an issue for me as well and we'll get into that but uh you know when I was working over at my parents house my mom does not have organizing bins and baskets I did purchase a couple for her for her bathroom but like for example in her kitchen she wants nothing to do with containers she likes things she really likes things in their original packaging and that's what works for her she doesn't want to incorporate more stuff to add to all of the stuff she already has so I think that sometimes organizing bins and baskets and things like that I think that they do work but I think that they work for some people or others it just does nothing for them it just causes more clutter but for others I think when it does work is when there's a a space that is already decluttered I think that these things organizing materials work when you have a amount of stuff that is easily attainable if that makes sense I think that it doesn't work when you're not decluttering and you have a large quantity of stuff I think that it just kind of adds to the stuff and a lot of times when you have that much stuff you're probably not using it correctly or you're not using it at all because it becomes so overwhelming with all of the stuff that you don't know how to use the organization materials that was me at one point so I don't recommend buying new stuff new organizing bins and baskets especially before decluttering wait until you feel comfortable with the amonous stuff that you want in your home and that's different for everybody I question for a long time can I truly Define myself as a minimalist can I truly call myself a minimalist I I struggled with that I questioned if I should even use the word minimalism on my channel because what defines me as a minimalist what makes me minimals even a moderate minimalist I think my issue was is that I had a number like I I had I felt like I needed a specific amount a specific number for each category of items in my house in order to consider myself a minimalist and I don't necessarily agree with that I think to the root to the core of minimalism is being intentional uh you want to know where I learned that from all of you I have learned the most from this entire Journey my entire YouTube Journey from all of you my friends you guys are not my Supreme you guys are not my subscribers you guys are my friends and you are you will never know how much I appreciate you and how grateful I am for you because you are all the ones who continue to have motivated me and continue to motivate me to continue with this journey and to also now help other people in this journey I have family members of mine who have watched this journey have been inspired and want they want me to help them and they want to become more minimal because they're sick of their stuff their stress stuff can just really weigh you down you know and I think sometimes I'm getting onto a rant and I'm not really looking at my notes but this is important I think sometimes decluttering I I think sometimes and I'm gonna speak on behalf of myself our stuff because at one point in time stuff for me and it took me a while to realize this it was a security it was a safety for me having large quantities of stuff having an abundance of things especially essential items I still have a problem with essential items I want an abundance of essential items toothpaste soaps conditioner shampoos first aid stuff toilet paper Essentials I want an abundance of it because it makes me it it feels like a safety it's a security for me because I have it because what happens if one day I run out of it and I don't have it well okay I can I have to calm myself down and say Danielle you have multiple stores very close to you if you need something if you run out of something it's right there it's right there you don't you don't have to clutter up your entire space your bathrooms in your kitchen to feel a sense of security when you can simply just go get it you know but it was it it's still and if you're like me it still wasn't the same it's like okay I know I can go get this stuff but I still want it here I want it what if it's an emergency I need ease I need to be able to easily access it in my home it is a sense of security it's a safety to have an abundance of things to be surrounded by a lot of stuff and that was one of the hardest hurdles for me to overcome because you know when you've had a lot of stuff with you for a long period of time no matter what it is whether it's sentimental stuff or not it you do almost grow an emotional attachment to it and it becomes a force of habit uh to have that to have it all the time and it's quite a change and change is difficult for me to not have all this stuff but I had to weigh out the pros and cons and I highly recommend that you do this if you're having a difficult time decluttering or even starting to declutter or maybe you're at a you're at a roadblock in your decluttering journey and you're questioning if you should start or if you should continue or finish get a list write a list of pros and cons throughout your decluttering journey and when I did that when I wrote Pros cons decluttering Journey the pros always outweighed the cons I was spending too much money I wasn't able to find things I was losing time and money by always losing stuff with it always being hidden in the Clutter it caused me Stress and Anxiety grabbing the negative energy grabbing the negative energy or rolling it into a ball my bedroom I had a difficult time sleeping and staying asleep at night because I was constantly surrounded by a bunch of stuff it wasn't a relaxing place for me it caused more stress to have all of this stuff and a lot of times I hid the stuff because I never liked looking at clutter but I always knew it was in the back of my mind it was always in the back of my mind knowing all this stuff was scattered all over these cabinets drawers under the bed in these non-functional no purpose not aesthetically pleasing places and the pros just always outweighed the cons so write a list of pros and cons and if there are cons try to analyze it figure out why this is a con why is