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Turn your decluttering beliefs on their head! - 26th August 2025
It's the end of August. You know you need to declutter but you can't find much enthusiasm. I get it! Decluttering doesn't exactly sound exciting, does it? In this blog post I'm going to give you some pointers as to how changing your perspective on decluttering can make a big difference to you and your results. 
I'm keeping this simple. I have two points I want you to consider and they are linked. The connection is what goes on in your mind and how, despite what you might think, you do have control over that process.
Your current perspective
"In order to declutter I must look at the things in my room and decide which ones I no longer want. I must then act on that decision and dispose of them."
This sounds reasonable but if this is how you work you are making it hard for yourself. Having accumulated (potentially) lots of clutter you will likely find it hard to identify items you know you can get rid of. Your mind is likely telling you, "Well, you've acquired all this stuff for a reason so you can't possibly let it go!"
Suggested new perspective
"In order to declutter I must look at the things in my room and decide why I still need them!"
Yes, you did read that correctly. Since your default setting is to keep pretty much everything you must challenge this belief. Imagine picking up anything in your home that is simply taking up space and more or less asking it to justify its presence. It shifts the balance, doesn't it? Think of this as a kind of tough love.
You could likely sit with things until the proverbial cows come home trying to decide what you no longer want and deciding that actually you want EVERYTHING - despite that your logical mind knows this is not quite right nor helpful. You won't get 100% success rate, that might be over optimistic. But when you can honestly ask this question and be equally honest about your response you will be surprised at the difference it can make.
It might go like this:
Q. Why do I want this vase?
A. Because I like it and it's useful.
That might be the end of it. But you could go deeper, like this:
Q. I have lots of vases and hardly ever have flowers, why do I need this one?
A. That's true! I think it can go as it's not my favourite!
Let's move onto my second point
This involves more questions to ask yourself. Begin with asking yourself this:
"Do I really want to declutter?" and maybe, "Why am I reading this blog?"
I hope you are reading because you want to declutter. This is not the same as thinking you SHOULD declutter or worse still, that other people think you should declutter. The difference is that if YOU want to do it then you are likely keen to make some progress whereas if others are pushing you, you will likely feel resistance. Nobody likes being told what to do! By the way, that's the reason I never tell clients what to do - I simply make suggestions and offer encouragement.
Next questions to ask yourself:
"Why do I want to declutter?" it's OK if you don't get a clear response - you can ask yourself this next question,
"In what ways will I benefit from doing this decluttering?"
That second question will hopefully bring up some gold nuggets of truth for you. I suggest you jot down your responses and remind yourself of them when lethargy threatens and enthusiasm wanes. Everyone's responses will be somewhat different and personal. Write down as many as you can and add to them whenever you think of another benefit. Really, there are so many benefits but you have to know them, believe them and feel them for yourself. Then you will take action.
If you do this exercise I'd love to hear your reasons, if you're not too busy decluttering, drop me an email and let me know!
Equally, if you feel you need a bit of guidance with this, I'm happy to support you. You can drop me an email for that as well.
Keywords: prevarication, perspective, indecision
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