Decluttering: How to Fight Overwhelm, Feel Calmer and Get Started
Do you often feel like your home is a mess? Want to declutter but you don’t know where to start? If so, you’re not alone. We can help. In this simple, clear and practical guide, learn how to make decluttering achievable and get started right away.
The state of our personal spaces can have a huge impact on our lives and mental health. Coming home to a calm, ordered home can help us feel more peaceful and rest more easily. After all, to achieve joyful minimalism, we need to make sure we focus on the joy, not just the minimalism.
What is decluttering?
The word ‘decluttering’ refers to the process of getting rid of the items in your home that you no longer need or use. When decluttering, you can choose to either keep or throw away your items, depending on their condition, value and importance to you. When decluttering, it’s important to focus on the reasons behind your desire to clean. If you’re decluttering to create more space, you might want to consider selling or donating your unwanted items. When decluttering, it’s important to remember that ‘less’ is different than ‘nothing’. You can declutter your home without getting rid of everything. You can declutter a single room or even a single drawer.
Why do we feel overwhelmed when decluttering?
When we start to declutter our homes, it’s almost inevitable that we will feel anxious. In fact, many people experience what is known as “declutter anxiety”. When we feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we need to sort through, this can lead to us feeling stressed and anxious about how much work is left to do. This is because when we start to declutter our homes, we’re not only dealing with the physical items; what we “see” isn’t just the mess on the floor or the items we need to organise. When we declutter, we’re also dealing with our memories, emotions and mindsets.
How to start decluttering and stop feeling overwhelmed
In order to declutter your home without feeling overwhelmed, you’ll need to prepare yourself for this process. It’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed when decluttering, but there are a few ways to reduce the amount of anxiety you feel.
- Identify why you want to declutter – When you start to declutter, you need to have a specific reason behind your desire to clean. If you’re decluttering to create more space, you might want to consider selling or donating your unwanted items. If you’re decluttering to reduce stress, you might want to limit yourself to a single room or drawer.
- Schedule time to declutter – If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work you have left to do, try scheduling time to declutter. This will help you avoid the common mistake of trying to do too much at once, which often leads to feelings of anxiety and overwhelm.
- Focus on how you want to feel – When you’re starting to declutter, it’s important to think about how you want to feel once the process is complete. Thinking about how much space you’ll save or how much less stress you’ll have can make you feel overwhelmed.
- Make it a game – If you’re feeling incredibly anxious about starting to declutter, it’s okay to make it into a game. You can even challenge yourself to see how quickly you can finish.
Conclusions
Start small – It’s important to remember that ‘less’ is different than ‘nothing’ when you’re decluttering. If you have trouble starting to declutter your home, try limiting yourself to a single drawer, a single room or even just a few items. Once you get those small items out of the way, it will be much easier to move on to the rest of your home.
Make it easy – start by sorting items that you’re not emotionally invested in. When you’re not emotionally invested in the items, it’s easier to evaluate their true value and whether you really need them or not.
Be kind to yourself – When you’re decluttering, it’s important to remember that it’s okay to be a little bit messy. You don’t have to be a perfect housekeeper to be happy or healthy. These items weren’t gathered together in one day, and you don’t have to sort them in one day either.
Next steps
Now you know how to get started, think about where to get started. For some location-specific guidance, check out the Joyful Minimalism Step by Step guides to tidying your kitchen, your desk or your fridge.
