16: Step 3: Decluttering. Decluttering Your Home for a Happier, Healthier You
Decluttering Benefits. We are going in depth with each of the 7 Steps to Organizing (almost) Anything. In this episode, we are focusing on Step 3, which is the Decluttering Step in an organizing and productivity project for a happier, healthier life.
In this episode we talk about:
- Importance of decluttering
- Practical tips when decluttering
- Questions to ask yourself
Episode 1: 7 Steps to Organizing (almost) Anything
https://theorganizedflamingo.com/7-steps-to-organizing/
Episode 8: Step 1: Assess. The Power of Planning Ahead
https://theorganizedflamingo.com/8-step-1-assess-the-power-of-planning-ahead/
Episode 14: Step 2: Step 2: Sorting. Strategies for Sorting Your Things
https://theorganizedflamingo.com/14-step-2-sorting-strategies-for-sorting-your-things/
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger. For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Connect with Stephanie
https://www.instagram.com/theorganizedflamingo/
Review the Transcript:
There is a famous poem by Nelson Mandela, titled letting go. And in one of the sentences, it goes something like this. To let go doesn't mean to stop carrying. The poem continues on with it means I can't do it for someone else. But here for the purposes of our podcast today, I've wanted to talk about letting go, because we're talking about decluttering, which is step three of our seven steps of organizing almost anything. It's a very important step in the process of organizing. And the reason I brought in the poem by Nelson Mandela in that line in particular, is because when we talk about decluttering, generally people think about throwing things away, someone will make me throw my stuff away, I will have to throw my stuff away, or let go or sell it, when maybe you're not completely ready to do so. Well, if that's the case, that's not what decluttering means. decluttering simply means to let go of something that is no longer serving you to let go, doesn't mean you stop caring about the item.
It just means that in the right now, and in the future, that item is no longer serving you. And instead, it is cluttering your space, your mind your area. So as we start this episode, I want to emphasize how kind we need to be with ourselves about this process. That decluttering shouldn't be a process that anyone is making you do that when you go through this process, you're understanding that this is for the greater good of whatever your goal is, you may be downsizing, maybe it's time to move, maybe it is because you are holding on to items that are causing more mental strain, maybe more emotional heartaches. And so I want us to be kind with ourselves when we go through this process and step because it's a really important step to go through. But also, I understand how hard it can be to let go. Welcome to the organized and productive podcast with organized Flamingo. I am your host, Stephanie, a professional organizer and productivity expert, ready to explore the right organizing and productivity solutions for you. Yeah, well, then let's go.
Okay, so let's get started with today's topic of decluttering. So the decluttering phase or step is step three of our seven steps of organizing almost anything. And if you're just tuning in to this particular episode, just know that this is part of a series, there are two other episodes along well, actually three episodes alongside this one, there is the overview of the seven steps of organizing almost anything which I will put in the show notes. And then there are steps one and steps two. So you can do a catch up there, you can listen to this episode on its own. But it is helpful to listen to the other two, to get some sense of where we are. So as a quick reminder, our seven steps of organizing almost anything is a framework we like to use that the organized plumbing go to help us have a roadmap. It also helps us guide our community through the organizing process, because when there's a step by step by step, it just makes it easier to follow. So we created the seven steps of organizing almost anything framework to help you follow along. Now another reminder is that you don't have to do every single one of these steps together at the same time. They are designed so that you can do them each individually. Or you can do them all in one city or one day or one project. But technically they all are each they're an individual part of the project. Now, the seven steps are divided into three phases.
Step one is phase one, steps two through five are phase two. And then step six, and seven are phase three. Phase one should be done with step one. And that should start the process. You don't want to miss the assess step, then steps two through five can be done in any order. So we are talking through step three right now the decluttering phase, but depending on your end goal is which one of the steps you will do first. So for instance, we already talked about sorting in step two, and the last one of the last episodes. But technically you can do decluttering first and then sorting. So steps 234 And five can be interchanged depending on your end game. Like I said, if you're in a hurry, if you're in a hurry, because you're downsizing, you're moving, you're under a time crunch, then you probably are not going to put a lot of effort in the sorting phase because he just don't have the time. And so decluttering for you will come first but at some point you should do sorting, and then we're going to talk about finding a home for your items and then finding the container. And so for instance, if you're aesthetically inclined, or you want your space to be aesthetically pleasing, and that's your number one priority, then for you, the container step will come first. And then you will declutter, because you will need to fit everything into the containers into the aesthetically pleasing area you're you're looking to create.
