Three Ways to Jump-start Decluttering
If you’re like most people in the DC area, the idea of decluttering may not initially spark joy, but once you put in the effort, the end result always does. As a professional organizer based out of Montgomery County, MD, I always strive for my clients to feel empowered in decluttering, and these three simple steps come in handy for creating space for what matters.
1. The Fifteen-Minute Win
One of my organizing icons, Shira Gill, author of Minimalista, recommends “just try it for fifteen minutes.” The principle is that you can do anything for fifteen minutes and if you tell yourself that, you’re more likely to get started. Once you actually get started, odds are, you may decide to keep tackling that task for even longer. The key is to pick one single task such as “sort out expired spices” or “pick out clothing to donate from just one drawer.” Next, set a timer, and allow any resistance that comes up to stay there. For example, if you feel uncomfortable, that’s okay. By letting the discomfort linger, and working through it, you are practicing perseverance and it will make you feel more at ease each time this feeling comes up in the future.
2. Word Choice Matters
When I was a collegiate runner at Penn State, we had this amazing sports psychologist, Dave Yukelson, who would coach athletes on overcoming the head games that get in the way of personal success. When my legs started giving out after going into the last lap of the mile, I would repeat a mantra of “you can do this.” The same thing stands true with decluttering and organizing. It really helps to keep your words (both in your head and spoken) positive. Instead of using the term “purging,” which envisions something from The Exorcist, try using “editing” because it reframes the action in a positive light. You, the owner of your belongings, are making a concentrated, happy effort, to edit out what you don’t need. See, didn’t that just sound beautiful and empowering?
3. Never underestimate how good it feels to give something you’re not using to someone who needs it
I once read this on a fellow organizer’s Instagram, and it puts in perspective how those things that are collecting dust, and we’re keeping “just in case” could be actually used all the time by someone else. Think, that shirt that you never wear, those kids shoes that you bought, but your child never wore, or has grown out of, your extra luggage that you already replaced, but are keeping for that one time…just in case.
The easiest way to get rid of something is to simply donate it to a physical store. In Montgomery County and Northwest DC when we’re decluttering and downsizing for clients, I find that Goodwill, thrift shops, the Green Drop in Friendship Heights, and Habitat for Humanity have good accept and accept a wide range of items. However, if you’d really like to choose the best home, you can always join a Buy Nothing group, and post the item, and decide who you’d like to gift it to. This recently worked well for our client in Bethesda, that when I posted the item, and it was picked up 1 hour later. Also, if applicable you can look into a local charity or shelter to donate goods. Along with donating items, a yard sale is an awesome collaborative way for goods to find homes that will actually use those items.
And, by the way, if you’re still scared to get rid of that “just in case” item, remember, it’s just as easy to borrow an item. So, if you happen to give something away that you find later you actually need, I’m sure a friend or someone from your local community listserv would be more than happy to lend it to you for that “one time” you do need it.