Is your brain telling you that you CAN’T declutter?
Have you ever wanted to declutter
but had these thoughts running through your mind?
- I’ve always been a messy disorganised person. I can’t change who I am.
- What is the point of decluttering? My home will be messy again in no time!
- Don’t bother decluttering, you will never finish the job.
- Your things are still in perfectly good condition. You're wasting money if you discard them.
- I don’t have too much stuff; I just need to get organised.
If any of these sound familiar, it’s no wonder you are struggling to get the motivation to start decluttering. The problem with these thoughts is, that the more you tell yourself these things, the more you will start to believe them. That’s why it's so important to remove these negative thoughts and feelings and replace them with a healthy decluttering mindset.
What is a decluttering mindset?
Ok.. remember those negative thoughts
your brain is trying to convince you are true? Well, what if you could replace
them with
· I can’t wait to declutter because I want to
create a peaceful home for me and my family
· Decluttering will help reduce my stress and
anxiety
· I’m going to so much save time and energy in
the long run, if I declutter
Basically, a decluttering mindset is filled with positive thoughts and feelings about decluttering
(no I don’t mean we are going all hippy – but if you want to that ok). By adopting a more positive mindset about
decluttering, you will look at decluttering in a whole new light, because you will be ready to accept all the benefits that decluttering brings and will look forward
to doing it. So how do you get into this new mindset?
1) Accept that decluttering is
a journey
Hands up who thinks decluttering
is a one-time thing? (Old me puts her
hand up), Well, I’m sorry to break it to you... it’s not. We think that if we get rid of everything we don’t
want in a day, then our houses will automatically be clutter-free forever! Alas, my dear, it doesn’t work like
that. Decluttering is a process and it
takes time. After all, it probably took
us years to accumulate all the stuff we have today. If you set yourself unrealistic goals to
declutter it is only going to add stress and pressure to the task and the
chances are you’re going to feel disappointed and demotivated before you even
finish the task.
You need to accept that
decluttering is a journey that will take time.
Instead of focusing on decluttering the whole room, try to declutter a draw,
maybe two. Trust me, every little
bit of progress is still progress - and it will add up to a room, then two rooms,
then the whole of upstairs, you see where I’m going with this. I know that you just want to get it all done as quickly as possible so that you can get on with the nice things in life. But this slowly slowly approach - DOES work.
2) Decluttering doesn’t mean
getting rid of everything that’s not nailed down
Many of us think that
decluttering means getting rid of every single thing, living minimally, and not
even having a bunch of flowers in a vase, because that is too cluttered. It's not, it really isn’t. By having this mindset, you can be put off, because
you’re not ready to say goodbye to everything you own. Do not worry my dear, decluttering doesn’t
mean becoming a minimalist overnight. I’m
not a minimalist by any stretch of the imagination. I have my flowers, ornaments
and books (can you hear the gasps of the extreme minimalists AKA my sister 😊)
Let's use your make-up as an example: You can start by discarding anything
expired. Yes, that even means that
extremely expensive foundation that you bought that sits in the draw making you
feel guilty every time you see it, even though it happens to make you look like
an umper-lumper - maybe that was just me, who bought that shade. Next move on to excess items or duplicated items. Go on
admit you had to buy an extra one because you couldn’t find the first one, even
though you put it in a safe place. Or as I used to call it the Portal to
another realm. Then the things that you don’t want anymore. This is a great first step because it involves
discarding things that you either don’t want or don’t care too much about.
Once you feel more comfortable,
you can start to tackle the other things that require more thought, so maybe your clothes. It's important that you declutter at your own
pace, and don’t compare your decluttering journey to someone else’s.
3) Know your Why?
Decluttering takes a lot of time,
effort and energy. You must know why you want to declutter, this needs to be done before you even pick up your
first item to discard. Why do you want
to declutter? and what do you hope to achieve by the end of the decluttering?
Be honest with yourself. The more specific the better. I want to declutter because clutter caused my stress, anxiety and depression to become really unmanageable. I wanted to replace these negative feelings with positive ones like being
productive, efficient and calm.
Also, if you are like me, you
want to spend less time sorting and organising your stuff so you can spend more
time doing what you love. So it's important that you take the time to visualise how you want to feel and how you
want your home to look after decluttering.
These are your decluttering goals.
Knowing your why will help you
get into a healthy decluttering mindset.
If you find yourself becoming demotivated and wondering if it is all
worth it, make sure to consistently remind yourself of your decluttering goals, I have created a Decluttering workbook which you can download for FREE
4) Determine why you find decluttering challenging, and learn how to overcome these barriers
Decluttering can be challenging
for several different reasons. Some people find it difficult to get motivated, some people get too overwhelmed and don’t know
where to start, and some struggle with guilt (they don’t feel good discarding gifts
or things that are in good condition).
You need to determine why you find decluttering challenging, and how you
can overcome this.
Sometimes the easiest way to get into the decluttering mindset is to acknowledge why you find it difficult, and once you recognise the reasons that are holding you back, you can start to work on overcoming those obstacles.
5) Learn to Say NO!
To strengthen the decluttering
mindset, you must learn how to say "no" frequently. Not only will you have to be firm with
yourself during the decluttering process, but you must learn how to say "no" to
new things. The last thing you want to do
is ruin the decluttering process by buying more things. Learning how to say "no", will teach you how to
be intentional with your purchases, and that is a great first step towards staying
decluttered.
Why is the decluttering mindset
so important?
As I’m sure you know,
decluttering is hard enough as it is without our brain telling us we can’t do it. Having a decluttering mindset, helps
you to declutter without feeling stressed or overwhelmed. A decluttering mindset will help you discard
things without having any guilt or regret.
I have designed an easy-to-use Decluttering Decision Maker, that will help you with your decision-making process and ease the guilt. In
the end, just think how much simpler your life will be when you have
decluttered and become more organised.
So, there you go –
The 5 simple ways to acquire a decluttering mindset that will change your life
for the better.
Don’t forget to share your experience of getting into the decluttering mindset in the comments below. Which one of the negative thoughts do you have?
