Where to Start With Decluttering
Having a plan is often the make or break between success and failure. When you're feeling overwhelmed staring down the task of decluttering your entire house, where do you start? We're breaking down the answer to that question in today's episode!
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Tasha share her best tips and tricks for where to start when decluttering.
KNOWING WHAT TO DO NEXT
Tasha has noticed that she is least productive when she doesn’t know what to do next. If she has a to do list, she finds she gets into a rhythm and makes great progress.
It’s when she doesn’t know what she needs to next that not much gets done. She may start to check email, but suddenly realizes she gets distracted by getting pulled into emails that aren’t work related and ends up looking at a sale on pajamas.
The same can happen with decluttering. We may start in one drawer and declutter a couple of things, but then end up in another room and start decluttering a few things in there. At the end of the day we have a few half-started projects and we aren’t feeling good about our progress.
WE NEED A PLAN
Take a look at LEGO sets. Your Legos come in organized numbered packs with an instruction booklet. You only open one pack at a time, and following the instructions, each pack will build on each other. It works really great!
Imagine if you opened a random bag of Legos and turned to the middle of the instruction booklet. You aren’t going to make anywhere close to the same level of progress doing it this way.
All of that to say it’s the same with decluttering. We need a plan to move from point A to point B so that we can see progress, which is what gives us motivation to keep going.
FEELING OVERWHELMED
If you are trying to tackle decluttering your whole house, that’s a big task. No matter the size of your home, there is probably more than one bedroom, a kitchen, a living area, bathroom, some sort of storage, and an office space. That’s a lot of spaces to work on!
The LA Times gave a statistic that the average American home has 300,000 things in it. If you’re thinking about going through all 300,000 things and making a decision about each one, of course you feel overwhelmed!
FEELING UNCERTAIN
If you’ve never really decluttered before or if you haven’t done it in a while, it can feel uncertain and uncomfortable, like you just aren’t good at it. Similar to fitness or music, it’s the kind of thing where the more you do it, the better you get at it, and the more confident you become.
Just acknowledge that this is a new thing for you or something you haven’t done for a long time. Remind yourself that you are embracing a new skill and you will get better!
“WHAT IF” QUESTIONS
Decluttering can also bring an uncertainty about the future. What will our life look like without this stuff? What if we get rid of something important? What if I need it? What if I can’t replace it?
THERE IS NO RIGHT ANSWER
Decluttering can be difficult because there is no right answer. There is no correct order to do it in. There isn’t a certain number of items that you should get rid of or you should have in your home.
Many of us can struggle with having so many options and ways to declutter. Not having a black and white answer can be a roadblock to getting started if we feel we won’t know if we are doing it correctly.
IT’S ABOUT MAKING PROGRESS
It is a big task, so there will need to be a mindset shift and realize we are not pursuing getting to the end of the decluttering project. This is about making progress. And a little secret- you are going to be decluttering for the rest of your life.
Don’t let that discourage you. What you are doing now is meaningful and is going to make a big difference, because when you go to declutter again, it’s going to be way easier than it was the last time.
ADDING A HEALTHY HABIT
Think of decluttering kind of like your health. You’re never done improving your health, right? You build healthy habits such as getting daily movement and daily nourishment and continue practicing those.
That’s what we are doing with decluttering. Think of it as adding a healthy habit to your life. Viewing it this way can really combat some of the discouragement that you aren’t done yet. Every step in the right direction is a win.
START WITH VISIBLE SPACES
To feel the most peace about your space, start decluttering the visible spaces in your home first. If you were to only declutter the kitchen, your closet, a work space or living area, and those were the only spaces you ever decluttered, your life would be so much less stressed.
This isn’t to discourage you from decluttering the other spaces, but starting with the spaces you interact with every day is going to give you so much peace.
GIVE YOURSELF GRACE
Decluttering may be something that you’ve either never done before or something you’ve not done recently. Day to day, you may not see much progress, but as we are adapting and building this healthy habit, you’ll be able to look back and see that wow, you really have made a lot of progress!
So, give yourself grace as you enter this journey and don’t expect that day one is going to be the best you’ll ever be at it. You’ll build your decluttering muscle and get stronger as time goes on.
DECLUTTERING THE OBVIOUS ITEMS
If decluttering doesn’t come naturally or if it gives you a bit of anxiety, start with the things that are obvious. Things such as trash or things you know for sure you don’t want.
Even if you leave every other thing in your home, getting rid of those obvious items means you are making progress and strengthening that muscle that says you can declutter things.
DON’T FEEL PRESSURE
Don’t feel pressure that your decluttering journey has to look any specific way. It is okay if you aren’t sure about getting rid of something. Keep it. Declutter what feels comfortable to you.
