This week (the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) is the biggest decluttering week of the entire year.
Really.
I know because internet searches double (sometimes even quadruple) that send people to my site.
Decluttering energy rises as people put away their new stuff, but then it wanes when life happens.
If you fear that happening to you, focus on the real reason for decluttering.
To keep stuff.
The stuff you like.
In a way that lets you enjoy it, remember you have it, and actually be able to use it.
My decluttering strategies don’t involve pulling everything out of a space at one time. Instead, I pull out one item at a time and make a final decision about that item. I take it to its home, trash, or donate it.
Then I pull out another item. And another. And another.
And a crazy thing happens. At some point, the space shifts. Instead of feeling crowded and cluttered, it feels open and spacious. And I shift from feeling like I’m yanking out pieces of my soul to feeling like I have room to honor the things I love. The things I’ve kept.
Once the clutter is gone, I can see the stuff I like. I can find it. I can use it. Even if “using it” just means experiencing a happy flutter inside when I walk by.
And the absence of an ambiguous weight of clutter on my heart means I can breathe. And relax. And not feel guilty about keeping the stuff I love.
Or guilty about loving that stuff.
Aha!! Finally the truth! Thanks, Dana!
Haha! Keeping stuff is fun. Particularly when you can find it.
Things I learned while decluttering the medicine cabinets and linen closet:
We don’t need to buy toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, child’s ibuprofen, saline solution for the neti pot, shaving products or band-aids for a good long while.
We don’t go through enough of ANY kind of medicine before it expires to warrant buying the bigger container to save money. (So much medicine gone!)
We had lotion that was over a decade old. Neither of us used it. Time to find something we like.
A friend of a friend pointed me to your site. I feel like I’ve found my people!
This blog is giving me lots of insight into myself.
Do you have any resources for cleaning list for people who live alone? Most lists feel excessive. Like I’ve barely used my bathroom so wiping it down every day is a bit much. I also have a once a month cleaning lady.
That forces me to pick up so she can clean.
Do you have my book, How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind? The Kindle version is on sale this month for only 1.99!!! That’s where I boil things down to the basics that are needed. Definitely no excess!
https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/book
Just bought it! I don’t read on my Kindle that much, but I couldn’t turn down the price.
Dana – I love how you’re able to articulate things in such a clear, simple way that it clicks immediately with my brain. Having less so you can enjoy what you have – yes! And one of the comments above points out something so obvious yet brilliant: having recently thrown out bottles and boxes nearly full of expired medicine, I, too, can now give myself permission to skip the “best deal” for OTC meds and just buy the smallest quantity available. W00T!
Love the perspective that decluttering is NOT disowning stuff I like. It REALLY does make finding what I like easier. With every load I declutter I ask myself, “Is there maybe somebody ELSE who would really LOVE this?” And, “Will I REALLY miss this?” The answer to the first question is generally “Yes” and the answer to the second is almost always “No.”. Even if the answer to the second question is “Yes,” when I REALLY think about it the answer becomes “No.”
So decluttering is NOT about LOSING something, it’s about FINDING something—what you really want. And it’s also about letting someone else FIND something THEY could use or enjoy. It’s a win win!
I love your posts. You sound like me and make me feel normal, just in need of some guidance and encouragement. Whereas other decluttering and organisational bloggers make me feel hopelessly defective and utterly despondent.
So well stated!
In response to another blog about getting rid of the things you hate, I had written that I was dealing with something like that, that had belonged to my mother. I had told ya’ll that I was going to take a picture of it and have my sister put it on face-book to see if a relative wanted it. Well, lol, apparently that forced my sister’s hand. Things that she was okay with ME storing forever were things she had turned down before, but now that I said I was getting rid of it, either to facebook family or Goodwill, I heard a small emotional whine, and the next thing I knew, she said she was taking it. Ahhhh. I feel better now. 😉
So, today, I was walking past a book shelf in my genealogy room and suddenly realized that I have TWO of the very same photos of my ancestors framed, and displayed on the same shelf. lol, One is GOING TO THAT SISTER. HAHA. One must have been mine and the other must have been my mother’s. I wonder how long they’d been sitting side by side… Well, I know I can declutter one of them! That’s an easy decision…
Thank you Dana!! This makes so much sense now that you say it! This is one of the things that I have really struggled with. I didn’t want to start because I was afraid it meant getting rid of the things I love. I can start now! You are wonderful. ❤️
Thanks; this perspective really gives me a sense of relief and peace.
