I decluttered my cookbooks a long time ago and really when I saw down and went through them, I found there were several that I only used four or five recipes from because that's what worked for my family. I wound up just putting those in my binder and donating the books to my local library. It really helped put into perspective the space I was having to "save" in order to store these books when there was so little I took from them. My handwritten recipe book? Takes up so much less space and allows me to keep what's important to us and what works with our time and budget.
I used to collect cook books. But I realized that I only used 4 or 5 recipes from each book! And I had an entire shelf of them..... so I photo copied the ones I used and put them in a binder, and donated the cook books. Now I just write down or print off recipes, and if my family likes them they go in the binder. If not, they dont continue to own real estate in my kitchen. This has worked very well for me for about 12yrs now.
Love the idea of 90/90 rule....cookbooks are my fantasy self. Once I grasped that and let go the guilt of not being that adventurous cook went away. Thanks for sharing your journey and great sense of humour.
Didn't know what 90/90 was. Thanks for explaining. Actually makes a lot of sense. It's 11pm here in the UK England, so I'm going to look at books tomorrow. Thanks for sharing. You're such an inspiration. x
Great video. When I moved last year I let my neighbor’s take any cookbooks or kitchen decor that they liked. Now they have something to remember me by, and I didn’t have to move those items! Win/Win!!
I love how you seem more free and goofy and giddy now that your hubby is home. Love, love, love seeing your sweet family! Your marriage shines as a true blessing and joy! You guys are so fun! 😍
I went through my books last year, I KNOW I kept some cookbooks and I have never used them, thought I would use them... haven't! Going to add them to my donation pile right now!
I am old school when it comes to recipes. Like I said before, I have been collecting recipes since I was little. I have my favorites. It is the difference between using a dictionary or Google. The difference between a Chilton's manual or watching a video. I still will always prefer using a cookbook over a tablet or internet. Because it is more easily accessible and easier to read and follow. I can agree with destashing the ones you don't use, but, as for me I will keep my books over the internet anyday. P.S. this includes sewing books, crocheting books, woodworking and gardening books, all of which I utilize often. Books are still my go to for many reasons.
I must have 60 cookbooks. Yet every time I need a recipe, I look online. They’re not in the way, but what a waste! You’ve inspired me to clear them out!
Recently while decluttering I realized the problem wasn’t having too much stuff the problem was not making time for myself to enjoy things I loves like drawing or seeing. Yes I haven’t used it in the past 2 years and no I may not use it in the next month but I love to draw and sew and so I have been trying to use what I have and live more instead of feeling guilty and just forcing myself to donate it. It’s brought a sense of appreciation and peace to me and I love the contentment of it ☺️
Thanks Erica for reminding me of a spot I typically glance right over. The only cookbooks I use are the Better Homes and one my mom made me. I just decluttered 7 others and kept one that has my grandmother’s notes in it (sentimental).
This last year I digitized our recipes into a drive folder that my husband and I share. Recipes from the internet can be saved directly to drive from the original source and anything that's handwritten or from a book can be turned into a PDF with your phone camera from the drive app. It's not great for saving entire books but for a few favorite recipes its nice. I'm enjoying less waste by not printing at all and less mess by having a tablet screen I can wipe flour or splatters off of. It's was also nice at one time to be able to access it from anywhere. I could double check a recipe at the store or plan when I wasn't at home. Paper can be nice but my storage solutions kept failing under the weight of new recipes.
The konmari method on books works SO well for me. Somehow putting them all on the floor and deciding what to put back is much more effective than looking at the spines and deciding what to donate.
I have so many cookbooks that I had intended to use. Now, I just youtube recipes. I'm a visual learner and youtube is perfect for that 😃 I love your videos, Erica!
omg ...lol your husband is a hoot...lol.....I don't do books BUT my challenge was way to many photo albums .......thank you ....i went thu them and tossed the 30 or so pics of a party at work (i don't know what it was for?)...other events i choose the best ones and tossed the rest....i went from 5 huge photo albums down to one special one that I treasure THANK YOU
"I'm not attached to it, but my hand is." 😂😂😂Great decluttering job Erica!!! I have a recipe binder with family favorites too. Many of them are recipes of favorite TH-camrs that I've written down because I use them so often . I do have a small hand full of cook books I keep because I love the illustrations.
I find my fav reciepe in the books and see if I can find them online. If I can then the book is sold/donated. If not I photograph the recipes i want to keep 😃. Unfortunatly I'm disabled and I cant stand at the stove for a long time. So anything complicated went out the door. Also anything with expensive ingredients that I would never buy.
I adore my better homes and garden cookbook. I flip through my grandma's, my mother in laws and my mom's as well as my own at least a couple times a year especially because each generation cookbook has more than just recipes. Its a window into that time frame as a home economist. I adore them.
I have recently following several “minimalists” as we deciliter our entire house. You are my favorite mostly because I feel the most encouragement after your video....and can relate to you better. You seem authentic.
I once received a cookbook as a gift that I didn't want to part with so I turned it into a knife block for my largest kitchen knives... I love it when I can make my stuff multi-functional
@@ltaj7336 here's an example (though not how mine looks but you get the idea) :) www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/food-drink/how-you-can-turn-those-unused-cookbooks-into-a-chic-knife-block-using-this-clever-tip-7957233
I have cookbooks that were compiled by groups I belong(ed) to or from my mother's collection. She has passed away. The compiled cookbooks were sold as fundraisers. That will be my project for today. I have gone through it once. Now I have them stored in the cabinet above the microwave, which is a bit high. So I tend to not go there, due to not wanting to strain my neck, and it is so easy to use recipes online. There are a couple I have used in the past 6 months. (Christmas cookies, pizza dough, that is my Joy of Cooking cookbook. Goal: declutter to allow room for several other items that need a home. I have recently found your channel and I am really liking your down to earth philosophies. Thanks!!
Thank You! Watched this video last night and went straight to my cookbook shelf. Weeded out 1/3 of them then started in on the computer How To books! Why did I keep manuals for programs I no longer have?! Or for tasks that Apple has simplified so I don't need the How To text?! Then I looked at a few travel guide books of places while I loved reading before and during my trip I've never opened again! Giving to the local library so someone else can use. But just hearing you talk about keeping some cookbooks and tossing others got me started. Novels are a whole other story! That might take some emotional effort but I can try.
I still have my Better Homes and Garden book original one. I use the chili and lasagne recipes about once a week. I now have less than ten cookbooks. I once had a pantry full! I do have a monthly meal planner of tested recipes that are in use. I do not have any books to declutter, since I have less than 20 books, but I did go through all my drawers and discarded 100 papers and do-dad thingies. I am a retired teacher that moved 2,000 miles. Sunday: I did declutter three outdated tech manuals. I gifted two chairs and sold one.
