2. Downsizing Made Easy with the 80/20 Rule

Listen as we explore how the 80/20 Rule—also known as Pareto’s Principle—can simplify and supercharge your downsizing process. We’ll break down what the rule means, how it applies to decluttering and prioritizing your belongings, and why focusing on the most valuable 20% of your possessions can create the biggest impact on your space and peace of mind. Whether you're downsizing for a move or just looking to simplify, this episode is packed with practical tips to help you let go of the excess and focus on what truly matters. Tune in and discover how the 80/20 mindset can transform your downsizing journey!

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Transcript

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Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jody Roscoe and Heather Fisher. We're talking about all things downsizing, from our own experiences with clients to guest experts. Let's make downsizing easier, one conversation at a time. Hey, how are you? Good. Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. We're so happy to have you back. How are you doing today, Heather?

Heather Fisher 0:26

Pretty good. I'm excited. We've got some fun stuff to talk about. We do. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 0:31

Yeah.

Heather Fisher 0:31

I'm Jody Roscoe.

Jodi Rosko 0:33

I'm Heather Fisher. Um, and today we're talking about the 80-20 principle.

Heather Fisher 0:37

Yes.

Jodi Rosko 0:37

Which I think is super great for mindset. I think if you really can get your mind wrapped around this, it really kind of can help you, you know, weed out things pretty easily.

Heather Fisher 0:46

Yeah, it applies to so many things in life and science and everything. But let's talk today about how it can help with downsizing.

Jodi Rosko 0:57

Right. So the Pareto principle. Um, Pareto was uh Italian and he kind of figured out um this 80-20 principle originally about kind of economics and stating that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of the input. Um, like for example, um, you know, 20% of your workers do 80% of the work, right? Um, and so that kind of can go through all phases of life, you know, economics, finances, all of the things. Um, and so did you know that um 80% of the things in your house um are likely only used 20% of the time?

Heather Fisher 1:38

That's crazy. But when you think about it, I mean it makes sense.

Jodi Rosko 1:44

But like that's why we dust all that stuff that we don't touch.

Heather Fisher 1:47

Right. That's why we have basements and garages and sheds and attics, right? Right. Because how often do we go up there and touch that stuff?

Jodi Rosko 1:55

And some of the stuff is used 0% of the time.

Heather Fisher 1:57

Right, right. So talking about um Pareto and the 80-20 rule, I did a little research before today. Did you know it actually started with peas? Peas like vegetables? Yes, peas. So Pareto only not only being an Italian economist and very good at that, he was an avid gardener. Okay. So he first came across this concept in his garden and realized that 20% of his pea pods brought 80% of the peas. Oh, okay. So he took that knowledge that he learned to work, and that's how he applied it to the economy of Italy. And we now have the 80-20 rule that we all talk about and hear about and have heard about, and it started in his garden. So little things make a big difference.

Jodi Rosko 2:52

I think what I think is so interesting about that is that it applies to things over such a range, right? Like from actual vegetables to your economy, you know, to your house. Like this principle just applies everywhere. Like it is, I think that's super interesting about it.

Heather Fisher 3:09

Yes. And I love how people can come up with these concepts and help us all.

Jodi Rosko 3:15

Right. Right. So how so today we're gonna talk about how we can use this principle of, you know, maybe you're not using 80% of the stuff in your house uh very often or ever. And so how can we, you know, use that for your mindset to like let some things go, possibly, right? Yeah, live on that 20% and not dust dust the stuff that we we just aren't using, or shove it in the closet, right? It's the shoving method, right? Non-dusting. I don't want to see it. I don't want to see it, so I'm just gonna hide it, but it's still here. Yes, for sure. So, yeah, so we can maybe have you know less clutter, a little less stress.

Heather Fisher 3:55

That study, did you hear about that? We talked about it a little bit. There's a new study out from Yale recently talking about science applying to downsizing and clutter and our lives, that um 30% um the that the the clutter in your room can make you less productive just by existing, not only um because it's there in your eyesight, your brain is tired from it and has to process it every time you look around the room and every time you uh look up from what you're doing, your brain is taking energy away from what you're doing, and you can be 30% less productive just by having a cluttered space, just being in a messy room.

Jodi Rosko 4:47

Yeah, that's crazy. Yeah, but you think about that, like I mean, it just bothers you kind of there in the background, in the peripheral. Yeah, and so you're you're feeling it, but also, um, and I don't know the statistics, but there is a study about like if you stop working and then you start again, like it takes you another like 15 minutes to like get back into it. So it makes sense to me a little bit. Like if in your in a room, because what I'll do is I will like be doing my thing and then I'll look kind of you know up as I'm thinking, and then I'll be, I need to put that away. That goes in the whatever. Well, I'm stopping my thought process about what I'm doing because I'm thinking about the stuff that's out there that I need to deal with that I'm not dealing with, right?

