These 20 Decluttering LIES Are Keeping Your Home Cluttered & Messy!

I used to love to watch this show called The MythBusters and if you're not familiar with this show it basically follows around a smart and surprisingly stylish team of Mythbusters as they test and debunk things like urban legends and myths using the power of science to uncover the truth and the other day as I was responding to comments on my YouTube channel I realized that I was seeing the same kind of negative comments and misconceptions over and over so in this video I wanted to dive into some of the most common decluttering misconceptions and downright lies that hold us back from achieving a balanced and clutter-free life some of these things are lies that society and social media feeds us and some of these things are things that we tell ourselves and I know that at one time or another I bought into almost all if not all of these decluttering lies but today we're going to put on our mythbuster glasses and we're going to debunk these falsehoods and swap them out for practical and realistic strategies that actually Keep Your Home flutter free I reject your reality and substitute my own let's dive in lie number one this is useful so I should keep it this is one of the biggest lies that we tell ourselves that keeps our home cluttered because we look at something and we know that it's useful and therefore because it's useful we feel like we need to keep it or else we're going to feel guilty for letting a perfectly useful item go but in reality it doesn't matter how useful an item could be if you don't actually use it so if you are not actually using something no matter how useful it is go ahead and let it go and donate it or send it on to someone else who might actually use that thing lie number two is you just need to buy something else to get organized sometimes we look at our clutter and we think what I need to get organized is some fancy containers or a different kind of hanger or whatever the case may be but when you have too much clutter it doesn't matter how much organizations stuff you buy if you just have too much stuff there's no organization system in the world that's going to be able to organize it because you simply just have too much inventory I got this little container to organize my craft stuff and I'm feeling so organized foreign so instead of trying to buy more organization products to organize too much stuff what you can do is declutter the stuff that you have and get your inventory down to a more manageable level and then see what's left and after that if you need organizing products to organize it then you can purchase them but do not purchase organizing products as the solution to too much clutter line number three decluttering takes too long I hear a lot of people say this and they think that decluttering has to be done in these big massive decluttering sessions but in reality doing small decluttering sessions here and there is also a very effective way to not only declutter your home but keep it clutter free and that can be something as easy as going through a drawer at a time and trying to declutter each drawer in 15-minute sessions and another thing you can do is declutter as you find things to declutter so for example this is an empty make up bottle that had some primer for my face so once I brought home the new makeup I could just simply take the time to throw this in the recycling and be done with it and that way I'm not waiting to tackle a whole bunch of stuff at once and another effective method to do that is to create a drop zone for your clutter like I have a clutter bucket in my office and when I find things that I want to declutter even if I don't have the time right then I can just toss them in the clutter bucket and that way when I have more time then I can pick it up and sort through it and then send those items on to wherever they need to go lie number four I have enough space instead of keeping things because you have the space for them focus on keeping the things that you love use and need and then that extra room that you free up when you let go of those things is going to give you more space and peace of mind line number five there's a right and a wrong way to declutter so this is a lie that tripped me up a lot at the very beginning because I was introduced to decluttering with the konmari method and so I read the book I was reading all of these blog posts about decluttering with konmari method and I was so hung up on executing the steps perfectly that I really got into this analysis paralysis where I wasn't taking taking any action and instead just thinking and overthinking so let go of this idea that there is one right way to declutter and it doesn't matter if you use the konmari method or you use the four box method or whatever decluttering method that you pick or no decluttering method at all because the most important thing is that you actually take action towards decluttering and remember that Perfection is the enemy of progress number six I have to pull everything out all at once speaking of the konmari method I think that this is another thing that trips a lot of people up because they find it very overwhelming to pull everything out at once and put it all out whether it's in your bedroom and you're trying to pull all of the the clothes out of your wardrobe or it's in your kitchen and you're trying to get everything out of the cabinets and if you are someone who is easily overwhelmed or you're starting with a lot of clutter you might find it easier to break down those decluttering projects into smaller more bite-sized chunks and that way you're able to finish that section in one go and then that means that you don't have to leave that stuff sitting out because you weren't able to complete it and I know that I really found it helpful to tackle smaller more manageable decluttering sessions so that I didn't have stuff strewn all over the place when my kids came home from school and then they're messing with stuff and making an even bigger mess line number seven I'll never be able to declutter my home a lot of people look at their homes and they look at the mess and they look at the Clutter and they think there is just too much it is absolutely impossible for me to get through all of this but no matter how much mess you have you have to realize that your house is a a very small and finite space and it is absolutely possible for you to declutter it and there are plenty of people who have done the same thing and gotten through even bigger messes than yours I think