Love your insights. When you voice your thought processes you stimulate me to start thinking better about things to. One thing I did read about decluttering cookbooks is that if you have a book that has only a few recipes in it that you want to keep, don't keep the whole book. Photocopy or scan the recipes you want, and then donate the book. You are left only with a tiny pile of papers which can can filed, and no large book taking up space. Having said all that, there is nothing wrong with keeping a beautiful set of cookbooks (like your Pioneer Woman books) as decor on a shelf or inside a glass fronted cupboard. Sidenote: Are you SURE you're glad your husband is home. :)
Thank you! Cookbooks are hard, we love them and what they represent, feeding your people in the best way. You do what I do. If I like a recipe, I copy it and it goes into my recipe box. (I may consider a planning guide like yours in the near future.) I kept two of the standard cookbooks, because I need to go back to a classic sometimes and my internet signal is sketchy. I also kept all of my Grandma's handwritten recipes. They are that great and her writing was artwork...❤
Never heard of 90/90, it makes sense. Right now I have a box of books to donate to my daughters school in September. I’m going to join in the declutter series as there’s always things I could get rid of, even if it’s just one thing each day it makes a dent in the end.
Thank you for providing the last nudge to help me declutter my cookbooks. I have started to look at them as works of art that are to be admired but never touched. They are great but for somebody else!
I like Don Aslett's method for dealing with cookbooks. Tear out or copy the three recipes that you actually use and pitch the book. I own one cookbook. It was my first cookbook so it's sentimental. The rest of my recipes are in my cute little 3x5 recipe box.
@@returnofthereasoner3200 yes I've read everything that he's wrote and consider him a great philosopher. Some of his concepts are mind blowing. He shows you how to do pretty much anything in a fraction of the time most people spend.
Last year, I became fed up with how much pantry real estate my cookbooks take up. I started transferring all recipes from magazines to an app, Paprika (best $5 spent). I always make extra notes on my recipes, so a written copy doesn't work for me. I can edit quantities and make notes on the fly, as well as take photos of the recipe. It's taking a while, but talk-to-text makes things go much quicker!
Exactly! There ought to be a 180/180 rule too, for winter clothes, summer things and other seasonals. Oth hand I have some real cold weather things that do not get out every winter, but throwing them out, I might have to go somewhere really cold, or next winter may have some of those very cold days again ...
I often think about the 20/20 rule, but I didn’t know about the 10/10 rule nor the 30/30 rules. I had to look it up😓 All these rules... yes! They are meant to broken. A guideline, that’s helpful😉
I was one of those "cookbook collectors" for two decades. 😄 Until I made a cookbook myself with (more or less) 12 other women. It was a kind of workshop ... and we have collected almost 180 recipes, from different 10 countries. I then edited everything and implemented the agreed layout ... so that we could all take a printed version of the finished cookbook home with us (not everyone had a computer or printer at home!) Most of the recipes are simple and inexpensive dishes, just simple "home cooking" ... and some are recipes, that have been passed down generations. Since I saved the cookbook on my computer, I almost never used my printed version ... so I gave that to my son. Now, when I see a recipe that I find interesting, I simply add it to my cookbook and always print out one version of every recipe ... just in case. I've collected almost 270 recipes so far 😮 I should probably delete some though 🤔 really, who needs 70 cake recipes??😂 At the moment I am looking for recipes in my cookbook collection, that I want to add to "my cookbook". When I'm done, I'll give all the books away ... except for my first cookbook and my mother's old cookbook!😊
I'm more of a minimalist than you are, Erica, but I do leave room for cookbooks. I've kept about 40. I genuinely do reference them for events, dinner parties, holidays... well beyond 90 days. I did purge my Betty Crocker a long time ago too.
Great timing! Erica, I'm having a day of processing paper items such as bills, invoices, sales receipts, insurance forms, a task I dread but that actually isn't half bad once I start. I'm learning about how I need to process as I go along. I clicked on your video while taking a break. I don't have cookbooks but my hobby or interest is ocean liners and I have shelves of books about them. Well, much as I love those ships, not all of the books about them interest me anymore or they've served their purpose in my life so I'm donating them to the library to go into the library bookstore of Friends of the Library sale. It feels great.---Also: I have to reduce the number of books I have (there are so many it causes me stress rather than enjoyment) and keeping an "IN" list and an "OUT" list have been a help in that downsizing.
OUCH! You hit on the one, very tender spot that I have- cookbooks! Very valid points, though. I figure that if I haven't made any of the recipes in a cookbook, then it can go. Problem is, paging through them is like eating without ingesting all the darn calories!
Hi Erica! Oh girl-- you found my Achilles heel! I just am having the worst time getting rid of my cookbooks! The bad part is I switched to plant based a year ago--why am I hanging on to them? Ughhhhh really fighting hard to let it go! They have not been used for a year!!!!!!! Or longer! Really struggling on this one! ❤️🌟👍💐🌸 thank you for sharing this one!
Hubster is so funny! Did my Cookbooks 3 years ago bc I moved them into a bookcase rather than sitting on my open kitchen shelves... I still have my old, original Betty Crocker Cookbook...can't part with it YET!
I had a big cookbook collection that I adored, with many sentimental gifts and memories attached to them. But the reality for me these days is that I cant stand up to cook for long periods due to chronic pain - I’m more of a 4 ingredients or slow cooker/pressure cooker cook these days. So in October last year I sorted through and donated about 75% of them and it was a big relief. I honestly use the internet for 95% of my recipes and inspiration these days and I know when I declutter the rest of my kitchen, that more of those cookbooks will probably go. I have no idea how I will go tackling the rest of my books though - there are about 50 boxes of them waiting for the new shelves to be built in our study 😱
I'm with you on the big book stash needing a declutter. My husband & I donated over a thousand books last year. We've still got about five thousand to go through (on top of the ones we already went through last year, that well need to go through again 🙈😳). Good luck with your shelves and sorting through xx
@@EricaLucasLoves it might be a bit far to ship them (I'm in the UK) 😂 I've pretty much some of everything (fiction (a lot of genres), mythology, craft (lots of kinds), reference). My local library was getting rid of lots of books a few years ago and it was an arm of books for £1. My husband's over 6'7" and managed to get 35 books the one time 🙈
Love this video! I can totally relate to buying and then hanging on to a cookbook because I wanted to cook like that, or eat healthier, but then never did cook from it. I use my own recipe binder I have made or digital recipes the most too. Great topic!! Love your channel!
I went through my cookbooks two weeks ago and kept three of them and the family favorite cookbook that I have made with tried and true recipes. After listening to this I am going to just keep the one our family has created since I haven’t cracked the spine on the others in a long time. It was a sentimental reason. Thank you for your help with this!
