Decluttering Series Week 1: Decluttering Your Home

I originally wrote this post 3 years ago. THREE. YEARS.

That means the original version was written pre-covid, pre-mid-thirties, and pre-no longer having babies at home.

I can’t. 3 years seems like a lifetime ago. There aren’t enough emojies for this.

So, why am I revisiting this series on decluttering? Well, as I moved into this January, with bigger plans to do decluttering projects and having the Simplified podcast playing in my ears, I realized I’ve learned and grown SO MUCH. Why not share what I know?

As with the first time I wrote this series (you know, EONS ago), we’ll be starting with a (rather lengthy) post with tons of tips on how best to work through decluttering your home. In the next 3 weeks, we’ll be diving into other topics on decluttering, like how to make over your schedule, how to rework your to do list, and how to make some mental shifts for the better.

Before we dive in, I need to tell you that I am NOT the most organized person in the world. I don’t own the fanciest tubs + drawer organizers. And I don’t have every square inch of my home decluttered because THREE KIDS, y’all. (IYKYK.)

I’m also not a minimalist. I’m confident I own too much to qualify for that. Plus, I still like pretty things, even if they don’t serve a purpose other than just being pretty.

Where I fall is somewhere in the middle; hanging on to the things that bring me joy, but also full well knowing the power that comes from parting ways with overwhelming amounts of physical stuff.

What I have is the knowledge that reducing physical things can give our souls room to breathe.

Over the years (and having lived through countless decluttering adventures), I’ve discovered that cutting back on physical stuff, even a little, can do wonders for my mental health. I’ve found that less stuff = less anxiety, less stress, and less overwhelm.

Additionally, less stuff = less to put away each night and less to clean. And that reason right there makes it worth it!

So let’s cut to the chase, shall we? I’ve broken this down into 3 parts. What to plan for before you begin decluttering your home, how to go about the actual task of decluttering, and how to follow up afterword so you’re not left with a half-finished project.

Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Before You Begin Decluttering Your Home

Plan ahead.

Once again, the planner in me is coming out! (Aren’t you excited? I can see your eye rolls from over here.😉) But I truly believe that failure to plan is planning to fail. And I don’t want you to fail before you even begin!

So, before you dive in and tackle anything, I think it’s helpful to decide what you’re going to tackle and when. Don’t wait on Old Man Motivation!

The problem with acting on motivation is that it will either never find you, or, what usually happens to me, is it’ll give you a good start but it won’t take you across the finish line. I can’t tell you how many projects I’ve started only to run out of steam before I finish. I end up with piles of stuff that still need to be gone through and I feel more disorganized than when I began.

So, my advice to you is to NOT jump in and hope for the best. Speaking from experience, you’ll likely run out of steam and motivation, and you won’t finish what you started. Think about when you can really put the time and energy into decluttering a space. Make a plan. Set some time aside. Also…

Start small.

The very first time Cory and I went through our storage room, I was almost too overwhelmed to do it. Just one glance at that disastrous room gave me hives. I didn’t even know where to start.

So, my best advice when it comes to decluttering your home is to just start small. This month, Cory and I are working on going through our whole basement. It’s easy to look at the basement and all the closets and the storage room and wonder how the HECK we’ll be able to tackle all that. So instead, I started with a bookshelf.

A tiny, little, helpless bookshelf that we had just been stacking a few books on over the years. And I had the whole thing decluttered and reorganized in less than an hour.

My point is, you do not have to dive into the biggest project right away. And also, don’t let that huge project overwhelm you to the point of not starting on any decluttering at all! Here’s your permission to start small. A bookshelf, a drawer, a linen closet, etc. Find a small space to start with and use the motivation from that to take on larger projects.

Pick one area at a time to tackle.

Again, this tactic helps to overcome overwhelm.

If you’re looking at your house as a whole right now and wondering how in the world you’ll be able to declutter it all, pick just one space to start.

