Decluttering and It Feels GREAT!

While working two jobs and going to school, I'm in the process of decluttering my life, which means all this nonsense in my apartment has to go. My closet looks like an episode of "Hoarders," every drawer in this place is full of just stuff, and have about fifteen different colors of furniture and five different themes going on. I've gone from wanting an eclectic look to an indecisive look.

For once, I'm craving a clean, open, and airy feel. Not much can be done about living in a 600 square foot Cracker Jack box, but I'm trying. I've started to get rid of things and I have to admit that it's rejuvenating. Not only am I making money, but my apartment is becoming less and less full. I've sold a couple of pieces of, what I like to call, heavier pieces and in turn I want to find pieces that are lighter, more natural and play on this airy theme. My goal is to have an almost empty apartment; yes, empty.

Some inspiration rooms I've collected:

 

 

 

I don't know why, but I love this "bare-minimum" look. I like how the room is neutral and then a small pop of color catches your attention but not it's not a distracting eyesore. It's just so - I can't help but to use the word clean, again. I like the openness of the furniture; how instead of the closed up pieces with lots of drawers, they've used pieces that are open on the bottom and taken advantage of cute baskets to store items. It's like playing on the phrase "I have nothing to hide." That's real life. So what if I left my rainboots out. Now, my boots become art. I love that.

 

Transparent, light, natural, fresh, white, pure - all words to describe this. This is what I want. I want to feel like I have a clean space, even with the hustle and bustle of every day life. I want to come home and feel like I'm in a spa. Is that too hard to ask for? Shouldn't your home be your sanctuary?

 

On another note, and since I can't just leave everything and start over, I have to work with what I have. I'm still loving this beachy theme that I have going on, but it's not overwhelming like a over decorated beach condo. I've got all shades of blue from a bold navy to a soft, icy hue in my apartment and after I get all of the black furniture out of here, I'll need to get a few lighter tone wood pieces in here. On a completely random topic, I love that this print from society6 blends all of those colors perfectly. I'm probably going to have this purchase it soon.

 

 

Anyways, I found this awesome article a few weeks ago called 10 Ways to Declutter Your Home by Joshua Becker. I encourage you to read it. It's seriously helping me get rid of things I don't need without it leaving me in tears.

 

My favorite of the tips Becker used was the Four Box Method. You literally get four boxes (I used clear tubs) - trash, give away, keep, and relocate. You take everything in that room and put it in one of the four bins. You'll be surprised how easy it is to fill up the give-away bin! You'll think to yourself Why did I even keep this? I've been putting it off for some time now, but I am about to start doing this with my closets. Hopefully I'll be able to talk myself in ridding the hundreds of T-shirts I own! Why does one person need so many?

 

Challenge for the month of August: have a yard sale. I'll be pushing my sister and mother to declutter their own homes so we can make it happen.