How to discard - and why it's SO important to do it quickly!

In reorganising your home, “there are only two tasks - discarding and deciding where to keep things”, says Marie Kondo. That’s why, once you have decided what you love, it’s so important to get rid of everything else - FAST. If you let stuff sit around, it will creep back into your life and your space.

Here are some tips on discarding to help you make it happen:

1. DON’T LET OTHERS SEE WHAT YOU’RE DISCARDING

Be it clothes, a hobby item or a gift you never use, it’s likely someone will say “why are you throwing that out?” or “but that looked great on you” if they see your discard pile. Firstly, a decluttering journey is extremely personal; don’t let others see your to-go pile (and don’t look at what other people are discarding either). If they really wanted an item they spot in your discard pile, they would probably have it already. Secondly, they might guilt you into keeping something that you had decided you didn’t love, but if you’ve decided you don’t love something, that’s your prerogative. For example, if it was a gift, the donor wanted to show you their appreciation for you and that was achieved when they gave it to you. You can now decide whether you keep it because YOU LOVE IT.

2. DON’T FOCUS ON WHAT ITEMS COST WHEN YOU BOUGHT THEM

A lot of people struggle to part with things because of the money they spent to buy them. There’s guilt and a sense of ‘waste’. Firstly, clothes, books, etc were meant to be loved and worn/used, so, if you don’t enjoy wearing or using the item, it’s time to let them go to someone who will. Secondly, the costs have already been spent; wearing an item you don’t love a few more times won’t bring back any of the cost of the item. If it was really expensive, one solution is to sell the item second-hand (see Point 3), but donating is a great way to part with your items; there’s little waiting (or holding on to it until someone buys it) and it all goes towards helping others. 

3. DECIDE HOW YOU’LL LET THEM GO

(a) Donate

As mentioned, donating is a great way to part with your clothes and other items, and they also help other people. Oxfam, a popular charity that accepts donation, states what they CAN sell:

• Good quality, clean clothing and shoes (including vintage and retro items, and even bras!) as well as wedding dresses and accessories

• Bags and accessories

• Books, music (CDs, vinyl, DVDs, Blu-rays, musical instruments and sheet music) and mobile phones

• Crockery, kitchenware, ornaments, pictures, collectables like stamps and coins

• Soft furnishings: small rugs, linens, curtains, knitted items and blankets (must be clean and in good condition) 

• Toys and games

• Furniture

That’s already A LOT of categories and I find that covers 95% of what people declutter. There are some items that they cannot accept (medical equipment, computers, white goods (cookers, washing machines etc), safety headgear (e.g. motorcycle crash helmets), but it’s always worth checking. 

(b) Sell

These are some examples from different geographies of second-hand websites and platforms, some free and some with a small commission based on the price of the item:

• Vinted (across Europe, the UK and USA); free marketplace for clothing and homeware

• Rebelle (across Europe); online platform (taking a commission) for women’s designer clothing, bags and accessories. Offers a concierge service where you can send items until they are sold, and they take care of photos and selling (in exchange for a higher commission). 

• LabelCrush, Vaniitas  (Belgium): online platforms reselling designer clothes

• The Next Closet, United Wardrobe (the Netherlands): online platform reselling designer clothes

• Vestiare Collective (France, Belgium): online platform reselling designer clothes, bags, shoes and accessories

• Otters en Flamingo's (Belgium): online platform for children and baby clothes 

• Preloved (UK); free classified ads for anything second-hand.

There are also the more ‘traditional’ second-hand sites including eBay, Facebook Marketplace (both international) and 2ememain.be, 2dehands.be (Belgium) that are good for items including clothes, but also beyond. Facebook Marketplace is a great place to sell items as it organises sellers by location, lots of people browse the marketplace AND listing items is completely free. In case you’re considering ASOS marketplace, it’s a collation of vintage boutiques selling clothing, bags, shoes and accessories online, so not a platform for an individual looking to sell a couple of items.

(c) Recycle/bin

For items that are dirty, broken or past their ‘use-by’ date, it’s time to dispose of them quickly and safely. For clothes and even items like mobile phones, charity shops like Oxfam have recycling services. For medicines, check with your pharmacy about their take-back service – it’s better to dispose of old medicines properly, rather than throwing it in the bin to be released into the environment.

For everything else, your local recycling centre (tip) will be able to take 99.9% of everything you would be decluttering from your home.    

4. GIVE YOURSELF A DEADLINE TO PART WITH ITEMS. 

Book an appointment for taking your items to the recycling centre or charity shop and try to do it within a week of decluttering that category. Putting it in the back of your car isn’t enough; it will become an invisible passenger until you need to carry a large load and remember what that black bag was. Decluttering your entire home will take weeks or months, not days, so don’t wait until you’ve done everything, unless of course it’s very far to travel. If you’re selling items, give yourself a deadline (e.g. 3 months) to sell the items. After that, then it’s better to get them off your hands than to keep them hanging around. 

Discarding is definitely one of the hardest elements of decluttering; putting a pile in the corner of a room is not the same as never seeing items again. That said, for many people it’s only when they get the item out of the house that they really feel they have let go and begin to love their space. 

If you need help with discarding and decluttering, feel free to get in touch.