How To Actually Enjoy Decluttering

3 Comments

Have you been feeling the urge to simplify, organize, and declutter your space? For some, the end of the year is the ideal time to set their houses in order. Others prefer to do it at the beginning of the year or in the spring: both seasons feel like new beginnings when change is in the air.

Maybe you’ve been getting that urge, but it feels more like guilt over your messy house than excitement at the opportunity to simplify.

I hope this list gets you excited about decluttering and makes you want to jump right in!

Outlook matters

Does the very thought of minimizing or decluttering give you a sinking feeling of despair?

Before you even start thinking about decluttering, we need a positive mindset: something that will keep you motivated and focused on a goal.

Why does it matter? Well, your perception of decluttering (or minimizing, or simplifying, or whatever you want to call it) sets the tone for the entire process.

If you see it as a huge chore looming ahead of you, you’re likely to drag your feet and do it reluctantly. Reluctant decluttering isn’t as effective as enthusiastic decluttering. Neither does it achieve the same results.

If you can start with a positive mindset and see decluttering as a process that will help you trim the excess from your life so you can focus on the things you really love, then this sets a totally different tone for the whole project.

It becomes almost a game: you give yourself a worthwhile goal and challenge yourself to do your best, knowing that the more thorough you can be, the better the end result will make you feel.

You really can do this, whether you like organizing and decluttering or not. The key is to start with the right attitude. Here’s how to do it.

Finding the right words

Let’s start with words. Words are important. How you say something impacts how you think about it. And how you think about a project influences your attitude toward it.

If “decluttering” just sounds like a bad word to you, what about “simplifying?” “Or minimizing?” Who wouldn’t be excited about a “home beautification project?”

Try to find some way to phrase it that sounds appealing- or at least not disheartening! I’ll try to use all of these words in this article, but I’ll probably use “decluttering” most just for simplicity’s sake.

Picture your ideal home

This is a common recommendation, whether you’re talking about organizing tactics, home decor, or finding your “signature style.”

Basically, it means daydreaming about your ideal home. Sounds fun, right? Then write a description, draw a picture, or find pictures that capture the essence of your dream. Pinterest or home decor books or magazines are great sources of inspiration.

These pictures give you something concrete to look at and renew your inspiration during the decluttering process (which is often messy and can be discouraging).

Picturing your ideal home is a helpful tool, if you don’t try to change everything all at once. Don’t fixate on trying to imitate someone else’s house or clothing too closely, or the end result will feel empty.

My rule of thumb is to find your ideal, then work with what you already have. Your decluttering process probably doesn’t involve buying a new house, so your home isn’t going to look exactly like that glossy magazine photo.

But you can reimagine the space you already have, and create something you love. It’s hard to do this when your house is so full of stuff that you can barely see it. (If you want to read more about this, check out my review of Cozy Minimalist Home.)

That’s the beauty of decluttering: it allows you to start again and create a collection of things you really love, whether you’re tackling a closet or your entire house.

Imagine your life in that ideal home

This is the answer to the question, “How can decluttering help me?” And that is the key question, isn’t it? It’s what provides you with an incentive to start, and also what keeps you going even when it’s overwhelming or you feel like you’re not getting anywhere.

What do you feel when looking at the picture of your ideal home? Peaceful? Cozy? Relaxed? Energized? Serene? Inspired? Whatever it is that defines your ideal home is your end goal of decluttering.

Consider writing down a few words that describe your ideal home and putting them up next to your picture. That way, you can refer back to your ideal when you feel frustrated or discouraged.

Set yourself up for success

If you want to enjoy decluttering instead of dreading it, then it’s not enough to daydream and set up a pretty picture. There is actual work involved, but don’t despair! Give a little thought to the process before you start, and you’ll save yourself from headaches and disappointments later on.

Method to the madness

Once you get your ideal home and lifestyle firmly in mind, it can be tempting to jump into declutter mode right away. After all, you’re excited now, and you want to get going before that excitement wears off.

I get it. But before you start, it’s important to have some kind of system in mind. Choose what you will focus on: clothes, books, kitchen and housewares, linens, papers. If you want to tackle everything, that’s great, but you still need to choose a starting point.

There are different decluttering and organizing methods out there. Some people like to go room by room; others sort through all of one category (like clothing, books, or papers) before going on to the next.

Within those two broad methods, there are numerous more specific organizing strategies. You don’t need to narrow it down any more if you don’t want to. It can be overwhelming just looking at all the different organizational philosophies out there!

If you want to do something in depth like the KonMari method, go for it! Just know that it’s okay to ONLY organize your closet or your living room if that’s all you feel ready to take on right now!

I prefer to declutter and organize by category, but that might be because our cabin has just one large living space plus a tiny bathroom. Tackling one room at a time wouldn’t be much of a starting point for me.