Your kitchen looks so nice! Yeah I have the same problem in that I like looking through them occasionally, but usually don’t actually cook from them. Love the binder. My daughter uses one very similar, and actually, it’s easier because those are the recipes they like and eat, and are not too hard. Love you videos ❤️
When I decluttered my cookbooks, I keep the Pioneer Women “Dinnertime” and Magnolia Cookbook and my binder too, I always keep my Betty Cocker and Better Homes and Gardens, those are ones I always use.
oh my, the Pioneer Woman -- yea, I struggled letting go of her cookbooks (I had two) - however, I have an 8" cast iron skillet from her 'line', plus two dish towels my aunt gave me, and a set of her lovely colorful measuring bowls - I use THESE items all the time, so finally just accepted that I don't cook like she does, I just like HER a lot! hahahaha! I sent the cookbooks to my Aunt, who kept one and gave the other to my cousin. Cool!
@@lisalamphier1410 - she has ramekins???? oh no, I'm in trouble. I've deliberately NOT looked at any of her merch for a very long time, but ramekins?!!! then I could recycle the hideous clear ones I currently have. hahahahahahaha! Thanks, I'm off to window shop :)
@@mermaidtango truthfully, I would not normally buy anything from a brand that says "pioneer" but I needed them and that was all I could find that day.
I have 3 cookbooks. My Betty Crocker that always has the answer to any cooking question, my mom's professionally printed family recipes cookbook, and The Complete Low-FODMAP Diet book that also has recipes inside for special dietary concerns. I haven't used the second two, if I'm completely honest. I also have my parents' old 6 week meal plan cards with the recipes I remember eating alllll the time. Because we literally ate them on repeat all year. I have used these a few times, but not in the last couple of years. Everything I use on a regular basis is in my Recipe Keeper app on my phone. It also makes my grocery lists and meal planning incredibly easy. I could declutter the low-FODMAP book, but the others have value to me.
Cookbooks are such a good category! I fall into the aspirational/a good friend recommended/it was cheap and flocking through it I liked some pictures so bought it category, so we have a LOT. I'm definitely inspired to go through and declutter them. Thank you ☺️
❤️SENTIMENTAL. ❤️ I had one of those first cookbooks that I didn't get rid of for a while too. I had a meal that I cooked all by myself for the first time for me and my hubby and we loved it and kept making it. So I tore out a few recipes that I used from a few different cookbooks and placed them in my homemade binder :) so then I didn't have a ton of cookbooks to store 👍
I sorted mine out and donated a bunch of cookbooks end of March . They were even falling off the shelf ! To keep it simple right now I just repeat the same recipes my Mom gave me . I did keep a couple of the cookbooks but it's not likely to use them.
I have found that it´s easier to declutter items the 2nd-3rd time around too. You see it again & it´s like...I struggled with this last time & I still have done nothing w/ it. I also need to go through my cookbooks. About to check out the Facebook motivation.
Love this video! I’ve been slowly decluttering, and it is such an amazing feeling to continually be able to de clutter the same spot and reduce it down even further with time 💛
Love your decluttering videos. ❤ You showing your BHG cookbook gave me the feels. When I graduated high school I received luggage and a version of that cookbook, ha. (I think they were trying to tell me something) I still use it for a reference even though I mainly eat plant based now. Anyway, I decluttered my cookbooks awhile ago and went through the recipe binder last month but got inspired as I was watching and still got rid of one cookbook. One of those vegan cookbooks that I'll never buy the ingredients in the recipes... Thanks sharing your journey!
So many of the PW recipes are on her website. I have all my favourites of hers that I regularly use are printed and in my tried and true recipe binder but I still haven’t been able to part with the books 🤦🏻♀️. I still have way too many cookbooks and I need to be ruthless and only save the recipes I love, or really want to and intend to make and purge the books
Way to go on letting go of more stuff! I love my recipe binder! I find I gravitate to recipes that I can read reviews and ratings from online, specifically Allrecipes. Once I get a unanimous thumbs up from my crew, the recipe earns a spot in the binder. I use page protectors for easy wipe down.
I had a lot of cookbooks in the past but I found I only really used 3 or 4 recipes out of each of them so I created a notebook where I hand wrote all our favorite recipes into and donated the books. More recently I tried out a new system to keep the cookbook pile from growing again. If I see a recipe I want to try out I save it digitally to Evernote and use it from my tablet. If it doesn't work out or the family hate it, I delete it. Any new favorites get written into my notebook. The main reason I keep a 'hard copy' of the recipes is so my family can access them if anything happens to me in the future. They don't all use Evernote and might not be able to access my digital recipes or even know where to look for them digitally. I can still keep a digital copy though incase the house burns down or something.
I appreciate yor videos. Cookbooks are really hard for me, I have over 600, I periodically whittle down a few but not many. We have a household of people that eat traditional meals, gluten free, raw, dairy free. Different allergens for different people. I get tired of making multiple things and have tried freezer meals as well. It gets a bit overwhelming so am trying to work out a better system. Definitely too many cookbooks!
Cookbooks are so hard for me!!! I honestly dont use them that often for my meal planning. I decluttered a TON 3 years ago when we moved. Yet I have a good stack of them. I love love love Barefoot Contessa, Pioneer Woman, Giada De Laurentis and my husband loves Bobby Flay. I have even gone to events to meet Ina Garden (Barefoot Contessa) and Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) and LOVE them both. I have a display shelf in my pantry dedicated to my cookbooks (which are mostly from the aforementioned), and I have no intention of ever getting rid of them. Lots of them are even signed by them so they are sentimental to me. I use them occasionally and have only a tiny bit of decor in my kitchen, which is a stand in the corner of my (otherwise very bare) kitchen on which I rotate one book for display based on the month or season of the year. I consider them my kitchen 'artwork'. Honestly, the colors on the cover determine when I display which cookbook. Right now I have Ina's 'How Easy is That?' cookbook up which has a red, white and blue cover. They bring me joy. They make me smile. The cookbooks I use for meal planning on a weekly basis are in a completely different area of my home, up in my office. I am on Weight Watchers so I use the SkinnyTaste cookbooks for most of my meal planning, but occasionally binge with one of the other "display" cookbooks. (Ina Gartens Beef Bourguignon is to DIE FOR). Thank you for including us on your journey. Love watching you!!! You are an inspiration to us all!
Two suggestions: Get a box of page protectors from Costco and put them on your recipes in your recipe binder. They will keep them spill proof. And, try Joanna Gaines's banana bread recipe in her cookbook. It is delicious!