Have you ever done a post on letting go of things you’re sure you might need in the future? I could definitely use help with that!
Just yesterday, I read her post on aslobcomesclean.com , “The Cost of Storing Things” from Jan 29, 2018. It helped me with that issue. I hope it helps you.
This post is sooo true! I am now removing large items and I can now see the clutter. I’m also having a lot of fun finding things I love and enjoy. I think I was focusing too much on the small stuff. Now I’ve reduced the furniture it has given me a whole new perspective on my stuff and for the first time in a long time I can see I have a long way to go but I no longer feel overwhelmed. I am focusing on decluttering once a day but this needs to be no smaller than a carrier bag and I am now seeing big results. I needed to be in the right headspace to do this. I stayed at a friends house recently and I noticed how tidy her house seemed despite going through a recent renovation and things were piled in boxes. I noticed the rooms made me feel at ease despite her ‘clutter’ I then realised it was because she had a lot less stuff and the stuff she had was arranged in a way that it was acceptable for my clutter threshold. I also noticed she had beautiful things on display. Her house wasn’t perfect but it gave me a good feeling and I realised it was my clutter threshold! Since staying with her I have started on my journey of removing one thing a day and it is now really paying off and I’m now excited for my house again. Very important the declutter once a day rule means the item must leave the house that day. I have familiarised myself with all the local clothes banks so if one of my items on marketplace doesn’t go that day I drive to a clothes bank or I remove a bag of trash. If 4 items are sold or collected for free then I see that as a bonus, I still focus on removing one more thing the next day. It’s a fun game give it a go and see big results x you also get a warm fuzzy feeling giving things to people who are so grateful x
Hi Becca, I see you wrote this in 2021. I like your detailed post… how you do this each day. Daily actions that are doable. Not overwhelming.
Spotting our belongings that we no longer need or like is a great start.
The other thing that I have found good, is to get in the habit of keeping an area tidy looking, eg. Kitchen doing the dishes no matter what. I have my lounge room looking calmer as well which is more relaxing. It still has some clutter but I will get to it when I can piece by piece. Cleaning up any magazines or small projects in the lounge each day helps.
It is interesting to me also to realise that you folk in USA seem to refer to ‘ clean’ meaning both clean ( not dirty or dusty) and tidy as the same idea. Perhaps it is that you see items not being put away in their homes, as clutter.( untidy) So in order to gave clear spaces to wipe clean, and vacuum, you need to clear clutter ( tidy up)
Anyway we are all aiming to get ourselves calmer and feeling better about our homes, and not keep items from the past or too much sentimental stuff, so we can live our present lives well and not be ashamed of our homes when folk call in. I still prefer people to let me know they will be calling by. I enjoy keeping my entrance area tidy and clean, then I fell less rush and panic when people call in.
It’s a life journey. Whatever our reason for having too much stuff or for not being at ease with guests arriving.
Best wishes
Thank you for this reminder. My attitude lately has been very negative. This helps me look at decluttering in a different light.
Your new book is full of great reminders, too! Thanks!
Dana, for years I have been decluttering unused / unneccessary items from my home. It has been appreciated by my family (they think I got organized), but this year I found myself now decluttering items deemed sentimental. When I was deciding on donating some of those items, my husband would always ask me if I was sure, because he thought each one would be sentimental to me… it shocked me to say that I was no longer attached to it/them because it was just an item in my way. I wasn’t using it (or honoring it). I feel differently about stuff now. Sure there are things I keep just because when I look at them they still invoke good feelings about a family member, but I am overcoming any guilty clutter, or clutter that doesn’t remind me of loved one. Hense suitcases (an Era of traveling to see family), bowls my grandmother used, but I don’t need every one… and so on.
You and Dawn have really made a world of difference in how I see stuff. And help me understand identity clutter, guilty clutter, sentimental clutter and just plain garbage. Like you, I could imagine all the potential in “things” and would keep to use or repair (never doing so in a timely fashion). But I have reformed . LOL.
THA NKS!