this a roadblock for you you know what's best for you and your family we all have that gut feeling that intuition follow your gut follow your intuition you know what's best for you and your family and if you are working with someone make sure it's someone that you're comfortable with that you trust that's going to take their time with you and be patient with you you know my mom and I joke around a lot so the stuff that is here that's for the kitchen um don't you think it would be better if we found a space for it under the sink in the bathroom yeah okay we'll think about it okay you got a lot of Kleenex well it's on sale when I bulk up for both of us 19 20 you have 21 boxes of kleenexes is that bad well I mean I don't think you need any for about a year there you go there you go see my mom and I drove grown a lot and we have a lot of fun and a lot of times we that's exactly what it is we're just the looks the The Sassy comments these are just this is how we are but I would never she knows that I would never force or push her to do anything she doesn't want to do that I would never force or push her to let go of anything she did no matter how trivial I think it is it doesn't matter what I think it's what she thinks it's what's best for her and my dad for their home I'm just simply here as a guide to help them and to be support and to help help them along in their Journey one thing that I need to make clear too is that I have never let go of anything whether it's my kids my husband my father-in-law my mom my dad without getting their permission first because I have no idea what's important or special to them now I mean I don't like show I don't show I don't show my kids on my channel Ian pops on once in a while my Mom and Tom pop on one well Tom really has it but my mom you know has popped out once in a while but a lot of times when we're working on the camera all of this stuff that I think that they may not want that gets set to the side and then we go through it and they make the final decision on it and when they say yes then that's when it goes the only time I've ever let go of anything without questioning it or asking is my stuff I've had a lot of breakthrough moments on my channel and it's usually always with you those are the best it's the memory that goes along with the object it's we don't want to forget and I think that's what my biggest fear is is that if I don't keep these things all of these sentimental things I'm gonna lose that memory and it scares me because I don't want to I want to be reminded of the people that I have loved and lost I want to be reminded of my kids childhood because that these things are so important and special to me and I I'm terrified that I'm gonna forget so I want to surround myself with sentimental things I just did a breakthrough seriously right now I lit you're literally watching a breakthrough right now like I'm not kidding I literally just had a breakthrough I know why now by saying these things I've never said these things out loud before I literally am having a breakthrough moment that is why I keep sentimental things because I'm afraid I'm gonna forget oh my gosh that's why okay but then now what do I do I was gonna google it but I don't think you can Google that that was fun well let's do a little little flashback of some more fun decluttering moments on the Danny Ray range YouTube channel oh [Laughter] baby okay you know I wanted to try them on and see how they felt you know what I mean like do I like them look at what I did smart brilliant now I can go under the box mattresses with ease oh sure that was fun that was fun I'm gonna end today's video with a couple of tips uh I don't I I hope that you enjoyed this video it's something I've never done before but something's telling me lately I something is telling me that I need to be doing something differently and doing something more and I don't know I've been on this like weird I've been on this journey trying to I don't know it's different it's hard to explain but something's telling me I need to I gotta switch it up I gotta do things differently and I gotta I gotta do this I gotta I gotta I do this I know it's hard to explain I can't even express it think out of everyone in the household my husband has the most difficult time letting go of stuff especially accepting free stuff we're still working on that he likes to accept free stuff flashback to me and Ian working together all right yes keep those those are dirty I warm today why are you putting them I don't know I forgot that I dropped salsa on the pan back in there [Laughter] and I don't see you wearing my hat uh the amazing hat that not only has a light on its head but you can hook it up it has a Bluetooth here yeah why wouldn't you wear it to work what do you think you're gonna get made fun of is that why he doesn't want to ruin it is that a lie that was fun yeah um I'm still trying to work on that and figure that one out that's a that's difficult I don't have the answers to everything yet I never will but the best advice that I can give is be patient with each other um you know understand that something that's special to your partner but may not be special to you maybe it's trivial or trash to you maybe a treasure to them so just go slow patience respect kindness caring love best piece of advice that I can give is just understanding being understanding and eventually if you communicate with each other and you work with each other I think eventually you'll get there and Ian and I were there we have a pretty good relationship he's well he's my Raisin Bran he's my muffin my Honey Bunches of those my maple buttered waffles he's my Foods he's all the foods to me I just want him to be happy and he feels the same way about me we just want each other to be happy that's it so as long as we communicate and work together and we have an understanding of each other it's going to be fine it's the only quiet place in the room in the house it's got to be at least 100 degrees in here you know and there's still other things that I struggle with shopping is another one I still I if I wasn't a Shopaholic