Here are five tough truths that you might encounter on your decluttering journey.
1. You can’t do it all at once.
Unless you decide to dump everything you own or burn your house down, you can’t declutter it in one go. Decluttering is an ongoing effort. It actually takes some people years to find their home’s equilibrium where they feel supported with the things they need, but not overloaded with extras.
Decluttering happens in layers. You get better at it. You build confidence. You see how much lighter and easier areas of your home and life are with less weighing you down. And it makes you see that the effort is worth it, so you go back to it.
What to do about it:
- Accept that decluttering happens gradually. It’s a process you’ll stick with, fail at, succeed with, and start over.
- Let it become a habit. A lifestyle, even. Become an intentional curator in your home until you find your balance.
- Start with easy layers. Don’t jump right to your hobby supplies or your sentimental materials or your paper stacks that require a lot of heavy thought. Instead, get rid of the obvious trash, the damaged items, the unwanted gifts, the cleaning supplies, the freezer storage. You can dig a little deeper each round–don’t start with the hardest things.
Related reading:
- Declutter Fridge & Freezer: Tips & Organization Ideas
- This ONE mental shift makes decluttering EASY
- How To Declutter: The Absolute Basics For Total Beginners
2. You might regret getting rid of something.
“But what if I need this later?”
“What if I miss it?”
These are real anxieties. They often don’t come to fruition, but sometimes they do. We might find a use for that random cord, or we might realize what a part went to after we’ve thrown it away, or maybe we even have to buy a replacement because we have a new use for something that’s already gone.
Here’s the thing–we carry on.
What to do about it:
- Go boldly toward your dreams anyway! The peace and joy that comes with living in a clutter-free home is worth the occasional regret or the rare time that you have to buy something you already got rid of.
- Know that it doesn’t happen frequently.
- Trust yourself to find a way. When I realize I want something I’ve decluttered, it’s always been that it would have been more convenient to have that item on hand, but I’ve always come up with another solution without having to buy anything.
- Remember the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. The overall life improvement of a decluttered space is well worth a slight inconvenience.
- Would you have even been able to find it? Sometimes we only even know that we had that item because we decluttered it. If we hadn’t found it and dedicated the thought toward keeping vs letting go, then we probably would have just bought another of the same item or found another way around having it.
Related reading:
3. If you don’t change your lifestyle, the clutter comes back.
Decluttering once and leaving your habits and lifestyle as-is won’t be sustainable. If you have a constant incoming stream of stuff, you’ll always be playing catch-up.
Living a clutter-free lifestyle is different than the act of decluttering itself. As you do the tough work of decluttering your home, try to stay present with the pain and effort required. Let it rewire your neural pathways to living a more sustainable and less consumerist lifestyle.
What to do about it:
- Work on your consumption habits. If shopping is a hobby for you, you’ll need a new hobby. Think about what shopping does for you (e.g., provides novelty, feels like a treasure hunt, allows you to socialize, gets you out of the house, etc.) and find an activity that replaces that function. Maybe you need to start geocaching or take up painting or set up a date with friends. Fill your emotional need with something else so you can stop filling your house with junk.
- Practice making do. In US society and other hyper-capitalist regions, we’re programmed to have an inconvenience → buy the thing. Have a brief spark of want → buy the thing. See an unmet need → buy a thing. But in reality, most of the purchases we make are NOT necessary. We can find a free solution through shopping our own home, tapping into our community, or checking out local free resources like a library or swap meet.
- Make decluttering a habit. While you shouldn’t need to do MAJOR overhauls regularly, decluttering can be a good regular upkeep routine. Reevaluate what you have in your home. Set systems into place to keep things moving back out as quickly (or faster) as it’s flowing in.
Related reading:
- No Buy Year
- What’s Something You Stopped Buying That Changed Your Life?
- 10 Passive Decluttering Strategies: For people who HATE sorting piles.
4. Decluttering often involves grief.
If you’ve never decluttered, you might be surprised at how much of an emotional toll it can take. Maybe you’re not directly decluttering a past loved one’s old belongings, but you might be decluttering an era in your life. Decluttering is often intertwined with grieving.
What to do about it:
- Be prepared to feel your feelings. Let them pass through you. Have someone with you, if that helps, to tell your stories as you declutter.
- Commemorate it in a smaller way. Take photos. Keep representative items–you don’t have to get rid of it all, just like you don’t have to keep it all.
Related reading:
- Grieving Through The Past As You Declutter Sentimental Items
- What To Do With Your Dead Pet’s Stuff: Decluttering Through Grief
5. No one else wants your junk either.
It can be a tough truth to chew that no one wants your junk. We hold onto housefuls of things because WE find them valuable. Maybe we think our kids will want to inherit it. Maybe we think it can be sold.
But often…no one wants our stuff. Not for money, not even for free. Unless your kids have explicitly stated their interest in something, assume they don’t want it either.
So often, I see parents (and grandparents) hoarding piles and piles of stuff assuming that when they pass, their family will want it all. But their families already have houses full of their own junk! In reality, they might take one or two pieces that mean something to them, but…that’s it.
What to do about it:
- Don’t rely on other people wanting your things. Don’t hoard for your kids (feel free to offer it to them, but if they don’t take it, move forward) and don’t collect items for a garage sale that will probably not happen.
- Move things OUT of your house as you declutter. My mom will make a chat or Facebook group when she’s getting rid of things so she can post a quick photo and allow the family a chance to claim it. That’s totally fine to do–just don’t hold onto things forever. You might even say “this leaves next week–pick it up before then if you want it” to leave space for people to claim it, but also to keep things moving.
Related reading:
