Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff

by Dana K. White

A few years ago, before we all had smartphones, we decided to order pizza while at my in-laws’ house. I asked my mother-in-law where her phone book was. She heavy-sighed and said she had no idea. For years she kept it in the bottom of her china cabinet. But someone had cleaned out the china cabinet for her and moved the phone book to a much better spot. Better, except she had no idea where it was.

IMPERFECT DECLUTTERING IS BETTER THAN NOT DECLUTTERING The goal is less. Any decluttering project that ends with less than you had when you started is a success.

You might work for days, or you might only have the stamina to work for five minutes at a time. Do what you can, whenever you can, as often as you can.

Decluttering isn’t easy. It’s heart-wrenching, takes time, and requires changing the way you’ve done things in the past and the way you view your stuff. Having someone help you, whether paid or unpaid, can be stressful. Make a conscious choice to view it as a positive thing, as a blessing that will help you move further in your own decluttering efforts more quickly than you could move alone.

I think to myself (and sometimes out loud), I’ll have to deal with that at some point, so why bother now? But I always, always regret that thought.

Break your paralysis by using your stuff.

Grief is a thing. It happens whether you’re planning for it or not. Some people manage to go their entire lives without bringing home a minivan full of things they don’t actually need, but no one avoids the pain of life not going exactly as he or she planned.

I realized grief is more than intense sadness and can be present at times when you don’t even realize you’re grieving. Grieving is the process of emotionally navigating a loss. Navigating the loss of a dream is where grief can come as a surprise. It’s possible to grieve something you never had.

Dreams are difficult to declutter. Don’t start with dreams. Get rid of easy stuff first. Decluttering momentum is real, and the worst place to start is with the stuff that makes your heart hurt. Don’t start with the stuff that makes you feel like you’re donating a piece of your soul.

Ultimately, decluttering at the speed of life is a matter of living a lifestyle of decluttering. Acknowledge that decluttering is a constant task and will be a constant task for the rest of your life. (Sorry.)

The only real way to change your view of clutter is to declutter. The only way to break through that paralyzing feeling of being overwhelmed is to declutter. The only way to not be intimidated by the boxes and piles and closets full of stuff is to declutter. And now you know exactly where to start. Grab a trash bag and throw away trash. Decluttering isn’t a once-and-for-all task, but it is a task that gets easier every time. And unlike floors that get muddy and dishes that get dirty, once something leaves your home, it’s gone. You’ll never need to declutter that item again.

As you throw away trash and start with the easy stuff, view every space in your home according to your present. Plan for the future and acknowledge the past, but live now. Commit to creating a home that makes living now fun.

If you dream of a home where you could just scrub or just mop without first spending an hour (or more) clearing the surfaces you need to scrub and mop, declutter.