How Do I Organize and Declutter By Myself?

Here is the first question to ask yourself when deciding to tackle decluttering and organizing by yourself: what does my ideal life look like? Sounds like a stupid question to ask, but, it frames everything you do in the organizing and decluttering process. Think before you start to move your body.

You can’t build a house without a plan.

When you set a strong foundation for a home, you don’t just start by pounding nails into a wall. You need a good, solid blueprint and a plan to move forward. The same is true of setting about to declutter your home. How will you know what you want to keep or discard if you don’t envision the life that feels authentic and right to you? Think about your ideal life. From there, everything else will flow.

At Marie Kondo seminars, we have discussed making a mood board.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t keep extra magazines at home. Most people don’t even buy magazines anymore. Instead, I journal. I write down my thoughts and try to create some type of diagram that helps me stay focused. I know that I like a home that feels peaceful, Zen, has little visual clutter, and neutral colors. You, on the other hand, may love antique furniture and have a wonderful collection of quilts. No judgement. The idea is to have your home reflect the way you feel and keep only the items that reinforce that. The rest, as they say, is just clutter.

And that should point you in the right direction.

Knowing what to keep rather than what you need to throw away is the main point of decluttering. Keeping only things that have meaning to you, that “spark joy” as Marie Kondo says, is the way to get started in decluttering on your own. There is a system to the KonMari® Method that we will discuss in a later blog. The method takes you from clothing to sentimental items, and most everything in between. What the KonMari Method® is actually doing, though, is asking you to look at the enormity of what you own (the bed pile) and sort through things so that when you see an object in your home, you smile and feel happy, instead of feeling overwhelmed and weighed down. Your home brings you joy and happiness.

If you can make decisions around this concept, then you can do your own decluttering and organizing. For many people, though, it is hard. I’ll be honest, I’ve seen people struggle. People struggle because many need to have their hand held while they’re sorting through things. They feel sad, or happy, or maybe even anxious. Having someone to take you through the system makes it easier in the long run and helps you get through the process faster. And, while you’re thinking about the life that resonates with you, you’re validating yourself. You’re saying that these things are what I want to surround me, and everything else needs to go. I want to feel good in my environment, and I want my environment to reflect happiness back to me. No “what if’s” - just purge until all you feel is happiness.

Declutter Decks® help those who want to declutter on their own.

We have created a simple way to declutter your home in the event you are unable or choose not to have outside, professional help. This item, Declutter Deck®, is a set of 52 organizing prompts, broken down into easy declutter tasks. It is one of the easiest ways to declutter your home in bite-sized pieces. Check out our Declutter Deck® and get ready to tackle your space. It’s like a game. It really works! Our Declutter Deck® is available on this site and our sister site, Hack Decks™, as well.