So that is why steps two through five are interchangeable. Okay, let's finally get to the good stuff decluttering. We are identifying decluttering is removing the items that are no longer needed, no longer used and occupying space. And the goal here is to make room for items that you do need that you are going to use and opening up the space to create some lot life to the space so that you can invite items and breathing room into the area, whether it's your digital area, or your physical area. decluttering has a lot of benefits. And some of those are psychological benefits. And some of those benefits that are the mental benefits are reducing stress and increased focus. A cluttered space can lead to frustration, wasted time, and even a loss of motivation to do anything associated with that space. I mean, how many times have you opened up that very cluttered closet, and then closed it back up again, because you're overwhelmed.
It's visually distracting, it's overwhelming, and you don't even know where to start. So those are some of the psychological benefits of doing a decluttering. Or doing the decluttering phase and doing it? Well. Some of the health benefits, of course of decluttering is you're reducing some of those allergens that get accumulated because when you have a lot of stuff, unless you're cleaning it all the time, and you're dusting it, and you are a very tidy person, when it comes to the cleaning part of it, they're probably creating a mess, and you're probably breathing in all of those allergens and whatnot. So that is one health benefit. Now, this is always a reminder, I am not talking about the people who are collectors, who are, you know, that's not we don't consider that to be clutter. In this space. Clutter is where when you're again, hosting items that are no longer serving you. Being a collector and whatnot is a different type of category that we will talk about in another episode. And of course, when it comes to cluttering or decluttering, then all these other health benefits can come into the picture. Because if you're neurodivergent, it probably could be something that is no longer distracting you. If you are in a place where it's so cluttered, you can't even get a good rest, then the health benefits there will be immense because you will have an area for you to rest and for you to visually visibly be able to take a deep breath and not feel so overwhelmed. And of course, there are highlights to declutter you because it can save you money.
When you know what you have when you put it all together. And then you start letting go and keeping only the things that are serving you, you be will be able to create more space, it'll be easier to find what you need, and possibly even save money because you're no longer buying doubles because they're not stuffed somewhere in a cabinet or a drawer. Or even for your digital space. It's not you know, you're not recreating a document because you've hid it somewhere in a sub sub sub sub folder that you can no longer find. So it really saves you money and time when you declutter. So let's talk about preparing for the decluttering phase. First, let's talk about the importance of setting realistic goals and timeliness for decluttering. This is one of those steps that gets missed. Be realistic about your time, when you are motivated, maybe to declutter, like you're ready to to declutter your garage or to like to get at your closet, right. And you have only one day to do it. But your closet is immense. Be realistic about that.
If you're not sure how to measure time, when it comes to those types of projects, maybe ask a friend, this is maybe where you where you can hire a professional to kind of help you gauge how long a project could take. And that way, you're not being set up for failure because when you start something and then you can't even finish it within an appropriate amount of time before you get burned out, then you know, you're not going to have a healthy association with decluttering or organizing. So we want you to be set up for success and have a good gauge of how long something is going to take. decluttering also can be very emotional. So I want you to start preparing mentally and emotionally for the process. Especially if you don't do this step often. If you're not decluttering like every so often, you may start To uncover items that you haven't seen for a long time, that have been hidden or forgotten about, and it may bring up some memories that you may not want to uncover in the moment or that you were not prepared to do so. So I just want you to know that that could happen. It's completely normal. But if you get caught up in that situation, maybe have a backup plan where maybe there's a friend or a family, or a coach or therapist you're working with, that can guide you through the process, in the event that you do come that something emotional comes up, or that you get too deep into the emotional side of decluttering.
The other thing I want us to prepare for is having a plan of what you're going to do with the items you decide to let go of. So in step one of the seven steps, there's like I said, there's a episode about that. We talk about finding your why. Because when you find your why, which I know can be a little cheesy sometimes, but it's not. Because when you find your purpose, and you find your why as to why you're organizing and why you're finally tackling this project, it'll guide you through the decluttering step. Because whenever you get caught up in the emotional side of decluttering, or overwhelmed with the stuff that you're letting go of, you can always go back to your why like, Oh, that's right. The reason I want to do this is because I finally want to simplify my space, or Oh, that's right, because I have to move next month, and I have to get this done. So you know what, this is the time to make those hard decisions. Let's let it go. So going back to your wife will guide you through the decluttering. And most of the other steps, but especially the decluttering phase, have a plan for your donation items, donating or selling items, really.
So those items can be given given back to the community. And you can even make a little money off of them if you decide to sell them. So have a plan with some of the nonprofits, you you that are special to you that you want to donate to, so that you already have them in mind. So when you're going through your stuff, then you will have if you have maybe a children's charity, you know the toys, if you are decluttering toys, then you will know that they're going to a charity that is near and dear to your heart. And it'll make it easier to let it go. Same thing with the places you're donating. If you kind of know where you'd like to excuse me sell your items, then you will have a good idea of what they're looking for. Like if you're going to a local online marketplace versus like an online one, you kind of will have it you will have an idea with when we're going through all of your stuff. And then for broken or damaged items just have a box, of course, because it's just best to dispose of them properly.
