How to Declutter to Make a Simple and Intentional Life

In Season 3, Episode 14, we had a very special guest for our 80th episode: my wife Julie. We had a great discussion about the 5 Steps to Developing a Simple and Intentional Life, and you, the listeners, responded!  We had 1000 downloads of this podcast, and we had a lot of engagement from the audience.  Julie wanted to come back to build on that podcast, and in this episode, we are coming back to discuss one of the 5 steps in more detail.  We are going to discuss how to declutter to make a simple and intentional life.

Topics Discussed on this Episode

Julie and I discussed the following topics on this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast.

Julie is back on the show!

• 5 Steps to Developing a Simple and Intentional Life


• Hey Mom and Dad, we don’t want your stuff


• Four generations are practicing Minimalism in the current year: Greatest Generation, Boomers, GenX and Millennials


• “Right-Sizing,” Trendies and Millennial Nomads
  Dave Ramsey and the 2008 Collapse


• “Working very hard to earn money to pay for houses we can’t afford and impress people we don’t like”


• Expectations, time preference and delayed satisfaction


• Learning from the Crash of 2008
  Julie’s Work to Declutter the Basement


• Declutter the basement over the weekend


• Clear it out and start fresh before you begin more projects
  5 Steps to Declutter


• Determine your timeline and formulate your strategy


• Create 4 bins to sort items as you purge


• For items in the “Give” bin, take them immediately to your car


• For items in the “Keep” bin, ask yourself two questions


• Does it serve a purpose?


• Does it bring you joy?


• For items in your “Undecided” bin, keep 1 month and revisit the bin.


• Make sure you keep the bin visible for the entire time.  IF you haven’t used or thought of the items in the bin, get rid of it!

Once Decluttering is Complete....

• Restock the shelves and drawers in an organized manner. Julie’s tip; “USE LABELS!”

Question from the Audience

• "What was the biggest benefit you saw from the Minimalist Lifestyle Change?" - Jay Dolan


• Members of the Small Scale Life Facebook Group had a number of great questions, but they came in after the show was recorded. We will record a new show where we answer these questions, so if you have questions, please add them to the thread in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group or add them as a comment to this show on smallscalelife.com.

Friends of Small Scale Life

Aussie Flame Weeders – My friend Mick at Aussie Flame Weeders is offering flame weeders to reduce your non-revenue producing workload. If you want to eliminate weeds from your garden beds, a flame weeder is an efficient way to do it.  I mean, who doesn’t want to burn pesky weeds with fire?  Mick’s flame weeders are perfect for 30 inch (80 cm) garden beds and feature five stainless steel burners, 16” wheels and an ergonomic design that carries a propane tank so you don’t have to.  Even if you don’t purchase a flame weeder, sign up on the Aussie Flame Weeder e-mail list to get access to videos and information.

Gnarled Knot Design - From the Land of Illinois, our good friends Phil and Jen love to create furniture and home décor items to make your house feel like a cozy home. Since they were running out of space in their own home, they decided to share our items with others. So, if you are looking for customized and personalized furniture, signs or other items, connect with Phil and Jen at Gnarled Knot Design on Facebook, Instragram or Etsy. Connect with Phil and Jen today!