Tiny Home Living

5 easy steps to Completely Declutter your Home in 1 week

“You only need what you will use”

When my home is cluttered I feel stressed. Clutter and mess make me anxious. (This might be the OCD side of my personality, but I know some of you can relate.) It is much harder to keep a clutter free home when you have children. In 2016 I watched the documentary “Minimalism”. It changed my life and a way of thinking towards my belongings. I began a journey towards minimalism and living with less. I learned that 1-2 good quality items are more valuable than 20 poor quality items. This concept could be applied to my wardrobe, my décor, my toiletries, my kid’s toys, etc.

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It took me a week to completely declutter and I am so much happier with less. I love the clarity and simplicity of my home now. I am no longer a slave to my things and I have learned to take care of the few things that I have. These following 5 steps will help you getting started. Decluttering is about getting rid of the unnecessary and treasuring the concept of “letting go”. The best place to start is with your wardrobe.

1. Clothes. Start with your clothes. Go through all your drawers and closets. Clear out as much as you can into a bag for donation. I use a 30gal trash bag. Sift through every piece of clothing. This also goes for your shoes. Clear them out! Keep only what you will use on a consistent basis and what is fashionably versatile. If there is a piece of clothing that just never really fit right, toss it. You know that piece of clothing that you have been holding onto in hopes that you will gain or lose weight? Toss that too. If something has sentimental value, take a picture of it and donate it. Find a local thrift shop or Goodwill near you. This may take you 1-2 days depending on where you are at with your laundry. If you haven’t worn it more than twice in the past year, put it in the bag.
2. Big living Areas (dining room, living room, backyard). Go through furniture, decoration, knick-knacks and pillows. Toss whatever seems extra. Now go through your kids toys. Donate what they do not use often, what they will not miss and what they have out grown. Kids do not need a million toys. The less toys they have, the more opportunity there is to tap into their own imagination. Kids will learn to entertain themselves if they are given the chance.
3. Kitchen. The kitchen is usually the most daunting task. Start with the refrigerator and the freezer. Clean out any old food, over frozen items and unwanted condiments. Clean it all out with Clorox wipes or your favorite cleaner. When you have completely cleaned out the fridge, move on to the cabinets. Keep the daily dishes, the good Tupperware that has a lid, and the cups that you will use daily. Get rid of the appliances that you don’t use on a monthly basis. If you haven’t used that bread maker in a year, you’re probably not going to. Donate it. Go through your pantry items, donate your cans to a food bank if you do not have a meal planned for them or if they have been there for more than 6 months.You only need what you will use. After the cabinets are clear of excess, proceed to the kitchen drawers. My kitchen drawers seem to be “catch all” drawers that end up getting filled with the most random of things. Empty them all and only put back what you need. Toss or donate the rest. Don’t forget to vacuum out and wipe the drawers before you put a few things back.
4. Garage or Storage areas. Start in the back left corner of the garage or storage area. Keep what you will use monthly and donate the rest. Just clear it out! Do not keep something in hopes of use. If you aren’t using it, you probably will not. You will feel better when it’s gone and your garage/storage area will look clear and clean. This may take a few days if you have both a garage and storage unit (or shed). Stay consistent and press on through this decluttering process. Remember to donate your pile right away.
5. Drawers. This is the final and most important step because it means decluttering the usually “unseen” items. Start in your bathroom and go through your drawers. Toss out anything that you do not use daily. Proceed to your end tables and nightstands. Toss out the things you do not look at or access daily. If you have any extra junk drawers in other areas that you haven’t covered yet – now is the time. Empty these drawers completely if you can. This last step will give you so much mental clarity knowing that the seen and unseen places of your house are cleared and organized.

Lastly, when all this is done, clean your house. Sweep and mop the floor, dust the surfaces, Windex the windows and mirrors, wipes down the bathroom and kitchen, vacuum the floors, do all that you do to get it clean.