Heather Fisher 5:31

Yeah, I think we talk about things that feel um, you know, we're like clean out your junk drawer and downsize your things, and it feels like maybe unimportant is not the right word, but it feels like, oh, that's just stuff, but it's so literally freeing for your world and your life when you're not weighed down by those things. So I think the it truly is science behind it that you know, your life will be calmer and more productive, and you know, a sense of peace if you move into that 20% versus I mean, we definitely see that, don't we?

Jodi Rosko 6:16

We've talked about, I think we even said this last time that when um when we ask people to clean up their house to take pictures to sell it, or or even just you know, downsizing those things, like they all say, why don't I live like this? This feels so much better, you know, I didn't need all those things, wish I did it sooner, all of that stuff. So um, so and when we're thinking when we're thinking about downsizing, I mean, we are going to have to let go of a lot of things because the square footage is very likely going to be less, right? Not always, I mean, sometimes we just need to right size our house, you know, maybe it's a two-story and we need to put go into a ranch or something like that, but most of the time it's a smaller space. And to be honest, guys, we have seen um people who don't do it and they kind of try to take all the things and they they don't want to make those decisions and kind of just don't. And so they pack up all the stuff and they move into a smaller space and then it turns into a place that you can hardly move around. We've had clients like that.

Heather Fisher 7:24

They're shorting themselves of the benefits, the safety, and the you know, less to maintain, they've just brought all of that, and now it's you know, trip hazards to step over, and you're still moving and shuffling and not finding anything, not finding things. And so, you know, really, if you can make that shift of mindset, it's so much better on the other side, living, you know, a life free of way too much stuff.

Jodi Rosko 8:00

Yeah, and I think sometimes just think about it as like a fresh start, right? So you have a fresh palette and and you're gonna go to a different, you know, floor plan, a different, different spaces in your house, and what can that look like, right? So um I think that that's also part of the mindset of, you know, if you might have needed it in this house, but you might not need it in the next one, right? Maybe it would be okay to let it go. So um, so uh yeah, we we definitely don't want a downsizing um situation to happen where it's just little, you know, you're living in a storage unit, basically, right? It's like the boxes are everywhere and you don't have anywhere to put any more stuff. And we don't want you to get a storage unit, y'all. Please don't do that. Because I think that's people fall into that trap where they it's really just delayed decisions. They don't want to make the decision. You don't want to make the decision because it seems like it's hard. And so that decision gets delayed, but it's gonna have to happen eventually, whether you do it or your kids. Please don't leave it to your kids. That's me.

Heather Fisher 9:03

Don't do that. I think we had someone in one of our classes once that a family member had passed and the family discovered they had 11 storage units.

Jodi Rosko 9:13

Do you remember? I do remember that.

Heather Fisher 9:15

Family had no idea and don't do that.

Jodi Rosko 9:19

Well, and then obviously they're not using that stuff. If the 80-20 principle, that's a zero. Like it's a storage unit, they're not using it. And so, um, so anyway, um, so let's talk a little bit about um I don't want you to think you have to get rid of 80% of your things right away. So don't take the 80-20 principle and go, oh my gosh, like she's crazy. Um, you know, how am I gonna get rid of 80% of my things? Although I do think um if you look at that 80-20 principle, I do think you could get rid of of 80% of your things and really not live a very different life. Like I think that um that life, you know, since you're using 20% of the stuff 80% of the time, it wouldn't look super different if you got rid of most of the stuff. However, there are certain things that you use not very often, but are special to you for whatever reason. And that's okay. So we're not saying, oh my gosh, like right away you have to get rid of 80% of your stuff. So don't freak out that we're telling you that. Um, but I do think um what you can do is I think in the end in downsizing, maybe we go for 50 or 50% or 60% um to be able to live in a clean, fresh space, even in our own houses, you guys, because even our own houses or even if you're staying where you're at, you know, uh you can get rid of lots of things and have a fresher, cleaner space.

Heather Fisher 10:43

Yeah, I think everyone should go for it and start with, you know, even 20% and live and and be like, wow, that feels good. This feels good, and you'll be on board for for getting that 50 or 60 percent because it does feel good to not be cleaning around it, sorting it, missing things that well, you kind of have your own your own experience around that, right? Because you moved from a house that was Yeah, yeah, from a larger house and um moved uh when I got married into my husband's home that was much smaller. And I felt like I got rid of probably half of my house. I don't know, um, you know, just didn't need it and you know, different phases in life. And, you know, confession, I do have some of my stuff in a storage unit um as we were, you know, transitioning to different houses. Um, and to be honest, it's there longer than I thought because we haven't moved yet, and I don't miss it. I'm not even sure you're gonna watch it. I mean, it felt important. It felt like these things can't go on the donation pile. I've already given so much. And so I I kept what I kept. And you know, some of it I will love to unpack again and and use um when I'm in that next space, but some of it I have no idea. And sometimes when I've gone to get something I need, I can see all the things that I I I don't want to do. You don't want it. So just waiting to unload it all and and I'll get rid of another big chunk. And yeah, it's a good, it's a good experience because I know what people are going through. You moved from your house not too long ago, too, from you know, a house you'd been in a long time. I did.