another reason that this lie trips people up is because you see on social media these videos or Instagram posts where a person declutters their entire home in one day or they say they became a minimalist in 30 days and it kind of gives us these unrealistic expectations as to what we can achieve in our own homes particularly for those of us who have a lot of clutter to start with so remind yourself that it is possible for you to declutter your home and you don't need to use other people to set your standards as to what you can achieve in your life on the other hand thinking your home will always be clean and clutter free is just as dangerous as thinking that you can never declutter your home and I'd like to show you this mess on the dining room table behind me this mess was left behind by my children after they got up and were getting ready for school they had some extra time and so they brought out some of their Legos and their stuffed animals and they were playing with them here on the dining room table and I didn't have time to tidy it up before I wanted to record this video and I thought this would be a good lesson for us that just because you declutter your home doesn't mean that it's always going to stay clutter free but what it does mean is that it's going to be easier to keep clean and tidy going forward because the less stuff that you have to manage the easier it is to put it back into its place so when I look at this mess I know that I can easily reset this base and take these things back to where they go and it's not going to weigh on my mind or suck up so much of my time as it was if I had so much more to manage lie number nine I need to wait for motivation to start decluttering declutter motivation is great when you have it because you feel like a decluttering Powerhouse but the problem is when your decluttering motivation runs out and you still have things left that you want to accomplish if you just sit around waiting to feel motivated again you could be waiting a very very long time I know that in the past when I felt down and anxious about the state of my home those feelings created this downward spiral were the worse I felt the less likely I was going to be to feel motivated to get up and actually start decluttering so instead of sitting around and waiting for motivation to come back into your life you need to find ways to re-motivate yourself whether it's giving yourself permission to listen to your favorite podcast only if you get up and start decluttering or creating decluttering Habits Like setting it into your schedule at a certain time every day you're going to be decluttering during that block of time so create a plan that's going to help you get through those times of low motivation so that you can keep taking steps forward even when you're not feeling motivated lie number 10 decluttering with kids is impossible I'm here to tell you that not only is it possible to declutter with kids but it's actually really really good for them because Studies have shown that children are more likely to be more focused and play more creatively and be happier when they have fewer toys and so just like we can get overwhelmed and anxious when we have too much stuff so too can your children and the first step is to be a good role model and lead by example when you're trying to model these good decluttering behaviors to your children but then also just slowly taking steps towards encouraging them to let go of things that maybe they've outgrown or they no longer need or that have broken and are no longer useful and gradually over time your children will become better and better and become more independent at being able to let go of clutter as well line number 11 this might be worth a lot of money because of something in Psychology that's known as the endowment effect a lot of us think that the things that we own are worth more than they actually are and there's an easy way to test this and see if your stuff is actually worth as much as you think it is and what you can do is go on eBay and I like to use the eBay app and you can search for that item that you're worried about getting rid of because you think it might be worth a lot of money and a lot of times you can check and see how much it's worth and it might not be actually worth as much as you think it was remember something is only worth money if other people are actually willing to pay for that item so it doesn't really matter how much you think an item is worth if you can't find a buyer for that item and then if money is the only thing holding you back and you see how much value it has when you run a search on eBay or Poshmark or wherever then maybe you can decide at that point whether it's worth you trying to sell the item or whether you just want to donate it because it wasn't actually as valuable as you thought line number 12 I'm wasting money if I get rid of this a lot of us get caught up in this financial guilt and we worry that we're wasting money when we let go of these things like we talked about earlier getting rid of perfectly useful items but in reality the money was wasted when you purchased the item and not when you get rid of it and it's more of a waste to keep something in your home and let it take up space weigh on your mind and take up your time and energy maintaining it than it is to get rid of it and just remember the investment that you made was made at the beginning and you're not losing anything when you get rid of that item line number 13 messy people can't declutter first of all I don't think that there's such thing as a messy person and you can watch this video up here if you want to hear my argument as to why you shouldn't label yourself of messy person but if your home is on the Messier side you might find even more benefit to decluttering versus someone who has naturally a tidier home life is already busy and messy enough with work stuff and school stuff and kids stuff and relationship stuff and all of these things that we need to do when you just add a lot of clutter on top of it that's a recipe for overwhelm so if your house tends to sway more towards a state of messiness you're going to feel even more benefit when you actually put it into order line number 14 I might need that in the future this just in case mindset stems from a fear that you might regret letting something go but most of the time if you're not using something right now then it's highly unlikely that you're going to need that thing in the future and another thing that happens is when you're living too much for future you