NRM DeCluttering 35 Years of...Stuff

We spend the first half of our lives collecting stuff and the second half getting rid of it all. What you own, owns you. Life is so much brighter and lighter when you are free from clutter.

Nothing wrong with being 65 in your parent’s basement. I’m right there with you. After my divorce, I got a house with a full finished basement where my oldest daughter lived until she married. Mom got Alzheimer’s - my parents had a larger house that was getting too much for my dad to handle while caring for mom. I asked them to move in with me and I took the “basement.” Mom passed a few years ago and now my dad (who is 91) is on the main floor and I’m downstairs. It’s a perfect situation for both of us and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I really like that term essentialism instead of minimalism. I could get on board with that

I retired, and then my husband passed away. I was left with all of this to clear out. My son even said to me, "Please don't leave me your house and all this stuff, I wouldn't know what to do with it!" Got me thinking. Our kids don't want our knickknacks, our furniture, our dishes. There are not enough lifetimes to go thru all of this. It literally made me panic. I started the process of what you are doing. Thanks for this video.

You haven’t lost your mind. You’ve found it ❤

So refreshing to watch a gentleman of a certain age talk about “stuff”! You are a natural to the camera.

You didn't lose your mind. I had several aha moments when I pulled out EVERYTHING from one category, makeup, toiletries, clothes, and piled them up. After I got over the embarrassment, realizing how much money I wasted, I pulled out the expired things and trashed several hundreds of dollars worth of products, then I went through the rest and realized that I had more stuff than I could ever use in the next 5 years minimum. I donated a lot to my housekeeper. The most important thing I did though, was to STOP SHOPPING. And every time I thought I needed more organizers, I went instead through my things and thinned out the stuff. It feels really good. I still have too much stuff, but it's a process. I'm working on it.

Boy, did that sound familiar! I will have to say, however, that my wife is the primary reason we have so much "stuff." She has a hard time getting rid of anything. I also retired when I was 65, and now I am 75 and still covered up in "stuff." When I retired, I decided to learn how to go about selling things online. After watching many hours of YouTube videos, to learn about reselling, I opened an eBay store and started listing things. Over the past several years I have sold several thousand dollars worth of "stuff," and I contribute all of my profit to various conservation and environmental education projects. So...we still have WAY TO MUCH STUFF, but now we call it inventory. LOL

I love the idea of “essentialism” even more than “minimalism”. Thank you for sharing this term.

We lived in the country for 41 years, so “stuff” had a whole other dimension. What we learned: 1. I thought a 17 yard dumpster was too big; I was wrong. 2. If we were stuck between “keep” or “toss,” we tossed. 3. If we thought “the kids will probably want that,” we were probably wrong. 4. We found lots of places to take donations of things we did’t think ANYBODY would want. 5. When we said “enough,” we went through again and found more stuff to get rid of. Result: we went from a 1700 sq. ft. house on a basement with garage to a 1200 sq. ft. condo with a modest storage area….and everything we had fit quite comfortably, NO extra storage anywhere.

Well, thank you! I'm 58 now and my wife and me have been collecting stuff for as long as we live in our house which is 33 years. It has bothered me for years, but my wife doesn't want to throw away anything and I let that stop me. I cleaned out my parents house, so I should know better. So, I will start today with looking at my stuff and doing away with what I don't use or need. Thanks for the inspiration! 👍

Suffered thru trauma my entire childhood, my heart was empty into adulthood. So I bought stuff. Realized I was trying to fill the emptiness of my soul. Corners scared me so I filled them with stuff. 64…healed from allot I’ve lived thru and now, I’m committed to decluttering. I tell myself that I’d bought all this stuff, to bless others. Now, it’s time to give it to them…whoever them is 😊☺️😉. Decluttering is a good thing. Can’t say I’ll embrace essentialism, but I definitely don’t need everything I have. Giving to Salvation Army, Goodwill, Hope Chest 2–local domestic violence store. Bottom line, someone will be blessed by what I’ve spent too much $$ buying. Thanks for your video…it’s encouraging.

Clutter is a cushion to keep you safe from the cold world - it takes a brave and honest heart to deliberately live without armour.

De-cluttering is real therapy ... it clears the mind for new pastures and future expansion.

I’m 44 and have a very simple life. I’m not a materialistic person. I don’t get excited or happy over a kitchen table, or counter or car or house. I’m happy on life, I love spreading kindness and all about making things easier. The more you buy, the more you have to clean. I agree with everything you said and you are right on track. Keep on keeping on 😊❤

I just retired last month. Now my new job is decluttering. I'm 68

Well done! My dad died eight years ago. He had survived my mom by 25 years and another wife as well. I was charged with emptying the house he had lived in for 55 years. All I had to do was take all the stuff outside for the collectors to take it to the tip! They removed eight tip truck loads. The tipping fees alone cost a fortune! These men did a great job. I’m now 74, with a terminal illness. I had vowed and declared that I wouldn’t do the same to my children but I’m not doing it fast enough. Thanks for the timely reminder. To leave it for my children must be one of the most selfish things I could do. I don’t want to be that person. Thank you.

Love seeing more mature voices on this platform. Your wisdom and guidance are very much needed. Thank you!

Myself and my 4 siblings are clearing out our parents’ brick ranch (mom passed away in March). They’d been there more than 30 years and, though not hoarders, accumulated a lot of things. What strikes me as we’re working hard to empty the place out is how many items had sentimental value to them, yet I don’t think they’d looked at them in years. Just things they wanted or couldn’t bear to toss out. Interestingly, the vast majority of it is has no sentimental value to us kids. We have at least another month of work ahead of us… my wife and I promised ourselves we’ll strive to put our only child in a better situation after we’re gone. Would NOT want her to try doing this on her own. So here we are, in our early 60s, decluttering a bit at a time. My commitment is to get at least a couple items out of our house every few weeks.

Essentialism, what a great word! I like watching minimalist videos as they give me ideas and push me to ask myself if i really need what i have, but I've never considered myself an actual minimalist.