Those are not ideal things to be give donating or selling. Nobody wants a broken dirty item. It's not fair to them, because well, it's no use to them. Unless of course you're donating to somebody that specifically wanted a broken something. But for the most part, just dispose of them in the trash. And be mindful, of course have expiration dates, and get rid of anything that may have expired. And especially in your bathroom and kitchen areas. You don't need to be keeping those so just have also a trash pile. So it's the sell giveaway, but also the trash pile. Okay, so let's talk about efficient decluttering look decluttering you can do it however you'd like. Okay, but I am going to give you some tips on what I would suggest, especially if you haven't done decluttering. And like if you haven't done a decluttering project in a long time or you have not gone through your stuff in a long time. And this applies for both digital and physical items. Starting small is really important. Start small and focus in on one area at a time. Because that way you're not overwhelmed so easy's one of the mistakes that I see people make is that they go big immediately. Like they just open the closet and they just take everything out.
That can be very overwhelming because now you know you have to put it back. Now, again, if your goal if you're under a time crunch because your goal is you know, you have like a very tight deadline, that's going to look a little different for you. But at least just think about starting small or having a plan before you go all in and take everything out. This is where you're introducing, if you're going through through our steps, the way that we have them lined up where this is step three, because Step two was sorting. This is where you will go through all of your sorted items. So now that everything's sorted under Step two, you will now go through them. And if you are going through that step, then you go straight to the unit, you'll have three sections to keep throw away and give away and so go through all the sorted items and then start sub sorting now by these three categories. At some point you will need to sort to put it back so Even if you started with decluttering first and you sorted later, you know, at some point, you're gonna have to sort through this stuff to put them back. So just know that even if you started this step three, first, at some point, you will need to sort. Another method that you could use when you're decluttering, that will help you with this process to be more efficient is a timer. For some of you, you will have many of you know about the Pomodoro method. But if you don't know, it's a method that where you time yourself in certain intervals that you can look them up, I believe they're 25, five, with a break, like 25 minutes, and then a five minute break. And then you do that round three times. And then after the third round, you take a longer break, and then you kind of do that over.
So the Pomodoro is a great method, there's a couple of other timer methods out there that I'm going to do a podcast episode about. So be on the lookout for that, but choose whatever method you'd like. But do plan out some breaks in between, and also have water and or something for you to drink and something for you to eat like snacks throughout the process. Because decluttering does take emotional and physical energy. So I want you to make sure you're hydrated and that you have your energy kept up with some healthy, you know, some treats some, like an orange or something like that, that will just keep the momentum going. Okay, so as you're going through all the steps in the decluttering, naturally, you will come across items that will make you question things like should I keep it? So here are four questions that I would suggest that you think about. And again, all of these, this whole step is outlined over. So if you if you're like listening on the radio, while you're driving or something like that, and you don't have time to take notes, either come back to the episode, take notes that way. Or you can go over to our online shop, which is the organized Flamingo dot shop. And you can just download our guides so that you can just download them and have them handy because I know some of you are more of a visual note taker type of learner, and you'd like to have the steps by steps just written out for you for you to follow. And so we do have that available for you. Okay, so these are the four questions I would ask, every time you're in a conundrum with your items. Ask yourself, when was the last time I use this?
Number two? Is it broken? or damaged? Number three, do I have duplicates of this? Four? Do I have space for this in my current space or the one that I'm going to? So those four questions tend to give you some permission to let it go or to keep it or to make a quick decision, really. So that's what these four questions are meant to do. So with that being said, I think your setup for this for this step, I won't overwhelm you too much. This is kind of these are supposed to be short and sweet. And the decluttering phase can be like I said, overwhelming, it can take a while. But if you have the right support system, and you've got yourself set up, you will, it'll make the whole process easier. And it will make you go a little bit faster, and not be completely surprised over the fact that this process was way longer and more draining than you ever thought.
So I hope that by me outlining this step you will have it'll leave you with some comfort knowing that okay, I'm prepared. I got this, I can do this. So remember that decluttering can be overwhelming and emotional. That's okay in that might be very normal. So be kind to yourself and remember that this process is all about what you want your space to feel like going forward. With the little effort and mindfulness. You can declutter with confidence in zero guilt. Thank you for listening to the organized and productive Podcast with your organized flamenco. If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love it if you'd leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps with letting people know that we're here are full show notes and resources head on over to the organized flamingo.com/podcast Have you organizing