Is your house full of things you may not need, but you don’t have time to clean?
Maybe it’s because it brings back memories, or because you can’t decide what to do with it – so you end up with a house full of clutter.
“Ultimately, clutter is about decisions that haven’t been made,” says psychotherapist and interior designer Helen Sanderson, author of The Secret Life Of Clutter. “Things end up in a pile, a container or a drawer because that seems easier than deciding where to put them or what to do with them.
“You say, ‘I’ll deal with it later’, and you probably mean it. But weeks, months, or even years later, it’s still there, buried beneath countless subsequent items that you haven’t dealt with.
Sanderson says there are many reasons why people avoid decisions in this way. “It’s often because of the meaning and emotions we attach to our possessions,” she says. “Memories of a trauma or an unrealized creative project are awakened when we open these drawers. Sometimes it’s just a busy life or never having learned to put the house in order. Usually it is a combination of these.
So while on the surface clutter is about how we process physical things, it’s often rooted in something deeply psychological, says Sanderson, who says that while we often want to create beautiful homes without clutter, something in our psychology is sabotaging that.
“Regardless of how much decluttering you do, if you don’t identify and address these underlying issues, the clutter will inevitably return,” she says. “Once you truly understand what’s underneath your clutter and listen to the story it has to tell, it empowers you to make a deeper shift and make room for your clutter-free home.”
However, she doesn’t suggest people clean everything up. “I certainly don’t encourage the people I work with to live in pristine, ascetic white spaces,” Sanderson says. “I believe there is a balance to be found in our homes between chaos and order, allowing us clear and harmonious spaces that give us room to think while still having a good amount of things we love. , that we find useful or that we just don’t want to lose.”
Sanderson’s 10 Steps to Decluttering Your Home
1. A cluttered house is like an overgrown garden
Sanderson says it can help to think of cluttered homes as overgrown gardens that need to be weeded, planted and tended. “The process of weeding is all about making all those unmade decisions, such as to keep, let go, or act. To plant is to create a plan, to place things nicely and harmoniously, and to optimally organize whatever you choose to keeping: a place for everything and everything in its place. And keeping is about creating new habits with compassionate self-discipline, so that your home helps you live more easily.”
It’s crucial to declutter in that order, she says. “Habit formation in cluttered chaos sets the bar too high. Start by letting go and once you are clear, hold.
2. Create a clear vision
Imagine exactly how you would like your home to be. Write it down or create a vision board of inspirational images from magazines or Pinterest. Then write why you want to create space and order – is it for a creative project? Do you want to feel more comfortable inviting people over?
3. Understand reality
Look inside all cupboards, drawers and boxes and establish a clear picture of what you are dealing with. “This is not to discourage you, but so that you can effectively plan your decluttering project. It will also help motivate you by creating tension between where you are now and your vision of where you want to be.
4. Break decluttering into manageable steps
It can be room by room, closet by closet, or drawer by drawer, says Sanderson. “I recommend that you master one piece and then move on to another. It’s important to have successes, even the smallest ones.
5. Identify obstacles and how to overcome them
Are you a heavy procrastinator, easily distracted, or prone to getting very emotional? Are you going to struggle to find time to get the job done? Do you get your brain frozen when you see the chaos and then have trouble making decisions?
“Once you understand the obstacles you may face, put in place clear strategies to help you overcome them,” advises Sanderson, who suggests you could ask a friend to help you, or even consider employ a professional organizer or trainer.
6. Set aside time and eliminate distractions
Sanderson points out that if someone really liked decluttering, they would have done it a long time ago. “Accept that once you get started, other things will probably be a lot more appealing than sorting through those piles of stuff,” she suggests. “So turn off your phone, cancel other plans and send family and even pets – unless they’re helping you.” She even recommends taking time off work to fully focus on the project.
7. Put clutter in front of you
Start a timer, collect your things and pile them up in front of you – then pull out a stack of books, papers or empty a drawer in a box. “What works best is if you can get someone to help you,” says Sanderson. “Their job is just to bring things to you, and your job is just to make decisions. Don’t put things away, just ask: does it stay or go? »
8. Keep, recycle, throw away, donate, act
One by one, decide whether to recycle, sell, keep, discard, act or donate each item – these are the fundamental decisions that need to be made, says Sanderson, who advises people to work quickly, trust their intuition and to keep going.
She also suggests creating an “I don’t know” stack to help maintain momentum. “That way, if you’re not sure, you can put the item there and come back to it later, instead of breaking your flow of decisions.” However, if the “I don’t know” pile gets too big, it’s important to check your goals and vision to refocus.
9. Complete it
Be sure to allocate time at the end of the session to complete the job properly – this means taking out recycling and trash immediately, and putting all donations in the car, so you are not tempted to reconsider your decisions and undermine your hard work. “Completion here is key,” Sanderson points out.
10. Plant and maintain
The next stage is the planting stage, when you effectively categorize and store everything, followed by maintaining what you have achieved. “The accumulated clutter can represent a life lived in the past,” Sanderson says. “By creating space in your home, you make room for new experiences and opportunities.”
