How to Declutter Your Life

You want to learn how to declutter your life, and "decluttering" is a very big topic in itself. In order to be organised, I suggest that you first declutter, then clean, and once that's done, you can organise. Knowing how to declutter your life is the first step towards an organised and stress-free environment.

If we go about this process without some guidelines and benchmarks, the act of decluttering can be very tiring, stressful, unproductive, and generally something you won’t want to do again. I want to prevent this from happening to you, so here are some key guidelines on how to declutter your life.

How to Declutter your Life In A Bit More Detail:

Pick one area

It is better to finish one shelf and have a completed task than to try and take on too much, such as a whole cupboard. Small and steady wins the race. From a psychological perspective, when you do one small thing well, you can move on to something new, and you’ll get the endorphins of a job well done. This approach is key when learning how to declutter your life.

Set a time limit

We do not want to get burned out by overdoing our decluttering session; for most people, how to declutter your life is a taxing task. Small, solid, regular progress is best. It is better to do five minutes consistently than 50 minutes once a month.

Sort through items

The starting point with how to declutter your life is asking ourselves, "What should I throw away or give away, and what will I keep?" Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. A key to learning how to declutter your life is to ask yourself questions while you are decluttering.

Try asking yourself:

What is this item?
Why do I have it?
Where does it belong?

Then, group items in piles (I like to write the name of the pile on a post-it).
Physically group items in piles as you declutter, which will help you learn how to declutter your life.

Clean up

This is very important and often overlooked. Cleaning up means throwing away the items that need to be discarded and wiping your area down while you are decluttering. Cleaning up is not only part of learning how to declutter your life; it helps you keep an organised home in the long term.

Decluttering example:

If you decluttered a drawer and are left with items to keep, place them in the appropriate spot. For example, socks go back in the sock drawer. Before you do this, bin things you no longer need or want, put misplaced items back in their spots, and wipe the drawer down.

How to Declutter Your Life: Make sure you follow up on items that need more work.

You might end up with piles for:

Recycling
Giving to others
Dropping off at the second-hand shop

You can see that the entire decluttering session from start to finish might take 30 or 45 minutes, which is why we do only small areas for a short time. The maximum I recommend, without a professional organiser by your side, is 4 hours, including breaks.

After a while, you will move faster. The most important thing is that you have completed the tasks you set yourself for your decluttering session.

Have a reward

Rewards along the way are undervalued when you learn how to declutter your life. Once you have done some decluttering, reward yourself with something small (a cup of coffee, tea, or a good book). Be proud of your achievement.

Decide on your next decluttering session

To learn how to declutter your life, it is even more important to keep momentum. If you spend an extra 30 seconds to a minute picking a time and place to declutter next, you will be miles ahead of waiting for inspiration to strike. It won’t!

How to declutter your life - Please note!

There a difference between decluttering and organising and a big one at that.

The definition of decluttering:

I would define decluttering as the removal of items you no longer need or want. When you declutter and get rid of stuff, the level to which you declutter your possessions can be placed on a scale with two extremes. You can keep almost nothing (minimalism) or decide to let most of your items stay. Decluttering has a different meaning for different people. I have clients who get rid of most of their worldly possessions. Some, however, declutter very subtly (for example, reducing a book collection from 150 to 120 books).

How To Declutter Your Life, Depends On Your Stage Of Life

With a young family, you need more stuff than a semi-retired couple.

On the other hand, organising is finding or creating a clear, uncluttered, easy (organised) place where you keep the belongings you decide to hold onto.

When you are organised, your overall life and how you use the items you have all work in a flow to support your life and the things you want to achieve. This is a core part of how to declutter your life.