5 Questions To Ask Yourself When Decluttering

As a professional organizer, many people assume my MO is to walk into a client’s home and urge them to get rid of as much as possible. But that’s just not true!

When working with clients, I often use the phrase “if we don’t declutter and remove some items when organizing, we are ultimately just moving around stuff around”. This phrase helps my clients to understand why I am making decluttering a part of the process and shows them I understand their apprehension in doing so - and know how to help them through it.

When working with a client, we have a ton of different conversations to get to the bottom of whether or not something is being kept vs donated/trashed. But here are a few examples of questions you can ask yourself when making decluttering decisions:.

1) When is the last time this was used? If you bought lime green spray paint for your child’s art project a few years back but never touched it again, get rid of it!

2) How hard would it be to replace this item if you need it? Often people don’t want to get rid of something because of the money they spent on it or the fear they will need it again and not have it. If this is the case, simply consider how simple it would be to get another if you really needed it and let it go.

3) How long has this item been in this spot? Many people move into their homes and never unpack items. If you moved in 15 years ago and never once wondered where that item was, you don’t need it!

4) Do you have more of this item? Or some other item that will serve the same purpose? When deciding whether or not you should get rid of something, think about your home and where other items like this live. If you know you have 3 staplers in your office, the 3 in the junk drawer can go (compare quality here to keep the best ones!)

5) Do you need to do anything for this item to become useful again? If something is broken or needs repair, really consider the time, effort and money that will have to go into making the item useful again. Don’t add another project onto your list that is not worth it to do.

Do you need help making decisions on what stays and what goes in your home? Let us help you declutter by telling us about your project here!