Want to have an easier time making decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of when you're decluttering. The answer is deeper than, "Do I need this item?" Instead, you want to focus on your reasons for decluttering.

If I received a nickel for every time someone asked me, “Where do I start decluttering?” I’d have a whole lot of nickels.
Seriously, as a professional organizer, this may be the question I’m asked most often. And I get it. Decluttering is overwhelming. By the time you start thinking that it's time to declutter, you have a lot of stuff to sort through. And that means making decisions about everything. Literally, everything.
And chances are unlikely that you’re only dealing with clutter in one room. It’s in every room. Maybe even in a few spaces that aren’t rooms.
Hence, wondering where to start.
Everywhere or Here?
The first thing you could consider is whether there is a room in your home that, if organized, would improve your life in some way. For example, decluttering and organizing your kitchen would make this a more functional space. You’d be able to cook more meals at home which would align with your goals to lose a few pounds and save money on prepared meals.
Another consideration could be the space that frustrates or annoys you the most. For example, you waste time every morning trying to pull together an outfit because your closet is packed with options you no longer wear and so you end up pawing through the pile of clean but unfolded clothing looking for a shirt you like.
In these examples, it’s clear that you’d benefit from starting in the kitchen or your closet.
But what if your answer is everywhere? Then, honestly, it doesn’t matter where you start because, for you, all the rooms are equal. You could start by bringing items to the rooms where they belong as opposed to where they’ve been left, set out in the open.
Sensible.
Decluttering This Way Is Wrong
For years, this was the advice I offered. It was what I learned in classes for professional organizers. And it includes a heavy dose of common sense. Declutter the space that annoys you or that could improve other areas of your life. Or start with the stuff out in the open.
This makes sense. And it really isn’t bad advice since it will clear the clutter and improve your home.
But it doesn’t result in lasting change.
I know, when you’re looking at piles everywhere you want immediate change. Who cares about lasting change? We’re often told that if we organize a space, it will stay organized simply because we’ve made the effort to organize it.
That circular logic ignores the fact that we live in our houses. Things come in. Things go out. Things get moved around. If something is never touched, chances are that it’s either a decoration or it isn’t useful.
Expecting things to stay organized is magical thinking.
Why Decluttering Doesn’t Work
Decluttering, for all the effort it requires, is often a short-term fix. If you’ve ever decluttered a room or even a spot within a room and then watched the clutter return there, you know what I mean. We live in our houses and use the stuff there.
And chances are that when you declutter, you decide to hold onto things “just in case” you need them someday. When you declutter, a lot of things can seem important often because we have a vague idea that they might be important. We aren’t certain so we hold onto those things.
I say this from experience. One day I was walking past my bookshelves when it occurred to me that three of those shelves were packed with books from an interest I hadn’t been interested in for a long time (like twenty years ago).
I’d packed and unpacked those three shelves of books six times before realizing in a random moment I hadn’t read them in ages.
Because I had been interested in the topic, it seemed important to hold onto these books. I’d physically handled these books numerous times, and it never occurred to me that I could get rid of them and not miss them because I never questioned their place in my home and my life.
Why Are You Decluttering?
Chances are you’ve seen this question before. And you may have answered it by saying that you want to stop wasting time trying to find something to wear or you want to save money by cooking more meals at home. Maybe you simply want your home to look neater.
Good reasons.
And then I read Dr Susan David’s book, Emotional Agility, and she talked about “walking your why.” She was referring to connecting to your values. Now, it may seem like a stretch to connect your values to decluttering your home, but is it, really?
Your home reflects you and your family. It’s the homebase for your life. Your interests. What you eat. How you spend your time. How you build your relationships with the people closest to you. Your home reveals your values, those abstract ideas that guide your actions in an ongoing way.
Your values are part of your identity. What does your home say about who you are?
Decluttering Starts with You
You may look at the disorder in your home and think, “I’m disorganized.” And it’s this thought that you want to start with when decluttering.
Disorganized people don’t live in organized homes.
So, if you want an organized home, then you want to be an organized person. That may sound a bit intimidating, but here’s the secret ingredient.
When you approach decluttering your home from the perspective of an organized person, each action you take helps you to become an organized person.
When you value being organized, when it’s an identity you work toward claiming, you make different decisions than you would if you were thinking about making your closet a more organized space.
You can start by asking the question, “What actions would an organized person take here?”
Decluttering with Purpose
In Atomic Habits, James Clear says that we try to create change the wrong way when we focus on outcome-based habits (the goal we want to achieve). This is how decluttering is normally done.
We focus on the goal of orderly spaces and so we look to decluttering techniques and new organizing systems to create order. When our home looks neat, we’ve achieved the goal. That is until our old habits take over and things become cluttered once again.
Clear says that instead of focusing on what you want to achieve, it would be more effective to focus on who you wish to become. This leads to identity-based habits.
Give this a try. Again, ask “What actions would an organized person take?” Does this bring different insights than the question, “Do I need this item?”
Instead of simply focusing on sorting through that pile of papers on the kitchen counter, you’re taking the bigger view. What choices would you make to keep this space organized? What systems would you have in place so those papers wouldn’t pile up in the first place.
Instead of going for the quick fix of dealing with that pile of paper, you’re looking at the actions, the habits, that support the identity of being an organized person.
Create the Change
Whether you want to start decluttering, restart and recommit, or move onto the next step, start with you. Consider the actions you would take as an organized person. While decluttering is still in the picture, staying organized involves simpler, almost invisible incremental actions.
Hanging up your coat. Putting your dish in the sink or dishwasher. Tossing the junk mail right away instead of putting it in a pile. Act like an organized person and you’ll become an organized person.
If you’re ready to become an organized person, join my new program, Organize Your Home, Organize Your Life.
Focusing on the type of person you want to be, embodying your values in your home, helps you persist when it comes to organizing your home. Instead of the drudgery of another household chore, organizing your home becomes an expression of the fantastic person that you are.


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