When you decide you want to declutter your
life, it’s common to want to get it done as quickly and as easily as possible. So you search for hacks and tips hoping you
stumble across something that will speed up this process for you. Well, today I'd like to offer you some decluttering
advice that will help make this journey more efficient and effective for you. While also providing you with the satisfaction
of seeing results faster. So if that is of interest to you then let's
jump right in with my first piece of advice. You have to set decluttering goals. Before you can start letting go, you have
to have a clear vision of where you're headed and what you're trying to accomplish. Setting these goals is a great way to help
you learn how to declutter effectively and efficiently. It also becomes a lot easier to push yourself
and build momentum when you have a specific goal you want to reach. Here are some examples: How often do you want to declutter? Daily, weekly, monthly? Personally, I suggest you declutter as you
live, which means doing a little bit every day as you go through your normal routine
of life. Some other goals may include: When do you want to complete a decluttering
project by? How much do you want to get rid of? How little do you want to keep? See, it's important that you're as specific
as possible when setting your goals. This allows you to create tangible benchmarks
for yourself that will serve as motivation and encouragement throughout your decluttering
journey. Number two is to understand that it will seem
worse before it gets better. As you begin to declutter your life, you'll
start to naturally question whether or not what you're doing is working. You may hit a few roadblocks and begin to
stumble, but it’s really important that you don’t give up and revert back to your
old habits. See decluttering is not an overnight process. The mess and clutter in our lives don’t
just disappear in the blink of an eye. Although some of us probably wished it did,
it doesn’t. I’d like to share a story with you. At the beginning of my journey, I was making
a ton of progress, so I thought. I bulldozed my way through my cluttered closet
and was donating bags and bags of stuff every weekend it seemed. Things were going great. I was confidently traveling down this path
toward minimalism. That was until I hit a wall I never saw coming. See in this moment I learned one of the most
valuable lessons this journey has taught me. It gets worse before it gets better. What I mean by that is although I was making
progress at decluttering the clothes I no longer wore that wall I hit was telling me
that I still had so much more to deal with that wasn’t as obvious as old t-shirts and
baggy jeans. Of course, there was more physical clutter
I’ve yet to uncover throughout my apartment at the time. But I didn’t even scratch the surface mentally
and emotionally. And for me that was scary. I went from riding this high of letting go
to staring at someone in the mirror I just beginning to know. Realizing that my decluttering journey was
long from over. I shared this story with you to show that
I’m human just you are and to remind you that if this feels overwhelming, it will get
better. It just might get worse first. But keep at it. Number three is to start with what you need. There are two questions that I see come up
over and over again whenever the topics of minimalism and decluttering are discussed. Number one is where do start or how do I get
started with minimalism? And number two is how do I let go faster? Now some may argue that the answers to these
questions may vary and aren’t completely straightforward. And I would agree. However, I’m going to a stab at answering
them for you in a way that’s going to challenge your thinking and help you to arrive at a
solution that works for you. Now asking where do I start with minimalism
assumes that minimalism, is the end result you seek, but it isn’t. I’d argue that it’s most likely purpose,
peace, intention, and control over your life that you seek. And if this is true, then here’s how I’d
answer that question. Start with what you need. Ask yourself what do I need to keep in my
life that will lead me towards purpose, peace, intention, and control over my life. And if it does not serve a purpose, protect
my peace, encourage intention, or support my efforts to regain control of my life. Then I give myself permission to let it go,
or question its significance. Now in order to properly start with what you
need you have to get clear on your core values. See your values tell you what’s important
to you. And when you know what’s important to you,
you know what you need. And when you know what you need, you’ll
know exactly where to start. Number four is to start easy and build towards
sentimental items. As a matter of fact, I just talked about this
in the last conversation I shared with all about how to declutter sentimental items. Where I walk you through 10 solid ways to
let go of sentimental clutter. And if you haven’t had a chance to listen
to it. I’ll leave a link to that video down below. Now in the context of this conversation, we’re
having today. I thought I’d offer a unique decluttering
tactic that I’m sure is unlike anything else you’ve heard, and I’m confident that
it will give you the satisfaction of seeing results faster. And that is the Decluttering Snowball Effect. Start easy by decluttering those things that
are a no-brainer. Clothes that don’t fit; decor you don’t
need or use; books you’ve read enough times that you probably have it memorized by now;
things that are damaged beyond repair; and so on and so forth. See I’m suggesting you do this so you can
build momentum and get into a rhythm of letting go. That way you can begin to make progress and
build some confidence in your ability to detach and donate. The key with this is to then use that momentum
and treat it like a snowball rolling downhill. Meaning use it along with your confidence
and wisdom to help you deal with tougher clutter attachments as you begin to approach them
on your journey. Starting with this method in mind will save
you hours of wasted time and days of headaches, wondering why you aren’t making the type
of progress you believe you should be making. If you start easy and build from there, before
you know it, you’ll be much further along than you realize. Number five is to stop the inflow of new stuff. If your goal is to declutter your life and
if you’re seeking faster results, or at least results that will instill confidence
in you that you’re doing the right thing, then you have to stop the inflow of new stuff. Now there are a ton of minimalism rules and
decluttering methods out there designed to help with this. Such as the one in, one out method. Meaning if you buy one new item and welcome
it into your space then you should remove one item from your space in its place. This works great and my wife and I have tried
it. But it only works if you have the discipline
to stick to it. If not, and it’s ok if you don’t, it’s
not going to work. So instead I suggest that you don’t buy
anything new at all until you’ve decluttered a significant amount of clutter from your
life. I’m sure you’ve heard of the popular no-buy
movement that has been spreading like wildfire across social media and blogs. This movement is all about not buying anything
new or spending money on unnecessary things for months at a time. I’ve even seen some people attempt to do
it for an entire year believe it or not. See, this is a good way to cut back on overspending
and overconsumption as you begin to declutter your life. It’s also challenging in many other ways
because it forces you to adjust your habits and find new ways to enjoy life. Number six is to consider donating instead
of selling. I’ve learned on my own personal journey
that sometimes you have to cut your losses. Meaning you won’t be able to sell everything
you’re looking to remove from your life and you definitely can’t expect to make
back what you originally spent on it. Far too often we allow ourselves to hold onto
things for much longer than we need to because we lie to ourselves about what we could do
with it instead. Have you ever said to yourself or hear someone
else say that they plan to have a garage sale someday? Or that an item might be worth something one
day because you’ve heard that it holds its value pretty well. See, it’s impossible to declutter your life
with one hand while simultaneously trying to grab and hold on to everything that you
think you can sell or want to sell later. Now of course there is a time and place where
selling an item makes sense. For example, my wife and I sold a few furniture
pieces that we no longer used because at the time it made the most sense to and to be frank
we couldn’t really drop off a sectional couch at goodwill. But we didn’t try to sell everything. Most of our clutter we donated without a passing
thought about much we could make from it. So I want to encourage you to choose. Sell it if it makes sense but consider donating
or giving it away so you can move forward on your journey and not get held up for the
sake of making a few dollars. Number seven is to give yourself some grace. You have to remember that you’re not perfect
and it’s ok if it takes you a bit longer than the next person or longer than you anticipated
to declutter your life. What’s important is that you give yourself
permission to run your race at your own pace. You clicked on this video because you wanted
to know how you could declutter your life faster, right. Well if you didn’t receive anything else
from this conversation, remember this. Your decluttering results are based solely
on how intentional you are with what decide to keep and on how confident you are in your
ability to live with less. Keep growing, keep learning and always stay
true to you. I’ll see you in the next one! Peace!
