Candles and Cups
We’ve made it! We are finally at part 3, and the final part, of our midwinter declutter journey! How are you feeling about it so far? Does your home feel lighter or more peaceful? Let’s dive into this last post with a box or bin and hopefully a little excitement.
We all love our tumblers and candles. So much so that we tend to buy more before we actually need more. Go on, go open your kitchen cabinets, how many tumblers do you have? Do you even use glassware any more? (I don’t) And considering Bath and Body Works generated $7.56 BILLION in 2022, their candles being a popular item, I’d say we all like our homes to smell nice as well. And yes, I know, Bath & Body Works tends to make great gift items. But do we really need all those extra candles? How many candles can you burn at a time? Personally, I don’t like to mix smells so I usually only burn one candle at a time. I also only drink out of one tumbler at a time. I have four tumblers, 3 of which have been gifts. I rotate them out according to how I’m feeling each day or week. And I know social media can make us feel some type of way about our own lives but remember that those social posts are curated to make us want more. Our lives don’t have to be a perfect social post, it’s ok to be messy or not have every Stanley tumbler in all the colors. With that being said, grab a bin and let’s get digging.
Start with your candle collection. What are your favorite scents? Perhaps you’ve burned some but the smell just didn’t make you happy. Can you use some as gifts? Or are you keeping those candles you’ve burned all the way down for those DIY projects we just never seem to get too? Weed through them and determine which candles make you happy and which don’t. But make sure to save a few for when the power goes out.
Now that we are finished with the candles let’s move on to tumblers! Between Walmart, Target, Starbucks, and all the small businesses, there are many places to purchase tumblers. In just 4 years we have managed to make Stanley a $750 million company. Their numbers continue to increase and they don’t project any market slow down in the near future. Starbucks is a $9.4 BILLION company, do they really need us to buy one more tumbler? That bin with the candles you just cleaned out, grab it and let’s sort through the cups.
I’m sure, if you’re like me, you probably have one or two favorites that you use on a consistent basis. So reach deep into the depths of those cabinets and if the tumbler hasn’t seen the light of day in a while, it’s time to put it in the bin. Does the tumbler still fit your current style? If not, put it in the bin. Keep going until you have only the ones that truly make you happy and that you will actually use. You can always resell the tumblers online. If you don’t feel like doing the extra work then donate them with the candles.
I know, I know, you’re probably thinking “But Heather, I paid for all these candles/tumblers” or maybe some were gifts and you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. And I know it can be a bit overwhelming when you look at it as a whole. So break it down, only do one task this week and tackle the other task next week. And don’t wait till the end to haul everything off, take it for donation or to the dump within a day or two of each decluttering task. Or if you’ve decided to resell some items, get them on Marketplace or Ebay asap! You will gain storage space and a feeling of peace within your home once you’re done. Then once spring rolls around and you get that Spring Cleaning feeling, your task list will be a little bit smaller and the overwhelm won’t be so bad.
Also, consider that if you’re getting ready to put your home on the market, decluttering can help potential buyers see your home at its best and this will help them envision what living there could be like. Which could then bring in more serious offers to get you from where you are to where you want to be.