Irene Smit - Keep What You Love A Visual Decluttering Guide

A visual decluttering guide Irene Smit and Astrid van der Hulst Illustrated by Lotte Dirks Workman Publishing New York Do You Really Need It? as avid lovers of stuff, we never thought that we would one day be in the position to write a book about decluttering. But we each reached a point in our lives where we felt a bit trapped by our stuff. Irene, who loves to visit vintage shops and flea markets, decided to reorganize her home and let go of all the lovely but not-so-necessary decorative tins, charmingly mismatched cups, and old books. Astrid began her own yearlong decluttering project, partly because she was longing for a simpler life, partly because she wanted to reduce her environmental footprint, and partly because she became more keen on the idea of spending money on adventures and making memories rather than on stuff. So she looked at the things she had amassed in her life, and began asking the question, Do I really need this?Do I really need a knife for every type of fruit? Do I really need this bread maker? Do I really need that drawerful of wool socks? Sometimes the answer was yes, and many times it was a clear no. Yes, she needed her sons childhood blanket, because it reminded her of the nights she slept next to his crib when he was a bit restless.

But the umbrella could goafter all, whats wrong with wearing a raincoat and feeling a bit of rain on your face? On the other hand, Irene has had her camping gear in storage for years, but buying a camper is a dream that she is not ready to let go of yet, so those boxes remained untouched. We realized that taking a moment to acknowledge your relationship with an item before deciding whether it should stay or go is also thinking about who you are or would like to become. We will continue to identify as stuff-lovers, but since our decluttering projects, we are more aware of what we really need and what we can let go. Decluttering is not a rigid command to become a minimalist; rather, it is a soft and slow way to reset and make choices about your life. As you move through the pages of this book, think about what each item represents in your own life, and ask yourself, every time you turn the page: Do I really need it? And then, once youve reached the end, on page 235, ask yourself whether you still need this bookor is it time to share it with a friend? XO, Contents All that stuff still sitting in boxes after your last move Yes No Those Whats this for? chargers Yes No Lots of pens Yes No Novelty ice cube tray Yes No Manual typewriter Yes No Once-a-year equipment Yes No Borrow, Dont Buy Its so easy to accumulate stuff that we sometimes forget we have an alternative: Borrow it! From bread makers to power drills to ski equipment to formal wear, we allow a vast amount of stuff to take up space in our lives just to be used once a year and then returned to storage. When youre planning your next big purchase, instead of heading to the store, why dont you call up your neighbor and ask to borrow it? (Or rent itmany hardware stores, for instance, have a rental program for power tools.) This small change will give you a chance to connect with someone in your community.

Plus, at the end of the day, you may even be surprised by how good it feels to return the item, instead of clearing space to store it. Plant that can no longer be saved Yes No Incomplete board games Yes No Dressy clothes Yes No Smelly sports shoes Yes