Ohhhh cookbooks are my pain point!!! I sit with cookbooks the way people who love to read cozy up to read a good book . This one is going to be hard for me 😬
Cookbooks just for reading are totally valid! IMO just keep them with the rest of the books not in the kitchen and declutter them like you would novels or biographies.
Hey, I don't have a ton of cook books anymore if anything they are just for decoration. I have scaned the recipes I like and and add them into my binder. One thing I was gonna suggest for your binder is page protectors!! I use them it helps if I spill something one them and allows me to tape the recipe to my kitchen cabinet so I always know where it's at when I'm cooking. Oh and I found washi tape is the best for this! But if I don't have a written recipe I am working off my phone or iPad.
I have a homemade cookbook and I use to have lots of other cookbooks and magazines. But what I've decided to do is donate those cookbooks and magazines and just scan and print the recipes I want to keep and put it in my homemade cookbook. That way I cleared 2.5 boxes in my IKEA kallax
I receive digital magazines through the library. If I see a project or recipe I like, I use the "snip it" tool to save it. While decluttering my cookbooks, I flagged recipes that I liked , scanned them and then donated the book. There are really only a handful of recipes you will actually like/make in any cookbook.
I ended up taking pictures of the recipes I liked out Joanna Gaines' cookbook. It was a book from the library. Haha! I know with any cookbook, I'm not going to love every recipe, so taking pictures or writing them down helps out with the clutter. =)
As crestons wife my go to cookbooks that I use are Trisha year wood cook books I have two of hers I use and red Betty Crocker cookbook I have two I have never used and may give them to some one
I definitely use the rules/principles of minimalism or decluttering organising etc in general as markers/milestones or check points to help retain clarity when it gets hard and to also get me into the right frame of mind like logic and practicality rather than sentimental and emotional issues. I usually do a bulk sort in the first round of decluttering Then i micro sort/organise what im keeping & once im done with that i get all the on the fence maybe type items or hard ones like sentimental etc and put them in a labelled bin bag in the top of my wardrobe and if i dont think about them need them etc then 6 months later i open the bag and by then the novelty has worn off the emotional attachment is largely a thing of the past and it gives me perspective of i essentially got rid of it for the past 6 months anyway i can donate them now without being stressed or upset and actually feel good about it. Most times i get rid of everything on the rare occasion ill put a couple things back in the bag and wait another 6 months til ive gone through all seasons and am able to go back again 6 months later and let it go. Granted this is things that are sentimental and 'useful' which for me is the hardest to let go of however majority of things luckily dont need the time out or trial seperation lol for example i just went through art supplies and got rid of heaps Then went back and seperated the types of art supplies and seperated watercolour pencils from the others and sharpened and put away everything thats my 'micro' sorting the finicky time consuming stuff most people get overwhelmed by and stuck in once all the easy bulk sorting is done. I wasnt aware of your july challenge but just today ive gotten rid of about 10ish on the fence wardrobe items like old bags i dont love or use and office wear thats ugly and black (which washes me out and depresses me & ive since replaced dark clothes with jewel tones like navy and LOVE) I thought i needed these things to exist as an adult and god forbid i be taken seriously if im not in ugly soul sucking monotone uncomfortable clothing haha. Ive seen a lot of women who choose to be stay at home mothers struggle to give up their workwear because they think oh i need to keep this in case i go back to work one day or when i lose baby weight and stop breastfeeding ill need them type stuff and like yeah you really never do. even though were programmed to think you need to look or be a certain way. Like most people change a lot and so does a lot of fashion and jobs and like you can always just get something as you need it if you ever need it which is a hard thing to remember sometimes. but its a great feeling letting go of that past self and closing the door and looking ahead instead and enjoying the present reality and not the future fantasy that will likely never come. Anyway i rambled again but i always love and enjoy your videos & wisdom watching your growth has been so rewarding. Ive decided just a day ago to declutter youtube and make my watching limited to my favs like you and only on Saturday mornings like cartoons as a kid haha so i have something to look forward too and arent mindlessly scrolling through the app and i can appreciate it more.
You are one of the bright spots in this world of complete negativity and insanity for me. I really enjoy and look forward to your uploads
Sending you hugs!!
I absolutely agree! ❤️
Me too
I have found the best place to “try on” cookbooks is the library. I feel no guilt returning them.
This is a fantastic idea!
Omygosh!!!, yes! Honestly....that need to “get something new” is fulfilled when I “shop” at the library.
Donate your cookbooks to the library’s resale room.
“I’m no longer attached to it but my hand now is”. 😂😂😂 Love this rule/guide!! It really makes you honestly put things into perspective!!
I decluttered my cookbooks a long time ago and really when I saw down and went through them, I found there were several that I only used four or five recipes from because that's what worked for my family. I wound up just putting those in my binder and donating the books to my local library. It really helped put into perspective the space I was having to "save" in order to store these books when there was so little I took from them. My handwritten recipe book? Takes up so much less space and allows me to keep what's important to us and what works with our time and budget.
I used to collect cook books. But I realized that I only used 4 or 5 recipes from each book! And I had an entire shelf of them..... so I photo copied the ones I used and put them in a binder, and donated the cook books. Now I just write down or print off recipes, and if my family likes them they go in the binder. If not, they dont continue to own real estate in my kitchen. This has worked very well for me for about 12yrs now.
Love the idea of 90/90 rule....cookbooks are my fantasy self. Once I grasped that and let go the guilt of not being that adventurous cook went away. Thanks for sharing your journey and great sense of humour.
I decluttered all of my cookbooks last year. I mostly get my recipes online now and just write them down in a notebook
That’s minimalist!!
Didn't know what 90/90 was. Thanks for explaining. Actually makes a lot of sense. It's 11pm here in the UK England, so I'm going to look at books tomorrow. Thanks for sharing. You're such an inspiration. x
Great video. When I moved last year I let my neighbor’s take any cookbooks or kitchen decor that they liked. Now they have something to remember me by, and I didn’t have to move those items! Win/Win!!
I love how you seem more free and goofy and giddy now that your hubby is home. Love, love, love seeing your sweet family! Your marriage shines as a true blessing and joy! You guys are so fun! 😍
I went through my books last year, I KNOW I kept some cookbooks and I have never used them, thought I would use them... haven't! Going to add them to my donation pile right now!
Yes!!! 👍
I am old school when it comes to recipes. Like I said before, I have been collecting recipes since I was little. I have my favorites. It is the difference between using a dictionary or Google. The difference between a Chilton's manual or watching a video. I still will always prefer using a cookbook over a tablet or internet. Because it is more easily accessible and easier to read and follow. I can agree with destashing the ones you don't use, but, as for me I will keep my books over the internet anyday. P.S. this includes sewing books, crocheting books, woodworking and gardening books, all of which I utilize often. Books are still my go to for many reasons.
