When you’re overwhelmed by clutter, the best thing to do is to make a plan. We as a culture have come to anticipate and expect quick results for everything we attempt. But you can’t demolish a mountain in one day. If you find yourself discouraged about an unending mess, you need to set realistic goals. Here we will cover how to do that. It starts with adopting a realistic and positive mindset. Just because you can’t magically eliminate your clutter with a magic wand doesn’t mean you can’t eliminate it at all! You just need to embrace a reasonable pace and celebrate every win along the way.
1. Tour Your Home and Make a Comprehensive List
Has your home turned into the kind of catastrophe that leaves you thinking, where do I even begin? The best strategy for improvement is to make a comprehensive list of what you want to change and then tackle one thing at a time. This list should cover everything that you want to organize in your house. Go from room to room. Within each room, go from corner to corner. Cupboard to cupboard. Desk to table. Don’t pass by an inch. Write a comprehensive outline detailing everything you want to change. Don’t get discouraged by how big your list is. Ignore its breadth. The idea is that you include every aspect that is less than ideal.
2. Include Strategies to Keep from Getting Overwhelmed by Clutter in the Future
As you go through your house, notice how, where, and why clutter accumulates. Typically, clutter is a result of physical objects coming into the house that we don’t deal with in the same amount of time that they come in. In other words, more new crap comes in faster than old crap gets sorted out. What a discouraging thing to happen as you’re trying to deal with the crap already there!
The last thing you want is for more clutter to accumulate as you’re in the process of trying to tackle existing clutter. This means you need to incorporate some strategies into your daily schedule. You need to make a plan for all incoming physical objects and you need to organize storage space to accommodate them.
Add to your list each area that needs a new system. Maybe you need a designated tray for mail. Maybe you need a designated bin, cabinet or drawer. If new furniture isn’t in your budget, go check out your local resale store. Check thrift stores or consignment shops. You’ll likely find something in your budget that will work perfectly. Even if this adds more tasks to your list (i.e. get used furniture and paint it a tolerable colour), in the end it will serve you well to keep from getting overwhelmed by clutter yet again.
3. Sort Your List by How Complicated Each Task Will Be
Some things on your list will be a piece of cake, and other things will be an ominous task you’ve been avoiding like the plague. Sorry; you still have to deal with those things! But you can do it, I promise. First, though, it’s important to separate the easy things from the dreaded things. The idea is that you’ll make an effort to tackle each thing one by one, ideally every day. So indicate which tasks will be easier and which will be harder.
4. Designate Times You Can Set Aside on Your Calendar to Tackle Your List
Be realistic. Don’t plan to sort through paperwork at eight in the evening when you’re trying to wind down for bed. (If you regularly work a second or third shift, your alert hours may be different times of the day or night.) For one thing, we have a certain amount of motivation and self-discipline each day. These are typically highest earlier in the day and wane by the end of the day. So if you are alert and happy to work in the morning but by evening crave activities that don’t demand much brain power, work within your natural rhythms. Don’t try to schedule things you dislike late in the day, because you just won’t do it. Or you’ll try, but you’ll be unhappy and it will take a lot longer – which will drag out the process and sap your motivation.
Dreaded Tasks and Easy Wins
Set yourself up for success by scheduling the most mentally intense activities at the time of day when you are normally most alert, motivated and energized. If this means you have to wait until the weekend or whatever days you have off work to tackle this type of clutter, do just that. In the meantime, you can tackle the less mentally-intense tasks throughout your workweek at other times.
The easy wins on your list are things that aren’t complicated but that you just don’t ever feel like doing. To be fair, we always have something more rewarding and meaningful to do with our time! But now you are setting aside specific time blocks to tackle clutter. Schedule your easy wins during times that you normally have less energy and motivation. You’ll be more likely to get those tasks over with when you aren’t up for more difficult tasks.
Whenever you complete an easy win, you’ll get a little boost of positivity. Celebrate! You can then reward yourself with whatever activity makes you happy, or you can use that motivation to tackle another easy win for a double boost of positivity afterwards. Easy wins are actually the little things that build a mountain of success. Those are the things that will ultimately drive you onward and give you the confidence to tackle more difficult tasks. Easy wins build up your momentum. So don’t neglect or underestimate them, even if you feel like you can just put it off ‘til tomorrow.
Set Realistic Goals
When planning your schedule, be realistic. Don’t overschedule. That’s an easy way to get behind and then feel discouraged, which will not serve you well. Make sure that you also leave time for self-care each day. You can’t fill every spare moment with tasks and chores. If this means you only have ten minutes most days to de-clutter, that’s okay. You can still get things done! And some days you may find yourself feeling extra motivated and productive. Better to plan for small efforts and allow extra efforts to come naturally than to over-plan and then disappoint yourself when you get sick or have some other issue that sets you back.
Remember, the tortoise wins the race. Know that de-cluttering isn’t necessarily urgent and that your well-being is always priority. By maximizing your own well-being, you are already accomplishing what’s most important in any given day. But continue to tackle your de-cluttering list little by little as you can, and watch your house improve – drawer by drawer.
5. Go at it and Stick to Your Plan with Diligence
Assuming you have a realistic plan in place, you should be able to stick to your plan diligently. If you end up getting behind, however, don’t worry! It’s okay if your de-clutter project ends up taking an extra couple of months due to circumstances out of your control. People get sick. Catastrophes happen. We always hope these things don’t happen, but life always throws curveballs.