Jodi Rosko 12:37

It is kind of refreshing when you can Yeah, and honestly, I didn't I didn't let go of enough stuff um either. I thought I had time, you know, because that's what you think, and then all of a sudden, like it's happening, and you, you know, start packing boxes and um put them. Um and um my son um packed a bunch of boxes from his room that he thought he wanted, and then they were in his new room for like six months. He didn't open them. And I kept saying, You gotta, you gotta open those boxes and unpack, honey. And um, one day I went up to his room and they were gone, and I was like, Oh my gosh, like you unpacked the boxes, but nope, he just moved him down to the basement so he didn't have to look at them anymore. And so, and so they sit there right now, and I literally probably should just not even open them. Like, clearly, he hasn't looked at them in a couple years now. And I think that's what happens. We put things like out of our mind, out of our, out of our, you know, so that stuff in the storage unit has been out of your sight and out of your mind for a long time. Yeah, I also long ago when I was in my 20s, I moved from um San Diego to here. That costs a lot of money, like to, you know, move things across the country like you pay by the pound. Yeah, right. And so I packed all these things that I thought that I was gonna want. And um, when I came, I moved in with my mom for a little while. So same as you, like it kind of out of sight, out of mind for a little while. And then when I finally got my first place here and I opened all that, so I didn't want any of that stuff.

Heather Fisher 14:04

You just wanted your money back.

Jodi Rosko 14:05

I wanted my money back because I didn't want that stuff. Yeah, I was like, yeah. I was like, why did why'd I bring this and why'd I bring this? And so you know, we talk to people about moving all the time because we're real estate agents. Obviously, we talk to them about what that is, but and letting go of things, you know, when you're when you're getting your house ready to sell it, you need to kind of clear off all the things. And I'm like, it don't pack those, like get rid of them if you think that if you think that you're gonna not want them. But I definitely when they're moving across the country or anywhere where they're paying so much money to move, it's like and the energy spend, right?

Heather Fisher 14:42

You're picking it up, you're looking at it, you're delaying the decision, or whatever you're doing that's making you put it in the box instead of the trash can. Well, then it's in that box. That box needs carry, that box needs unpacked, that you have to mentally think where in my new place am I going to put this? You know, money for sure, but energy spend where way back when, first time you pick it up, donation pile, just make the decision trash, whatever.

Jodi Rosko 15:14

Right, done. Just make the decision when you when the first time you pick it up, just make the decision. And I do, you know, I do understand that after there is uh decision fatigue. So at so you you can if you spend too many hours in a day doing it, it's like, do you need this gum wrapper? And you're like, Yep, I do. Totally. It's my favorite gum wrapper. Because you just can't get rid of one more thing. And so I think that's why this it this can be a little bit of a process, and that's okay.

Heather Fisher 15:45

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 15:46

And also I think um it's like you need to kind of create a habit around it, so where you do a little bit every day, and so you can kind of get yourself in the habit of doing that, and then even after you move, if you continue to do that, then you will you'll always live in a clean space. Because what we do is we bring in a bunch of stuff and don't let anything go out. That's right.

Heather Fisher 16:09

Should we talk a little bit about some ways to apply the 80-20 rule to some areas of the house?

Jodi Rosko 16:15

Yeah, I think um, I think first of all, you could do a really quick uh quick, like uh like a quick 100. We're gonna call it a quick 100. Um, where you take 10 or 20 minutes, like right in the beginning of when you get started on doing this, you take 10 or 20 minutes and you find a hundred things in the house that you can just get rid of right this minute.

Heather Fisher 16:34

Yes.

Jodi Rosko 16:34

Right.

Heather Fisher 16:35

I did this with my kids. Yeah, I know.

Jodi Rosko 16:36

Tell me about it.

Heather Fisher 16:37

So, you know, that's what it was. Just if I was frustrated and the things that pile up as you know, we were a young family at that point, and you have school papers and you know, party favors from birthday parties and just a lot of stuff that are easy decisions that end up in the corners, the cabinets, the countertops, all of that. And you know, we talked last time if the average home has 300,000 items, finding a hundred really quick can make you feel really good and motivated. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 17:11

And it's really easy. Right. Think about that. I mean, if you 300,000 items, you can find a hundred.

Heather Fisher 17:16

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 17:17

And that could be you were saying, like, even if they had like 10 pieces of paper, like that's 10 things, right?

