Declutter to Feel Better
Over the past few years, decluttering and organizing have become very popular. We’ve been told that we need to declutter our life so that we can be happier.
We all have different thresholds for what we think cluttered is. When I was a kid, we were simply told to clean up. For some people, that meant shoving everything under the bed (Mom will never know, right?). For others, it meant going through every piece of paper and toy and getting rid of things no longer used. I’m envious of people who have figured out how to lead a clutter-free life. In all honesty, I don’t even try. I accept that I’m a clutter person, but I try to control how bad it gets.
Before we talk about de-cluttering, it’s important to determine what your threshold for clutter is and understand the effects clutter has on us.
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How to Declutter Quickly
If you’ve been living with clutter a long time, the idea of starting can feel defeating. The first thing you need to think about is how much you will benefit from decluttering. Yes, it is work, but once you get it done, you can reap the benefits for a long time. Here are some of the benefits:
- Easier to clean your house
- Reduced stress
- Able to find what you need quickly
- More space
- Gain a sense of control of your environment
- Less anxiety
When you look at the piles of stuff, just remind yourself that it will be worth it. But how do you start? With a plan, of course.
Devise a plan
If you try to take on decluttering your entire house, you’ll quickly be overwhelmed. Choose one space to start with. Some people say you should start with your bedroom because that’s where you begin and end your day. Other people say to start with the room you spend the most time in. I say, choose the room that is most important for you to have control of. For me, that’s my office. I don’t know if it’s the room I spend the most time in, but it certainly is a lot of my life.
Choose your room and start there. If you start with the space that will have the greatest impact on you, it will be easier to stick with the plan and you will have a huge sense of accomplishment when it’s done. Then, the other spaces won’t seem so daunting.
Feeling good about the room that is important to you will inspire you to get that feeling throughout your entire home.
Make time
You don’t need to give up a weekend (or a whole week) to declutter. Work with whatever time you have. Even if all you can spare 20 minutes a day, start there. It’s important to understand how you work best. Some people do really well with small chunks of focused work (hello, ADHD friends). Other people really need that big chunk of time to power through and Get. It. Done. (hello, anxiety and OCD friends).
Do what works for you, but do something.
Do a Fast Sort
Get yourself 3 bags or baskets. Then, you are going to do a quick sort into categories:
- Trash/Recycle — toss anything that’s broken, expired, junk. All the things you thought you were going to fix, get back to, etc, get rid of them. If you haven’t dealt with it so far, you’re not going to. Let it go.
- Donate/Sell — If you’re done with something, but it’s still usable, give it a second life. If you have the time, you can sell your stuff for extra cash. If dealing with people coming to your house to pick stuff up or placing ads feels like a lot, then you should donate. Thrift stores and charities can use those items to help others. All you have to do is arrange for a pick up or go drop them off.
- Keep — Only put things in this pile that you really, really want/need. Bonus if you can immediately think of where the item will live.
Try to pump yourself up to make the first 2 bags the fullest. You only want to keep the things you really need.
Once you’ve done the deed and the clutter is clear, you have 2 tasks: take this mission to the other rooms and maintain it.
Tackle each space using the 3-bag method for a fast sort. Do each space completely before moving on. Even if you’re working in small chunks of time, do all the parts of each room and clear the bags.
Once you’re enjoying the clutter-free zones, you need to maintain them. How do you not reverse all your hard work and have to do this all over? First, remember it’s a process because you have to build new routines and habits. It’s not going to happen overnight.
How to Maintain Clutter-Free Space
Keep a basket or bag in each room to hold the clutter. At the end of each week, go through that basket. Clutter piles up quickly. As you sort through what’s in that basket, consider where the clutter comes from. Take a few minutes and put things where they belong.
If you’re like me and you know that you’re always going to clutter, try to find the best storage solutions for you. Having a place to put things so you know where to find them will help keep the clutter at bay.
As you go about your life, building in regular decluttering time will help. Whenever you do your regular cleaning, do a quick pass for clutter.
When you’re having a bad time with your mental health, the clutter might grow again, so don’t beat yourself up. First, if you’ve tackled it once, the mess won’t be that bad. Second, remind yourself that you can repeat the whole process if necessary and it won’t be overwhelming.
You’ve been successful once, so you can do it again.
