Clutter can pile up over time and become quite overwhelming. If you’re facing this situation, you are definitely not alone. Different polls have revealed that around 55 to 90 percent of people find clutter overwhelming some or all of the time. Fortunately, there are effective ways to overcome this challenge.
1. How to think about clutter
Your thoughts have a major impact on your chance of success. Keep in mind that you’ll need to learn and practice before you can declutter efficiently. Don’t expect yourself to excel at it immediately; it’s not something everyone knows how to do. Luckily, you have access to plenty of helpful online advice.
It’s also important to look at the results of decluttering in the right way. Rather than thinking about giving up items that cost you money in the past, realize that you’re gaining space, time and peace of mind. You might also save cash because you can live in a smaller home or stop renting a storage unit.
2. Find the root of the problem
Decluttering won’t help much if excess items keep entering your house every week. Take the time to honestly identify the major sources of clutter. Maybe you can’t resist buying any product you see at a bargain price. On the other hand, perhaps your spouse or a friend is to blame. Take action to keep the clutter at bay.
3. Begin decluttering now
Don’t procrastinate, overthink or make excuses. A lot of big tasks seem overwhelming: building a house, losing 50 pounds, writing a book. Still, many people have accomplished them and so can you. Start now. The key is to take it one step at a time. Don’t think about decluttering as one huge, overwhelming project or you’ll never get started.
Focus on one area at first. For example, you might declutter your coffee table, a bookcase or the inside of a refrigerator. You could even start with a car’s glove compartment or trunk. After you finish this task, choose another specific area. You can split large spaces into multiple sections, such as the closet floor, shelves and hangers.
Listening to music may help you get things done as long as it doesn’t distract you. You shouldn’t have to choose each song or switch channels every five minutes. Avoid anything visual like a TV show; it will slow you down by taking your eyes off the items you need to sort.
4. Make decisions easier
It’s tiring to decide what to do with each of 100 different items. Should you keep, donate, recycle, sell or fix it? Whatever it is, simply decide. Decluttering takes energy, don’t let deciding to do a thing take up as much of your energy.
With the right techniques and thoughts, this process can be much less overwhelming. Remember that you don’t have to be perfect or finish everything this weekend. Even if you only find 20 or 30 minutes for decluttering each day, every step in the right direction will make a difference in your life.
Inherited Mom’s home, she passed away in it. Moved my apartment on top of her over stuffed house. I’m a disabled widow. Where do I begin?
With a child, it is really difficult to clean the whole apartment so that it is nice. There is a problem with organizing time. More and more often I have the impression that I cannot cope with the housework.
Gee, what a great blog! For coffee in the morning to stimulate the head to think about more efficient and better implementation of topics at home. Thanks.
This is a great article for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by their mess. It offers simple, actionable steps for decluttering your space. I appreciate that it offers both physical and emotional decluttering tips. This is a great resource for anyone who is feeling stressed by their surroundings.
Getting overwhelmed is a surefire way to continue to live in clutter. It just seems so difficult to get started sometimes! Taking that first step really helps. Great tips.
Clutter is a problem, especially when you consider the mental impact that it can have on someone. Focusing on the source of the issue before determining solutions from there is best.