Downsizing my home : 5 Things that Worked for Me

I went from three rooms down to two. It has been a very long process and has taken almost a year for me to feel really comfortable. A large part of that year has also been trying to donate and find "good homes" for the stuff that someone else might want. I'm really glad now that I engaged in Voluntary Simplicity early. Soon because of need, I may be living in an even smaller space.These five simple steps involved quite a bit of work but most of it was fun along the way. The 5 things that have worked for me so far:

1. Time, determination and a continuing commitment  to do something about my beliefs and values, and to not forget that I'm supposed to be getting rid of stuff, not replacing it with new stuff. 

2. Setting aside extra space to store things that were going to be given away, or donated so that I could pack them up and transport to donation sites, or have friend's choose what they wanted from the heap.

3. Setting aside another area to store things I'm not sure whether I'm giving them away or keeping so that I didn't throw or give away away things that were important to me. 

4. Learning how to organize the stuff I do want to keep so that it's accessible, labeled and put neatly in cabinets  drawers and containers so that it does not clutter up my smaller living space.

5. Exploring different ways of thinking about  things to help me determine what I think is important to keep and what I find meaningful or useful for me as an individual to have in my living space.