You hear professional organizers use the words clutter and decluttering all the time. But what do they really mean?

According to a Google search, the following definitions apply:

Definition of clutter:

Clutter means mess, jumble, litter, heap, tangle, welter, muddle, hotchpotch, hodgepodge, mishmash, confusion, medley. I prefer the word confusion to mess. I even like hodgepodge and mishmash. You see, cluttered is the way we feel when things are out of order. It causes confusion.

Which brings us to the second part of the definition: disorder, state of confusion, and litter. Again, I focus on disorder and state of confusion. When things are out of order (disorder) they cause a state of confusion. Removing the confusion is the next definition we will explore: decluttering.

Definition of decluttering:

The definition of decluttering is the process whereby you decide whether the things in your environment are clutter, and if not, where they belong in your home. Acting on that decision is part of the decluttering process. The process of decluttering will help you make permanent changes and enable you to understand why you have clutter in the first place. Is it because of lack of time, indecision, or something else? Going through the decluttering process will help you determine the answer to this question.

The job of the professional organizer is to make order out of chaos.

The job of the professional organizer is to create harmony and order out of disorder and chaos. This includes reducing what makes your space messy. It also includes removing that which is not useful or does not bring you happiness, and over which you have deferred making decisions. A lack of decision making is often the cause of things piling up around your home, within your environment, and may even extend to places outside your home.

As a professional organizer, I believe that clutter is a symptom and not a cause. Clutter is a result of not making decisions, or not making the right decisions (no judgment) about the things in your space. Reasons for failing to make these decisions include lack of time, facing the anxiety that clutter causes, or living with someone who prefers to keep things the way they are.

What is important to note, however, is that clutter it is about how you feel in your space. Everyone has very different ideas about what for them constitutes a cluttered home. For some, a cluttered home can be when there is a chair in a room piled with clothes. For others, it can be when they realize they are having to create pathways through their stuff.

Clutter is different for everyone.

Clutter is different for everyone, and only you can decide what constitutes clutter in your environment. Having the help of a professional organizer can help with the decision process. This helps you let go without guilt, shame, or any other emotions that come with decluttering. Professional organizers also help you feel good about what you’ve decided to keep and assist you in finding the proper home for your items within your environment.

A common factor in people wanting to declutter is that they often feel overwhelmed or “suffocated” by their space. Your home should be a place where you can breathe easily, and the stress of the day falls off your shoulders as soon as you cross the threshold. Your office space should be somewhere you feel efficient, productive and in control. At home, it is a place to unwind and feel calm, rather than stressed and anxious.

Call in a decluttering expert to help you figure out how to declutter. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it may be just the time to call in a decluttering expert. The Uncluttered Life, Inc. offers in-home and virtual decluttering sessions. Our virtual sessions are conducted by FaceTime and are a convenient and inexpensive way to get your space in order. Contact us to get a free evaluation of your decluttering needs. We are always happy to help create order out of chaos.