Whatever method you want to use is fine; just choose something that works for you and stick to it.

Choose a time wisely

Decluttering isn’t a job to jump into as soon as inspiration strikes. If you do, you’re likely to get distracted by other chores. Even if you can concentrate on your goal, there are bound to be other things that come up and demand your attention.

Kids need love and attention and diaper changes. Husbands need love and attention and lunches packed. They all need meals at regular intervals. And then there are all the other household tasks.

If you decided to tackle a large category or room, it will probably take longer than an hour. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to do something for more than an hour, I have to plan for it ahead of time.

So sit down and take a look at your week. Find a day that looks fairly calm, and schedule your home beautification process for then. Don’t try to start in the evening after supper. That’s just setting yourself up for frustration, because it’s almost a guarantee that you won’t finish before bedtime.

Minimize Distractions

This goes along with choosing your time wisely. If you foresee distractions, try to find ways to eliminate or reduce them.

For example, I have a baby and a toddler to work around. If I want to be able to focus on my minimizing mission, then I start when the baby takes a nap. When he falls asleep, I put on some music and get my toddler set up with books and toys so he can play by himself for a while.

Your distractions will vary, of course, and you can’t foresee everything! Just think through the scenario and if any potential problems or distractions come to mind, address them first.

Plan Ahead

I’m talking about supper. Make sure dinner is an easy one that day (read: not meatloaf, mashed potatoes, homemade bread, and dessert).

Decluttering will probably take longer than you realized, even if you just start with a small area. Not only that, but if you don’t finish what you started all at one time, you’re apt to feel discouraged and drained of energy for anything else.

You might think that making a great home-cooked meal will give you a sense of accomplishment even if decluttering didn’t. I’ve definitely thought that way.

When it comes down to it, though, at the end of the day when I’m already discouraged, the last thing I want to do is make a big dinner. And if your heart isn’t in your work, it probably won’t give you the satisfaction you crave.

So rather than trying to tackle several big projects on the same day, give yourself a break and pull a meal out of the freezer.

Set the Mood

Here’s an idea for those who really dread cleaning or organizing of any sort. Think about your ideal home, and the words you used to describe it. Choose an essential oil that exudes those same characteristics, and diffuse it while you declutter.

Essential oils can help clear your mind, soothe or energize (depending on the oil used), and boost motivation. They can give you the spark you need to face the task at hand and march bravely in!

Plus, it’s a sensory reinforcement of the goal you are working toward. If your ideal home is soothing and restful, lavender or chamomile essential oil might be a good choice for you to diffuse.

If bright energy is what you’re after, try citrus oils or peppermint. (These are also great for boosting energy and motivation during the declutter phase, even if that’s not your end goal.)

Want to feel warm and cozy? Try this recipe for a blend of grapefruit, angelica root, black pepper, and cypress essential oils to diffuse throughout your home.

Start Early

The earlier in the day you begin, the more time you have to finish, right? I’m not saying you should get up an hour early just to start decluttering (unless you want to, of course!), but look at your schedule and plan to start in the morning if possible.

Also, it’s easy to be motivated in the morning, with the whole day stretching before you. If you don’t start right away, it’s easy to keep putting it off until a “later” that never comes.

No more excuses. Just eat a healthy breakfast, pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and go for it!

How do I get my motivation back for decluttering when I’m overwhelmed?

You’ve begun the process of decluttering. You set a time and tackled one closet or category. You sorted and made separate piles for keeping, tossing, donating, and giving to your little sister.

But then you have to go do something else: change a diaper, pick up the kids, make dinner, whatever. The mess is left on the floor, and now when you walk into that room, it looks worse than when you first started.

I know it’s discouraging, but that’s just part of the process. It’s easy to look at the mess and think you’re not getting anywhere, but that’s exactly wrong. The mess means you are committed to getting the job done.

If you’re at this stage of the game and feeling frustrated, I encourage you NOT to touch the mess again until you have another big chunk of time to work on it.

It can be even more frustrating to try to chip away at a big task like this in 5-minute increments throughout the day, and it will make the task seem enormous. I find myself getting more and more discouraged, because it seems like I’m not getting anywhere.

This is not the most effective way to go about it. Stopping and starting a task like that means wasting many minutes staring at the mess trying to remember where you were in the process and what you should do next.

It’s much better to wait until you have a little more time, when you can really get a substantial amount done. That way, you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment for spending the same amount of time on the project.

Next stop: your simplified home

I hope you have found some of these tips helpful in motivating you to start decluttering. Not everyone can get excited about clearing out closets and sorting through piles of stuff (not to mention getting rid of some things).

But my hope is that with a positive mindset and a thoughtful plan of action, you can make what could be a daunting task into something more manageable.

Happy home-beautifying!

~Kimberly