Help me declutter
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Anonymous
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I actually need to go through my entire house, but my office needs to be first.
What are the first steps I should take? I am having a difficult time getting started. |
Anonymous
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I think you’re doing the right thing with a room by room approach. If even that seems daunting, maybe try and ‘area by area’ approach within a room. Desk, bookshelves, left side, right side…
Have a couple of boxes- one of stuff to trash, one of things you need but don’t use regular and could be boxed up. Give yourself a small reward when you fill a ‘to be trashed’ box or clear an area. Like permission to watch an episode of a tv show. Or have an accountability partner that you report in to on a weekly basis. Or take a picture of ‘before and after’ as you make progress. Whatever will motivate you. |
Anonymous
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Watch one episode of hoarders.
Then get started. Seriously. |
Anonymous
| I'm in same boat. Following. |
Anonymous
| Just get a trash bag and go room by room. You can bag the trash, make a goodwill or donation pile, and make a "keep" pile. Everything has to fit into 1 of the 3 categories and stick to it. You're on the right track with a room by room approach! |
Anonymous
| I really believe in the structure of the Marie Kondo book. You can modify it, but the basic process of empty/pile, sort, organize into storage is good. |
Anonymous
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This is a Youtube guy who cleans hoarder/very cluttered houses and he has some good practical tips on how to go about cleaning very cluttered spaces without getting overwhelmed. Basically, you can't go about it the way you would an uncluttered house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1CKWAqvYuY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIsOe_lVSfs&t=406s If your house isn't that bad, I find the approach of this lady very practical as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K44j4gSVOQ |
Anonymous
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In your office, go drawer by drawer and, if applicable, shelf by shelf.
You don’t need 100 clips. Throw most away. Throw old books and pamphlets away. This will be blasphemous to some, but don’t get in the trap about wondering what to donate and what to throw away. Just throw it all away. It will set you free. |
Anonymous
| Also, use the what-if-I-die-tomorrow approach. Wouldn’t you hate to make your kids go through your stuff and deal with getting rid of it? Pare down to the bare bones. Don’t saddle your kids with it. |
Anonymous
| I recently cleaned up my office. I started with a closet - I took everything out of the closet, and only put back in in an organized way, what I wanted to keep. What I wanted to donate/give away went in one pile, and toss in another. It only took a couple of hours, was enough for one day, and felt completely rewarding. I'm dreading dealing with the filing cabinet, which will lead to needing lots to be shredded. And the desk, which I will break into sections (drawers, hutch, desktop). S all buts at a time until you are done. Slow and steady and all that |
Anonymous
Not the pp, but if their comment seemed flippant, I can attest it's really helpful if you struggle getting started! |
Anonymous
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I have ADHD and have serious clutter problem. But I just had to deal with my Parent's junk and don't want to do that to my DS. So I read some online articles about Swedish Death Cleaning. Which is about making things easier for your family once you are gone. Doesn't mean you have to throw everything away. Keep sentimental things, but put a note with it that says it can be tossed once you are gone.
I realized I kept a lot of stuff for the person I used to be (hello old clothes) or the person I want to be, but aren't (hello unfinished craft projects). So I had to be really clear about who I am today. And what works for my life today. Then I went in with the mentality that I was throwing everything away. Then only kept the things that I actively use now or within the next year (like xmas decorations). But this change really helped me because I have a hard time letting go of things. So by forcing myself to throw everything away, I could focus on what to keep. I also gave myself permission to not donate anything. That's my other sticking point. I had category of things to definitely throw away and maybe throw away/donate. DH went through that box and decided what could be donated. But I suspect 90% was thrown away. But I didn't have to make that decision. (decision fatigue is real) Then, the stuff I kept had to have a home. Figure out where it goes, so when it's time to clean up, you know where it goes. The most useful thing I used is FocusMate. It's a way to have someone virtually keep you accountable. |
Anonymous
This is huge. So many people have storage full of stuff they don't use, so the stuff they do use is sitting around, cluttering up the house. I take the approach that anything that is in a closet or drawer is suspect and subject to being tossed if I haven't touched it within X months. Once you get rid of the stuff that's filling up storage, then you can find a home for the stuff you actually do use. The biggest help is the place for a thing be close to where it is used and, very importantly, easy and convenient to put away. If you have something you use all the time, and you have to walk upstairs or move something to put it away, chances are that's not going to happen. Make a storage space if you need to. My DH always has a bunch of little things (business cards, nuts and bolts, etc) that he is "using" and wants to leave on the kitchen island. So a bought an attractive glass bowl with a lid that sits on the island and that's where all his stuff can go. Also, inheriting too much stuff from several people (including a hoarder house), has given me a huge impetus to get rid of clutter. I do keep some sentimental things, but I got rid of a lot of stuff when I realized that I have no obligation to keep what was sentimental to my parents, and my kids would have no interest in a lot of the things that are sentimental to me after I'm gone. Agree that you shouldn't give a second thought to trashing (vs. donating) things that you've bought, but I do think taking some time to think about sentimental things helps. There were things that I couldn't bring myself to throw away, but I thought about who would like to have these things and made an effort to find them a new home. I had a nice collection of old photographs of people (not family) I didn't know from my Mom's home town. It turned out that the local historical society was thrilled to get them. Box in the mail. Done. I inherited an art collection that was nice, but not hugely valuable. I kept the pieces that I liked and could display, and donated the rest to a museum that has an exhibit of this type of art. I told them they could auction or donate elsewhere if they didn't want to display them. I had extended family members that wanted some heirlooms that I didn't have room for. I thought I might be sad getting rid of these things, but it was actually very liberating. I did see a video about decluttering clothing that had the same thought about not keeping clothes that you bought for "another version of you" that only exists in your mind and that you don't really wear, and I really like that. |
Anonymous
| DP who also needs desperately to do this. Thank you to the people who have answered. You guys are awesome and inspiring me. |
Anonymous
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Decide to paint the room or carpet it (for real or just as a mental exercise) Box everything up. You will have to touch everything, so a lot will get tossed. Then when you put everything back since you like the clean look of the room, you will only put back so much stuff, and start with the stuff you actually use. Toss the rest.
We had some water damage on the top floor of our house so we had to do this in all the bedrooms. We got rid of a ton. |