10 Life Changing Tips for Decluttering Items You Thought You Couldn’t

decluttering could be a journey with many ups and downs there's moments of high motivation and quick progress but there are also moments of slowo and tough decisions there are some people it seems to me who can get rid of everything in one weekend but that personality type tends to be pretty rare for most of us the journey takes a bit longer there are some things that are easy to remove While others can be difficult for any number of different reasons so so I want to offer you my best advice for decluttering those items you never thought you could because just because something is hard to part with doesn't mean we should keep it difficult to declutter items could be things with a Sentimental attachment but they don't have to be these tips could also be applied to books or Hobbies or collections or gifts anything that you are having difficulty minimizing if you're struggling to get rid of some things in your home I hope you find these ideas helpful now before we jump in let me mention that you don't need to start decluttering by getting rid of your hardest things first in fact I'd recommend beginning in easier spaces removing less difficult things my full approach to decluttering involves working through your Home Room by room easiest to hardest starting with the most lived in areas so always begin there but eventually you'll reach those items that tug at your heart strings or challenge your resolve and while making these decisions becomes easier after starting to experience the benefits of owning less elsewhere in your home they're still difficult so here we go 10 lifechanging tips for decluttering items you thought you couldn't number one start with easier items again decluttering is a little bit like building up a muscle the more you do it the stronger and better you get at it so look for easier decluttering winds in your home first again as you experience the benefits of owning less you'll be more prepared and more motivated to declutter the things you thought you couldn't number two adopt a museum mentality museums are enjoyable not because every piece of art ever created hangs on the walls museums are enjoyable because someone has taken the time to choose the most representative pieces of Art and display only them think of your life and your home in the same way your home isn't the most beautiful when everything is displayed similarly your life isn't best lived when everything is held on to curate your home and your life number three dig into your emotions it seems to me that we're all tempted to stop de cluttering when we reach the point where we say this is just too hard for me to get rid of but rather than stopping there ask the follow-up question why is this so hard for me to declutter searching our hearts and motivations to understand why letting go of certain items can be difficult it might reveal underlying issues or attachments that need addressing in your life but you'll never discover those unhealthy motivations until until you start asking the questions Number Four Express gratitude this idea I first heard articulated by Marie condo in her culture changing book The life-changing magic of tidying up in her book she encourages people to thank the objects in your life that you are removing literally thank them for the role that they played and the joy that they brought this can be particularly helpful with difficult items to remove thank it for the service Joy or memories it provided this practice of gratitude brings closure and helps in mentally and emotionally parting with the item number five you can take a photo take a photo of items you struggle to part with studies show that this simple practice makes parting with items of sentimental values much easier the photo allows you to preserve the memory without keeping the physical object after all the memory is in you not the item number six choose only the best only the best is a strategy that I first heard from a caller while I was appearing on a Canadian radio Callin show the caller told me that her approach for deciding which sentimental items to keep was based on keeping only the best for every relationship experience or accomplishment she wanted to remember she kept only the one most representative item interestingly this is the approach that I use most and have found to be particularly helpful number seven Implement defined limits if keeping only the one best seems too much for you at this time try setting a physical boundary instead for example if you currently have three boxes of memories from college in the B bement see if you can condense it down to just one box another option is to try cutting the number of items in half you'll find the physical constraint helps your mind quickly decide what is kind of important and what is truly important number eight embrace the seasons of life life is about change and growth and it never stays the same regardless of how badly we want it to some of the items you are struggling to minimize may represent past seasons of life that you loved very much recognize that getting rid of those items doesn't change the previous season of your life it only prepares the way for you to make the most of your current and next season number nine imagine a roll reversal reverse the circumstances surrounding your clutter and see if you can picture it in a new light this can be particularly helpful when decluttering the possessions of a loved one who has passed away ask yourself if I were to die today would I expect my son my daughter or my spouse to keep all of my things if I found out that my possessions were cluttering their home and keeping them from living their best life would I want them to keep my stuff or would I want them to get rid of it almost certainly we answer it would be nice for them to keep a few things but I would never want my belongings to keep others from making the most of their lives going forward so if you struggle with minimizing the possessions of loved ones reverse the roles and see if it becomes a little bit easier for you to declutter those items you've been holding on to for years and number 10 see the benefit in generosity think about how the items you're holding on to could benefit others donating to someone who needs or appreciates those things can provide a great sense of purpose and fulfillment generosity is not just a byproduct of owning less it can become the very motivation for it now before I end let me offer one more idea even if that brings the list to 11 number 11 ask for help if you find it overwhelmingly difficult to declutter certain items don't hesitate to seek support from friends family or professional sometimes having an external perspective can provide Clarity and strength now one word of warning here if you're going to ask a friend or relative to come help you with this work you need to accept their advice it would be unfair for you to ask someone to come help you declutter and then argue with every suggestion that they make ask over someone that you love and trust and that can help a lot and of course if you'd like professional help I'm personally training professional organizers and move managers in the exact decluttering method that I teach here on this YouTube channel and in my uncluttered course you can find a list of certified individuals on Becker method certified.com each of these 10 strategies can be lifechanging if you allow them to be certainly one or two of them may resonate more with you and the difficult decisions you're making about what to keep and what to remove but owning less is a decision that holds benefit for all you can do it and you'll love owning [Music] less [Music] oh

Channel: Joshua Becker

Views: 149,737

Keywords: hard to declutter, how to get rid of things I like, hard time letting go of things, Joshua Becker, minimalism, minimalist, becoming minimalist, simple living, decluttering motivation, minimalist living, decluttering and organizing, how to get rid of stuff, clutter

Id: bf4ubYgGoPo

Length: 9min 41sec (581 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2024