5 Tips for Starting the Decluttering Process
While you’ve spent so much time at home over the last few months, you may have become inspired to declutter your space — including your closet, kitchen cabinets and drawers, your garage, or maybe even your entire house. While the mere act of getting rid of stuff isn’t the answer to a fulfilled life, it can certainly reduce stress, evoke a sense of contentment, and help you create both physical and mental space for more of the things you value and the activities you enjoy.
Like many tasks in life, sometimes the hardest part of the decluttering process is getting started. Until your adrenaline is pumping and the momentum is happening, you may be staring down stuffed closets and messy drawers with a sense of inescapable dread.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! Use these five simple tips and strategies to get started on the decluttering process this weekend or beyond. And feel free to reach out directly if you have additional questions or need some more help getting started.
1. Get Inspired + Motivated by Others
Sometimes the best way to get started with the decluttering process is to do a deep-dive into a pool of inspiration. Soak up all the information you can about minimalism, simple living and all things clutter-free to inspire you to clear up your own space. Seeing a finished product helps you visualize the possibilities and get you excited about replicating the outcome in your own space. Watch the Minimalism documentary or Tidying Up With Marie Kondo docuseries (both on Netflix), listen to The Slow Home or Minimal-ish podcasts, read a few books about minimalism (Everything That Remains and The More of Less are some of my favorites), or scroll through some photos on Pinterest or Instagram (people like @chloe.rey and @thehomegrownapple inspire me a lot!). And more importantly than the visualization, it’s crucial to understand the why behind decluttering — this will inspire you to make some changes from a genuine place of valuing peace, clarity, contentment and fulfillment. It will also help you maintain a clutter-free space well beyond the initial “decluttering” process.
If you want a full list of inspiration, check out my password-protected Resources page, which lists some of my favorite podcasts, books, articles, brands, blogs, videos and other valuable resources. If you want the password, subscribe to my newsletter and you’ll receive it instantly!
Pro Tip: Don’t get stuck in a world of inspiration without moving forward! It’s easy to put off the “starting” portion while you gather ideas or spend so much time researching. Instead, use the inspiration as motivation to move forward with your own decluttering work. Taking that first step can be the hardest part!
2. Tackle By Category, Not By Room
It’s also tempting to go room by room, drawer by drawer, or closet by closet — but that doesn’t always give you the full picture. When you get all your similar items in one space, it helps you know exactly what you have — and more importantly, how much of it you have. Seeing a floor-to-waist pile of winter jackets helps you understand exactly what you’re working with, and can cause a necessary shock to inspire you to trim down that pile significantly. When you are working through a particular category (like clothing, shoes, kitchen utensils, books, children’s toys, sporting equipment, etc.), put every single item that falls under that umbrella in one singular spot. That means every shelf, closet, drawer, cabinet, or storage container must be thoroughly searched for each category. Then you can hyperfocus on this particular subject, choosing between a group of three nearly identical sweaters, or paring down your collection of can openers to keep only the very best one. You can’t always see duplicates or excess until it’s staring you right in the face!
3. Start With the Easiest Categories
Never start with your sentimental items. Trust me — it’s a recipe for disaster to sit down with your boxes filled with journals, yearbooks, letters, mementos and other sentimental items. You’ll quickly get sucked into reminiscing and reading, and will have a hard time getting past the first pile of stuff. In the end, you’ll be pretty discouraged by your lack of progress and may just quit entirely. Sometimes, after dwelling on such personal, meaningful items, nothing will seem worthy of parting with. Instead, if you start with an easier category with much less emotional attachment (like clothing or kitchen accessories), you’ll slowly build up momentum as you go on. Plus, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment after working through these categories, and you’ll be primed to get through the tougher ones when the time comes. Once you tackle the easier categories and move onto the more difficult ones, you’ll be a bit more brutal with your decision making and you’ll likely feel a (good) sense of overwhelm by how much you’ve had to sort through.
4. If Possible, Declutter in One Day or Weekend
If time allows, set aside an entire day or weekend to declutter your house. (Note: depending on how much stuff you have, this may or may not be possible! But the sentiment remains: go through everything as quickly as possible, in a dedicated stretch of time.) There is something important about powering through it at once that evokes a sense of accomplishment and provides a very clear (and instant) sense of gratification when all is said and done. Letting the process linger over several weeks can make you sneak back into old habits and patterns — not to mention, it will be very annoying to have piles hanging around in your house. But creating a clean slate overnight (literally!) creates a dramatic and lasting transformation. If you can, enlist help from your family or friends to make the process more fun — and easier to accomplish in a shorter amount of time.
Pro Tip: Wake up early on a Saturday, get some coffee and good food in your system, blast your favorite music or a podcast, and make the experience fun! This shouldn’t be a depressing or boring activity. You should feel fueled and genuinely excited about the changes you are making.
5. Set Yourself Up for Success With Supplies + a System
You’ve heard it in practically every decluttering guide, but I’ll say it again here. Create three separate piles for things you want to keep, donate, and toss — plus a “sell” pile for items of higher value, if you’d like. Take it a step further by storing the items in bags or boxes as you go. You have a much better chance of getting those piles where they need to go if you have labeled cardboard boxes or garbage bags set out in advance. There’s nothing like having a donation pile in the corner of your room for weeks on end (we have had one during the majority of the quarantine…). If you start boxing up your items you’re parting with, you’re much more likely to see them off to the trash/recycling or donation center.
Remember: Decluttering is not synonymous with “organizing.” You should have a significant amount of items in your donation, toss and sell piles, if you are committed to holding onto the items that truly bring you joy or add value to your life.
Pro Tip: If space allows, keep the piles of boxes or trash bags around until the end of the process. There’s something about seeing it all piled up in one place that will make you feel a sense of pride at what you’ve accomplished. But of course, don’t forget to actually take the steps to get them out of your home!
What tips do you have?
What helps you get started on the decluttering process? Let us know in the comments below!