Learning to Declutter

I recently moved downtown Toronto into my own bachelor apartment. It’s a tiny but a perfect place. Plus, it’s finally my own place.However, I’ve had to learn to downsize, in order to keep my place tidy and not clusterphobic. Here’s a few tips when downsizing to a smaller place:

Take only the books you need:
Back home at my parent’s house, I have so many books. Many of them, I’ll probably never read again but I linger on the possibility that I might reference them.

Throw out the packaging:
I’m a sucker of cool packaging and am guilty for keeping it all. Sometimes for this reason, I’ll leave things in their packaging for too long and they don’t get used. Open everything (if not than give it away), so there’s a greater possibility it will be used. Recycle the packaging if possible. This will also prevent you from buying future things with cool boxes.

Find Multiple Uses For Things:
My little sister bought me a miniature Christmas tree that’s been sitting on my windowsill. Instead of throwing it out, or taking up space in my closet, I think I will keep it on the windowsill and call it the “Occasion/Theme Tree” where we will decorate it with different things year round. If you really want to keep cool packaging, make use of it. They can be storage boxes for loose art supplies or a environmentally friendly way to wrap gifts. I also re-used this Christmas chocolate wafer tin to hold my pens.

Have you ever downsized? I’d love to know your tips.