HABITS FOR A CLEAN HOME » & getting rid of things

Effective minimalist cleaning and decluttering tips to maintain a tidy home and reduce excess belongings.

Key Takeaways

Regularly declutter by donating items to maintain a clean home.
Use simple sorting methods to make decisions about belongings easier.
Emotional detachment from items can be achieved by temporary storage.
A designated drop zone helps prevent clutter from accumulating.
Minimalism encourages valuing experiences over material possessions.

What the video covers

The creator shares personal experience adopting minimalism after traveling with a small backpack.
Collaboration with Jenny Mustard, a minimalist and plant-based lifestyle content creator.
Use a donation box to regularly collect items to give away, preventing clutter buildup.
Sort items into yes, no, and maybe piles to decide what to keep or discard.
Store 'maybe' items away for 2-3 months to emotionally detach and decide if they are needed.
Create a drop zone near the door for items that need to leave the house to avoid clutter.
Advice on handling gifts that no longer bring happiness by passing them on to others.
Encouragement to ask for experiences or specific items instead of accumulating unwanted gifts.
Tip to never leave a room empty-handed by carrying items to their proper place.
Invitation to watch Jenny Mustard's related video for more minimalist cleaning tips.

Chapters

How can I decide what to do with items I am unsure about?

Place uncertain items in a bag and store them away for 2-3 months. If you don't miss or need them during that time, it's easier to let them go.

What is a drop zone and how does it help with clutter?

A drop zone is a designated area near the door where you place items that need to leave the house, like books to return or clothes to exchange, helping prevent clutter from accumulating.

How should I handle gifts I no longer want or need?

If a gift doesn't make you happy, consider passing it on to someone who will appreciate it, allowing the gift to continue fulfilling its purpose of bringing happiness.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Whether you're a minimalist or not, these are some cleaning and decluttering tips you might find very useful. I adopted minimalism a couple of years ago after having learned to love living out of a very small backpack while I was traveling for six months. When I returned from my travels, I was eager and determined not to fall back into my old ways of living. This was essentially a life filled with excess stuff and a life driven by my material needs. So, I started to look online for some inspiration

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that would help to support me in my new way of living, and this is when I came across the videos of Jenny Mustard. Not only did she and her partner David inspire me to continue to live a minimal and simple life,

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but she also inspired me in the way that she creates captivating content, and the fact that she follows a plant-based lifestyle was a bonus to top it all off. So, you can imagine how excited I am to say that this video is in collaboration with dear Jenny Mustard.

Speaker A

She's also made a video on how to clean like a minimalist on her channel, so I will link that video for you at the end of this one. For now, let's just dive right into those tips, shall we? I

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keep a small box tucked away in my closet or storage room that serves as a donation box. So, instead of keeping a mental note of the clutter around the house that needs to make its way to the thrift shop,

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I just grab those items and add them to the box actively and on an ongoing basis. When the box starts to get full, I swing by your donation store to drop them off and then rinse and repeat. This helps

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to keep the home clean and tidy with only those items that you really truly need or appreciate, and in my opinion anyway, it's better to donate than accumulate. When cleaning out our items like clothing, for example,

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we usually put these items into three different piles: the no pile, the yes pile, and that anxiety-causing and "maybe" piles. So, what do you do with those items you don't feel ready to toss but aren't fully sure you want to keep?

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Here's a simple solution: place all the items from the maybe pile in a bag and store it away for two to three months. After this time has passed, and if you haven't found the need to dive back in to get something, then here is a challenge:

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before you reopen and try to see if you remember what was even inside, if you didn't miss it or forgot what was in there

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entirely, then it should be easier to let it go. This activity can help us to detach some of our emotions from those items. You realize that we didn't really need it after all that time. Plus, if it can bring some happiness to the life of somebody else, if you're giving it to a

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donation or a charity, then it's a win-win. Create and use a drop zone. This is an area of your home. For me, it's by the front door where you drop off certain items that need to leave the house. For

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example, if I finished reading a book that I borrowed from a friend, I'll take it immediately to my drop zone instead of letting it clutter the kitchen counter or dining table. If it's an article of clothing that needs to be exchanged or returned,

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I'll take it immediately to my drop zone instead of letting it linger around my bedroom or in my closet. Then, each time before I leave the house, I'll quickly glimpse inside the drop zone and see if there's something I could drop off, return, or deliver

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that's not too far out of my way. This method not only helps to keep me more responsible for returning things in a timely manner, but it also helps to keep the home free of any clutter. Of all the things to get rid of,

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I think gifts can be the hardest because you know it was given to you with love, and even if you never really loved it to begin with, or maybe you don't love it anymore, the last thing you want to do is offend the person by throwing it away.

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So, here are the pearls of wisdom I learned from Jenny Mustard: the gift was given to you to make you happy, and if it

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doesn't make you happy, then it's doing the opposite of what it was intended to do. So, one tip might be to pass it along to someone who you know will derive happiness from receiving it, and in that way, the gift goes on fulfilling its purpose as a happy maker. And for future reference, if it's

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your birthday, housewarming, or other celebration, and if you feel comfortable, go ahead and just ask for what you want. And if you don't feel comfortable or if you don't want to ask for material things, then you can always ask for an

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experience instead, like quality time spent grabbing a bite to eat or doing something else that feels meaningful that doesn't require any money at all. I mean, what better gift to give somebody than your time? When all is said and done, sometimes we need to remember that the simplest solutions can be the best.

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So, to keep your home clean and tidy, never leave a room with an empty hand. If you're getting up from watching the telly to go to the washroom, maybe you can drop off the dirty dishes on your way.

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Or if you're going from the kitchen to the bedroom, scan the room for any items that can tag along. There's nothing quite like a minimal solution when it comes to keeping a minimalist and clean home. So, those are all the tips I have to share with you today.

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I hope that you enjoy this video, and if you're eager to learn some more tips on how to clean like a minimalist, be sure

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to head on over to Jenny Mustard's channel and watch the video she's posted on the same topic, and be sure to also tell her I say hello. Alright, thanks a lot for watching, guys.

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I will see you next week, and until then, happy cleaning, you!

Topics:minimalismcleaning tipsdeclutteringdonation boxminimalist lifestyleorganizationhome cleaningJenny Mustardplant-based lifestylegift decluttering

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