Decluttering Your Home: The Good, The Bad + The Unexpected Results.
I’m writing this as a PSA for all of us out there on our home decluttering journey…the seasoned declutterer, to the just starting, ‘it is my first rodeo’ crew. I want you to know what you’re up against when you declutter in your home. What benefits can you expect? What roadblocks are lurking around to jump in your way? I want to take away the mystery, once and for all!
Decluttering, like many things, has so many stigmas around it: it leads to a scarcity mindset, it’s a waste of time, it takes too long, you’ll give away things you shouldn’t, you’ll let be left with a stark white, boring home, etc. Once we unpack the truth about decluttering, you’ll be able to see which of these will easily fall off the bandwagon of stigmas.
So we’re going to lay it all out of the table here so you know EXACTLY what to expect the next time you start decluttering in your home, whether it’s your 1000th time or your 1st. Let’s dig into the clutter!
1. YOU MIGHT FEEL FRUSTRATED AT FIRST.
When you start decluttering, there’s a lot of unknowns. What decisions will I make? Will I make the right ones? Can I get through the stuff I want to? And I’ll just shoot you straight - starting decluttering is the worst part. But once you get going, it gets easier and then the actual motivation comes to keep you going!
2. THERE’S NOT GOING TO BE A ‘RIGHT TIME’ TO START.
A lot of people get caught up in waiting for the ‘right time’ to declutter, only to find that everyday life will bulldoze your time. Decluttering must be intentionally planned into your time, but it doesn’t have to take a lot of time.
And guess what, never will there be a ‘right’ day to start. But here’s the good news, ANY day can be the best day to start. Start small. I’m talking 5 minutes and your everyday bag. See where it goes from there. If you’re worried about having enough time in your day? Declutter a high traffic space in your home. Worried about getting your kids out the door to school with less chaos? Declutter your drop/exit zone. Want to get dressed easier each day? Declutter your clothing closet/drawers.
To recap: declutter to save time - and stop worrying about the right to start because it doesn’t exist!
3. THERE WILL BE THINGS YOU ENJOY ABOUT IT.
Yes, let’s imagine us enjoying the decluttering process…it’s possible! You might discover things you’ve been looking for. You might learn about things you no longer need so you don’t waste money down the line. You’ll clarify what is useful, valuable and life-giving to you and, most importantly, what’s draining you. You might find you love the quick dopamine burst you get having a short 10 minute decluttering sesh to clear out a drawer or your everyday bag; this short burst helps you feel a bit more in control of things during your chaotic day. There’s a lot more to this, but this is just the start of reasons why you might end up enjoying decluttering!
4. YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME REGRETS.
Truthfully, I can count on less than one hand that I either forgot I had decluttered something and went looking for it or I wanted it back. And even when this happened, I quickly moved on from it and it was not an actual issue. I was quickly fine with it being gone. If you find yourself in this situation, ask some more questions about why you are looking for it, see if you can use something else, and then if you absolutely must replace it, make sure it is something you’ll use frequently and have adequate space for. If you considered decluttering it at one point, it’s likely not worth bringing it back in your home, even in a newer or different version.
I believe the biggest regrets of decluttering come from realizing that you should have done it sooner. The weight of your stuff becomes apparent when you start removing things from your home that you don’t use or love. When you start feeling that physical shift in your home environment, you’ll wish you would have let yourself part with these things sooner, despite being unsure about how you’d feel after. Now you know.
5. YOU MAY HAVE TO PUSH PAST SOME GUILT.
The guilt that surfaces while decluttering is real. Some of it surfaces as sunk costs. This is money you spent on the item and feel bad or embarrassed about spending what you did, only to be left with something you don’t use. The bigger embarrassment here is not that you spent good, hard-earned money on something, its doing nothing about it. As a result, you end up surrounding yourself with things that weigh you down, cluttering up your daily routines and life, making them harder than they need to be. This is a strong cocktail for preventing you from living well!
Guilt also comes in the form of time. The longer you wait to declutter that spare bedroom, the closet you’ve been avoiding, your crowded kitchen drawers, the harder it is for your brain to take action. But again, remember the secret sauce to success here is merely starting! Start messy. Start unsure. But just start!
Guilt also comes from self-doubt. This guilt comes from believing you’re not good at decluttering, not a good homemaker, or have lost control over your home. Allowed of thoughts can make you quit all together. And I have to tell you, none of this is true. This is your brain sharing tricky, unhelpful thoughts with you that we CAN redirect to get unstuck. You are good enough and you CAN make some small shifts to change everything! You CAN!
6. YOU’LL FEEL LIGHTER IN MANY WAYS.
The lightness in your home after you’ve decluttered is unmatched. Once you’ve removed things from your physical space that you no longer need, the space that is created and reduced visual fatigue, simply because of looking at less, creates a new level of calm in your brain. Creating spaces in your home that help you rest and recharge is essential for your overall well-being.
You’ll be shocked at the peace you create in your mind by decluttering areas that are not readily visible. You know what’s there. Your brain and your body keeps a log of all the zones in your home that need help, that frustrate you, that you spend countless hours digging through to find things. I don’t believe in ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is a real thing. You mind is keeping a log and it’s causing stress that we then carry daily in our body. When you attack these forgotten spaces, you’ll feel unexpected peace.
This new level of peace comes from knowing you can find something, even if it’s hidden. Knowing that you can open your kitchen cabinet and see everything in order at a glance, that your kids can help themselves to toys and be able to put them away, that you can see the food low in stock in your pantry and reduce waste because you know what you have.
This lightness takes the feelings of frustration and the unknown we discussed at the beginning, and turns them into known, predictable ease throughout your home. It allows you to clarify essentials/values, helping you create visible simplicity by taking control over your spaces, simply by removing what you don’t use, value or love from your home. These things leaving your home are what allows you to create space for the life you want.
WHAT TO DO NEXT:
Are you ready to learn strategic steps to help simplify the process of decluttering in your own home? Learn to declutter anything, anywhere in your home in small bursts, without the overwhelm.
Check out my slew of decluttering resources below to help you take action now. ↓↓↓↓↓
+ Download my free declutter guide to get you taking quick + easy decluttering action in your own home (linked in profile).
+ Click the follow button for @fuzzyhipposhop to follow along for more decluttering tips + basics to get you unstuck in your home on instagram!
+ Check out more free decluttering resources HERE!
+ Check out more decluttering tools + guides HERE!
+ See our clients’ favorite decluttering resources:
All Access Home Bundle (includes 9 of our top declutter/organizing guides!)
Declutter Your Home Masterclass
Parents + Kids Guide To Decluttering
1 Week Home Reset Kit
Thanks for following along as we lighten the load of home + simplify our everyday to live better.
Please drop any comments + questions below. I’d love to here from you! // Kristin
