6 things you should get rid of by Jenny Mustard

https://youtu.be/i0mmVVVpAAg Things you don’t need, don’t love.

  1. Maybe one day
  2. Just in case
  3. ‘So-so’ clothes
  4. ‘For now’ (that we will use until we find or can afford the better version)
  5. ‘I should’ (tools for improvement that make you feel bad about yourself)
  6. ‘If only’ (we quit our jobs, but a nice house,…)

Process/System

Principles

  • No need to store up treasures on earth
  • [[Hold all things loosely]]
  • No need to be anxious about clothing
  • Someone may benefit from your possessions more than you would1
  • Do everything for God’s glory
    • If you had to give an account to God for every item you own, what would God think?
  • Free up yourself to serve others more?
  • Simplicity

Declutter

  • Clothing
  • Books
  • Papers
  • Komono (Miscellaneous items)
  • Sentimental items

Clothing

  1. Gather all items of clothing
  2. Touch each item and consider if they bring you joy whether owning the item glorifies God
  3. Create a “keep” and “throw out” pile as you go
  4. Thank the items you’ll throw out for their service
  5. Fold each item you’ll keep and give it a specific place (drawer, wardrobe shelf, wardrobe hanger) to live

At the end, write down:

  • Which clothes were thrown out and why?
  • Which clothes were kept and why?
Other criteria
  • Will this item get worn at least 30 times? Has it been worn at least 30 times?
  • Does it fit personal style anymore?
  • Is it versatile? How well does it go with the rest of wardrobe?
  • Is it broken? Can you be bothered to mend it?
  • Is it comfortable?
List of clothing categories
  • tops (for folding)
  • bottoms (jeans, pants, skirts, etc.)
    • pants
    • shorts
    • skirts
  • clothes to be hung (outerwear, dresses, etc.)
    • dresses
    • outerwear
  • pj’s
    • sleepwear/loungewear
  • undergarments (socks, underwear, bras, thermals etc.)
    • socks
    • stockings, tights
    • thermals
    • underwear
    • bras
  • bags
    • backpacks
    • purses
    • that collection of plastic bags
  • extra items (scarves, belts, hats, etc.)
  • clothes for specific events (old shirts from specific programs, togs, uniforms, etc.)
    • activewear
    • swimwear
    • uniforms
  • jewellery and accessories
  • shoes

Books

  1. Collect all the books you own and create a pile
  2. Pick up your books, considering if they either spark joy or have a purpose whether owning the book glorifies God
  3. Create two piles: One “keep” pile, one “discard” pile
  4. Thank the books in the “discard” pile for the role they’ve played in your life
  5. Put the books from the “keep” pile back, neatly, in their original place

At the end, write down:

  • Which books were discarded and why?
  • Which books were kept and why?
List of book categories

  • general (books you read for pleasure)

  • practical (reference, cookbooks, textbooks etc.)

  • visual (photograph collections, etc.)

  • magazines

  • fiction

  • Christian books

  • non-fiction (reference, textbooks, etc.)

  • notebooks

Papers

  1. Gather the paper and paper documents you own
  2. Sort the paper into categories - e.g., one category for greeting cards, another for thank you notes, another for bills, and so on
  3. Begin with one category and make your way through
  4. Pick up each bit of paper in each category and read through them. If the paper isn’t valuable or is no longer necessary to keep, thank it for its service and place it in the “shred” or “burn” pile
  5. Discard the unwanted papers

At the end, write down:

  • Which papers were discarded and why?
  • Which papers were kept and why?
Categories of papers
  1. Category one: Needs attention. These are documents that need to be looked at in a matter of hours or days - like a rental tenancy agreement form that needs to be signed.
  2. Category two: Are needed for the short-term. These are documents that need to be looked at again, but not immediately. An example would be a birthday card you need to write and send in the next two weeks.
  3. Category three: Are needed indefinitely. These are documents that need to be kept at all times, but not necessarily looked at often. The completed tenancy agreement contract, once you’ve fully-moved in, would be an example of this.
Categorise
  1. Put remaining papers in categories for “needs attention”, “are needed for the short-term”, and “are needed indefinitely”
  2. Place the papers in storage e.g. folders
  3. Choose a location for the organized papers to go

At the end, write down:

  • Where was the first category of papers put?
  • Where was the second category of papers put?
  • Where was the third category of papers put?

Komono (Miscellaneous items)

  1. Collect your home’s miscellaneous items
  2. It might help you to group them into certain piles - a pile for kitchen items, another for tech, another for lighting, and so on
  3. Do as you’ve done previously: Touch each item, consider if it sparks joy, and if it doesn’t, thank it for its service Consider each item’s value, and if you don’t wish to keep it, place it in a “discard” pile
  4. Place the items you’ll keep in its original place - if you can’t find a new, better place for it, that is!
  5. Discard the Komono items which aren’t needed anymore~~, or don’t bring joy~~

At the end, write down:

  • Which misc. items were discarded and why?
  • Which misc. items were kept and why?

Sentimental items

  1. Collect all sentimental items and put them in a pile in front of you
  2. One by one, see if the item in question sparks enough joy to keep, and if it needs to be kept or not
  3. Put the items that are no longer needed in a pile~~, thanking them for their service as you go~~
  4. Organize the items you’ll keep and put them somewhere safe, like inside a storage box
  5. Discard the sentimental items

At the end, write down:

  • Which sentimental items were discarded and why?
  • Which sentimental items were kept and why?

Maintain

Changing Your Habits

  • Only buy things you really need. And when you need something new, make sure it’s something you love.2
  • Discard things that have served their purpose but are no longer loved on a regular basis. If you are doing the laundry and realize a piece of clothing is no longer suitable or enjoyable to wear, go ahead and put it into a donation box right away.2
  • Make a habit of going through your clothes each season and discard those things you haven’t worn.2
  • When you make a purchase, designate a place for that new item when you get home. Don’t set it down and think about it later. Do it right away.2
  • Put things back as soon as you’ve used them.

Actual thoughts

I REALLY HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF. I know this. There are so many things I think about r.e. my belongings.

How much should I care about the things I have? I wish to [[Hold all things loosely]], but then at a point I feel like I would just store things up without caring whether I am in possession of them or not.

Mari Kondo has nice principles specifcally about the order in which you should declutter, i.e. I like her system, but I do not like her criteria for what should be kept vs. removed, nor do I like the Eastern spiritual elements of her practice. “What sparks joy” is a bit of a weird criteria if Christians are supposed to really find ultimate joy in God. I think we can delight in the things we own, but if we derive our joy from them, that’s prob bad.

There is this blog post I don’t fully agree with for the “items shouldn’t spark joy” reason.2

References

Main list from https://www.process.st/checklist/konmari-checklist/

  1. https://unconformedkitchen.com/spring-cleaning-5-decluttering-tips-for-the-christian-whos-overwhelmed-with-stuff ↩︎

  2. https://avirtuouswoman.org/should-christians-use-the-konmari-method/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