Heather Fisher 17:23

Yes, I was not strict. It was just like, let's do this quick, let's put on music, let's do this, whether it's trash or donation or whatever. Um, you can really quickly just get your energy level changed around it instead of making a project out of planning the project. I would say.

Jodi Rosko 17:43

Well, and thinking, oh my gosh, this is gonna take me hours and hours to do. I think you can make a visual difference quickly.

Heather Fisher 17:52

Make a quick win so that it doesn't feel quite so overwhelming, and then tackle things in chunks. You talk in our downsizing class, don't spread your chaos. Right. So if you you can speak on that.

Jodi Rosko 18:07

Yeah. So when you're doing an area, you want to just keep it in that area because what'll happen is you'll be like, oh, this belongs in this other room, and then you get to the other room and then you mess around in there, and then you mess around somewhere else, and now the whole house is a disaster, and you don't want to do that. You want to kind of stay in your one place.

Heather Fisher 18:21

You'll defeat yourself because you don't see progress or a win. Just do small areas. If it's a bigger project or it has a quick time frame, we'll get some professionals to move it quick. But if you're doing it um, you know, on your own, put some parameters, time that you're gonna spend in a day on it, or a space that you're gonna complete, or you know, a number of things you're going to move out of the house. Give yourself a benchmark that you can meet and accomplish and check the box. I did that tomorrow. I'll check another box, small chunks, instead of a big I should downsize my house. How do you even right?

Jodi Rosko 19:07

That feels totally overwhelming. Overwhelming. Totally overwhelming. So let's talk about our closet. So um, clothes closet. Let's just kind of give you some ideas and tips about what to do in some different areas of your house and how the 80-20 rule can apply there. So um I think the 80-20 rule is pretty obvious in our closet, right? We're not washing 100% of our clothes every week, right?

Heather Fisher 19:29

No, the same things every week. Every week. We're always doing laundry, you know, all of us. But we're all washing that same thing. And we're always doing laundry because we want those same things clean again.

Jodi Rosko 19:42

Right, because we're over, we're over it. We don't like the other stuff that's hanging there, I'm not wearing any of that, right?

Heather Fisher 19:47

So so want the same favorite pair of jeans, like, you know, favorite sweater.

Jodi Rosko 19:52

I want it to hurry up and get back back clean again so I can wear it again. So, so um, so I think that in in the in your closet, you you actually could really get rid of 80% of your clothes. Um, so things that you want to think about when you're letting go of your clothes, right? So um you you want to take everything out of the closet. I know this sounds like, oh my gosh, that sounds like a lot. And you could do your closet in chunks if you need to. Like if that feels too big, you could do, you know, sections or whatever, and then do your dresser or whatever. But take it out, take it all out because things look different than they look inside a closet. And um, once you take it out, you're like, you look at it and you go, I haven't even seen that in like three years. I didn't even know that was in there. And uh so once you do that, uh take it out, and then you really honestly you need to try it all on. So I do this with my son once a year because he's growing and it makes him so angry. But I say, I'm not gonna buy anything new because I don't even know what you have. So once I know what you have, I will buy you new stuff. But you need to prove to me that none of these clothes fit you anymore or you know, they're not right for whatever reason. So we stand and he changes all, you know, puts all of his different clothes on, and um, and we need to do that too. And when you put that cloth, those clothes on, if it doesn't feel good to you, put it right to the donation because you aren't gonna wear it again. If it makes you feel frumpy or if it makes you doesn't fit quite right or whatever, don't just because you spent money on it and you think, oh gosh, you know, I should I should wear it. Like it's okay. It was a mistake, let it go.

Heather Fisher 21:26

I, you know, I I think we've all experienced this, but you have that new shirt that still has tags on it, and you bought it for whatever reason, and you have it. But if it's been weeks and you haven't been excited enough to wear it, you're not you're never going to.

Jodi Rosko 21:43

You aren't. And I have stuff like I will put on, like I'm I'll look at it and I'm like, I haven't worn this in a while. And I'll put it on, and then I'm like, Oh, that's right, because it's you know, a little like whatever it is, it doesn't fit quite right. Don't put it back on the hanger, it is going in, and that's the other thing. I keep a little bag in my closet that is a donation bag. So as the day, you know, if you can do it, you know, slowly too, like I put that on. I don't like it. It's going in the donation. But if you're really gonna do it, put it all out on the on the bed or whatever. Try it all on. If it doesn't feel good, let it go. If it has holes, obviously that means you loved it, but it's also time for it to go looking a little ratty. Um, if it doesn't fit you at your current weight, um, then I think that's a lot of things people will keep. Like until I get skinnier, I'm gonna wear this or you know whatnot. So honestly, I feel like um if you get skinnier, you're gonna want all new clothes for your amazing new body.

Heather Fisher 22:39

You deserve them, right?

