You might think much time is needed to tackle your most cluttered spaces. You might even think the task is too difficult to do. Clutter does that. By definition, clutter is confused or disordered collections. It is everything you have jumbled together making little sense and leaving you confused and overwhelmed.
Sometimes, clutter just needs the right home. Other times it needs a decision. And that can feel scary because it requires you to dig a little deeper into why you are keeping an item in the first place. As a result, decluttering feels impossible.
When you look at clutter as a whole and try to make sense of it all at once you make it harder to see the task of tackling clutter as possible.
And that will deter you from starting.
If you want to tackle your most cluttered spots to experience the lightness and freedom afforded to you with a decluttered space, you have to shift your thinking and how you address your most cluttered spots.
Instead of seeing your clutter as scary and impossible, see it as opportunistic and possible.
You are, after all, your life architect. You get to choose the contents of your life and edit it as you see fit.
And then, take the scare out of the work so doing this daunting task doesn’t feel so difficult.
Before you declutter do these two things:
1. Give yourself a pep talk.
Remind yourself that you aren’t a bad person, unkempt, or not smart because you have clutter. You aren’t alone! A lot of people experience all kinds of clutter. Affirm your intelligence and strength: I am willing to do what is necessary to declutter. I am smart and can do hard things.
2. Start small.
The minimal mom says “Start at the door, on the floor.” Small can also mean one shelf or one corner of the room. Or, the things on the floor around those spaces. It doesn’t matter where you start so long as you do, and so long as you don’t try to eat the elephant whole. Start small. Set a timer for 20 minutes (10 if it feels more appealing). You can accomplish a lot in a short amount of time with a small starting point.
Then, do this one thing to make palpable, gratifying progress with your most cluttered spaces: Find the obvious.
This is the key and the best tip to tackle even the most cluttered spot. Don’t approach heavily cluttered spaces by thinking you will have to make hard decisions. You might have them to make at some point but to start focus on the obvious. Obvious more than not equals easy. Easy will help you make contagious-producing progress in no time.
The obvious are things that fit into one of three clear categories.
{And when I say clear, I mean there is no decision-making because it is obvious.}
Category one is Trash.
Toss or recycle the following things: items that are ripped, too worn, broken, dried up, used up, damaged, irreparable, and not worthy of donating. Include in this list empty boxes, and old packaging. These obvious items take up a lot of space and when you rid the space of them you will instantly feel lighter.
Category two is Donations.
Look for the things like duplicates and extras you do not like, will not use, and know you don’t need. They make perfect donations for people who are in need. Remember, you are not making any hard decisions right now. You are focusing on the obvious. So if you come across something that feels heavy emotionally, skip it!
Category three is Already has a home.
I love this category because there is much instant gratification in it. Identify the things that don’t belong in that space but have a home elsewhere and move them there. Things like dirty dishes, holiday decor, and utility supplies can be moved to the kitchen sink, the bin in the basement, the mudroom, or the garage.
All of these categories, once addressed will yield you more space. Very often you get cluttered simply because things got away from you. You got busy, so things didn’t find their home, and clutter built up. And when that happens, it not only breeds more clutter but creates a looming fear and sense of impossibility for reducing it.
You can create a masterpiece and tackle your most cluttered spaces. You have the tools and the intellect. All you have to do is start.
