Books to Inspire you Based on your Decluttering Style
Does the thought of getting all the junk down from the top of your wardrobe fill you with an overwhelming feeling of, ‘erm…. NOPE’? Are you well practiced in the the ritual of nudging brooms back to a less precarious angles as you unsquash and yank your winter coat out from the hall closet?? Yeah… our brains get in the way sometimes.
(Can you imagine this as a professional sport, narrated by a nasal English accent too?)
“Is plaid still in??”
I hear you. You just want the internal screams to quiet down as you go about your daily life - you have enough else to deal with. But to begin decluttering, you must first build up the will to start. That’s where today’s blog comes in - I’ve got some special books to light up your mind and make you see what’s possible for the both of you.
Super. Exciting.
But first, let me tell you about the two main styles of decluttering I’ve experienced so you can read what suits your work style best. On the one hand you’ve got the ‘get-everything-I-own-out-on-the-bed-and-attack-it-for-6-hours-straight’ kind of person who pounces like a tiger, rearing to go but might run out of steam without a plan.
On the other, you’ve got the person who prefers to carefully assess each sock, letting go of 3 things per month (possibly as their family pleads with them to throw out old bus tickets they cherish). I’m exaggerating! And perhaps you find you are person one for clothes, but person 2 for your dad’s old tools. That’s ok.
Here are some fantastic resources to get you pumped up for decluttering right now:
(Just so you know: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on them and buy something I get a small percentage. Thank you for supporting my small business in this way!)
(Pssst! If you can get these second-hand or in your local library I very much encourage that)
Tiger coming to attack his kitchen cupboards (Photo by capri23auto from Pexels)
Person 1: The Big-Blast Tiger
How they Work:
Long, intense one-off sessions
Full enthusiasm by morning, exhausted by evening
Has not thought through what to do with it afterwards
What to Read:
The classic. The book that sparked a revolution in the organising industry. Your desire to tackle this project in a ‘go big or go home’ kind of way will be served well by this book as she suggests you take on your whole house in one go as a ‘tidying festival’.
What will serve you well is also a methodology and a way to ask questions of yourself, ‘does this spark joy?’ (I would also add, if it is something you need or something another object could do for you too…).
Best Bit: There is a description of Marie’s coming home ritual of putting everything away in its place that stopped my heart and captures the essence of why decluttering is so magical.
2. ‘The 100 Things Challenge’ by Dave Bruno
This is a biographical account of a year Dave spent owning only 100 things (even though his book collection counted as 1, lol!). It was one of the first books I read on minimalism and it was a ride. He owned 5 t-shirts, they got holes. He kept extreme sports equipment and found he only used a small amount.
It shows the unique power of doing something drastic to learn deep truths about yourself and breaking down the barriers of what others might think of you making such big changes in your life.
Best Bit: He describes the efforts his aunts went to give him things, as gifts were a way they wanted to show love. He literally had to forcefully stop them giving him two leather jackets because they would tip him over 100 objects.
3. ‘The Curated Closet’ by Anushka Rees (+ Workbook)
This is a well-organised step-by-step guide to discovering your personal style and slowing changing your clothes to match and suit your lifestyle (guys too!). It was groundbreaking for me. I’m always fascinated how our deep selves and our choices on the surface can be so different, and she has the coolest exercises to pull out exactly what you should wear and why - e.g. take photos of yourself for 2 weeks and see what you actually wear.
This comes as a workbook too and will slow you down to learn what you truly need right now, giving you focus for your decluttering blasts.
Best Bit: The shopping experiment - trying on different styles in shop changing rooms to see what works and what doesn’t. There is a big difference between pinning things to Pinterest and seeing them on your body.
Squirrel modelling vertical storage innovation (Photo from Pixabay)
Person 2: The Small-Steps Squirrel
How they Work:
A little bit every day
A huge amount of energy goes into each decision
Stays in their comfort zone
What to Read:
The Minimalists crafted an amazing documentary showing people living with less in many different life circumstances and pushed the boundaries on what we truly need to be happy in our consumer-driven world. This grew into a podcast, books (see above) and many decluttering methods were born.
One is the 30-Day Minimalism Game - a challenge whereby you declutter 1 thing on day 1, 2 things on day two… up to 30 things by day 30. That’s makes a total of 500+ things decluttered in just a month! It builds up your decision-making muscles over time and can be done as a community online. This is great if you need to start small and work your way up.
2. ‘Goodbye Things’ by Fumio Sasaki
I love this book. It tells the story of Fumio, a Japanese man living in Tokyo, who decided to turn his life around. He shares short chapters of advice and philosophical nuggets to blow your mind over and over again to planting truths and inspire you to your toes.
This will be great for you if you need to open up to the benefits of decluttering your life. And your head.
Best Bit: He shares how your belongings don’t just take up space, they talk to you… sometimes they taunt you from across the room. This realisation changed my relationship with stuff forever.
3. ‘The Joy of Less’ by Francine Jay
This book by the blogger, Miss Minimalist, is so sweetly written. It would calm any nervous stuff lover. She describes in very practical ways, how to enjoy public gardens instead of needing to own shovels and stacks of pots of your own. She pushes herself to try living with just one of certain items, to experiment and learn as she goes. She shows the grace of transitioning from one stage of life to another, where one might need to own more things (like when her daughter was born) and how to be mindful of that.
You’ll love this if decluttering feels scary and need a gentle voice urging you on and sharing special moments from her simple life.
Best Bit: I love her method of using modules. Keep a stationary module of a few pens, paper clips and one stapler instead of multiples of everything. She was amazed by how many pens she found in her house!
So there you go, books to read on your lunch break to get you fired up to take on your house. They make decluttering seem possible, breaking down into smaller steps and teaching you how to set goals, make good decisions and form habits.
Remember, I’m here to help fully of enthusiasm and knowledge to get your headspace back even quicker than you would yourself. Click below to find out more about my virtual services: