NRM DeCluttering 35 Years of...Stuff

In just under one year, this original viral video on my account has achieved ONE MILLION views! Wow! Thank you to everyone that watched!!!

I have embarked on a journey to possessing essential items only. Just the things I need to live a good, fulfilling, and joyful life. Free from distractions. Free from clutter. Free from...stuff.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Is this for you?

I started this channel in order to document life as it gets lived. It's about where I live, how I live, where I travel, why I travel, and so much more. Eclectic is a good word for the content to be found here. I hope you will come along for the ride!

[lindadorman]

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.

[Vintagecharm]

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.

[obragg]

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

[dawncookie]

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

[Anastashya]

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

[rebeccashoemaker]

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

[michaelcourtright-ll]

I am a guy, age 65 and retired, who has been on a downsizing quest for a couple years. I've watched so many videos here about 'Swedish Death Cleaning' and 'Stuff That Doesn't Spark Joy'. Almost all these advice videos are by young women, or by young men advocating total minimalism. Which is fine. But I was starting to feel like I was the only older, retired guy tackling a life's worth of accumulation.
Thank you for sharing your inspiring video.

[yorkiemom]

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.

[timeparty]

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

[kimlowe]

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.

[auntkathy]

After clearing out my father’s home and my best friend’s home, I’m clearing out mine as well. Don’t want my daughters to go through a mess once I’m gone.

[whitecottagelife]

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.

[miki]

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

[brendangilmore]

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

[mencken]

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.

[sharonjones]

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.

[janiebratt]

I have only lived in 2 homes and at 73 I have 4 generations of 'stuff' in drawers, closets, boxes in the basement, & garage.. After 45 years in my home, you can imagine what has been collected. Thank you for reminding us about 'what is essential', a full heart and appreciation.

[timheller]

After my wife died in 2017 after giving up the house and moving to an apartment in 2016, after a couple years of intense grief I realized how much crap we had, and I decided to un clutter my Apartment and life, and being a disabled 61yr old widower with a cat I realized I didn't need all the stuff, I put a lot of stuff out by the dumpster where people take the stuff they want, cleaned out the garage so I could leave the door open when I go out, I hadn't even watched TV in a year or so, so that went also as did the bulky TV cabinet, I kept two comfey chairs and a couch, the cat uses these, a small sideboard and a coffee table and nice bedroom set from my late parents, my computer table a secretary and two folding chairs from the folding table set I gave away, a nice desk and my late Mother in law's china cabinet, to display some keepsakes from my wife and family, and my small Matchbox car collection, my Guitars, books CDs DVDs two cat trees an end table and two nice lamps, it's like a weight was lifted off me, I have nobody left alive to clean out my apartment when I croak, but whomever does wont have much to toss in the trash, I have nothing of any real value, when my Downstairs neighbor died of covid a couple of years ago his friend took three weeks to remove thousands of books this guy had, all rotten trash, terrible, I prefer the term Minimalist, so I only keep what I use and need, I would never live in a retirement community as we saw all the restrictions they put on my MIL and those that live there, worse then an HOA, I don't care for restrictions, please do some research about these places before moving in to one, sorry for the long rant, great video and God bless you all

[eclecticaddee]

As a senior myself, making your home easier to move around is essential. Moving around large pieces of furniture is an accident waiting to happen and the beginning of our decline. Remove scatter rugs, especially if they cover wires, add handle bars where needed and for goodness sakes, stop storing stuff that requires a ladder to retrieve! OK, gotta get back to decluttering. This video has incentivized me.

[rgdodson]

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