For us, we’re taking it space by space each month this year. January means decluttering the basement. (Likely the scariest place of all to start decluttering, so I’m not sure I recommend this! But I digress.) Then next month we’ll move on to the kids’ bedrooms/closets. Then our bedroom, the bathrooms, the kitchen, etc.

Remember that decluttering your home is kind of like a marathon. There’s no quick fix or shortcut. It takes time and patience, but the lightness and stress-relief you’ll feel when you’re done is totally worth it!

Step 2: Do the dang thing!

When you’re ready to dive into decluttering your home, here’s how to get through it.  

Create 4 piles as you go.

When I get into a space that needs some decluttering, I’ve found that creating 4 piles is really the fastest and most efficient way for me to move through items. My 4 piles are: Keep, donate, trash, and “maybe.”

Keep. This is the easy and fun pile. These are either things you love or things that serve a purpose and can be put away when you’re done.  

Donate. Toys, clothes, books, kitchen utensils, you name it. Anything that’s still in decent condition and can be taken to a school, a thrift shop, or Goodwill go in this pile.

Trash. Anything that’s broken or missing pieces automatically goes here. Then read below about other thoughts on tossing things. 😊

Maybe. This pile is where I place things when I’m just not sure yet what to do with them yet.

After I’ve gone through everything, then I circle back to my “maybe” pile. Normally, at this point, I’m feeling good about purging and I have an easier time parting ways with most of the items in this pile. Sometimes I ask Cory what he thinks, too. The catch is to not get stuck on the “maybe” pile. Make sure it’s been completely dispersed to either the keep, donate, or trash piles when you’re done!

As you declutter your home, ask yourself some questions.

As you move through the decluttering process, you will need to ask yourself the hard, not-always-fun questions: Will you ever TRULY wear that? Do you really need 14 blankets? Does that vase you received as a wedding gift from your great aunt Rita 11 years ago still need to be kept in storage because you “might” someday find a purpose for it?

My main advice here is to ask yourself what you have that holds value to you. Just because this piece of artwork your Mother gave you had great value to her, doesn’t mean it has great value to you! Keeping things just because you think you should isn’t always the best policy, especially when it comes to decluttering your home.  

This is such a hard one for me. I sometimes find myself hanging on to something just because I feel guilty for parting ways with it. I’m getting better, but it still trips me up. I have to be mindful to silence all the guilt and ask myself what I really feel and think.

Don’t feel guilty about tossing!  

SERIOUSLY. Obviously donate and recycle what you can, but otherwise, throw that junk out!

I feel like our fear of throwing something away can really trip us up here. We convince ourselves that we’re being wasteful or unsentimental by tossing some of our belongings in the garbage. Listen, the stuff you’re holding on to because you’re too afraid to throw it out? That stuff is providing ZERO value to you.

Zero.

Whether you toss it, or it sits in the back of your closet, either way, you’re getting nothing out of it. So don’t wait to find a perfect use for it or to find someone who wants it. If it’s too old/dirty/fill-in-the-blank to donate, then throwing it away provides the same value to you as storing it in your closet where it won’t ever get seen or used.

Random Quick Tip: I’m sure you’ve seen the INSANE amount of papers a kiddo can bring home from school. (#thestruggleisreal, guys) My friend Amanda shared with me that the best thing to do with all the papers is to take a picture of the special items then TOSS them into the trash. Also, if you want to take it a step further, you could someday put all of those photos into a Shutterfly book to keep them together and have just one book of sentimental childhood artwork. Brilliant.

It’s ok to take your time.

As discussed, decluttering your home is not a sprint. There is no race or time to beat. It’s ok to take your time here.

This is especially true if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed. It’s ok to take a break and do something else for a bit before coming back. Maybe working on a storage room for 30 minutes every day for a week is less stressful for you than diving in and spending your entire Saturday on it.  

Take your time, find what works for you, and make sure you get each space where you want it before moving on to the next one.