like I don't want to because I think of my mom when I think of shopping too because I don't think that we'll call it collecting collecting did I use the air quotes right this time we like to collect we love to shop and the reason why is because shopping was something that I know for myself I did when I was stressed when I was angry when I was upset when I was bored these were the times where I did the most mindless shopping and I always felt worse after I did it because I would bring this item home or better yet I would order it online and when I would see it arrive at the house it felt like Christmas morning or me and I'd get excited about it for a minute but if I was shopping other than shopping to be intentional shopping for things that I actually need want and use if I was just shopping because I was bored or upset or you know you know what I mean I would usually get the stupidest crap did someone not get to take Ian knock it down and didn't tell me who did this to you was it me oh my gosh everything I'm around everything I touch breaks but this one was my favorite no it wasn't this one it was my favorite this one wasn't why did you get this I don't know why do I get half the crap I used to get I try to be intentional with my shopping but if I wasn't a Shopaholic I was well on my way to becoming one before I started my journey to minimalism and the amount I think back and I think what made me upset the most when I was done purchasing it was the fact that I was not being Frugal with money money money that could have been well spent on other things that were important and that bugs me I don't want to just get stuff in shop just to Simply shop because I had the worst part of everything the guilty part was the fact that I spent money on it and I wasted it and now I can't get my money back on it so I still struggle with shopping and something that I think I'll always have to work with I have an addicting personality and um you know that stems back from what we won't get into that but I do personality and it's something that I've recognized I realize and I have to work I got to work through it and it's like I said it's work it's you know yourself better than anyone you know what you need to work on and you know what your goals are and you know what you need to do to move forward and I know what I need to do it's just I have to listen to that intuition and that gut feeling and and not ignore it and sometimes I'll still ignore it because I'm being I'm being selfish or I'm just you know being ridiculous because I'm a ridiculous odd mess more flashbacks shall we 've burnt a hole in my wallet but a lot of good times I feel like you're a little bit of a gold digger we've changed and we've Grown Apart and we've moved on I won't ever forget our times together the shoes the makeup the clothes the purses the decor the decor well that doesn't make it any better Danielle stop looking weird okay start okay please move along I'm ready for dinner [Music] [Applause] yeah [Music] it it looks worse because it's bad [Music] I think I'm gonna wrap up today's video because I think I talked enough that's one thing I like to do I like to talk a lot did I mention there was there anything else I was gonna mention don't minimize this is what I'm going to close with don't minimize don't get rid of things just to Simply get rid of it if it's important to you you use it often you enjoy it it makes you happy keep it keep it and and and don't feel guilty about keeping it I don't think that you should just declutter your whole house and get rid of everything just to simply be more minimal because I think that when you deprive yourself of the things that you truly love like hobbies and interests of yours when you deprive yourself of that I think it pushes you in the other direction and it may make you want to stop or it may make you regret some of the things and decisions that you've made along your decluttering Journey Don't deprive yourself of the things that really you really do love and enjoy and um yeah I think I'm gonna end I'm gonna end with that I hope that you enjoyed today's video I can make more like these in the future if you would like them uh I just love and appreciate you so much it is I'm sweating sweating so much in here so I'm Gonna Leave This room but I hope that you enjoyed it next video I'm gonna try to make it over at my parents house I'm gonna try really hard to head on over there and we have a lot more work to do over at my parents house and a lot more decluttering to do with my mom and that's always a fun time so let's end with some of those clubs some fun clips they're not used they're just scrunched you got some caramels in there too fine oh my gosh we'll ask Brian we'll ask Ryan you're giving me a look doily but Mom if you can't wear it then why would you keep it purposes the thing with the second oh I don't like doing that I just wrapped around my waist what do you want to dig up by your boots for well oh my God I want all these oh my God the swimsuits oh here we go she has so many swimsuits how many swimsuits do you think you want so you're keeping all three of them well see I have certain homes oh my God all right let's We're not gonna get some of them I wear out in the pool and some of them might just wear privately out in the bed I'm swimming suit for every spot in the oven did it well you look like you're backed up [Music] wait why would you do that well you mean you made some thieves like when you were a baby [Applause] thank you

Channel: Danni RaeArranged

Views: 12,821

Keywords: minimalist lifestyle family, declutter with me 2023, declutter with me closet, declutter with me bedroom, declutter your home and life, declutter your home office, simple living, simple living in america, minimalist living decluttering, declutter your home declutter your mind, minimalist lifestyle for beginners, minimalist lifestyle to save money, minimalist lifestyle, declutter your home, minimalist lifestyle tips, minimalism, minimalist, minimalist family

Id: AM-MGsQkl6Y

Length: 38min 18sec (2298 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 22 2023