There’s no shortage of decluttering advice on the Internet. And they make it all sound so….well….simple. Take the standard “three box method” for decluttering:
- One box for donation items
- One box (or large garbage can) for things to get rid of
- One box for items that you want, but don’t belong where they are
Just go through your stuff, fill boxes, and you’ll be set to go. Every time you fill a box put it in your car (donations) outside garbage can (“get rid of”) or put the stuff where it goes (“don’t belong where they are”). Or get a big pile of the donations / “to get rid of” stuff and call somebody like us to haul it off for you.
That’s great advice, if you can make the decisions.
But that’s the whole key – IF you can make the decisions.
People that are decisive and action-oriented typically don’t wind up in situations where clutter is overrunning their house. And the people who give out decluttering advice are frequently not the sort of people who accumulate clutter. Marie Kondo, for example, describes herself as somebody who has always been obsessive about being organized.
So how do you deal with an inability to make decisions?
The short answer is, “stay tuned to our blog!”
The longer answer is that you need to change the way you think. And that takes time.
For example, let’s say you have a closet full of clothes. That closet is full of clothes because, on some level, you want to have that many clothes. This might be because you’re afraid you might need them someday. You might be storing sizes for a body size that you no longer have due to weight loss or gain. You might be keeping an old wedding dress for sentimental reasons, or in the hopes that maybe your daughter will want it someday. Most of these reasons boil down to “just in case (something)”. And while some of those reasons can have a basis in reality, many of them are – quite literally – “all in your head”.
That doesn’t make you weird. It doesn’t make you flawed. It makes you a normal human being. And just like you didn’t accumulate your stuff overnight, you probably won’t be able to get rid of all of it overnight. That’s okay too.
Going forward, we’re going to have a number of articles that encourage you to test the assumptions and mental ideas behind your clutter. You’ll likely find that some of your reasons for holding onto things are valid. You’ll almost certainly find that some of them don’t make sense. And over time, you’ll find your attitude about stuff changing – which will help you learn to let some of it go.
For now, can you help us to help you? Fill out our contact form quick, and let us know what type of stuff has you the most “stuck”. We’ll address the most common responses in upcoming posts!