I’m not a great housekeeper.
But I’m trying to do better. I’ve been reading books by Dana K White and listening to her podcasts for some time now. And a big part of how she manages her home is decluttering.
The idea is this, if I have less stuff to manage, then it’s easier to manage. Seems so logical like that! I’ve been following her steps and starting in the visible places. And as we head into winter, I’ve noticed that I feel the old familiar pull to stock up my pantry.
Maybe this is a combination of things… a real biological need to store up food for the winter, a result of reading so much on homesteading and pioneer style life, and a response to country living where you might be stranded a few days at home if the roads are unusable or blocked.
But how do you declutter when you really want to prep?
Let me first say this… I don’t actually know the answer to this question. All I can offer is the things I’m learning along the way and any tricks I’ve learned.
Here are 3 things I’m doing this fall to stock my pantry AND keep decluttering
1. Pay attention to what I ACTUALLY need
There are lots of lists on the internet of what to include in your pantry. But only you know what is needed in YOUR home. Look at what you actually eat and stock up on those essentials. For my family, that includes dry pasta, rice, dry beans, tomato soup, applesauce, and baking supplies.
2. Respect the limits of your pantry
A big point in Dana’s work is the container concept. You can learn more about it here and here. The way this fits with a pantry is this… the size of the pantry space you have for storing food… is the size of the pantry space you have. Meaning, if you only have one shelf, don’t fill it with powdered jello packets. Or be prepared to fix jello for dinner three nights in a row when you get snowed in.
3. Keep getting rid of things!
It can be hard for people like me to keep things moving in different directions. When I start stocking up on food, I want to keep all the other things too. Don’t fall in to this trap. Keep working on visible spaces and letting go. If you can’t part with the canner because you KNOW this year will be the one you need it… skip it and move on to something easier.
Prepping and decluttering don’t seem to go hand in hand. However, there is a part where they overlap. Keeping the things you *actually* use and letting go of the things that are taking up space. Being prepared for the winter means saving up food… but not randomly stuffing extra groceries in a back closet. Decluttering means letting go of unneeded items, but not purging things for the sake of less. Try to take small steps on both of these goals and see how it goes.