3 Reasons to Start Small When Decluttering

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Does the thought of decluttering create feelings of overwhelm, or, send shudders down your spine?

Do you have several piles of stuff to go through and reorganize to create more space in your home?

If this describes you, and you’re ready to take the plunge, start small.

Some people can organize a garage in no time, or, zip through a closet and make the clutter disappear. 

No worries, we’re all different and need different approaches.

For the most part, starting small works for me as I become easily overwhelmed.  When I start small and declutter in chunks, I’m more liable to maintain the system I’ve created.

What does it mean to start small?

Well, rather than decluttering all the drawers in your night table, start with one of them (preferably, the less messy of the two); instead of decluttering your entire closet, start with one section, or, whatever’s been thrown, I mean, folded on the top; start with a drawer instead of the whole dresser; start with the fridge rather than the kitchen.  Catch my drift?

Here are 3 reasons to start small when decluttering.

1. It’s Easy

In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear outlines that one of the 4 steps to building better habits is to make it easy.  Starting small is easy.  It’s manageable and less overwhelming.

Let’s look at an example.  If your sock drawer is overflowing and your t-shirt drawer is also spilling over, it’s easier to declutter your sock drawer.

A good drawer organizer will help to keep your socks neat and in place, and provide room for a certain amount, only. It’s much easier to decide which socks to keep, rather than t-shirts. After all, it’s highly likely that your socks still fit you, so there’s no need to try them on when deciding which ones stay and which ones to toss, or, which ones to re-purpose into cleaning cloths!

2. A Quick Win

Starting small produces quick wins.  This sense of accomplishment makes a difference.

Any Dave Ramsey fans out there? His debt snowball method is based on paying down debt from the smallest amount to the largest.  Because, when you have a quick win, you feel motivated and have the confidence to keep going.

The same can be applied to decluttering.  You’d be surprised at the positive feelings that can be generated by a neat sock drawer! Think about it, no more rummaging through the drawer to find a pair of matching socks.

At the end of the day, you’re starting to develop some discipline to manage your clutter and, you’re creating a system, with the goal of maintaining it.

3. Pathway to Success

You’ve decluttered your sock drawer and you have a system to maintain it.

Now what?

Move on to the next area. Your t-shirt drawer perhaps?

As James Clear writes, “to build a habit, you need to practice it”. Practicing in small steps can yield big results.   This, in a nutshell, is your pathway to success.