Declutter Now! Your Loved Ones Will Thank You. And Where to Start.

Declutter Now! You owe it to Loved Ones + Where and How to Start.

Over the past several weeks, we have been cleaning out my Grandfather’s house. He has lived in that house for almost 60 years. (He is alive and well, he just moved to an assisted living facility. His social calendar has more events than a high schooler!! Honestly, it has been really great for him.) He and my grandmother had accumulated 60 years of STUFF. Their house was always tidy and well kept. But they each had collections of things. My Grandmother loved antiques and cut glass, while my Grandfather loves cars and planes.

This process has been emotional and long. It has also become very clear to me that,

You owe it to the people you love to go through your stuff, now!

Sifting through a lifetime of memories and belongings is hard enough without trying to decipher what mattered and what was cherished, compared to the items that were just space suckers.

How long have you lived in your home? 5 years, 10 years, a lifetime? If something happened to you tomorrow, is it fair to make the people you love go through all that stuff?

I don’t think it is. My loved ones should never have to spend that much time going through my things. I also don’t want to put them in the position to have to figure out what to do with all of it. We all have our own homes full of things and trying to put another home in with yours is just difficult.  Both emotionally and logistically.

We climbed into the attic to discover that when my Grandmother’s mom passed away, she ended up with so many things she didn’t know what to do with. Into the attic they went, for us to find. So there we were, YEARS later, clearing out what they didn’t know what to do with from my Great Grandmother’s house.

I don’t know about you, friend, but I love my family too much to do that.

Please don’t put it off any longer. Be an action taker. I know it seems daunting and overwhelming, but you can and will get through it. Here are a few strategies to get you going. Once you take the leap, the progress momentum will carry you.

Don’t do the “Holy Moly! My whole house needs help. I don’t even know where to start” mentality. That won’t help you. Instead, take ten minutes and decide what areas bother you the most. For me, it was toys, laundry, and my junk closet. Just pick three for now. Then pick three to five areas you know you go through quickly without coming across major sentimental objects. I picked bathrooms, clothes/shoes, laundry area, and junk drawer.

I started with the toys simply because I was at the absolute end of my rope with them. Where you start depends on your personality. If you are all in, know you need to declutter starting right now, and have the discipline to see the area through, pick a worry area. If you know you need to declutter but feel apprehensive and maybe even a little scared, (which is normal, by the way) pick one of the areas you can breeze through. Starting with the easier areas will give you some quick, visible, and empowering progress.

There isn’t a right answer. The best answer is to just start. Don’t look at the whole house. Just go piece by piece. Write it on your calendar. Make it a date with yourself. Go drawer by drawer if you need to. I actually had to go one cabinet at a time in my kitchen.

See, I love to cook and going through all of the gadgets and gizmos was grueling for me. I knew it would be. In my planner, I wrote one cabinet per week. I started with the cups, then dishes, then pots. Week by week I was making steady progress. I was also in a season of life that was extraordinarily full. I was working full-time, two littles, a grad student, gym-a-holic, and extracurricular activities that my kiddos participated in. That was all I had time for, but it was still forward.

Find a donation center or cause you feel good about giving your things to. Don’t waste time trying to sell every onesie on Facebook. If it was worth more than $100, then I would sell it. Otherwise, it went to a local children’s home or my church. You haven’t finished the area until all of it is gone! Do not let it sit more than two weeks. Really a week, but hey, I get it. Keep the donation items somewhere where your kids or spouse cannot derail your progress by going back through the bags. If there are some items you are unsure about, box them up, put a date two weeks out on the box, and put them in your garage. If you haven’t pulled the item out in that time, the box goes. (No peeking before it is donated!)

Another way to get yourself jump-started is to call your local paper and schedule a garage sale. Give them the date to publish it. After the sale, any items remaining go straight to a donation center. We did have one garage sale where we made a little money. Near the end, an expecting couple came by and we ended up giving them all of the baby things that were left. When we started loading their car… the look on that mom’s face was worth it. Unknowingly, we just made a huge difference for that mom and baby.

You can also schedule a pickup from your donation center. Knowing they are coming puts some pep in your step to get on it. We haven’t done this…yet (insert evil laugh). It is coming soon though. I am still on this journey too. We have come a long way. I can see the benefits and reap the rewards, but I still have work to do myself.

Let me help you on your journey. I am here to coach you and encourage you. Here is my 21 Day Clean-out Checklist to help get you going. Spend only about ten minutes per day for 21 days to hit the highlights.

What are you waiting for? There is never a good time. All you have is right now.