Same I have about 100+ of cookbooks and I know each page by heart
That’s the beauty of minimalish for me. You keep these kinds of things that make you happy and work for you life!
One thing, the cookbook doesn't close due to a minute of inactivity :D
I must have 60 cookbooks. Yet every time I need a recipe, I look online. They’re not in the way, but what a waste! You’ve inspired me to clear them out!
Wow!!
I recommend using sheet protectors for your recipe sheets. That way if you get them wet while cooking it doesn't smear the ink 👍 Thanks for sharing
Whoever gave this video a thumbs down was obviously holding their phone upside down....love your videos Erica ♥️
Live4Today 🤣💕💕
I agree - I think Erica is fab !
@Live4Today, I love your thinking!
Recently while decluttering I realized the problem wasn’t having too much stuff the problem was not making time for myself to enjoy things I loves like drawing or seeing. Yes I haven’t used it in the past 2 years and no I may not use it in the next month but I love to draw and sew and so I have been trying to use what I have and live more instead of feeling guilty and just forcing myself to donate it. It’s brought a sense of appreciation and peace to me and I love the contentment of it ☺️
My MIL told me to put my recipe books in a ziplock bag. It protects them from sticky stuff. Especially useful with a book that has rings.
Thanks Erica for reminding me of a spot I typically glance right over. The only cookbooks I use are the Better Homes and one my mom made me. I just decluttered 7 others and kept one that has my grandmother’s notes in it (sentimental).
This last year I digitized our recipes into a drive folder that my husband and I share. Recipes from the internet can be saved directly to drive from the original source and anything that's handwritten or from a book can be turned into a PDF with your phone camera from the drive app. It's not great for saving entire books but for a few favorite recipes its nice. I'm enjoying less waste by not printing at all and less mess by having a tablet screen I can wipe flour or splatters off of. It's was also nice at one time to be able to access it from anywhere. I could double check a recipe at the store or plan when I wasn't at home. Paper can be nice but my storage solutions kept failing under the weight of new recipes.
That sounds so good. Do you both cook?
Yes though he's the better cook so he does it more :)
Great idea
The konmari method on books works SO well for me. Somehow putting them all on the floor and deciding what to put back is much more effective than looking at the spines and deciding what to donate.
I have so many cookbooks that I had intended to use. Now, I just youtube recipes. I'm a visual learner and youtube is perfect for that 😃
I love your videos, Erica!
Nice!!
omg ...lol your husband is a hoot...lol.....I don't do books BUT my challenge was way to many photo albums .......thank you ....i went thu them and tossed the 30 or so pics of a party at work (i don't know what it was for?)...other events i choose the best ones and tossed the rest....i went from 5 huge photo albums down to one special one that I treasure THANK YOU
Woohoo!! 5 to 1 is awesomeness!!!!
@@EricaLucasLoves sincerely most of the pics were of ex coworkers and casual parties ...SMH as I say why why why ...lol
I still need to do photos... Think that is last on my list... There are so many
Your husband is so funny! I already loved all of your videos, but now a hubby is home and adding in his humor, I love them even more!!
He’s a funny dude. :)
I wrote down all my fav recipes and gave the books away. We always have the internet or the library if in need .
"I'm not attached to it, but my hand is." 😂😂😂Great decluttering job Erica!!! I have a recipe binder with family favorites too. Many of them are recipes of favorite TH-camrs that I've written down because I use them so often . I do have a small hand full of cook books I keep because I love the illustrations.
That’s cool!! Have you tried my pasta fagoli or chicken lasagna roll ups?
@@EricaLucasLoves Your chicken lasagna rollups are amazing! I haven't tried your pasta fagioli yet. It looks really delicious!😍
I use plastic sheet protectors in the notebook I keep my printed recipes in so they are protected and can be wiped
Hello! I enjoy your channel.
I keep my printed recipes in a sheet protector in my binder to help keep them clean.
I find my fav reciepe in the books and see if I can find them online. If I can then the book is sold/donated. If not I photograph the recipes i want to keep 😃. Unfortunatly I'm disabled and I cant stand at the stove for a long time. So anything complicated went out the door. Also anything with expensive ingredients that I would never buy.
I adore my better homes and garden cookbook. I flip through my grandma's, my mother in laws and my mom's as well as my own at least a couple times a year especially because each generation cookbook has more than just recipes. Its a window into that time frame as a home economist. I adore them.
I have recently following several “minimalists” as we deciliter our entire house. You are my favorite mostly because I feel the most encouragement after your video....and can relate to you better. You seem authentic.
I once received a cookbook as a gift that I didn't want to part with so I turned it into a knife block for my largest kitchen knives... I love it when I can make my stuff multi-functional
How?
@@ltaj7336 here's an example (though not how mine looks but you get the idea) :)
www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/food-drink/how-you-can-turn-those-unused-cookbooks-into-a-chic-knife-block-using-this-clever-tip-7957233
Thank you 😊👍
I have cookbooks that were compiled by groups I belong(ed) to or from my mother's collection. She has passed away. The compiled cookbooks were sold as fundraisers. That will be my project for today. I have gone through it once. Now I have them stored in the cabinet above the microwave, which is a bit high. So I tend to not go there, due to not wanting to strain my neck, and it is so easy to use recipes online. There are a couple I have used in the past 6 months. (Christmas cookies, pizza dough, that is my Joy of Cooking cookbook. Goal: declutter to allow room for several other items that need a home. I have recently found your channel and I am really liking your down to earth philosophies. Thanks!!
You inspired me to go from 97 items of clothes to 46! You are so good at decluttering!
That incredible! That’s half!
Erica Lucas Took three phases! I’m creating a capsule wardrobe for the first time. So excited!
Thank You! Watched this video last night and went straight to my cookbook shelf. Weeded out 1/3 of them then started in on the computer How To books! Why did I keep manuals for programs I no longer have?! Or for tasks that Apple has simplified so I don't need the How To text?! Then I looked at a few travel guide books of places while I loved reading before and during my trip I've never opened again! Giving to the local library so someone else can use. But just hearing you talk about keeping some cookbooks and tossing others got me started. Novels are a whole other story! That might take some emotional effort but I can try.
I still have my Better Homes and Garden book original one. I use the chili and lasagne recipes about once a week. I now have less than ten cookbooks. I once had a pantry full! I do have a monthly meal planner of tested recipes that are in use. I do not have any books to declutter, since I have less than 20 books, but I did go through all my drawers and discarded 100 papers and do-dad thingies. I am a retired teacher that moved 2,000 miles. Sunday: I did declutter three outdated tech manuals. I gifted two chairs and sold one.
