Five Tips to Make Decluttering Less Painful

Decluttering our space is an overwhelming task. The thought of it often paralyzes us, so why do it? I suggest these reasons:

• When we spend less time cleaning, organizing, or taking care of our possessions, we gain time for what matters most to us.
• We have more peace of mind with fewer possessions occupying our thoughts (our silent to-do list).
• We spend less money on stuff that doesn’t serve us because we realize our priorities.
• It’s easier and faster to clean!
• Our homes become more spacious and easier to organize.

When I started decluttering, I convinced myself I didn’t own very much. But I realized that I stuffed things away really well, put them deep into cupboards, ignored boxes of stuff in my closet, and had stacks of old papers that I ignored for years. When I confronted all these things, I learned many lessons. Here are some tips for this process, given my experience:

1. Start with small spaces

Decluttering is a marathon, not a sprint. Start with small goals. I wrote about an analogy for achieving goals: lay bricks one at a time, and eventually, you will build an awesome wall. Small steps lead to giant leaps. For decluttering, maybe we can think about removing one brick at a time to break down the wall of stuff.

Therefore, don’t set out unreasonable goals. You will likely set yourself up for disappointment. Begin with just one room of your house or even one drawer. The good thing about decluttering is you will see results quickly in the space you choose, which gets the ball rolling.

2. Discard the most straightforward items first

Start with the easy stuff first. CAUTION: Don’t start with sentimental items! Put them aside for now. Sentimental items should be the last category you go through. I recommend looking at duplicate or inexpensive things to begin. For example, multiple pairs of scissors, multiple mugs (dishware is often an excellent place to start), or extra towels you don’t need.

3. Put things to remove into three categories: sell, donate, or throw away

It helps to group items into these categories. Make three piles, three bins, or three bags to keep them separate.

Selling: My tip is to sell the expensive items that are still in good shape. I tried selling many smaller items on apps like OfferUp and Mercari, but it became a big job to coordinate it all. You could always try a yard sale as an alternative, of course. But in general, I learned selling a lot of stuff takes a lot of work and time, and it becomes a full-time job quickly. Keep the selling down to the valuable things, like electronics that may be worth good cash.

Donating: Donate only the items that are legitimately useful for someone else. They should be in acceptable condition – not worn down or on the verge of breaking.

Throwing away: I found it helpful to throw away cheap items, especially if they are less than $20. Even if you regret throwing them away later (which you probably won’t), you can easily replace them for under $20. Besides that, I threw away many of my old clothes, as they weren’t in good condition for donation anymore.

4. Decluttering means taking a lot of deep breaths

Going through all our possessions is an emotional rollercoaster. Be ready for your items to bring up some deep-seated memories. I recall so many moments of taking a deep breath because a) I felt the relief of letting go of something, and b) I had to confront myself and decide what I truly value. Decluttering involves making tons of decisions, so be easy on yourself and congratulate yourself for making incremental progress. Every little bit of progress is 100% worth it.

5. The ability to let go is like strengthening a muscle

I noticed this after many months of decision-making. Deciding what to do for each item is like exercising a muscle. The more you repeat the process, the stronger your ability to let go will become. Eventually, it will be easier to make decisions on those problematic items. Set aside anything that feels too difficult at the moment and continue with what’s more manageable.