Jodi Rosko 22:43

Um, so keep the things that are in the laundry all the time. Really be brutal with the rest of it. There are gonna be things like dressier clothes that you don't wear very often. Then that's I think your that 20%, you know, 20% that you, you know, you only wear every once in a while.

Heather Fisher 22:59

I think in different phases of life, too, on that topic, that there are different times. If you're in your professional career, you have a lot of dressier work clothes, or if it's a time in life where you're just doing different things, you might have a lot of one thing, dresses or suits or whatever. And if that phase of life has changed, I think that the 80-20 rule applies that you don't need to keep a hundred percent for the times you might need a dressier dress again. If you're doing something less than you did in a different phase, keep one or two, keep you know, a couple options. We all need that and know that you have those random options for things in your closet, but you don't need your whole work wardrobe if you've retired or you've changed to a job that is a different um, you know, phase and you're wearing a uniform or you're wearing casual clothes or different things. Um, you don't need to keep it all. So I think people hang on to too much of it. Too much. Like, oh, I might need a dress for when I go to a wedding. Okay, we'll keep two or three. You don't need 20 options. Right. And, you know.

Jodi Rosko 24:18

You know what else grows in the closet? T-shirts. I think t-shirts grow. And you know, you'll have like you'll see we'll go to houses and there's like 50 t-shirts. It's like, okay, you don't. I mean, that's you know, two months of t-shirts before you do laundry. You know, if you think about that, like maybe you need 10, you know, give yourself a number that's like okay, I it works for your life. Right. But like maybe it's 10 t-shirts is the max, and what are my favorite 10? And the rest of them can go or whatever that looks like.

Heather Fisher 24:46

Yes.

Jodi Rosko 24:48

So ask yourself some questions. You know, obviously, does it feel good on you? Um, when was the last time you wore it? Um, does it would you buy it again? That's a good question. When you put it on, if I was at the store, would I be like, oh, I'm so excited, I want to buy this. So that's a good you that's often a no right there. So um, so those are so keep keep, you know, create a pile of keep, uh, donate. Maybe you could sell it. I mean, if you if if you spent a lot of money on clothes, like obviously clothes don't keep their value for the most part, but if they were designer or you spent a lot of money on there, there are definitely options, resale stores, and um, you know, selling them online that you could do. Um, or or some of them are trash because you've loved it and worn it so much it's got stains, the tears, things like that. Um, you can also create yourself a little capsule wardrobe where you, you know, focus on versatile things that all kind of go together. Um, there's people who really get crazy and have like, you know, certain very limited, like they have like 10 things that they wear every, you know, change it by quarter. Um, you could really get crazy and do that if you wanted to. Um, you could also do rotational seasonal stuff so that you don't have everything in your closet all the time. So it you because what happens is you end up leafing through all the clothes, and that feels that just takes mental back to that, you know, not being able to use your energy properly.

Heather Fisher 26:12

And back to that decision fatigue. We only have the capacity for so many decisions during the day. So if you're starting your day with all those decisions on what to wear, you're using up that that you could use on t-shirts that you don't love. Which one of the 20 similar sweaters, you know, are you gonna wear? So make it a little bit more.

Jodi Rosko 26:36

And then, yeah, and then once you've done it, um, there's a couple of tactics you can use. So you can put everything on on the hangers, you can turn the hangers around so that when you wear something, you take the hanger off. I've actually put all my hangers in one section of my closet because I don't like the hangers hanging in between my clothes. And so same. That bugs me. Um so you can put your hangers, you know, take and then turn it around. When you've washed it the next time, you put the hanger in normally. So six months from now, when this season is over, you can see absolutely what you wore or what you didn't wear for this season, and everything that you didn't wear, you're probably not gonna wear next year if you didn't even wear it this year. So everything that's on a backwards hanger can go.

Heather Fisher 27:21

Yeah. I uh about a year or two ago, I changed out all of my mixture of hangers from all the sources to, you know, just a uniform, all the same hangers. So I or you know, I ordered however many in the pack, and that's how many I have. So that's been really helpful because you know, it was when I started, it was a few extra, just that's how you know it worked out. And I filled those. And now if I bring something new in, like I don't have any hangers and I don't want the ones that don't match. So something has to go and make room for the new items. I love that. That's another way you can get down once you've done it. Don't let the creep set back in where you fill it back up again quickly. Once you determine this is a good place for me to have this much and it fits my needs. You know, give yourself a few extra hangers, but not more than five, ten, maybe, and don't let it just fill right back up. It happens quickly.

Jodi Rosko 29:20

It does. And I think it's because it's again all in, none out. Yeah. Right? So you go to the store, you bought a couple, you know, cute little tops, and you just put them in the closet and you don't take anything out.

Heather Fisher 29:32

So And you probably went to the store because you think I had nothing to wear to that party or event, even though you have a full closet. And it's obviously stuff that you aren't loving.

