What NOT to do when decluttering

I’ve been feeling the urge for a few weeks now… and the end of the school holidays confirmed it – it’s declutter time around here. The change in the weather did it for me yesterday. I pulled every single item of clothing out of my boy’s bedrooms and starting culling and passing them down. It opened up a can of worms (as it always does when you start culling!), so now I feel like I have to move on to every room in the house.

I’m not a hoarder and I don’t keep everything I have ever been given, but I am realistic. I live in a house full of males and sometimes the cupboards, under the lounges, the drawers, the shelves… they all get full of stuff. I let it go for a while and it doesn’t bother me, but then suddenly I am so overwhelmed I have those yellow garbage bags out and I am filling them like there is no tomorrow….

I’ve got some tips today on what NOT to do when decluttering –

Don’t buy first

It’s a common mistake for people to motivate themselves by buying all the containers, hangers and basket before they start to declutter. But I think this is not the best way to start off. It will just become more overwhelming and create a bigger mess! The best thing to do is complete the declutter of an area first, then write down what you need to keep it in order. It’s more satisfying going to the shops to only buy what you you need.

Don’t start big

There’s no way you can organise your entire home in one go. It has to be in stages and parts. Start with one cupboard and move around your home over a period of time.

Don’t leave it half finished

This goes hand in hand with the above point about not starting out big. You will definitely leave it half finished if you start out thinking you’ll decluttering your entire home in one day. Don’t move on to the next area until you’ve finished the space you’re currently working on.

Don’t expect miracles

Rome wasn’t built in a day. The reality is we have families and kids which get in the way of our decluttering mojo. It takes time to bring it all together.

Don’t expect perfection

You are probably not going to have that magazine worthy pantry or home office. Don’t expect perfection because near enough IS good enough. If you’ve decluttered, used some sort of storage system and thrown out some junk then THAT is good enough. Decluttering isn’t about perfection, it’s about minimising the junk but still living in your home full of things you love.

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If you live in Wagga Wagga then I am now offering personal decluttering services. OR, check out this awesome online course with Becoming Minimalist for a 12 week online course. I’ve read the bio and it looks really good and is affordable too.