decluttering

Decluttering: A Daily Practice, Not An Annual Project

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Last year, my friend moved into a new house and shared a lot about the tremendous amount of decluttering she went through before moving. She only took what she thought she would be happy to have in her new home.

This year, her family came for a one-week visit, so she embarked on another decluttering journey in preparation for the visit. It was funny when she reminded me of the clutter vision we acquire when we think of someone visiting us; we suddenly see items that don’t belong, which we overlooked before.

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Decluttering: A Daily Practice, Not An Annual Project

What Your Treasures Truly Reveal About Your Desires

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I am reading the brand new book All it Takes Is A Goal by one of my all-time favorite authors, Jon Acuff. He shared an idea I loved about how the objects we keep tell a story. We love the objects we own or want to own because they make us feel one of five feelings: 

  1. Younger 
  2. Successful 
  3. Inspired 
  4. Cool 
  5. Connected 

He used the example of his 64-pack of Crayola crayons set as an example of an object that makes him feel younger. I never considered my multiple coloring sets as objects that make me feel younger, but they do!  

He mentioned that the Lego sets he assembles and collects are objects that make him feel young but also successful because, as a kid, Jon couldn’t afford to buy a toy like The Porsche Lego set that cost $400, but now he can. 

Books are examples of objects that make him feel inspired. Don’t we all feel the same about books? He also mentioned a bowl of acorns he keeps on his desk because an acorn symbolizes potential, which is what all his excellent book is about. 

Cool is something we define, like he humorously said, “Cool is the younger cousin of successful. They’re related, but not exactly the same”. Jon feels cool when he uses his notebook on a plane to write ideas.

Objects that make Jon feel connected could be mementos from family members, like the Bible his grandfather used to have, with his scribblings all over. Objects that make you feel connected could be reminders that you belong to a community, like a Harley motorcycle. 

Jon invited us to use these feelings as filters when we buy new things and declutter our house. If an object does not invoke any of the above feelings, it may be time to let it go.

Just for fun, here are some objects I own for each category:

  1. Younger (Prettier?): My makeup, I love makeup. My stationery, I feel so excited when I go into a stationery store, and I display lots of it on my desk.
  2. Successful: Elegant shoes and blazers. My planner. My podcast microphone.
  3. Inspired: Magnet souvenirs on my fridge from our trips. My books. My home desk. Empty and full notebooks and stationery again.
  4. Cool: My glasses. My timers, all of them. My starfish key chain from Greece. The Titan collectible book by Seth Godin.
  5. Connected: The little spiritual altar on my desk. Books. The altMBA graduation coin. Printed photos (I don’t have many of those, which means a project is on the horizon) and my phone.

Did you like these object filters as much as I did? 

Can you create a list of objects you own that make you feel terrific, then categorize them according to one of these five categories?

It’s a fun self-awareness exercise. 

What Your Treasures Truly Reveal About Your Desires

How to Make Decluttering Fun?

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Welcome to your new beginning; this is your clean slate. Every week you get a chance to start again.

How was your first 2023 week?

I spent hours decluttering my office at work last week, and it felt so good. Whenever I thought I was done, I found myself pushing forward, looking again with fresh eyes, and tackling another area I had dismissed. I got rid of old blank agendas I saved because I would never use old agendas. I got rid of the cardboard boxes of my keyboard, stapler, and calculator, which I had kept for years. I got rid of a small dead cactus in my office and gave my mum the pot to plant something new for me. I piled used-up three-wick glass candle jars to wash and repurpose at home; half a dozen of them. I wiped my whiteboard clean to write something new this week. I took the seat pillow I have for lower back support, washed it at home, and brought it back today. I set reminders to read some paper documents I stored, like hard copies of training material. I put away my little Christmas decorations in one bag.

The same thing happened at home; I tackled my hanged clothes and the shoe area underneath, which blew up recently. I got rid of 11 pairs I have worn out or don’t love anymore. I could have gotten rid of more, like some formal shoes that I remember were cruel to my toes, but I love how they look and put them on only once or twice. I did not want to make the process harder for myself, so I decided to keep them until I could test my suspicions the next nigh-out.

I am making decluttering fun with two things:

  1. Listening to audiobooks and podcasts (Temptation bundling strategy).
  2. Taking before and after pictures and sending them to my small decluttering WhatsApp group (Community strategy).

Sending the after pictures is the way to celebrate the new identity we are building, of people mindful of their living spaces. Celebrating is key to turning a behavior into a habit, according to the book Tiny Habits. I made a lot of progress in decluttering consistency last year, and I’ll continue to do so this year until I stop treating it as a project. By the way, we send images that can be seen once to avoid polluting each other’s phone galleries (a feature in WhatsApp you might not know exists, you’re welcome).

I easily chose my outfit this morning after getting rid of those ugly metal hangers and summer clothes in the way, and I came to the office excited about not seeing stacks of paper on my desk. I’m ready to give up the old to allow the new and do my best work this year.

I wish you the same.

P.S. This post appeared first in my weekly newsletter The Sunday Spark.

How to Make Decluttering Fun?

Decluttering Help

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The books that really helped me change my relationship to stuff and homemaking are the ones by the author Dana K. White.

Dana’s approach is what resonated with me the most during my big decluttering project that took place in the 7-week lockdown this time last year.

Today, I started listening to her amazing podcast as I went about my spring-cleaning because I felt so much overwhelm as I looked at the clutter that accumulated over time at my kids’ rooms and remembered how much better I felt listening to her guidance.

Lucky for me, Dana happened to make a recent episode summarizing her unique decluttering approach. For example, she emphasizes the point of never creating piles of stuff when you declutter, because if you ever get distracted or interrupted for any reason you would have made the place look worse than when you started. We also first tackle trash to feel visible progress, like throwing away broken stuff, empty packages, old paperwork and so on, and that instantly reduces the amount of stuff we have in the room and improves how it looks.

Dana knows what she is talking about ; I highly recommend you read her 2 books: How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind and Decluttering At The Speed of Life. They were dear companions to me last year and I will go back to them as I clear up more space in my house this season.

Decluttering Help