How to Declutter When Overwhelmed: 4 Easy Steps
Does the thought of decluttering when you’re already feeling overwhelmed seem impossible?
Do you feel stuck and unsure of where to start?
If this describes you, take heart that the strategies outlined here will make a big difference in your decluttering process. And, help you achieve your goal of a clutter-free home.
It’s no surprise that when you feel overwhelmed by clutter, it’s hard to get started. This can result in procrastination and before you know it, you don’t end up doing anything at all.
Days turn into weeks. Weeks into months. Now, your clutter is even worse and the thought of plowing through it seems like a big project that looks unmanageable.
Rest assured, these simple steps are designed for you to start decluttering when feeling overwhelmed and to be consistent with your decluttering sessions.
Before You Start
Before you even start though it is important to give yourself some grace and exercise patience.
First, you want to acknowledge the lay of the land.
Keep in mind that acknowledgment does not mean blame. It means owning the decisions that you’ve made. If you collapse it with blame, you run the risk of feeling sorry for yourself or continuing to come up with “reasons” for not taking action.
And, it’s well known that if you continue down the same path, you’ll undoubtedly get the same results.
So, own your clutter and decide to chip away at it, consistently.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
NOW, let’s dive in.
And, look at some ways to start decluttering when feeling overwhelmed.
Get Clear About Your Goal
What’s the vision you have for your home?
Or, to break it down even further, what’s the vision for a particular room in your home?
WRITE IT DOWN.
Make it visible so that you can reference it to keep you motivated.
So, when you don’t feel like decluttering, and trust me, there are plenty of times that you won’t feel like it, you can remind yourself of your vision.
In all honesty, it’s hard to see the beauty of your home when it’s cluttered. Consider what’s possible with a clear space.
At the end of the day, clutter can get in the way of clear thinking and clear functioning.
Start Small
This is the foundation of the Declutter Starter Guide. Start with a small space in your home and achieve a quick win.
Instead of decluttering your entire dining room, start with the dining room table. Rather than decluttering the whole living room, start with the coffee table. When you make small gains, your level of confidence increases.
For those of you familiar with Dave Ramsay’s debt snowball method for paying off debt, this is similar. Pay off the lowest amount of debt first and build the muscle to tackle the next highest and so on and so forth.
There’s no time like the present to start developing your decluttering muscle.
Use the S.O.R.T. Decluttering Process
Using the S.O.R.T. Decluttering Process is a great way to assist in your decision-making when you’re overwhelmed and have too much stuff.
Start with either an entire room or a particular spot in a room. Then, label the items that need to be decluttered.
Use sticky notes, tape, some type of identifier.
Now, unsurprisingly, trash is easy. And, can be dumped right away.
Operational things, AKA items that are useful and serve a specific purpose and recreational items, require a bit more thought.
Finally, your sentimental items are the most difficult to declutter.
Take a look at the post referenced above for some questions to ask yourself about each category of items.
20 Minutes A Day
The final step is committing to 20 minutes of focused, decluttering activity.
That’s right – 20 minutes per day.
A lot can be accomplished in 20 minutes.
You can watch an entire sitcom episode, minus commercial breaks.
You can walk one mile in 20 minutes.
Furthermore, think about how much social media you can consume over a 20-minute time period. I’m going to say, a fair bit.
So, if you look at a pile and think, “Wow, this is going to take a long time,” it will be easier to talk yourself out of it.
Instead, you want to look at the same pile with the different perspective of, “Okay, I’ve got 20 minutes to get through as much of this as I can.” Maximize the time that you have.
Set a timer and take action. Rinse and repeat the next day.
These small chunks of time add up. Two hours and 20 minutes per week, to be exact.
Don’t pressure yourself that into thinking that you need to the declutter the entire house in one weekend.
At the end of the day, persistence leads to real progress.
Recap
As you can see there are practical steps you can take to start decluttering when feeling overwhelmed.
With some planning and making small changes, you will be able to see a noticeable difference over time.
Remember, be kind to yourself and be patient. This is a process.
Don’t beat yourself up about your clutter.
You’re now ready to take action with these steps:
- Get clear about your goals: write down your decluttering goals and place them where you can see them. This will help keep you motivated.
- Start small: thinking you can get everything done in a single day adds to overwhelm. Decluttering small areas of your home is less daunting and encourages you to keep going.
- Use the S.O.R.T. Decluttering Process: this method helps you think more clearly about your decluttering decisions, making the process less stressful.
- Declutter 20 minutes a day: a little bit of decluttering each day goes a long way over time when you build in this habit.
Follow these simple steps and you will gradually start to see improvement. Your small changes will have a big impact.
Remember, consistency is key.
What have you got to lose? Well, clutter of course!
Get rid of the clutter and you may just find it was blocking the door that you’ve been looking for. — Katrina Mayer