Follow These 5 Tips - Don't Declutter The Hard Way
Now it is true that there are many books and articles on how to declutter. I’m just going to give you some easy pointers for starting the process, as well as some ways not to get discouraged.
The hardest part is definitely the overwhelming nature of decluttering. I have a basement room that defeats me. Every time I walk in it I feel overwhelmed and depressed and I walk out and go and have a nap, so I get it. But if you want to keep at it, try these simple tricks:
Go into that “mucky place” where you store everything and look for ONE thing you can remove. Hopefully it’s a big item that takes up space. Decide where it will go. Donate it, sell it on the interweb, give it to a friend or family member. Persist until it is out of the house. That one thing will clear a tiny spot in your room and you will feel a spark of satisfaction when it’s finally gone. Then nurture that spark!
Now that you have a small success under your belt, put a critical lens on and view your home from a different perspective. What don’t I need or what can I put away? I’ll give you an example: I’m brushing my teeth this morning and I realize the iron and ironing board have been sitting in front of the shower forever. But how often do I iron? Rarely, if ever (we aren’t judging here). Just putting them away today gave me a huge sense of peace. Ah. Less clutter. Sometimes it’s as simple as realizing that the that thing doesn’t need to be out.
I’m sure you have heard of “one thing in, one thing out”. The premise is if you buy something new, you need to let go of something that matches it, so as not to increase your amount of possessions. Well try “one thing out a day”. It can be recycling an empty jar or container, putting one item in your donate box (always have a donate box on the go), or recycling old magazines. I also love putting books I won’t read in those cute neighbourhood libraries. It feels so good to fill them up. Just don’t look at the titles while you are there and take any!
Make sure that you relish in your good work. When you have sorted a shelf and are finished, stand back, look at it and note how much tidier it looks. It’s that feeling of satisfaction that will keep you going on the next shelf, or room.
Finally, it’s OK to create chaos to get to the finished product. It seems terrifying to empty an entire closet or drawer out. What if it stays there on the floor forever? But emptying the whole thing out gives you the chance to review each items before you put it back in . As I said the other day to my girlfriend, I practiced that “if it doesn’t bring you joy, throw it out” last week. I got rid of the vegetables, the iron (already discussed), the weights and the scale. No joy in any of those!!!