This is a lifestyle, so you’ll come back at another time to declutter and maybe on that day you’ll feel differently and decide to get rid of that thing. It’s totally fine!
MAKE FAST DECISIONS
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or stressed about what to keep and what to let go of, listen to your gut. Decide quickly.
If it’s obvious trash or something you know you want to donate, put it in the trash or donate pile quickly.
When you come to something you’re unsure of, don’t start a long internal debate with yourself. Just keep it. Put it in the keep pile and move on to the next item to keep the momentum going. You an always come back and do another pass later.
THINGS YOU MIGHT USE “SOMEDAY”
Most everyone has some things in their home that they think they might want to use someday. They aren’t using it today, and maybe they haven’t used it in a while, but they think that one day, they really might want to use it.
Be assured that thinking you might use something someday isn’t a bad thing. It doesn’t mean you must get rid of it, but what we have to do is train ourselves to be realistic and realize that we aren’t going to use every single thing that we own someday.
HAVE A PEACE BUDGET
A peace budget is a set dollar amount ($5, $20, $50) that you are honestly okay with spending if you have to replace something.
So, if you come across something and you can’t remember the last time you used it, are you okay spending the amount of money it would cost to replace it, should you ever need it?
CREATE A MAYBE PILE
If you still have a fear of living without some things, create a maybe pile. This lets you live in your space without all the stuff and without making the long term commitment of getting rid of something.
Designate a spot in your house where you can put these items to get them out of the space, out of sight, and out of mind for a while.
If you want, you can set a time for when you will get rid of it if you don’t come back for it, but it’s not necessary.
THERE’S NO RIGHT ANSWER
Some people love hearing there is no right answer. That means you can’t lose! Others are uncomfortable with there being no right answer. They need to know if they’ve done it correctly.
We need to let our mental narrative be stronger than our gut reaction of needing a right answer. Reassure yourself that you cannot declutter incorrectly. There is not a wrong way to do it.
Any space you decide to declutter, any amount of items you get rid of is good. It’s progress and it counts.
STRATEGIES
All that being said, it’s really helpful to have a plan of where you’re going. So how do you know where to start? The truth is it really doesn't matter.
If you need someone to tell you where to start, then start in your kitchen. It’s where you and your family are likely to spend a lot of time.
But, if you want to choose a space yourself, there are some guidelines you can follow.
A SPACE YOU FEEL EXCITED ABOUT
Is there a space you feel drawn to or feel excited about decluttering?
Now here is a caveat, this feeling of being drawn to a space is different than being drawn from fear. Thinking about the bins and bins of baby stuff in the attic that have been there for years and feeling stressed about decluttering those is not the kind of pull we are looking for.
We are looking for a pull toward an area that will make us feel rejuvenated and energized by decluttering it.
SPACES YOU USE DAILY
Start with visible spaces that you use every single day. This lets you start living with the progress that you’re making and it’s incredibly motivating.
START WITH YOUR STUFF
Start with a space that has primarily your stuff in it, not a space where there are a lot of things mixed in that belong to someone else. This will just frustrate you since you won’t have the option to make decisions about those items.
Starting with your closet or makeup drawer is good because you have complete control and power to make those decisions. No one is going to be disappointed or say they wanted to keep something.
START SMALL
There are two trains of thought when it comes to decluttering and either one of them is fine.
For some, taking everything out of the space and then putting it all back is the way to go. If you like big projects and are an all or nothing person, this method is what you’ll be drawn to.
For others, that way feels overwhelming. They would prefer to do a little at time, one shelf or one item.
If you are an all or nothing person, a word of advice is to start smaller than you think you need to. You don’t want to get into a situation where you feel overwhelmed and feel like you can’t finish.
BUILD OUT FROM YOUR STARTING POINT
Wherever it is you decide to start, whether it’s a space you’re exited about decluttering or a space that you use a lot, build out from that starting point.
So, if you start in the kitchen with one cabinet, move to the cabinet next to it. If you start in the bathroom, go to your closet or bedroom next. Just keep building out creating sort of a ripple effect of decluttering throughout your house.
FIND A COMMUNITY
Because decluttering can be such a daunting task, finding a community can be very helpful. This can be a friend you can text for support or the community around Get Organized HQ. Just send us an email and let us know what you’ll be decluttering.
The important thing is to find a voice that will celebrate the wins with you and will understand why you are on the journey and how important it is.
CELEBRATE
Share your successes and celebrate! Get started and know that you cannot do it wrong. You don’t have to wait until you’re done to celebrate. This is something you are integrating into your life as a new healthy habit.
Let go of the “what if” questions and start making progress. Momentum will build and before you know it, you’re going to be past the starting point and well into your decluttering journey!