Love your insights. When you voice your thought processes you stimulate me to start thinking better about things to. One thing I did read about decluttering cookbooks is that if you have a book that has only a few recipes in it that you want to keep, don't keep the whole book. Photocopy or scan the recipes you want, and then donate the book. You are left only with a tiny pile of papers which can can filed, and no large book taking up space. Having said all that, there is nothing wrong with keeping a beautiful set of cookbooks (like your Pioneer Woman books) as decor on a shelf or inside a glass fronted cupboard. Sidenote: Are you SURE you're glad your husband is home. :)
Thank you! Cookbooks are hard, we love them and what they represent, feeding your people in the best way. You do what I do. If I like a recipe, I copy it and it goes into my recipe box. (I may consider a planning guide like yours in the near future.) I kept two of the standard cookbooks, because I need to go back to a classic sometimes and my internet signal is sketchy. I also kept all of my Grandma's handwritten recipes. They are that great and her writing was artwork...❤
Never heard of 90/90, it makes sense. Right now I have a box of books to donate to my daughters school in September. I’m going to join in the declutter series as there’s always things I could get rid of, even if it’s just one thing each day it makes a dent in the end.
Your coffee shelf looks much better :) I like your white mugs there, simple but practical and useful!
Thank you for providing the last nudge to help me declutter my cookbooks. I have started to look at them as works of art that are to be admired but never touched. They are great but for somebody else!
I like Don Aslett's method for dealing with cookbooks. Tear out or copy the three recipes that you actually use and pitch the book. I own one cookbook. It was my first cookbook so it's sentimental. The rest of my recipes are in my cute little 3x5 recipe box.
I love Don Aslett! His cleaning and decluttering books are the gold standard for me!
@@returnofthereasoner3200 yes I've read everything that he's wrote and consider him a great philosopher. Some of his concepts are mind blowing. He shows you how to do pretty much anything in a fraction of the time most people spend.
Last year, I became fed up with how much pantry real estate my cookbooks take up. I started transferring all recipes from magazines to an app, Paprika (best $5 spent). I always make extra notes on my recipes, so a written copy doesn't work for me. I can edit quantities and make notes on the fly, as well as take photos of the recipe. It's taking a while, but talk-to-text makes things go much quicker!
Exactly! There ought to be a 180/180 rule too, for winter clothes, summer things and other seasonals.
Oth hand I have some real cold weather things that do not get out every winter, but throwing them out, I might have to go somewhere really cold, or next winter may have some of those very cold days again ...
Can’t part with my pioneer woman either! I bring them out every holiday since I’ve gotten them and try a new side from them every year
I’ve never tried pioneer women. I am definitely going to have to check it out.
I often think about the 20/20 rule, but I didn’t know about the 10/10 rule nor the 30/30 rules. I had to look it up😓
All these rules... yes! They are meant to broken. A guideline, that’s helpful😉
I was one of those "cookbook collectors" for two decades.
😄
Until I made a cookbook myself with (more or less) 12 other women.
It was a kind of workshop ... and we have collected almost 180 recipes, from different 10 countries.
I then edited everything and implemented the agreed layout ... so that we could all take a printed version of the finished cookbook home with us (not everyone had a computer or printer at home!)
Most of the recipes are simple and inexpensive dishes, just simple "home cooking" ... and some are recipes, that have been passed down generations.
Since I saved the cookbook on my computer, I almost never used my printed version ... so I gave that to my son.
Now, when I see a recipe that I find interesting, I simply add it to my cookbook and always print out one version of every recipe ... just in case.
I've collected almost 270 recipes so far 😮 I should probably delete some though 🤔 really, who needs 70 cake recipes??😂
At the moment I am looking for recipes in my cookbook collection, that I want to add to "my cookbook".
When I'm done, I'll give all the books away ... except for my first cookbook and my mother's old cookbook!😊
Great idea.. Will check out group!. Love that you say "guide".. Way better than "rule". Xx
I've never heard of the 90 ...90 rule...that makes so much sense thankyou what a great tip!!!
Hahahaha I'm no longer attached to it. But my hand is attached to it!
You always brighten my day with at least one laugh! :)
I'm more of a minimalist than you are, Erica, but I do leave room for cookbooks. I've kept about 40. I genuinely do reference them for events, dinner parties, holidays... well beyond 90 days. I did purge my Betty Crocker a long time ago too.
Great timing! Erica, I'm having a day of processing paper items such as bills, invoices, sales receipts, insurance forms, a task I dread but that actually isn't half bad once I start. I'm learning about how I need to process as I go along. I clicked on your video while taking a break. I don't have cookbooks but my hobby or interest is ocean liners and I have shelves of books about them. Well, much as I love those ships, not all of the books about them interest me anymore or they've served their purpose in my life so I'm donating them to the library to go into the library bookstore of Friends of the Library sale. It feels great.---Also: I have to reduce the number of books I have (there are so many it causes me stress rather than enjoyment) and keeping an "IN" list and an "OUT" list have been a help in that downsizing.
OUCH! You hit on the one, very tender spot that I have- cookbooks! Very valid points, though. I figure that if I haven't made any of the recipes in a cookbook, then it can go. Problem is, paging through them is like eating without ingesting all the darn calories!
Hi Erica! Oh girl-- you found my Achilles heel! I just am having the worst time getting rid of my cookbooks! The bad part is I switched to plant based a year ago--why am I hanging on to them? Ughhhhh really fighting hard to let it go! They have not been used for a year!!!!!!! Or longer! Really struggling on this one! ❤️🌟👍💐🌸 thank you for sharing this one!
It’s hard! But it’s supposed to be hard. We have attachments and letting go is a hurdle that is unique to each of us. ❤️
Hubster is so funny! Did my Cookbooks 3 years ago bc I moved them into a bookcase rather than sitting on my open kitchen shelves... I still have my old, original Betty Crocker Cookbook...can't part with it YET!
I had a big cookbook collection that I adored, with many sentimental gifts and memories attached to them. But the reality for me these days is that I cant stand up to cook for long periods due to chronic pain - I’m more of a 4 ingredients or slow cooker/pressure cooker cook these days. So in October last year I sorted through and donated about 75% of them and it was a big relief. I honestly use the internet for 95% of my recipes and inspiration these days and I know when I declutter the rest of my kitchen, that more of those cookbooks will probably go. I have no idea how I will go tackling the rest of my books though - there are about 50 boxes of them waiting for the new shelves to be built in our study 😱
I'm with you on the big book stash needing a declutter. My husband & I donated over a thousand books last year. We've still got about five thousand to go through (on top of the ones we already went through last year, that well need to go through again 🙈😳). Good luck with your shelves and sorting through xx
mmeellem wow I’m such a reader nerd that I kinda want to shop your 5,000 😂
That’s a hurdle.
