Decluttering is hard. There’s so much stuff to deal with, and so many feelings! Here are some things to think about, that might make it a little easier.
Don’t give up if one size fits all decluttering advice didn’t work for you.
You’re determined to get your stuff decluttered once and for all. So once again you hopped on the internet and typed in – How To Declutter My Home – hoping the perfect easy tip that will make it a breeze will pop up in the first page of results.
And there were… well, squillions of results!
Every housekeeping magazine, organising blog and news website around the world has articles about decluttering. Sometimes it’s good stuff, sometimes it’s really not. But you’ll notice a lot of them give pretty much the same advice.
Advice that you’ve already tried. Maybe it didn’t work at all. Or worked temporarily, but you’re right back where you were, or maybe even worse!
Maybe the advice you read sounded easy, but you got stuck on something tricky and just gave up. Maybe you were overwhelmed with the magnitude of the job in front of you. Maybe the whole process was just too painful, and the quick and easy tips didn’t help at all.
Think about this: There is no one like you. No one else has your sensitivities, your history, your nature all wrapped up in wonderful you.
There will be a way for you to declutter, if you’re determined. It just wasn’t the ones you’ve tried.
Don’t try to do too much in one go.
You were SO over the clutter building up! So you got stuck in! Ever unloaded a big cupboard, wardrobe or several shelves all in one go?
It might be all one type of thing like clothes or books. Or it might be your storage cupboards stuffed full of every random thing that doesn’t have a home.
You had half of it all over the floor, some moved around on the shelves. Some things didn’t fit so they had to go back where they were. There’s a huge pile on your bed, the kids are hungry and you are exhausted!
You might like to try breaking it down into Very Small Bits. Just one shelf, cupboard or box at a time.
Having said that, there’s something to be said for gathering all the same things together if you can. Then you can choose which ones you want to keep. But you might like to keep it small. Just your black pants one day. Hair care equipment the next time.
Remember, perfection is not a requirement. Just do what you can do.
Don’t keep stuff you don’t like, you don’t use or you don’t need.
Just because you own it, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
Just because it was a gift, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
Just because you’ve owned it for a long time, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
Just because it once belonged to a family member doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
Just because you spent money on it, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
You’ll know the truth about how you feel about things. Feeling guilty or sentimental doesn’t help if you’re determined to declutter. I’d like you to think selfishly. Not mean and nasty selfish – Practical Selfishness.
You might like to look at all the things that make you feel guilty about decluttering with new eyes.
Eyes that only care if your life is better and easier without them. Because that, is the goal of decluttering. NOT keeping All The Things because you feel bad.
Don’t buy storage until you’ve decluttered.
I know, it’s so tempting! So many cute baskets, nifty Home Edit styled storage, wood and glass jars, turntables!
It’s fast, easy and makes you feel good right?
But there’s still all the stuff you were thinking of decluttering but now it’s filling up the storage you just bought. It’s just hidden or organised. You can have stylish and organised clutter, just as easily as messy clutter.
You might be procrastinating, instead of decluttering.
You still have to hunt through it all to find the things you actually need.
You don’t get the chance to truly appreciate the things that you love.
You might still feel overwhelmed by all the stuff inside the cute storage.
And there’s less space. Less space to move around, and less space between things. It’s taken up with storage.
Instead of putting up with clutter, hiding it away or pretending it’s not there, declutter first. You might like to buy storage for each space after it’s fully decluttered and you know exactly what you need.
Thats when you get the fun of organising, buying storage that fit your needs perfectly and making everything look lovely.
Buying storage is the fun part. Making your things look smart, tidy or stylish is the last bit you do. But please try to remember, make it easy on yourself. Over organising, using impractical storage and expecting your family to use things that are not easy might just make your life more difficult.
Go for simplicity. Simplicity in your decluttering. Simplicity in the number of things you keep. Simplicity in your storage style.
That does not mean you have go all white and minimal. Just avoid over complicating things. Easy is what we’re after. So you can happily arrange your things just the way you like them.
Liz.
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P.S. I’m committed to sharing my decluttering, organising skills and tools with the world, in the hope that it can help others. If this blog resonates with you, please consider forwarding it to anyone who may benefit from it. If this was forwarded to you, subscribe below.
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