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Okay, honestly, some of these are outside decluttering, but they’re all within that whole mental-clutter about our homes, so in my mind, they totally count as decluttering tasks. This is just a jumping off point to get you thinking about YOUR life.  What could do you in 10 minutes that would make tomorrow easier?  That’s been bugging you but really wouldn’t take long?  That WILL take long, but which could be done in tiny chunks? This is a random list to get you thinking – I’d love for you to create your own list that you can pull out when you’re bored, when you find yoursel ..read more

When’s the last time you questioned how you use the space in your home? In this exercise, you’ll go room by room, marking your starting point (what actually happens in that room right now), and then visualizing your destination (what you would like to happen in your home, how you’d like to feel in each room…).  Knowing where you’re starting and where you’d like to go allows us to create a roadmap to get you where you want to go. This is also a ‘living document’ – when you realize something is missing, or doesn’t feel right, or just needs to change – you simply update the plan.   ..read more

Hello, amazing humans, it’s STORY TIME. This is the story of how decluttering has given me back the joy I used to feel as a kid when holidays and birthdays were approaching. One day recently, I went to the grocery store for milk, and left with an extra bag full of party supplies. (Yay, ADHD!  This is why my husband does the grocery shopping.  But I digress.) Here’s the thing – the milk is located opposite the frozen foods aisle. And at the end of that frozen foods aisle is a small display of Papyrus birthday supplies. And naturally, I had to check out that display. And they had ..read more

If it hasn’t happened yet, be prepared – it will. You suddenly find yourself halfway through a spontaneous decluttering project – or even finished! – and realize: You forgot to take before pictures. And you are probably gonna be bummed. So here is my recommendation: take before pictures NOW! Right now. Right this very minute. Or at least today. And when I say before pictures, I mean of absolutely everything. Every drawer, every cabinet, every closet, every corner…. Don’t forget outdoor spaces Storage spaces Garages Laundry room Wanna make it even easier? Take a video! You can always screensh ..read more

Here are five types of “trickster clutter” that you probably have in your home.   I call it “trickster clutter” because at first glance, you don’t even register that it is clutter!  But…are these tricky little imposters actually serving you?   While each of these clutter types deserves a post of its own, if not an entire book, let’s take a quick look. 01: Aspirational Clutter This one has long been my downfall.  This might look like: If I own my own skis, I’ll definitely learn to ski this year.  (But you don’t ski any more with your own skis than when you us ..read more

There are many versions of this story (just google “Big Rocks and Jar”), made famous especially, perhaps, by Stephen Covey. I’m going to share the story, and then show you why this matters so much for our decluttering journeys – because this blog is all about decluttering – and really decluttering is about making your home support the life you truly want. The Story of the Big Rocks and the Jar Once upon a time, there was a philosophy professor who stood before his class with an empty jar. Into the jar, he placed a number of medium rocks until they reached the brim. Then he held up the jar and ..read more

There seem to be two very popular decluttering trends at the moment. Let’s call them: The Decluttering Bunny (inspired by the Energizer Bunny…which just keeps going and going and going); and The Decluttering Tortoise (inspired by the Tortoise and the Hare). To be clear, you can successfully declutter like a Bunny or a Tortoise. Neither holds a claim of moral superiority, and neither is inherently more effective than the other. For any given person, however, the approaches differ drastically in their efficacy, so let’s talk about this. So let’s take a deeper look – and talk some mathematics of ..read more

Minimalism Myth: “Owning fewer clothes means less laundry to wash!” Ummmm…. Okay. So. Math is sort of one of my big things, and this is just mathematically wrong. Math Fact: You will have less laundry to do when you wash fewer clothes. It doesn’t matter how many clothes you own. It just matters how many are going into a laundry basket at the end of the day. Think about it. On Monday, all five members of my family bring to the laundry room a full set of pajamas, and a full set of clothes from the day. (Let’s make that two for the baby.) For us, that’s basically a full load of laundry just from ..read more

This post is part of a series of posts designed to help you identify the WHY behind your decluttering. Find the full series here! When’s the last time you questioned how you use the space in your home? In this exercise, we are going to go room by room and set our intention for each space. Why bother defining our intentions for each room?! This is a bit of a time commitment, but when you know exactly what you want to happen in each room, you also have a very clear vision of what items deserve a home in each room. And since each room is in itself a container, a limit on the space we have, this h ..read more