Declutter Like A Pro

It’s not a secret, decluttering is hard, it can be emotionally draining, it sometimes brings up feelings of guilt or it can just feel completely overwhelming.

Clutter can make us feel stressed, anxious, and depressed. Research from the United States in 2009, for instance, found the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were higher in mothers whose home environment was cluttered.

Keeping something because you might need it someday is like paying a mortgage to a storage company—and it comes at the expense of living in an empty, breathable space. So think twice about hanging on to the curtain rods or the six old cell phones.

So, where do you start?

First, change your mindset about decluttering.

Think of it as a liberating activity, not a dreaded task. You know how you dread exercising but then once you do it you feel great? Yep, it's the same with making space for the things you use, love, and want to keep.

When you focus on the precious things you love and use all the time - the things you definitely want to keep - then the task of deciding what to let go of suddenly become a lot simpler. You don’t have so much guilt or “what if” dread about passing it on to someone else because it didn’t make your list of the essentials in your life. The worst thing you can do is spend time decluttering and getting your home to a place where you feel comfortable and happy only to go rebuy things and get yourself into the situation again.

Next, set yourself up for success

Get boxes for donations, to sell, or to give away to friends or family, put on some music and put your phone away so you can focus fully.

Declutter by area.

Looking at one freshly cleaned-out space might inspire you to declutter the rest of your home, too. So keep the momentum going by decluttering deeply in small areas, instead of decluttering a little at a time all across your home—because at the end of the latter, you have a full bag of donations, but no specific peacefully-decluttered space to point to. For instance, you could decide to declutter—all the way—the junk drawer or a particular cabinet in the kitchen.

Ask yourself if it’s “the best, the favorite, or necessary.”

This helps you narrow down your possessions to the cream of the crop. If you’re looking at an overly large collection of mixing bowls, for instance, narrow it down to the best ones. A kitchen towel collection can similarly be whittled down by choosing to keep only the favorites.

Recognize that the important part of a gift is the act of giving and receiving.

It’s so hard to get rid of gifts. You appreciate the thoughtfulness shown in getting and giving you something and you wouldn’t want to dishonor that in any way. But if the gift itself is something you don’t need or enjoy, it’s okay to let it go, guilt-free. The transaction of love and care—what makes the gift meaningful—has been taken to heart.

Keep a box in your closet.

This super simple trick is disproportionately powerful. The idea is that every time you put something on and don’t feel good in it, you toss it in the box. It’s an in-the-moment, painless way to declutter your wardrobe.

Practice one-in-one-out.

Promise yourself that with each new thing that comes into your house to stay, you’ll get rid of one other thing. It helps keeps your storage-math straight: You shouldn’t accumulate one single “extra” thing if you truly stick to this rule. Having a designated “outbox” for the items you’ll donate or give away (as opposed to just toss), helps you keep the habit.

Pretend you’re moving.

This one’s a mental exercise: Pretend you’re moving from one apartment to another, and you need to pack everything up, pay to have it moved, and then unpack it. Use this mental framework to scan your closets and storage spaces—if you see an item that you wouldn’t go to all that effort to keep, get rid of it right now.

If you need a little extra help get my decluttering guide here

Happy Decluttering

-Jocelyn