Get Rid of Your Stuff to Re-Imagine Your Home

Do you feel like you are drowning in STUFF? Are all your possessions stressing you out more than they bring you joy? It’s time to break down the steps for sorting, purging, donating, and organizing your things so you can sleep at night! Join us on The Architecture Happy Hour podcast as residential architect, Laura Davis shares how to get rid of your stuff to re-imagine your home.

See show notes at www.hpdarch.com/ahh77.

in this episode

In Episode 77 of The Architecture Happy Hour Podcast, we are talking about your stuff and how it’s taking over your life. Here’s how to get started getting rid of your stuff so you can make room for what’s important.

• Where does your house feel congested? Where does stuff go and never leaves?
  • Closets
  • Kitchen pantries, drawers, and cabinets
  • Bathroom cabinets
  • Garage
• Sort and Organize
  • Call a professional organizer if you need help
  • Consolidate items together – clothing, hair accessories, desk supplies
  • Purge broken, duplicates, or outdated items
• Questions to ask yourself when decluttering:
  • Do I use this frequently?
  • Is this item in the most convenient location?
  • Does it bring me joy?

notable and shareable takeaways

• Items to Donate:
  • Eyeglasses with the wrong prescription
  • Old cell phones
  • Shoes you don’t wear
  • Clothing that no longer fits or you haven’t worn in a year
  • Old towels and bedding you haven’t used in years (elastic fails, stains won’t come out) – animal shelter will take these
  • Utensils and appliances you don’t use
• Sell these things:
  • Collections you no longer love
  • Furniture in good condition
  • Clothes and handbags with designer labels or price tags still on them
  • Kids’ clothing and baby stuff
  • Tools
  • Sports equipment
• What items should you put in storage:
  • Holiday items
  • Temporary move – furniture, household things you can live without during renovation
  • Documents and files you have to keep for a business or for tax records
  • College student’s possessions who is going to study abroad or relocating temporarily for an internship.
  • **Do Not Store items because you don’t want to deal with – or give yourself a deadline otherwise you’ll never go through it.
• Things that should be tossed or recycled:
  • Expired pantry items
  • Miss-matched food storage containers
  • Magazines and newspapers
  • Kids school work, daily assignments
  • Old technology – cordless landline phones, old tube tv’s, remote controls and cables for equipment you don’t have any more

show notes

• Getting ready for spring cleaning by sorting, organizing and getting rid of stuff [00:55]
• Reevaluate how you file and store things based on how you actually live. [02:00]
• Kitchen pantries, drawers, and cabinets are a good place to start your purge. [03:12]
• Getting started might seem overwhelming but keep your eye on the prize.[06:06]
• There are skilled professional organizers that can help if you need it. [07:00]
• Ask yourself have I used/worn this item in the last year? [09:50]
• Donate, sell, put into storage, throw away or recycle? [11:43]
• Donate glasses, cell phones, clothes and give stained towels and sheets to animal shelters[12:40]
• Sell things you no longer love online or in local consignment stores. [17:21]
• Making the best use of a storage unit. [22:56]