and keeping too many things for future you you're not able to take care of and respect the you in the present right now a very concrete way to think about this is to try to think out towards the future and if you can't think of a certain time when you would need that thing in a period of six months or a year maybe then it's okay for you to let it go so really start to think about what are you actually using what do you actually love and want to have space for right now in the present moment and don't be afraid to let go of those things that you're keeping for just in case in the future lie number 15 decluttering is for physical stuff only I know that I was super caught up in decluttering the physical stuff in my home but what I didn't realize is how emotional the process of decluttering was going to be and I actually at the same time as when I was letting go of the physical items had to do a lot of internal decluttering where I was letting go of these limiting beliefs and these bad habits and all of these other things that go Way Beyond just the physical stuff that you're letting go of in your home and it's not just our mindset or our emotions that can be decluttered but also things like our digital spaces and our schedules to give ourselves more time back by mindfully doing less so let go of this idea that decluttering is only about physical items and think of other ways that you can declutter to give yourself more of what you want and less of what you don't lie number 16 I can afford it one of the best ways to keep your home clutter free is to stop things that you don't need from entering it in the first place so instead of asking yourself can I afford it ask yourself what value would this contribute to my life and where would this item live in my home and do I really need it and use those as a filter instead of just asking can I afford this thing decluttering line number 17 someone else is what's holding me back it can be tempting to try to push the blame as to why our home is cluttered onto other people but if you haven't fully dealt with your own clutter and you're trying to get other people to declutter their stuff then that can risk making them feel like you're being hypocritical and trying to force decluttering on them and one of the best ways to get people on board with decluttering is to show them how beneficial decluttering can be and don't disregard the power of communication and setting boundaries like if you have grandparents who are giving your kids way too many toys during the holidays you might need to open up the Avenues of communication and say that you're trying to live a lighter and more clutter-free life and so you would appreciate it if they would focus Less on material things and maybe look for other ways to gift things to the children whether it's time spent together or experiences that they can share and a lot of times when the other members of your household see how helpful decluttering is then they're more willing to go along with it and gradually become more on board with the decluttering process themselves lie number 18 I'm a bad or ungrateful person for wanting to get rid of this this misconception pops up a lot when you have things that maybe were passed down to you from relatives or that were gifts that were given to you but you don't like and a lot of us want to protect the feelings of the people that we love and then we'll just keep holding on to these things even if we don't like them or never use them but if you think about it the people who pass the things on or gave you the gifts would probably want you to feel happy and pleased with the item and not want to feel like it's a burden and so therefore there's really no point in you keeping these things that aren't a good fit in your life simply to spare their feelings and alleviate that guilt that you feel about not wanting or liking the item for whatever reason so wanting to get rid of these things doesn't mean that you're bad or ungrateful or that you're disrespecting the memory of the person who passed it on to you it just just means that it's not a good fit in your life and it doesn't have a place and maybe then it would be better to send it on to a new chance to make someone else happy and actually be able to enjoy it lie number 19 is that decluttering is bad for the environment and I would argue that it's not decluttering that's bad for the environment it's consumerism and Hyper consumerism that our society is engaging in where we're buying much much more stuff than we need and just like we talked about where the money isn't wasted when you get rid of the item it's wasted when you spend the money to buy the thing that you didn't really want or need and if you really care about the environment there are sustainable ways to declutter like selling items online or joining by nothing groups and giving them away or simply supporting local charities or churches or donation centers and thrift stores so there are plenty of ways to get rid of things that don't involve all of you just throwing them in the trash line number 20 I have to become a minimalist just because you want to declutter your home doesn't mean you need to become a minimalist and I think that there's a lot of stereotypes wrapped up in minimalism as well as decluttering where people think that it means you have to get rid of all of your stuff and own less than 100 items or dress in only black white and gray to be considered a real minimalist when in reality minimalism can look so different for all of the different people who practice it and there's all sorts of types of minimalists there's all sorts of different ways to practice minimalism and it's really along a spectrum and there's tons of benefits if you want to take your decluttering journey a step further and try to explore minimalist living so if you'd like to hear more about the benefits of minimalism make sure to go check out this video or I'll see you next week until then take care bye bye

Channel: A to Zen Life

Views: 628,396

Keywords: decluttering lies, clutter lies, lies about decluttering, declutter lies, decluttering, declutter, decluttering for beginners, myth busting clutter, decluttering mistakes, decluttering minimalism, misconceptions about clutter, clutter myths, decluttering myths, minimalist, minimalism, decluttering and organizing, declutter motivation, how to declutter, how to declutter your home, lies about stuff, messy home, clutter-free, declutter your home, a to zen life

Id: CoM0w0Cxebw

Length: 19min 32sec (1172 seconds)

Published: Sun May 21 2023