Set a Goal for Successful Decluttering

by Susan McCarthy

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Focusing on a goal can help your decision making while decluttering.

I’ve asked a few people, “Why do you want to declutter your home?” “I hate feeling overwhelmed by all this stuff,” is the common response. I need to get better at asking follow-up questions; so, I’ll send them out to you here.
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• “If you weren’t overwhelmed by the stuff in your home, how would you feel?”
• “If you felt more ______ (peaceful, confident, focused, whatever you would feel), what would your home look like?”
• “Once your home looked like that, how would you spend your time?”
• It’s very easy to get focused on the task at hand – minimalize the stuff surrounding you so that you have what is useful and what you love while the rest goes away to charity or friends or the trash.

We realize we are not our stuff and that clutter isn’t about the stuff but about our expectations for our lives. So, what do you want from your life?

If you look at your stuff (or think about areas where you’ve decluttered), what does it say about your expectations for your time? Is there exercise equipment, hobby supplies, books, clothing, and other things here and there in your home that suggest you live a life very different from the way you actually spend your days?
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So, why do you want to declutter your home? How will your home reflect the life you want to lead? If you enjoy thinking things through before starting a project, Clear Your Clutter and Create Space for Your Life provides journaling questions and worksheets that help you clarify your goals and your actions for decluttering your home.

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Other helpful articles:

• What's Your Why for Decluttering?why.html
• Organizing Clutter Isn't Decluttering
• Four Core Benefits of Decluttering