Jodi Rosko 29:42

Right, because you went to the and if you actually can walk into your closet and know that everything in there fits you properly, everything in there is something that you feels good when you put it on, everything in there is something that you love to wear. It's so much easier. No, you know, to make those decisions, to get dressed, and it's more fun.

Heather Fisher 30:01

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 30:01

It's more fun. Okay.

Heather Fisher 30:03

The frustration out.

Jodi Rosko 30:04

Those are our closet ideas. Um, the garage. We love the garage where everything goes to die. Yes. Seinfeld has the funniest skit about um about stuff. And um when he talks about the garage, he says um the garage is probably another word for garbage.

Heather Fisher 30:22

Yes, the best video to watch for sure.

Jodi Rosko 30:25

He says if you're living in the same room as the trash can that's not long. You're probably not coming back to the house. So lots of things that you can uh down, you know, downtize easily in the garage. But um tools, like, are you actually using them?

Heather Fisher 30:42

I personally am not.

Jodi Rosko 30:43

Yeah. I use some. Yes. But also, again, the more stuff that you have, the harder it is to look through it and find it. So, like, I will not be able to find a screwdriver when I want to, even though there's stuff out there, because if it's not organized, you know, it's just kind of out there and you have too many things that you don't use, then you're searching through those things. So um, there's often duplicates of things, you know. Do you need three or four chainsaws? Do you need just one chainsaw? Do you need any chainsaws? Do you need somebody to just do that for you these days? And you don't even need it, right? Right. So um, so kind of those kind of things, there's you there's often broken things in the garage. When we kind of see as as we look in people's garage, I don't know, things just kind of get shoved out there.

Heather Fisher 31:26

I think in the garage that there's garage things, things that logically should be in anyone's garage, if that's the place for your tools or your lawn care items, you know, kind of similar, the shed and all of that. Those garage things you need to downsize, the duplicates, the everything else. But I think what we see is that the garage is also a whole lot of stuff that should have never been chosen, you know, to go in the garage. It's just because it's a shoving place. Shoving, it's a storage, it's a I don't know what to do with this, so I'll put it in the corner of the garage. So I think that is the easiest starting place. Yeah, pick your hundred from the garage. If it's living out there, it's not even in the warm, you know, right clean house. It's in the dust of a garage, the you know, cobwebs, the half in, half out. If it's made it out there just as a I don't know what else to do with it, those are probably easy things to get rid of. Yeah. And then you have space to look at the things that should be in your garage, your car. Yes.

Jodi Rosko 32:40

Hey, y'all, your car should be in your garage.

Heather Fisher 32:43

But you know, around the peripheral of the garage, you can organize and downsize the garage things. Yeah. Don't you think? Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 32:53

So there's usually like you need to kind of put them in categories. And if they're all over the place and not already in categories, you want to put them into categories. Put all the tools in one place, put all the sports equipment in one place, you know, put all of the, if you have to store things in your garage, put put that storage bins or something in one place, and then pick, you know, you can do through that because the kids will end up with, you know, balls and this and that all over. And if you really ask them, that one's flat, but it's not and it won't hold its whatever, and that one, you know, but they don't throw away. My kids don't throw away the things either, right? Why is it still here? If it doesn't work, it throw it away.

Heather Fisher 33:26

But and if they don't have a a place that makes sense, the kids or us for the things, there's not a place that makes sense. You don't realize that you have five soccer balls. Right.

Jodi Rosko 33:39

Right. If you put them all together, you'll realize you have you have then you can't. You bought you had the old one that was old, so you bought a new one, but you never got rid of the old one. Yeah. Yeah. Five times. So yeah, so um, so that's good. Frequently used items. Um, you know, put those where you can easily use them. What again, same thing with tools. What if you once you put them all together, you'll find that you might have 27 screwdrivers, right? And you don't need 27 screwdrivers, you need, you know, one or two, you a couple sizes, you know, you don't use need a few of those. One hammer, you know, right?

Heather Fisher 34:14

Yeah, things you borrowed from other people because you couldn't find a tool. Send those back.

Jodi Rosko 34:20

And some of the tools you can rent easily. So if it's something that you don't use all the time, um, but something that you think you might want to use every once in a while, you can rent tools. Yeah. Um, so let some of that stuff go if it's in that 20% that we use rarely. Yeah. But you still think you might need it.

Heather Fisher 34:37

Yeah. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 34:39

And you can organize that. You can put in, you know, some pegboards or, you know, do something to uh organize your tools. I would really, really look through the stuff that you're storing out there too and decide if that's actually something you need. Are you storing it in the garage because there is no other storage in the house and so it needs to be stored in there? Or are you storing it there because you just don't think you need it or what to do with it and it's time for it to go.

Heather Fisher 35:01

Yeah. Or you have over you do have storage space, but you have so much stuff that you yeah.

