The Secret to Decluttering Can Be This Easy!

Does the thought of organizing make you want to close the closet door and walk away? You're not alone.

For many people, the hardest part isn't finding the time to declutter. It's the words we attach to it.

Words like purge, toss, trash, get rid of, or throw away can make the whole process feel stressful before you even begin. They have such a negative connotation.

What if you looked at it differently?  Instead of thinking about what you're losing, think about what you're creating.

Instead of purging, imagine you're editing or curating your home so it better reflects who you are today.  That small shift in thinking can make a surprisingly big difference!

I saw this happen with a client who loved to cook. She had shelves filled with dozens of cookbooks, many of which she hadn't opened in years. Looking at all of them felt overwhelming.

Rather than asking herself which books to get rid of, she decided to create a recipe collection that represented her abilities, heritage, and reality.

Each evening, she'd flip through just one cookbook, and only save the recipes she truly used or wanted to make, and file them into categories that made sense for the way she actually did cook: “One Pot Meals”, “Pool Party”, “BBQ”, “Thanksgiving”, “Seder”, etc… And YES, she RIPPED pages out of her books (with my blessing) as she went.

By the time she was finished, she had a personalized recipe collection and shelves that no longer felt crowded. She made handwritten notes as she went, jotting down how she altered the recipe or who in her family especially loved that dish.  Instead of being a chore, it was an enjoyable experience and honored her lifelong passion of feeding those she loved.

And when she passed unexpectedly last year, her family was SO happy to have her curated collection in one place with her thoughtful notations. Her daughters actually contacted me with so much appreciation that instead of the task of donating a hundred cookbooks, they had this wonderful gift of all the beloved family recipes in one place.

Another client had inherited beautiful china and crystal from her grandmother. Like so many people, she felt guilty letting any of it go, even though, as a single older woman, she knew she would never host a dinner for sixteen.

Instead of storing it forever, she chose to create a meaningful display. She selected a few of her favorite pieces, a teapot, a tureen, and a beautiful vase, and arranged them in her dining room cabinet where she could see and enjoy them every day.

Then she split the remaining pieces with her two nieces.  They loved the “gradmacore” vibe of the floral china, and each was thrilled to receive a service for eight of true family heirlooms they would actually use.  Nothing was purged; the items were preserved and used instead of being packed away.

I think that's the real lesson. Organizing isn't about getting rid of things.  It's about making thoughtful decisions about choosing what deserves space in your home and in your life.

So the next time you start feeling overwhelmed by a decluttering project, pay attention to the words you're using.

Don't think about purging.

•       Think about editing.
•       Think about curating.
•       Think about creating a home filled with the things you truly love, use, and appreciate.

Sometimes changing one word is enough to change your entire outlook.