THE most common question I’m asked is “How do I get the Other People who live in my house to declutter?
What do you do when you are ready to declutter, but you feel stuck because so much of the clutter belongs to someone else?
No one likes this answer, but it’s the only one I give and the only one that will help you move forward (while maintaining relationships): Focus on your stuff and neutral stuff.
It’s easy to see other people’s stuff as clutter, but if you have any clutter of your own whatsoever (and I promise, you do), declutter that. Your home will improve. Everyone living in your home will experience what it’s like to live in a house with less stuff, and they may begin to see their own stuff differently and begin to declutter. But even if they don’t, your home will be better just with your own clutter gone.
That’s a very short answer to a big question I’ve talked a LOT about, so here are more words:
Blog Posts
The Biggest Slob Excuse of All (and How I Got Over It)
Decluttering when I’m Confident HIS Stuff is the Problem
Using the Container Concept When Decluttering With Kids
Using The Container Concept with Kids – A Reader’s Story
Podcast Episodes:
281: Other People’s Stuff and Other People’s Opinions Podcast
Video:
Live Q&A Videos:
You’ll find the question answered at timestamps listed next to the video link.
Live Q&A, starts at 2:25 – “Tips for encouraging my husband and children to help clean up after dinner? It’s usually a 5 minute pickup of putting away easy stuff , but it’s like they can’t see individual items.”
Q&A (Marriage Tension Over Decluttering) – beginning at 2:09 My response to a comment “I looked at his stuff and thought that’s where we should start decluttering, he looked at my stuff and thought that’s where we should start…”
This Decluttering Q&A Live session beginning at 02:04 – “I love the container concept and have been working to implement it among my stuff. However, my partner is a “collector”, and any space I clear, he ends up filling back with his stuff. Any advice?”
This Q&A LIve, at timestamp 39.08: “My husband’s “where would I look for it first” is in a mess in a drawer. He won’t listen to the other steps and says he lives in organized chaos. It’s just chaos. He says he knows but he doesn’t lol”
Another helpful Q&A session (timestamp 1:56) – “My husband is addicted to books. “How do I have ‘the talk’ with him (about decluttering) without him getting defensive?”
And this one, timestamp 18:45 – “What do you do when you come across a bunch of your husband’s items and have no idea where they go.”
You Need THE BOOK!
Decluttering at the Speed of Life gives you everything you need to change how you think about your home and your stuff and teaches you the process to get the clutter out! It also addresses this issue in depth.