Jodi Rosko 35:09

Don't buy more bins to organize it. Let's just let it go. No more bins. So um, basement and the attic are kind of similar to the garage, I think. Um, I feel like they are um, you know, often a lot of holiday direct decoration, sometimes a lot of sentimental stuff gets stuffed there because you feel guilty that you would get rid of it because somebody gave it to you or it was grandma's, but you don't really want to display it, and it kind of ends up in a box in the garage or the attic.

Heather Fisher 35:39

We've met a lot of clients and and people in our classes that they have had someone in their life that has passed away or moved to um, you know, senior living community or something, and they have use the word inherited, but they've they've gained someone else's household of stuff. And I feel like the basement and the attic is where those boxes get put. And it's a mixture. There may be that 20% that are family items or sentimental items that you do want to keep in your family, and that's okay. You don't need to get rid of all this stuff. But I feel like we meet a lot of people that just took a hundred percent and moved it from someone's full house and said, Oh, that's mom's.

Jodi Rosko 36:35

It goes in the basement.

Heather Fisher 36:36

And it's hard to circle back and go through it, but if you can, yeah, you can clear up a lot of things.

Jodi Rosko 36:44

Well, and and if you really, if it's something you love and it's sentimental, um, then you should be displaying it. And if it's a box in the basement, you know, how important is it really? Like, and because again, we have that conversation where not everything can be special, right? So you just want to take the stuff that is special. I think down there, if you put every if you put things in a box and you mark the date on the box, you know, after you've looked at it, but you you know, you mark the date on the box. And if you haven't needed to go down in there in a year and open that box and get something out of that box, it that box can go a year later. It just don't even open it again. You've already looked in it. You that's you know, it's not a hundred thousand dollars accidentally in there. Yeah, you know, it's it's it's not anything you need to look through again because you already looked through it once and you couldn't make the decision that day for whatever reason. But the fact that you haven't needed it in a year, after you've looked through it, it can go.

Heather Fisher 37:37

Yeah. I think it back again to that phase of life, like with clothing, that the basement or the attic or things may be the storage spot for hobbies you no longer do.

Jodi Rosko 37:51

Yeah.

Heather Fisher 37:52

All of the stuff that goes along with that. Or maybe at one time your house was where everybody came for parties or holidays, and you have all the party trays and serving and the extra crock pots and all of that. And if you're still doing those things, then you're using it, keep it, use it. But if life has changed and whatever it is, you know, keep the memory of when you used to do whatever, but you don't need the whole hobby, the whole collection, the serving wear for 20 people if that's not what you're doing anymore.

Jodi Rosko 38:35

Yeah. Yeah, I agree with that. Um, kitchens. Kitchens are the same thing in as kind of tools. They're food tools, right? But basically you're gonna end up it once you start going through your kitchen and putting like things together, you're gonna find out you might have, you know, 12 spatulas or you might have, you know, something that you just continue to buy. And so you're gonna pick your favorite one or two, and the rest of those are gonna go. Um, if you have dishes for, you know, 12 or 15, you know, 16 people, and there's two of you, you don't need that. You know, you know, maybe you need dishes for six if somebody's gonna come over, but you don't need, you know, you want you want a few so you can put them in the dirty, you know, dishwasher and whatever. But um, you know, can just think logically about like what how many do you read? I mean, mugs, people collect mugs and you know, what are you just use that favorite one or two? Yes, right.

Heather Fisher 39:30

I think I'm guilty of um collecting the the gimmicky stuff too, you know, the Instapot and Oh, all the yeah, the latest pots and the Did you have a Fry Daddy too when it was big in the deck? I don't have that anymore, but I did, or you know, the you get gifts people give you. You know, I think we have a a quesadilla maker and the paninis, yeah. The things that you can make with your basics. So I think that that would be the thing I could get rid of.

Jodi Rosko 40:03

I used to watch that Alton Brown show. I don't do you remember Alton Brown, he was a guy that cooked on TV, and he would say, I'm never buying a tool that's a multi uh single tasking tool in the kitchen. Like I want something that's always a multitasking tool. So you can buy, you know, the avocado thing that makes the avocado come out, but you could also use a spoon. Yeah. Yeah. So it make sure that those things are, you know, multi-function and that and that you use them. Ask yourself, you know, have you used that in the last six months? You know, just be honest about what that is. Um, I will say, um, in my kitchen, uh, my friend came over uh during COVID and wanted to clean the kitchen because she'd already cleaned out her whole house. And we had like 13 boxes of stuff that we ended up out of my kitchen. And I can't tell you a single thing that was in one of those boxes. I haven't missed anything out of it. I literally can't tell you what it was. So we put it in cupboards and we just close the doors and we don't see. And same with, you know, food. There's just probably expired food, even if you think you're right on top of it. I'm sure there's expired food. Go through the pantry. Yes, make a box for the um for the uh food bank. If there's things that you have bought but you aren't gonna use, you know, that are still, you know, not expired.

