From Junk to Joy: 3 Easy Ways to Declutter
I find there’s one certain truth about everyday home life that never fails, “Our room reflects the way we feel.”
If your room feels sterile and like a dinner party you wouldn’t be invited to—you need to find more character and add plants. If you feel restless, normalize the color palette (and again add plants).
But the most common problem we all deal with is clutter—the secret great trend of 2024: having too much stuff and tripping over it.
Clutter can infect out moods in so many subtle ways: from feeling defeated by the overwhelming amount of laundry to do, depressed over a forgotten picture of a former girl or boyfriend, or even just distracted by too many tasks.
Thankfully, wherever you’re at in your declutter journey, you’re right on time. Whether you’re in the USA doing “Spring Cleaning” or as far as Japan, ready for 大掃除 (oosouji), it’s time to change where you live and make home, happy.
Step 1: Get Started!
What’s the hardest part about starting to declutter?
Starting it, of course!
My #1 Tip for starting to declutter is to set a timer. If you constantly waver about or feel too busy, put yourself on the clock. Also if you set a timer for 15-45 minutes, it will help you break decluttering into chunks. You didn’t acquire all your stuff in one day, so you shouldn’t expect to get rid of it in one, either.
Also, like everything in life, to convince yourself to do it, you have to leverage either enough pain or enjoyment to convince yourself to do the job. Believe it or not, decluttering can be really enjoyable. Either play some music or convince some friends to join (treat them to dinner after, really).
Decluttering should feel like a liberation and that means refreshing and fun.
Urban Lark Tips
Set a 15-45 minute timer
Play music
Invite (or trick) friends over to help
Step 2: Make Choices Without Agony
The very act of decluttering is making choices about what to keep and what to let go. It’s actually stupefying what we hold onto with the idea of “Well, someday. . .”
Someday is today—the day to let it go.
Run through these questions:
Have I not used/worn this is over a year?
Are my memories with this over?
Will letting go of this affect my happiness for more than a day (be honest)?
If you answer ‘No’ to any of these, then thank the object for the memories created and let it sail forth into its next journey. It can be difficult to let go of many objects, but embrace cleaning with the eye of 侘び寂び, wabisabi, the beauty of impermanence.
There’s a time for everything in your home, but there’s also a time for it to go—don’t rob yourself by holding on.
Step 3: Ways to Declutter and Maybe Earn $$
Not everything today should take an instant trip to the trash bag. Think of Toy Story 3 (wipe your tears!) and seeing Woody and his friends go down into the incinerator—today, there’s plenty of alternatives that are useful.
First, make the decision to be honest with yourself by just throwing away what you can. If you make too many elaborate plans, then you’re cluttering up your time. Otherwise, try. . .
Garage Sale - Great way to encourage reuse or a discount headache—you decide! A garage sale can be a great way to let go of things past their use for you while also bringing in some money.
Donate - Often our trash is of real value to others. Why throw it away? Instead, give away to those in need. It’s often as simple as bringing a clothes bag to a donation box.
Consign - Have you been waiting to buy that perfect piece of art but don’t have the funds? Consider a consignment shop to sell your goods so you can be enjoying something new and fresh in your home in no time at all!
Otherwise—trash (or recycle).
Secret Step: I Can’t Get Started, So. . .”
Lastly, I’ve got my never fail tip for all you nostalgics who can’t throw things away.
If you simply can’t find the time to get cleaning, then open up your phone and do this now.
Create a home party for your friends and people you like. Promise great food and a great time. Set a date. Pick a time.
Now you know when you need to declutter by.
I’ve found that when I won’t get moving on decluttering, setting up this party makes me get rocking on cleaning, because the shame of having a party in a cluttered home is worse than the pain of just cleaning up. Think of it as your line in the sand.
And when you do it, you’ll be rewarded with a party of your favorite people after. Enjoy!