@@EricaLucasLoves it might be a bit far to ship them (I'm in the UK) 😂 I've pretty much some of everything (fiction (a lot of genres), mythology, craft (lots of kinds), reference). My local library was getting rid of lots of books a few years ago and it was an arm of books for £1. My husband's over 6'7" and managed to get 35 books the one time 🙈
I have only 2 and recipe clipping in my zip lock bag but will plan to put into folder with pockets.
Realizing that books can be clutter was huge for me.
I made a goal in 2020 to add more to our favorite recipes to a binder. Makes meal planning so easy!
Love this video! I can totally relate to buying and then hanging on to a cookbook because I wanted to cook like that, or eat healthier, but then never did cook from it. I use my own recipe binder I have made or digital recipes the most too. Great topic!! Love your channel!
So true!!!
I think I bought the idea of the type of person who cooks from these books.
I have been looking at the Ree Drummond cookbooks! Both me and my mom love her!
I have a legit girl crush on her.
I went through my cookbooks two weeks ago and kept three of them and the family favorite cookbook that I have made with tried and true recipes. After listening to this I am going to just keep the one our family has created since I haven’t cracked the spine on the others in a long time. It was a sentimental reason. Thank you for your help with this!
Your kitchen looks so nice! Yeah I have the same problem in that I like looking through them occasionally, but usually don’t actually cook from them. Love the binder. My daughter uses one very similar, and actually, it’s easier because those are the recipes they like and eat, and are not too hard. Love you videos ❤️
When I decluttered my cookbooks, I keep the Pioneer Women “Dinnertime” and Magnolia Cookbook and my binder too, I always keep my Betty Cocker and Better Homes and Gardens, those are ones I always use.
oh my, the Pioneer Woman -- yea, I struggled letting go of her cookbooks (I had two) - however, I have an 8" cast iron skillet from her 'line', plus two dish towels my aunt gave me, and a set of her lovely colorful measuring bowls - I use THESE items all the time, so finally just accepted that I don't cook like she does, I just like HER a lot! hahahaha! I sent the cookbooks to my Aunt, who kept one and gave the other to my cousin. Cool!
My Pioneer Woman collection consists of four ramekins. I use them constantly.
@@lisalamphier1410 - she has ramekins???? oh no, I'm in trouble. I've deliberately NOT looked at any of her merch for a very long time, but ramekins?!!! then I could recycle the hideous clear ones I currently have. hahahahahahaha! Thanks, I'm off to window shop :)
@@mermaidtango truthfully, I would not normally buy anything from a brand that says "pioneer" but I needed them and that was all I could find that day.
I have 3 cookbooks. My Betty Crocker that always has the answer to any cooking question, my mom's professionally printed family recipes cookbook, and The Complete Low-FODMAP Diet book that also has recipes inside for special dietary concerns. I haven't used the second two, if I'm completely honest.
I also have my parents' old 6 week meal plan cards with the recipes I remember eating alllll the time. Because we literally ate them on repeat all year. I have used these a few times, but not in the last couple of years.
Everything I use on a regular basis is in my Recipe Keeper app on my phone. It also makes my grocery lists and meal planning incredibly easy.
I could declutter the low-FODMAP book, but the others have value to me.
Cookbooks are such a good category! I fall into the aspirational/a good friend recommended/it was cheap and flocking through it I liked some pictures so bought it category, so we have a LOT. I'm definitely inspired to go through and declutter them. Thank you ☺️
Love the 90/90 guide! Will definitely use it as a tool when decluttering my home!
Can’t understand why you don’t have more followers, you are amazing! Love your videos, they feel real and always down to earth 😍
❤️SENTIMENTAL. ❤️ I had one of those first cookbooks that I didn't get rid of for a while too. I had a meal that I cooked all by myself for the first time for me and my hubby and we loved it and kept making it. So I tore out a few recipes that I used from a few different cookbooks and placed them in my homemade binder :) so then I didn't have a ton of cookbooks to store 👍
I sorted mine out and donated a bunch of cookbooks end of March . They were even falling off the shelf ! To keep it simple right now I just repeat the same recipes my Mom gave me . I did keep a couple of the cookbooks but it's not likely to use them.
I have found that it´s easier to declutter items the 2nd-3rd time around too. You see it again & it´s like...I struggled with this last time & I still have done nothing w/ it. I also need to go through my cookbooks. About to check out the Facebook motivation.
Love this video! I’ve been slowly decluttering, and it is such an amazing feeling to continually be able to de clutter the same spot and reduce it down even further with time 💛
Thank you for sharing the 90/90 rule! That is a new concept for me and one I will be implementing!
I already decluttered cookbooks. A few went to my daughters and the rest were donated.
That’s wonderful!
Love your decluttering videos. ❤ You showing your BHG cookbook gave me the feels. When I graduated high school I received luggage and a version of that cookbook, ha. (I think they were trying to tell me something) I still use it for a reference even though I mainly eat plant based now. Anyway, I decluttered my cookbooks awhile ago and went through the recipe binder last month but got inspired as I was watching and still got rid of one cookbook. One of those vegan cookbooks that I'll never buy the ingredients in the recipes... Thanks sharing your journey!
So many of the PW recipes are on her website. I have all my favourites of hers that I regularly use are printed and in my tried and true recipe binder but I still haven’t been able to part with the books 🤦🏻♀️. I still have way too many cookbooks and I need to be ruthless and only save the recipes I love, or really want to and intend to make and purge the books
Goodwill and Salvation Army have a good selection of cookbooks. I will often pick some up. Then donate them back when I am done with them.
This is a tough rule, don't know if it will help me with books, but it will sure help me with clothes! 👍
I used to hang on to recipes that I never tried for years. I have really decluttered in this specific area. And still there is more.
Way to go on letting go of more stuff! I love my recipe binder! I find I gravitate to recipes that I can read reviews and ratings from online, specifically Allrecipes. Once I get a unanimous thumbs up from my crew, the recipe earns a spot in the binder. I use page protectors for easy wipe down.
I had a lot of cookbooks in the past but I found I only really used 3 or 4 recipes out of each of them so I created a notebook where I hand wrote all our favorite recipes into and donated the books. More recently I tried out a new system to keep the cookbook pile from growing again. If I see a recipe I want to try out I save it digitally to Evernote and use it from my tablet. If it doesn't work out or the family hate it, I delete it. Any new favorites get written into my notebook. The main reason I keep a 'hard copy' of the recipes is so my family can access them if anything happens to me in the future. They don't all use Evernote and might not be able to access my digital recipes or even know where to look for them digitally. I can still keep a digital copy though incase the house burns down or something.
