Decluterring

The last two weeks, my house is being renovated. The plan was to tear down the whole kitchen and put in another one. The rest of my apartment will then get a new coat of paint. The last time that my house did anything this major was 10 years ago. As the renovation progress, I would need to move furniture around and put stuffs away to make way for the workers to do their job. It only begin to dawn to me that I actually have accumulated a lot of stuffs through the years. Camera bags alone, I have counted four! One brand new backpack and a brand new computer notebook bag. There were also files and notes that I have collected for "future reference" that has never arise. As such, I have taken the opportunity to declutter my life. First I separate my stuffs based on its functions. For examples, books and notes will be piled together. Bags will be piled together etc. I do it one room at a time. In each pile I will go through one item at a time. I ask myself when is the last time I have used or needed that item. If is more than 12 months ago, chances are I will not be needing it anymore. It either goes into the donation pile or to sell pile. By just going through that activity, I have thrown away most of my old notes and gave some of my stuffs away.The exercise is not easy at all. I have to ask myself this question whether do I really need it. Or I just keeping it for nostalgic reasons or creating a false sense of security. If the item is hardly ever used, chances are it is not needed anymore. For the stuffs that I need, I will separate it into three categories. The ones that I use regularly, use at least once every three months, every six months and finally every 12 months. The more frequent ones will be kept in a more handy area, while the ones that are lesser used will be kept in storage. I have to be honest, chances are the ones that are kept in storage will ended staying there for a long time until I decide to clean it out again... Another tip which I think is great to have is the One In One Out policy. For every item that we buy or bring into the house, I should also dispose something from the house. If this does not reduce the clutter, at least it maintains the clutter does not get worst. We actually have more things that we actually need. Clean out your stuffs today! Believe me, the energy within the room is better and whole house breath better too.