Don’t let overwhelm convince you to quit.

Speaking of overwhelm… this is totally easier said than done, right? Doesn’t it sometimes feel like we have to make other, smaller messes to clean up the oversized, original mess? Like all we’re doing is taking one pile of stuff and sorting it into other, smaller piles of stuff? (I’m actually convinced that “sorting piles of stuff” is 95% of what I do as a mom. Woof.)

So trust me, I hear ya. Sometimes, unfortunately, you have to make a mess, to clean up a mess. And a lot of times, this is where we quit. We get halfway through and we’re starting to get mentally and physically exhausted and we look around only to feel like we’ve barely made a dent. It makes a person what to throw her hands up in the air and scream!

I’m here to cheer you on when you get to this point. Listen, you might get overwhelmed, but don’t get discouraged and quit! Take a coffee break, leave the house for a few minutes, or just head outside to get some fresh air if you need to. It’s not easy decluttering your home! Don’t be afraid to take a step back if you start to feel overwhelmed by it all.

Step 3: How to finish.

When you’re done, make sure everything has a place.

This is the most important piece of decluttering, I think. If you have stuff leftover that doesn’t have a home, ask yourself if you really need it.

Obviously if the answer is NO, then toss it, my friend. But, if the answer is yes, you need it, then what is required for you to store it? Do you need a few more shelves? Do you need some tubs?

Also, TUBS + Labeling = power. This is the Type A part of my personality, but few things make me happier than seeing matching tubs, all lined up and labeled. Yes, I’m a nerd. But you know what else? I know right where something is when I need it.

Items that are organized and have a home are 1000 times more likely to stay organized instead of becoming cluttered later. (FYI: This is definitely a statistic I made up. No research here. I’m just going with my gut.😉)

Beware of duplicates.

Cory and I have a standing disagreement about our coolers. Do they have a home? Yes. Are they nicely lined up on shelves? Yes. Do they look and feel cluttered? No. But do we really need 12 of them??? This is my question. Cory says yes because “you never know” and “they do have a home.” I say no because now we just have 7 more coolers to unnecessarily move when the time comes!

My point is, even if everything has a home, even if you’re feeling like you’ve downsized and it looks organized, don’t be afraid to do one last deep dive into weeding out duplicates or other random items. Just because something has a home, doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be kept. This is a tricky part of decluttering that we often overlook!

(I’ll also let you know who wins the cooler argument!😬)

Prepare for the decluttering hangover.

I feel like this is something people rarely talk about. Who knows, maybe I’m the only person that feels this way…

When I get an area of my home all cleaned out and I look around at everything I want to toss or donate, I initially feel pumped. Look at everything I did! Look at this junk I’m getting out of my house! Look at me go!

But the next day, I sometimes feel what I call, the “decluttering hangover.” I start to doubt a lot of choices I made the day before. Should I have tossed that artwork from my preschooler? What if I need that random kitchen chair I inherited from my Grandmother someday? What if sweet Aunt Karen finds out I donated the quilt she made for me?!

The horror!

Listen, I’m here to tell you that these feelings are normal, and if you give it day, you’ll realize YOU MADE ALL THE RIGHT CHOICES. You removed clutter and things from your house that weren’t bringing value to you. You took a step in the right direction by giving yourself a chance to breath from the stress that comes with owning SO MANY THINGS. If you’re feeling the hangover, remind yourself what an amazing job you did! And then embrace how much lighter you feel now from owning less stuff.

Wrapping Up.

Again, I will reiterate that I am not a professional organizer or a minimalist. But, I do find value in simplifying and reducing the clutter we surround ourselves with at home. Our homes should be a life-giving place, not a stressful space.

Decluttering your home is by no means easy, but it’s definitely worth it! Stay tuned next week when we’ll chat about decluttering your schedule!

***OVER TO YOU: Are you looking to declutter your home? If so, which tip helped the most and where do you plan to start? Let me know in the comments!