Okay! You read my post from a couple of weeks ago Quick Decluttering Ideas to Get You Started , you’ve gotten rid of that first layer of trash, and moved on to decluttering your home.
Things are going great, you’re feeling lighter and lighter as you get rid of the excess, and relocate things to their proper homes. And then it happens; you get stuck.
You find all of your motivation disappearing. You feel like you can’t follow through on finishing tasks. You may even ask yourself if you might be ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) because you don’t seem to be able to focus.
Piles sit unattended. Clutter that has been there for years and has been normalized goes ignored. It feels like your whole plan has gone off the rails.
Not to worry!
This is normal.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
There are a few things that get you to become stuck part-way into a project like decluttering and organizing.
We seem to be motivated by new things for about two weeks, and then it becomes work, and enthusiasm wanes.
When you’ve gotten through the first layer or so of clutter you tend to get down to items that require more thought, which can feel overwhelming and productivity halts.
WHAT TO DO
Waning Motivation
Over the years I’ve observed a consistent human behavior: we can’t stay in a state of any sort of arousal (fear, crisis, excitement, etc.) for more than two weeks.
A plan will go great for the first few days, maybe even the first week. The second week it’s getting a little tougher to stay on target, and by week three you’re coming up with any excuse not to do the thing you planned.
For your decluttering project I want you to:
Reassess your plan. What’s working, what isn’t.
Pick an aspect of the original plan that still excites you.
Create a new plan out of the old one, but this time make it do-able in less than two weeks.
Start the new plan.
Ask yourself: How important is this to me? What makes it that important?
If the importance of the project is coming from an exterior motivator, like pleasing your mother-in-law, your motivation will drop again.
When you decide you want to do this because it’s going to make you feel good, and because you want it, and are willing to do what it takes to get it, motivation will return.
The Overwhelming Next Layer
Have you ever wondered how junk drawers come into existence? That’s what this stage is like. Except the idea is to do exactly the opposite of a junk drawer.
That junk drawer is a result of not knowing what to do with things, and you shove them into a convenient space so you don’t have to think about them anymore.
These overwhelming items generally come in two categories:
Little crap you don’t know what to do with and really don’t want to think about, like electrical cords, chargers, pens, paperclips, rubber bands, votive candles, matches…
Larger items that it will require some thought as to what is going to happen with it and then will take a bit more effort to make it happen.
The Little Crap
I know, I know, who wants to spend an afternoon sorting a junk drawer and testing to see if pens work? I did my last pen check while my father-in-law was over. He’s a talker and doesn’t really notice if you aren’t paying attention. It sounds rude, but he got to talk and I got to sort. Everyone won.
I know other people who have sorted this stuff while listening to a podcast, during a virtual workshop, watching Netflix… Do you see a theme? Doing mindless, tedious stuff is sometimes easier when you have something else to focus on.
Once it’s all sorted you do need to figure out how you want to organize. Be mindful. Do not put anything back that doesn’t belong. Nothing.
Do you want to use dividers? Containers? Bins? Cups? Jars? Some other wonderfully creative thing?
Be mindful and intentional.
The Bigger Stuff
Whether you have one item or a pile of them, thinking can become overwhelming. Items have probably sat in the same place for years because no one wanted to think through what to do with them.
Where is it going or to whom?
What are the steps that will be required to make this happen?
When can you make this happen?
If you tackle one big item a day you’ve done as much decluttering as I could ask for (you can do more if you want, of course.) Slow and sure wins the race, right?
I used to have a fur capelet in my office closet. It was there for almost eight years and had belonged to my mother-in-law who passed away. She had worn this to her senior prom, which made it two things sentimental and possibly financially valuable. I had no use for it, her daughter didn’t want it so, what was I going to do?
Where do you sell fur?
Do people still buy fur?
How much research am I going to have to do to come up with a solution?
How much effort will I have to put in to complete this mission?
So, it stayed tucked away, covered and protected as it had been for 50 years. You see, I avoid anything that requires multiple steps at all costs.
Then it hit me: I have a friend who sells stuff on eBay, maybe she could sell it for me! It was the perfect solution for my personality. One step; hand the fur to my friend. Now that I could do! (And a very grateful thank you to Dione for her help).
As you go through each item you need to get rid of take your personality into account. If you love research, then I bet you’ll find a solution for that silver dinnerware set that’s been sitting around for 20 years. If you like as few steps as possible, like me, make sure your plan is short and quick.
MOVING FORWARD
Once you get past something that has been stopping you up, you’ll find the decluttering flow returning. The mental and emotional toll of clutter will create obstacles for you, but you can overcome them with a good plan.
It isn’t always easy to see the plan when it’s your stuff.
That’s where I come in as a Decluttering Coach. I will ask you the questions you need to answer to create your plan, and I’ll give you pointers from my experience that you may not have thought of.
You don’t have to be held hostage by your clutter.