A big tip I can share is DO NOT wait to donate. Give it away as soon as you can. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to start sifting through and putting things back. Take a drive to your local goodwill and donate at the end of each day if you need to.

Congratulations, you have taken the first steps to a happier more minimalist lifestyle. The less belongings you own, the less anxious you will be, and the more peace you will find. It sounds crazy, but it really works.

I wish you a clutter free New Year.
Peace & Love.
xo

Air quality is an important component to health. We know high doses of pollution is back, cigarettes are cancerous, but did you know that there are other toxins that degrade the air quality INSIDE your home? In general, we don’t open our windows to air out the house daily. This stale air is actually worse for you than the air outside! But there are 3 easy steps you can take to improve the air quality and reduce toxins.

1. Air filtering Plants
2. Air purifier with HIBA filter
3. Salt Therapy

1. PLANTS

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) studies air quality all the time to maintain optimum health for the astronauts in sealed spaces. They have shared peer reviewed studies on which plants are better at filtering the air and removing VOCs volatile organic compounds. According to the Centers for Disease control and Prevention, VOCs cause eye, nose and throat irritation, frequent headaches, nausea, and can also damage the liver, kidney and central nervous system. Essentially, you don’t want these inside your home. NASA recommends 10-15 plants in an 1800 sq foot home. The following are the best plants to cleanse the air. They are also easy to maintain and require little attention. Plus, they are gorgeous.

1. Snake Plant or “Mother in Laws Tongue. This plant doesn’t require much sun and only needs water twice a week. They are excellent in removing toxins

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2. Rubber Plants. This plant is so powerful that they can filter out formaldehyde particles in a small space. They absorb to many toxins that eating the leaves can be harmful. This plant also requires little sunlight.

3. English Ivy. This ivy is pretty to look at but its stronger than most plants. It can reduce 60% of airborne mold in less than a day!

4. Peace Lily. Peace lily released lots of our oxygen and reduces harmful airborne chemicals like benzene and trichloroethylene. People who tested with moderate amounts of trichloroethylene had frequent migraines and nerve damage.

5. Aloe. Aloe plants also absorb the big dangerous toxins for humans like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde that is released from flame retardants. 1 pot of Aloe is the same as 9 air filters.

2. AIR PURIFIER

Purchasing an air purifier is a powerful way to clean your air. It is especially helpful if you or your kids have allergies. It can filter out almost all allergens from the air as well as smoke, pollen, dust, pet dander, mold spores, odors and VOCs. A truly adequate purifier should have a HEPA filter. It’s almost worthless to purchase one without this powerful filter! There are SO MANY different brands, sizes and colors. I use the Honeywell brand in an upright model. The one below is similar to the one I use. The best practice is to use it weekly for an hour in each room. It also helps to simply open your windows and doors everyday.

3. Salt 

Salt lamps are another natural way to clean indoor air. Salt lamps release negative ions and decrease positive ions. Ions are invisible charged particles in the air that have an electric charge.  Positive ions from electromagnetic fields generated by  all our electronics (computers, mobile phones, etc.) can impair brain function and suppress the immune system. Too many positive ions cause symptoms like anxiety, breathing difficulty, fatigue, headaches, irritability, lack of energy, and migraines. So you want more negative ions surrounding you! This is why a Salt Lamp or “halo therapy” improves air quality. They can neutralize an overdose of your phone addiction. One way to get a big dose of positive ions is to visit a Salt Cave! Google one near you. Check out my recent visit to a Salt Cave.

Practice Purity
xo

This is a vlog tour of my Miami Beach tiny home apartment. I live here with my husband and 2 kids. We moved from a small town and big house full of stuff. We have learned to be happier with less and live outside of our 4 walls. Living small has taught us to get out and explore our city, or just simply be outside. We do more, we spend time together and we love this tiny home lifestyle.

UPDATE: Since this home tour was filmed we have moved again (still on south beach)”. Links to our new apartment tour are in the description of this video. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching!