Have you ever had that urge, when you feel completely overwhelmed and overstimulated as a mum to just grab a black bag and chuck everything out?
Same.
There is something very therapeutic of just getting rid of stuff and feeling our stress levels go down with each thing we get rid of.
There is a reason for this, studies have shown that clutter in our homes affects women more than it does men.
So clutter raises our cortisol and decluttering helps bring it back down.
Related read: Why mums need less things
The issue with decluttering is that it itself is a little bit overwhelming.
You know the feeling.
We look around the house, there is stuff everywhere, you can’t find anything, the clothes won’t fit in the drawers properly, there are toys and things everywhere.
So you decide ‘right that is it’ and you get out your bin bag and you are going to declutter every single inch of the house and be more minimalist.
But after a room or two, or maybe sooner – we tend to lose steam.
It’s overwhelming an we are a bit tired and fed up .
You’ve pulled things out of cupboards etc and it looks a hundred times worse than it did to begin with.
We end up just leaving things for another day.
It’s not us, what we actually need is more of a decluttering system.
Doing it all in one day is just setting us up for failure!
So where do I start with decluttering?
If your home is already pretty decluttered – then you probably need more of a decluttering system to help you keep on top of it and to stop it getting overwhelming.
If you don’t have a more minimal home, and you feel like everything is just cluttered and chaotic – doing a 30 day challenge will be more helpful as a starting point, and then move onto a system.
If you do already have a pretty decluttered home, but just want a bit of kick-start – a challenge will also be good for you too.
I will be talking about both in this blog post!
What room should I declutter first?
If you are overwhelmed about starting, I suggest starting in the bathroom.
It’s usually one of the smaller rooms.
We don’t tend to keep sentimental things in the bathroom either, so that makes it a bit easier to decide on what you are doing with everything.
It’s clearer if it’s a keep/throw/donate/should be somewhere else item.
So start here.
Go to the corner of the room that makes the most sense to start in, and just move your way around the room doing each section as you go.
I usually use a laundry basket for things that don’t belong in that space.
And just grab a couple of bags for the donate or throw pile.
There is a little number on the back of most products that tells you once their open how long they are okay for – it might say 12m or 24m – so bear in mind how long a product has been open.
Don’t overthink things.
The reason it’s a good idea to start in the bathroom is because it gets the momentum going.
The hardest part for a lot of these types of things is starting and then things becoming overwhelming.
The bathroom is pretty straight-forward and shouldn’t be a huge ordeal.
This will give us the momentum to start the next room.
The secret is, is to do it a bit at a time – you are going to burn yourself out if you try and do your entire home in one go.
Just do the bathroom and then the next day do a different room, or the next week do a different room.
Some questions to help you decide what to keep
Pick up each thing – ask yourself:
- Is it something you use?
- Have you used it in the last 6 months?
- Are you actually going to use it?
- Do you like it?
- If there was a fire or if this was covered in dog poo – would you replace it?
(Obviously only that thing went on fire and nobody or anything else was hurt in this analogy)
The most important part of decluttering
The REALLY important part is that at the end, when you have finished the room that you put those things where they should be.
Put the donate pile in your car and plan when you are going to take it, or arrange for it to be picked up.
Empty the basket of things that aren’t where they should be and put them in their right spots.
Take the bin bag to the outside bin.
Actually finish the task.
Just start
It can be overwhelming starting – we have a lot of stuff and a lot of rooms.
Just don’t overthink it – just pick one room and then do that room.
Start with the bathroom.
If for whatever reason the bathroom isn’t going to work for you – just start with the next room that doesn’t seem too daunting.
Just start.
Once you start, the momentum will build quickly and it won’t be as much of an ordeal anymore.
Focus on that end result – how nice it’s going to be walking into that room and it being all decluttered and calm.
After the room is done, each time you walk in you’ll get a little dopamine hit as well which is always good!
How to deal with decluttering sentimental items
The part of decluttering that can trip us up is dealing with those more sentimental items.
The kids artwork.
Thing family members have left you or have given you.
Things tied to memories or other emotions.
If you are in the middle of decluttering a room, and you get to some sentimental items and you can’t decide what to do with them – set them aside for now and just keep going with the room.
Come back to them later.
Make sure you do come back to them though.
When you are doing sentimental items that you can’t decide on, come back to them at a time you have some peace and quiet – maybe when the kids are out or in school and ask yourself some questions.
- Do I love this?
- Do I want to keep it?
If the answer is yes – then keep it!
If it’s something that is tucked away somewhere, find a way of displaying it in your home so you can actually enjoy it.
Or even use the things – if it’s a plate set or something left by your grandmother – just use them as a normal set.
Actually enjoy them.
If you feel like you want to get rid of it but can’t:
- Why do I feel like I can’t get rid of this?
- Do I feel guilty or obliged to keep this thing?
- Could I just take a photo of it instead and get rid of the actual thing?
- Would the person who gave this to me actually mind if I got rid of it? (Chances are no)
Things like children’s artwork you can take photos of and store in google drive or there are apps specifically for art-work.
It can be emotionally hard deciding on what to do with the more sentimental items.
Remember it is your home – if you want to keep something keep it.
But if it’s time to let it go, don’t feel bad about it – take a photo if needs be – and then let it go.
Your home should be filled with things you love and actually use or enjoy.
I hope this blog post helps!
If you have any questions about decluttering – let me know!
Beth x