I appreciate yor videos. Cookbooks are really hard for me, I have over 600, I periodically whittle down a few but not many. We have a household of people that eat traditional meals, gluten free, raw, dairy free. Different allergens for different people. I get tired of making multiple things and have tried freezer meals as well. It gets a bit overwhelming so am trying to work out a better system. Definitely too many cookbooks!
I like the 90/90 rule. Definitely will use that one.
Cookbooks are so hard for me!!! I honestly dont use them that often for my meal planning. I decluttered a TON 3 years ago when we moved. Yet I have a good stack of them. I love love love Barefoot Contessa, Pioneer Woman, Giada De Laurentis and my husband loves Bobby Flay. I have even gone to events to meet Ina Garden (Barefoot Contessa) and Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) and LOVE them both. I have a display shelf in my pantry dedicated to my cookbooks (which are mostly from the aforementioned), and I have no intention of ever getting rid of them. Lots of them are even signed by them so they are sentimental to me. I use them occasionally and have only a tiny bit of decor in my kitchen, which is a stand in the corner of my (otherwise very bare) kitchen on which I rotate one book for display based on the month or season of the year. I consider them my kitchen 'artwork'. Honestly, the colors on the cover determine when I display which cookbook. Right now I have Ina's 'How Easy is That?' cookbook up which has a red, white and blue cover. They bring me joy. They make me smile. The cookbooks I use for meal planning on a weekly basis are in a completely different area of my home, up in my office. I am on Weight Watchers so I use the SkinnyTaste cookbooks for most of my meal planning, but occasionally binge with one of the other "display" cookbooks. (Ina Gartens Beef Bourguignon is to DIE FOR). Thank you for including us on your journey. Love watching you!!! You are an inspiration to us all!
You can clean sticky book covers with glass cleaner - a tip I picked up working in a second-hand book store.
Two suggestions: Get a box of page protectors from Costco and put them on your recipes in your recipe binder. They will keep them spill proof. And, try Joanna Gaines's banana bread recipe in her cookbook. It is delicious!
Awesome advice. Thanks. Im at same point,going back through things I had previously decluttered. I think this will be a really good help.
Ohhhh cookbooks are my pain point!!! I sit with cookbooks the way people who love to read cozy up to read a good book . This one is going to be hard for me 😬
Cookbooks just for reading are totally valid! IMO just keep them with the rest of the books not in the kitchen and declutter them like you would novels or biographies.
I'm definitely going to apply these "guides" to my remaining cookbooks. Many of which are unused !!
I just love your decluttering series, I find it so relatable and motivating!! 💖✌
Hey, I don't have a ton of cook books anymore if anything they are just for decoration. I have scaned the recipes I like and and add them into my binder. One thing I was gonna suggest for your binder is page protectors!! I use them it helps if I spill something one them and allows me to tape the recipe to my kitchen cabinet so I always know where it's at when I'm cooking. Oh and I found washi tape is the best for this! But if I don't have a written recipe I am working off my phone or iPad.
YES, I need the guides. TFS! 🌻
I have a homemade cookbook and I use to have lots of other cookbooks and magazines. But what I've decided to do is donate those cookbooks and magazines and just scan and print the recipes I want to keep and put it in my homemade cookbook. That way I cleared 2.5 boxes in my IKEA kallax
I receive digital magazines through the library. If I see a project or recipe I like, I use the "snip it" tool to save it. While decluttering my cookbooks, I flagged recipes that I liked , scanned them and then donated the book. There are really only a handful of recipes you will actually like/make in any cookbook.
Just went through my cookbooks. Donated majority of them. The only ones I kept were ones from a few local churches that had ethnic recipes in them.
❤️❤️
Church cookbooks are the BEST
I ended up taking pictures of the recipes I liked out Joanna Gaines' cookbook. It was a book from the library. Haha! I know with any cookbook, I'm not going to love every recipe, so taking pictures or writing them down helps out with the clutter. =)
Awesome video, had never heard of the 90/90 rule👍
Yep, a guideline. At 58, recipe choices come and go. Keep more than you toss. 😉
As crestons wife my go to cookbooks that I use are Trisha year wood cook books I have two of hers I use and red Betty Crocker cookbook I have two I have never used and may give them to some one
I definitely use the rules/principles of minimalism or decluttering organising etc in general as markers/milestones or check points to help retain clarity when it gets hard and to also get me into the right frame of mind like logic and practicality rather than sentimental and emotional issues.
I usually do a bulk sort in the first round of decluttering
Then i micro sort/organise what im keeping
& once im done with that i get all the on the fence maybe type items or hard ones like sentimental etc and put them in a labelled bin bag in the top of my wardrobe and if i dont think about them need them etc then 6 months later i open the bag and by then the novelty has worn off the emotional attachment is largely a thing of the past and it gives me perspective of i essentially got rid of it for the past 6 months anyway i can donate them now without being stressed or upset and actually feel good about it.
Most times i get rid of everything on the rare occasion ill put a couple things back in the bag and wait another 6 months til ive gone through all seasons and am able to go back again 6 months later and let it go.
Granted this is things that are sentimental and 'useful' which for me is the hardest to let go of however majority of things luckily dont need the time out or trial seperation lol
for example i just went through art supplies and got rid of heaps
Then went back and seperated the types of art supplies and seperated watercolour pencils from the others and sharpened and put away everything thats my 'micro' sorting the finicky time consuming stuff most people get overwhelmed by and stuck in once all the easy bulk sorting is done.
I wasnt aware of your july challenge but just today ive gotten rid of about 10ish on the fence wardrobe items like old bags i dont love or use and office wear thats ugly and black (which washes me out and depresses me & ive since replaced dark clothes with jewel tones like navy and LOVE)
I thought i needed these things to exist as an adult and god forbid i be taken seriously if im not in ugly soul sucking monotone uncomfortable clothing haha.
Ive seen a lot of women who choose to be stay at home mothers struggle to give up their workwear because they think oh i need to keep this in case i go back to work one day or when i lose baby weight and stop breastfeeding ill need them type stuff and like yeah you really never do. even though were programmed to think you need to look or be a certain way.
Like most people change a lot and so does a lot of fashion and jobs and like you can always just get something as you need it if you ever need it which is a hard thing to remember sometimes.
but its a great feeling letting go of that past self and closing the door and looking ahead instead and enjoying the present reality and not the future fantasy that will likely never come.
Anyway i rambled again but i always love and enjoy your videos & wisdom watching your growth has been so rewarding.
Ive decided just a day ago to declutter youtube and make my watching limited to my favs like you and only on Saturday mornings like cartoons as a kid haha so i have something to look forward too and arent mindlessly scrolling through the app and i can appreciate it more.