Small-steps decluttering – The benefits of 20 minutes sessions – And how to organise them

Is your decluttering task too big? Overwhelming?

If we own a lot of stuff or if many areas of our home are cluttered with too many things, the ideal solution would be to conduct a massive decluttering project, clearing up our home entirely and at once.

The idea that we have to do it all in one go can become the reason why we don’t start at all!

• • If we are in an extremely busy phase of our life we might just not have the time for a decluttering project that will take several days or even weeks to get completed.
  • It could also be that we feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the decluttering task – we don’t feel able to plan and organise the work, have no idea how and where to get started. Thus, we procrastinate and postpone the project-start again and again.
  • There might be other reasons why we don’t feel physically or mentally able to go through a complex energy- and effort-demanding project.
  • Or we don’t have enough space for a big decluttering project: If our home is very small or fully packed with stuff, we might not be able to arrange the free flat working areas necessary for the sorting and organising processes.

The solution? We let go of the idea that we must sort it all out in one go.

Instead, we decide to conduct a series of shorter decluttering sessions over a period of weeks or even months.

The benefits of the small-steps decluttering approach

• • The small-steps decluttering approach allows you to achieve fast and visible results.
  • It’s easy to integrate the decluttering sessions into your daily life because they are short and have a clearly defined duration.
  • Scheduling the sessions as appointments in your calendar helps you to take them seriously and to develop a regular decluttering routine.
  • Regular decluttering sessions have a similar effect as regular exercises: you practice your decluttering skills and build up ‘I-can-do-it’ confidence.
  • At the end of your decluttering journey your home is – Clutterfree and Organised! 

How to get organised for the decluttering sessions

• • Determine the duration of the daily decluttering session. (20 minutes? Or 30?)
  • Schedule the declutter sessions as important appointments with yourself in your calendar.
  • Create a list of the rooms/areas in your home you wish to declutter and organise. (Click Here for ideas/suggestions)
  • Decide in which room/area of your home to start the decluttering.

How to do the decluttering sessions

Get started

• • Go to the room where you want to start. 
  • Take photos.
  • Choose a small (!!!) area to focus on in your first session.
  • Switch the timer on (20 min? 30 min? You decide.)
  • Take everything out from the chosen area and distribute all items on a flat surface like the floor, a bed, or a table – that’s your working area.

Sort and declutter

• • Sort out what’s broken and or, for other reasons, no longer usable (into the rubbish bin).
  • Sort what’s left into categories of like items.  (If applicable. This might not make sense when you, for example, declutter the counter top in the kitchen. It is necessary, however, if you, for example, declutter the cleaning stuff under the kitchen sink, or the underwear drawer.)
  • Sort out unnecessary duplicates (into the rubbish bin or donation box).
  • Sort out what no longer serves you. 

This is the tough part.

Take everything that’s left into your hands and ask yourself: ‘Does this really serve me? Do I need, use or love it?’

If you can’t answer with a clear ‘yes’, it is time to say goodbye to that item. Let it go. (Into the rubbish bin or donation box.)

• • Sort out what belongs into another room. And get it there.

Organise

• • Clean the decluttered empty space.
  • Take everything you decided to keep and place it back where it belongs.

Use boxes, baskets, or other space dividers to assemble and organise items that belong together.

• • Clean your working area, and get the rubbish/donation boxes out.
  • Take photos of the decluttered area.

Final steps:

• • Celebrate the completion of this decluttering session!
  • And plan the next session.

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P.S.

CLICK HERE to learn from an example decluttering project:

I used the small-steps decluttering approach to declutter and organise the office supplies drawer.