3 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Decluttering

Do you ever imagine what it would be like to go back to your teenage years or early twenties and wonder what you would do if you had the knowledge you have now??

Would you have made less mistakes? Or just chilled out a bit more?

When I discovered minimalism in my last year of my undergrad in 2011, like many of my obscure hobbies… I didn’t know anyone else who was into it too! I relied on blog posts from Miss Minimalist and Zen Habits in quiet corners of the internet, laying the foundations in my mind for a new way of life.

Now I have the privilege of walking others through the jungle of decluttering, equipped with all of the hard-learned lessons and life-changing hacks I’ve enthusiastically gathered over the course of 10 years.

Here are three things I would have told myself right back at the beginning, painstakingly scanning my childhood diaries and heading for burnout.

The Gift of Regret

Ok, bare with me for a second. There are some key milestones in your decluttering journey that mark a point of no return (in a good way). One for me was the experience of decluttering something and needing it later… but not being all that bothered by it.

For example, I decluttered a pink skirt once that I had not worn to work in a long time. One day I went looking for it and remembered that it had gone in the charity bag a few months before. There was a moment of, ‘oh…’ and then I just picked out something else to wear instead. In that moment I was free to replace the skirt, borrow one from a friend or simply try something else that was just as good.

And the world didn’t end.

This is the gift of experiencing regret that doesn’t shake you, that allows you to free yourself from the ‘what if’s and ‘oh, but…’s that hold you back from making space at home.

I double dare you to take a chance on something today you’re scared you might miss.

(psst… pro-tip: the things you cherish deeply will never be in danger here because they will easily go in your keep pile. This regret principle is for the ‘maybe’s and the ‘not sure’s)

Suzy Kell Decluttering Wardrobe Clothes Bedroom.jpg

2. Go it Alone and Roll Back Down the Hill

I tried a number of decluttering methods before it finally clicked. I finally got the the moment where things didn’t build back up again. I did Miss Minimalist’s ‘The Joy of Less’ method and I even tried Marie Kondo’s KonMari method from ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying’… but it didn’t stick.

Until… my husband started decluttering his stuff too.

The momentum we gained from a whole-household approach was exponential.

His stuff was being decluttered, not just mine
Our join stuff was being decluttered, without delays and nagging
His involvement was great motivation for me to keep going
He was a great reminder to me in the throws of impulse buying (“does that spark joy, Honey?”)

This is why I’ve built teamwork into everything that I teach as a core pillar - we go further together!

Read ‘Why your Partner is your Secret Weapon’ next (click for the post).

*My handsome husband wishes to keep his face off the internet*

3. You Will Always Be Decluttering

Is this a shock to you? It was a relief to me.

Of course, you can do a ‘this is our time’ big clear out that starts your decluttering journey, but life keeps on coming. And so does the stuff. There will always be post, school stuff, gifts, packaging and new memories being made - this is life!

The way we acknowledge this will have huge implications for how uncluttered your house remains, and this is why addressing your shopping habits and ‘yes, I’ll take that habits’ are so important.

The way I help my clients with this is to brainstorm what they will change now so that whatever they are decluttering will not build up again - e.g. if we are sorting and shredding papers we will thinks of ways to digitise bills and subscriptions, reduce junk mail, decide on what to do with cards.

What could you change about the way you deal with gifts, bulk-buying toiletries or delivery boxes? (click for blogs about each!)