A quick google search on how to declutter will (obviously) bring up a gazillion responses on how to declutter, when to declutter, what to declutter, why to declutter and how you can find your joy at the end of it all. I started decluttering before it was about sparking joy and more about the practicalities of having 6 people, a dog, a hamster and a bird living in a 3 bedroom townhouse. What started out as a necessity has now become a part of my every day life.
“Clutter robs us of life. It robs us socially, when we’re too embarrassed to have people over. It robs us spiritually, because we can’t be at peace in a cluttered home. And it robs us psychologically, by stealing our ability to feel motivated in our space.” — Peter Walsh
I don’t think many of us realise just how destructive clutter can be, I know I didn’t until I started clearing it out. I know now that I am calmer and more at peace at home when there is less clutter and definitely feel more motivated and creative when my work spaces are clear and clean.
How I Did It
There are so many different methods you can use to start your decluttering journey – this what I did and it was the only way I was able to maintain it consistently.
PURGE – it started with a big purge. I remember 6 black bags lined up in our passage just from Kiara’s room. The bags contained the stuff we were donating – there was more stuff thrown out from her room and the rest of the house.
I know this can be overwhelming but it was the only way I was going to get it done, by pulling the plaster off.
I started one weekend just going through each room and ruthlessly getting rid of anything and everything that no longer fit, was broken, no longer played with etc. In this initial purge I did keep a lot of items we were emotionally connected to. It took me a few days to get through everything but I felt the house lighten. There was more space, we found things we thought we had lost and everything just felt lighter.
I did my best over the years to keep the stuff at bay but when you have 4 kids, the stuff starts piling up very quickly.
When we started homeschooling 7 years ago, we naturally needed a dedicated space. In order to make that happen we had to do another big purge. And because we kept on homeschooling, we had to make sure we kept the clutter at bay.
I started doing a clear out every 3 months – usually around change of season – clothes, kitchen stuff, school stuff, general clutter – I had boot loads of stuff being donated and trash bags of rubbish. It honestly felt endless. It felt like the stuff was never actually getting less. So I started getting very strict about what came into the house. We started buying less things and when I did buy something I made sure it was replacing something that had broken and been removed from our house or that it was something we really needed. This definitely did help but it took about 2 years for me to really feel like we were getting rid of less each few months.
Maintenance
Decluttering is an ongoing process. It has to be done regularly and ruthlessly. When Cameron and Kiara moved out we downsized our mugs and crockery but I recently noticed our mug collection has doubled in the last few months, thanks to gifts, events etc, so I have it on my list to donate the mugs we don’t and won’t use.
- Like all kids mine leave stuff all over. So now I leave it there for a week, then I put it in a box. If they don’t ask for it over the next few weeks I donate it. I do the same with my stuff and David’s.
- Every few weeks I will pick a drawer or cupboard to go through and will ruthless clear it out. My mood usually tells me when it is time to do this. When I am feeling extra anxious at home, it is usually because things are starting to feel cluttered.
- I am now very conscious about what we buy and bring into our home. Before I buy it I make sure we really need it and I make sure the quality is good. We currently need new towels – but I am not just going to buy cheap ones that will need replacing in a few months, so I am saving until we can invest in good quality ones and the ones we have still have a little life left in them.
- Don’t put it in the drawer. I was very bad with this. I would often just put stuff away in a drawer – stuff we didnt use or need but was somehow in the house from parties, events, gifts etc. This meant that our kitchen drawers were overflowing. At one stage we collected glass jars and I had a whole drawer full of lids – long after the bottles had been taken to recycling! I am very aware of this now and actively either throw things away, donate or offer to a friend if I know we don’t need them.
- I don’t say yes to other people’s clutter. Often family and friends offer you something and you feel obliged to say yes. Not any more. I politely decline.
- The kids clutter is not my clutter. If the kids want to keep all the things, they can – in their rooms where I can’t see it. If it keeps getting left in the family space (and isn’t used), it will go.
Our home is lived in which means that there will always be things coming in, I can’t stop that and I don’t necessarily want to. I just want to control the clutter so we can breathe easier and enjoy our time here.
How often do you clear the clutter?
