The joy of purging (2 minute read)

Once I’d started on my personal decluttering journey one of my new found pleasures in life was purging.

Yes, using up that last little bit of something, before I replaced it.

I remember how my mum would pour vinegar into the ketchup bottle to help swill out those bits stuck to the side.

There’s a whole movement called Project Panning who rejoice in using up their make-up and sharing pictures of when they ‘hit pan’ – which basically means the bottom of the case, of say a blusher, starts to show through.

panning photos

Followers will only ‘Buy’ when they’ve finally said a proper ‘Bye’ by using up the product. A stricter version is Project 10 Pan Challenge for which you have use up ten products before you buy a new one.

Panners often focus on one product, such as a body butter, and use it up rather than having half a dozen on the go.

I think the same thinking can be applied to everything we consume.

It’s weird but when I’ve found I’ve given my children too much choice they demand more choice. Take breakfast cereals – half eaten packets of Shreddies, Weetabix, Rice Crispies, Multigrain Shapes, and Strawberry Crunch would take up loads of room   on the shelves feeling insulted when my girls said they didn’t like any of them. Now I give my daughters the choice of two. And I refuse to replace either until one is finished. The girls have quit whinging.

It’s so tempting to stock pile these days, with 2 for 1 offers, which can be great money savers but do ask yourself if you really need it or if you’re buying it as someone is giving you a gentle push. And actually have room to store it?

I believe bulk buying can be a great way to save money (and the environment if it means less packaging) but it has to be planned and not done on a whim otherwise you’ll find yourself buried in loo roll and choking on Cheerios.

So take stock of what you have, by gathering duplicates into one place (from jam to sun tan lotion) and promise to only BUY until you’ve said BYE. It’s satisfying and your bank balance will be happy too.

 

Taking stock (2 minute read)

We’ve all done it as we’ve followed the floor arrows round Ikea. We’re thinking about Swedish Meatballs and mindlessly grab a bag of Bevara clips (the name is Swedish for ‘preserve’), convinced we only have a few left.

kitchen decluttering

But the niggling thought that they’re made of plastic so will take billions of years to degrade so can’t just disintegrate, stopped me buying more on my last visit.

So when I returned home I did a quick 5-minute declutter of THAT  kitchen drawer which holds all the storage stuff like foil, clingfilm, bags and elastic bands. And yes – there they all were – snuffling around at the bottom with the thousands of white wire ties which we never ever use but my husband insists on keeping.

Yes – one of the many pleasures I get from decluttering is it encourages you to take stock.

If you gather all things of a the same category into one place it’s often surprising what you find. Who knew you actually had:

  • 27 rolls of half used sellotape
  • 8 opened but unfinished bottles of suntan lotion which will be out of date next time the sun reappears
  • A gallon of free shampoo and shower gel in 47 little plastic bottles
  • Enough plasters to cover every inch of skin of my 9 year old daughter

Well, it was almost this bad…

These are often items you buy or squirrel away ‘just in case’ you might run out of – as you’ve lost track of what you actually have.

And once you’ve understood you never need to buy another plastic polly pocket again, and you’ve given all the wandering items a designated place TOGETHER,  the purging can begin…

This is another immensely satisfying path to follow on a decluttering journey which I plan to blog about soon.

What have you found you’ve an abundance of in your home?