Obviously, it’s most important to prioritize what matters most. Then, as you can, go back and continue your tasks. Don’t just write it off because you got behind and feel discouraged. It doesn’t matter how soon you complete your goals. What matters is that you keep working at them and don’t procrastinate. Tending to more important life circumstances is one thing. Procrastinating because you lost motivation is another entirely. Don’t let that happen! Some days you may have five minutes to do something small. You may need to wait until the next day to finish. That’s alright! But keep at it. Eventually, gradual effort builds into progress. Some days you will have even more time as well as a burst of motivation to tackle much at once.
6. Celebrate Each and Every Win
Avoid becoming a ruthless taskmaster who endlessly slaves away, only focused on how much there is left to do. Focus on how much you have already accomplished. Yes, you want to keep motivated and keep at your tasks and don’t lose momentum. But you need to incorporate celebrations into your life. For every task you complete, celebrate yourself! Have a meal you love or relax in the sun with a good book or phone call. Go out with friends. Life is a balance of work and play. When we work, we work. And when we play, we play. Don’t neglect one for the other! When you acknowledge your successes, you build confidence in your abilities. That helps you to keep going about your tasks. So don’t forget this last step. The more you accomplish, the more empowered you’ll feel.
Dealing with Resistance: How Our Mental Resolve Affects How Easily We Get Overwhelmed by Clutter
It’s easy for an outsider to tell you to be ruthless with your clutter elimination strategy. ‘Toss it if it doesn’t make you happy or fulfill a need.’ But in reality, some things are a little more complicated because they require more thought. Some things seem completely useless but you think they could come in handy later. I have a couple of paper shopping bags full of small containers I’ve saved. I could probably toss some, but many have in fact come in handy when I end up needing a place for something small. (These things are stored out of sight in a closet so they aren’t an eyesore.) Or maybe there are letters or papers you’ve kept because you aren’t ready to let go of them yet. Or you have been meaning to contact someone or do something with whatever written information.
Feeling Overwhelmed by Clutter that Requires Future Thought or Action
These situations warrant an extra action. You need to add whatever appropriate action to your list. Clutter you hold on to as a ‘placeholder’ for some future action should be sorted into a specific box or place. Your tasks then involve going through each thing, one at a time, and addressing whatever situation needs to be addressed. Maybe you were really interested in a program or class. If there is a legitimate reason you need to wait, make a note on your calendar to register or take whatever other action at the earliest you can do so. In the meantime, the physical information sheet can remain in the special task location. Then, once you do whatever you need to do on that date, you can recycle or toss the paper reminder.
If there is no legitimate reason preventing you from taking action now, then the task needs to be on your list. As with all else on your list, set aside a date and time on your calendar when you can take care of it. Then, get rid of the unnecessary paperwork or other item kept as a reminder.
Feeling Overwhelmed by Clutter as a Result of Relational Analysis Paralysis
The same goes for relationship-oriented clutter. If you’re holding onto a letter or photo as a reminder to contact someone but you haven’t yet contacted them, make a note on your calendar to do so. Set aside the time. We are busy humans and ask a lot of ourselves to maintain ten thousand relationships over a lifetime. If a relationship is meaningful to you – or even if you want to politely thank or reach out to a simple acquaintance as a kind gesture – make the time to do so. You can be prompt and targeted with your time; you don’t need to devote an entire hour. But do it sooner than later so you don’t have a random letter sitting on your counter for six months.
Feeling Overwhelmed by Clutter That Saps Our Emotional Energy
Sometimes, resistance has more to do with something we are afraid of letting go of inside our selves. Sometimes, clutter inadvertently defines us. Maybe you feel some connection with an object because of a memory it represents. If this memory is a positive one that brings you joy, then the object probably isn’t clutter to begin with. But if the memory is anything less than positive, then you need to set aside some self-care time to work through these feelings.
Let go of the object with intention. Go donate it or throw it away if necessary. You’ll be amazed at how much lighter and more energized you’ll feel afterwards. This project isn’t just about things typically classified as clutter. Clutter includes anything that makes you feel less than happy because objects affect our energy. Keep a note of this as you inventory your house. You may need to do some inner healing in the process. That is no accident. Our physical space and inner space are completely connected, so take this as a very beneficial step you do not neglect. Your home is a reflection of your inner space.
Going from Overwhelmed by Clutter to Feeling in Control of Your Pleasant Space
When you don’t have a bunch of stuff sitting around, your mind is clearer. You don’t find yourself subconsciously distracted by things you’ve been neglecting. You can better focus on the here and now.
This is a very, very good place to be. Because life is about living in the present moment. And even if that means you need to prioritize your free time to do things that require some self-discipline, remember that it’s well worth it in the end. If you diligently tackle clutter and implement strategies to keep it from accumulating again, you’ll enjoy more mental peace and a more pleasant home. You’ll then be able to spend your spare time doing things you want to do rather than ruminate on (or expend subconscious effort to avoid) the never-ending mess around you. Instead of being overwhelmed by clutter, you’ll bask in the efforts of your hard work. Remember this as you go through the process. Keep at it, don’t be discouraged by the amount of time it takes, and celebrate your wins!