Have you ever felt like your home is cluttered with stuff? Having lots of stuff is no longer a sign of success and prosperity. Now, people have started to reconsider their approach to material possession — it’s quality, not quantity, that matters. It’s especially true when it comes to decluttering your home to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle. 

“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.” — Joshua Becker.

You can use minimalism as an effective tool for decluttering your home, so you can live more simply, peacefully, and sustainably without losing comfort or convenience!

Minimalism is about removing unnecessary items from your life so that you can focus on what matters most: experiences, relationships, and health. It’s not about living with less money or material goods; it’s about living by your values and priorities so that everything becomes meaningful again. Modern premium real estate designs try to make apartments look minimalist and sustainable. 

Sustainability is also an important concept because it supports our environment by reducing waste, while also ensuring future generations have access to natural resources like fresh drinking water sources or intact ecosystems (rainforests) where endangered species live today. 

One of the most popular techniques used by minimalists and sustainability enthusiasts is the KonMari method. This process involves sorting your belongings into categories like “keep” and “toss,” and then discarding any items that don’t fit into your chosen categories. The goal is to only keep those things that bring joy or have a purpose in your life, and not just because they were expensive.

The 90/90 rule is another great way to declutter your home. It states that if an item hasn’t been used or won’t be used in 90 days, it should be discarded or donated. 

If these methods seem too intense for you right now, but you still want some tips on how best to go about organizing your home space, then consider the SODOM (sort, discard, organize, and maintain) technique. In this article, you will learn about 4 SODOM tips for decluttering your spaces and keeping it that way! 

1. Sort Your Items

The first step to decluttering is to sort through the items in your home. To start, you will want to sort your items into categories like clothes, books, and tools. It will help you determine which items are useful and which ones can be discarded or donated. You should also abstain from buying or owning several items that serve the same purpose. Duplicates take up your space without actually adding value. 

If you don’t have enough space in your home, consider storing some items in a storage unit or garage. Try using apps or websites like Sortly and Itemtopia that can help track inventory. Ask yourself if the stuff in your home is useful or not.

2. Discard Unwanted Stuff

The second step is discarding the things that don’t serve their purpose anymore or no longer bring joy into your life. For example, consider giving away books that you haven’t touched in years. If an item still has value but isn’t something that you need anymore, it may be worth selling instead of throwing away or donating.

You can donate unused items or sell them online or at local thrift stores. You can use eBay and Amazon to sell your items. If you are looking to donate:

• Books. Use resources like Access Books or donate them to your local library.
• Clothes. You can use Goodwill Clothing & Donation Centers. 
• Furniture. There is The Furniture Bank Network.
• Tools. Try Workaid.

You might feel guilty at first when throwing away these things. However, once you’ve done this process a few times and gotten rid of some of those emotional attachments, it’ll get easier each time until eventually there’s nothing left but what makes sense for your lifestyle right now.

3. Come up with Effective Ways to Organize Your Space

The third step in decluttering is to come up with effective ways to organize your space. It means having a place for everything so that you can find it when you need it, and labeling the items so that they’re easy to identify.

You can use baskets, bins, and shelves to organize items that you decided to keep by category or type. Label each container with the contents of what’s inside them like kitchen utensils and bathroom toiletries. You may also want to consider reading some articles or blogs showcasing minimalist home designs online, so as not only to help inspire ideas but also to give yourself some new perspective on how other people have successfully achieved this goal.

4. Maintain Order

Once you’ve decluttered, you must maintain the results of your hard work by keeping your home clean and clutter-free. If you let the clutter build up again, all of your efforts will be for nothing! It’s much easier than you think: 

• keep going through the house every day or two picking up after yourself; 
• don’t let dishes pile up in the sink; 
• ensure clothes are put away after they’ve been worn.

Before buying new items, think about if they will be useful or can replace the existing ones.

How to Avoid Clutter in the Future

To avoid accumulating clutter in the future, shop smarter. When you do purchase items, make sure they last longer and don’t end up taking up valuable space. For example, borrow books from the library instead of purchasing them; rent tools instead of buying them; repair broken items instead of replacing them with new ones, or try finding used ones online.

Sustainability matters because due to the culture of consumerism about 8 million tons of plastic litter is dumped yearly. It, otherwise avoidable waste, damages the ecosystem and harms our health. 

Minimalism and sustainability are about reducing your environmental impact. Examples of people who have achieved minimalism include Steve Jobs (founder of Apple), Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (founders of TheMinimalistsBlog), and Vincent Kartheiser (American actor).

In Conclusion

Everything is a process, and it will take time for you to build a habit of living a minimalist, sustainable life. Let the SODOM technique be your guide to improving the quality of your life and those around you!

Published by HOLR Magazine.