Heather Fisher 41:22

Yeah, your spices are definitely expired. Your spices are fully expired.

Jodi Rosko 41:26

That is so true. That is so true. Um, and then bathrooms, same thing. Pull everything every in all places, whether it's the kitchen drawers, whether it's the cabinets, whether it's the bathrooms, pull everything out, go through it. Oh my gosh, my mom got you know so many lotions and potions and all of the things. She just always loved that. And um, and you will you'll find a new one and you won't throw out the old one. And so there you are, you know, with drawers full of things that you aren't using. And expired medicine, you know, make sure you dispose of that properly. Um, you can put that in a baggie and take it to the um to the police or the fire um if you need to, but um make sure you expose, you know, don't flush that.

Heather Fisher 42:09

But I'm a sucker for the cleaning product aisle.

Jodi Rosko 42:12

Yeah, you love cleaning products.

Heather Fisher 42:14

The latest and greatest, whatever it tells me it's gonna do, I you know, end up with an assortment of spray bottles of different things. And yeah, you know, you really don't need too many need it all.

Jodi Rosko 42:28

Yeah. So yeah. So again, just think about, you know, what is your skincare regime? And whatever you're doing now, all the rest of it can go because you clearly let that go and didn't like it anymore. Right. And so um so same with the bathroom. So um I think that 80-20 rule really, if you get your mind wrapped around what that looks like, it can really help you um realize how much of stuff that we have in our house that we don't use. Yeah. And it will make you feel so much better when you let it go. I promise, I promise you guys, just let it go. It feels better.

Heather Fisher 43:05

Absolutely. And you just you don't have that clutter on your brain and in your house anymore.

Jodi Rosko 43:12

It just feels like it's heavy. Stuff is heavy. I say that. I mean it's physically I I we were we were doing a downsizing class, and when I always say stuff is heavy, I mean it's like emotionally heavy. Somebody's like, yeah, it's hard to move it, it's heavy. Which it also is. So it's heavy physically and heavy emotionally, but it really is heavy emotionally. And if you're in your bathroom and you're digging through the drawer trying to find the right thing through all the stuff, that is stressful, actually. And all the little bit little stressors add up in your day. Then they're totally unnecessary stressors, you know. So yeah, inspired. Yeah. I know. I would I'm literally like, I need to go do a quick 100 when I go home. Just do a really quick 100. So um challenge you to pick one room um or even a drawer or your closet or whatever, and and go do that today.

Heather Fisher 44:01

Do a quick 100, get some motivation, and then see what you can do to um I I think as we go on, we'll definitely be touching on the harder topics. But right now, if you're getting started, you're thinking about this, whether you're thinking about moving or not, this will make your day better to tackle one small project. Your junk drawer, a quick 100, your closet, take you know, a bag or two to a donation. It's just lifting.

Jodi Rosko 44:34

Yep. It feels good. Yeah. It does feel good. Um, so uh any other any other last things about the 80-20 rule. Well, I'm sure we'll be talking about it again because it's something that we use all the time. Um but it it does, it will make you feel lighter and freer when you let everything go. So um if you guys all have questions about any of that, please send them to us. We'll answer them on future podcasts. So let us know what questions you have about the 80-20 rule.

Heather Fisher 45:02

I love the um closing quote you picked. It's another Joshua Becker quote. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 45:07

He's so great.

Heather Fisher 45:09

But he says, owning less is better than organizing more. So back to, you know, don't take all the stuff you have that you shouldn't and buy more bins.

Jodi Rosko 45:20

Don't do that. Don't buy more bins.

Heather Fisher 45:22

Don't buy more bins. Just own less. It'll be much easier. Yeah. What are we talking about next time? So, next time, stay tuned. We're gonna talk about why is a downsizing move different than other moves. So, we're real estate agents and we help people move all the time. We're just gonna talk about why it's a little extra. And all the pieces, the resources that you can plug in that you might need to make it easier. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 45:50

So yeah, there's definitely there are definitely people out there that you wouldn't even think of that could help you.

Heather Fisher 45:56

That you don't know you need.

Jodi Rosko 45:57

Right. You don't even know you don't know.

Heather Fisher 45:58

Yeah. So we're gonna just kind of talk about all of those people. And if you have any questions or you need more resources, as always, our website is www.downsizingroadmap.com.

Jodi Rosko 46:12

Yeah.

Heather Fisher 46:13

So next time. Good.

Jodi Rosko 46:14

Hope we inspired you a little bit with the 80-20 role today.

Heather Fisher 46:17

Yeah, awesome. Thank you.

Jodi Rosko 46:18

All right, have a good one.

Heather Fisher 46:20

Thanks for joining us on the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who might need a little downsizing inspiration. Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Reach out to us on our website, www.downsizingroadmap.com. Until next time, let's keep simplifying and moving forward.