My go-to system, if you are decluttering anything, is to pull everything out of that space. That means everything!
Once you have everything out of whatever the space is, you can start sorting the pile. Always pull out any garbage or recycling first – it’s the easiest thing to get rid of since it serves no purpose being in your space at all! After that, though, the harder part of decision making starts. It’s tempting to set aside only a couple of things for donate, then try to put everything else back in the drawer, just with a bit more of an organized ‘touch’!
This is actually where you need to pause and really look at all your stuff. If you’re not hard on yourself about what to get rid of, then you will end up having to declutter it again! And worse, you might need to do it in a week as you use your things and don’t put them back with that same organized ‘touch’!
If you want longer lasting, real decluttering success, then you need to be critical about why you want to put something back into your space.
If you are trying to declutter a makeup drawer, let’s say. Rather than pulling out a couple of old and very used things then throwing everything back into the drawer, instead really ask yourself what you will use, when was the last time you used it, and how long ago you purchased it. Again, just because it WAS in the drawer, doesn’t mean that it STILL needs to be in that drawer. ONLY put back the things you truly need and that you use often! That means you need to use it at least once per week in my mind. You can set your own limits, but if you use something less than that, I would question if you really need it or if you can find a multi-purpose thing instead.
Let’s say, you are decluttering a linen closet. Unless you have a need for lots of towels, I would limit yourself to two beach towels and two bath towels per person and a set of hand towels per bathroom. One set of bedding on the bed and one spare set. That’s it! Even that may be more than you truly need! There should be more than enough space in the closet for those items, and if not, or if you have some super tiny closet or even a single shelf, store the extra bedding in each bedroom!
If you are decluttering the kitchen, be ruthless! All those kitchen nick knacks are great, but really, how often are you using it? Again, if every week you are pulling out the same tool, keep it! It’s worth it! If you can’t remember when you last used it, I don’t care how cool and handy it seems. It’s not worth holding onto it. You seem to be getting by without it already! AND, it’s currently just taking up space in your drawer or on the shelf!
Anytime you are decluttering any space, don’t just put everything back after pulling out the obvious things you no longer need. Get rid of even more. Push yourself! It will make your life easier if you can push yourself a little out of your comfort zone. You likely won’t even think of the stuff in a week or a month! You won’t miss it! AND, what you will love, is the extra space to spread out the stuff you are keeping so that it is even easier to use it all!
So, be careful not to put things back just because it’s always been in that drawer or on that shelf! Only put it back if it really serves a purpose in your life!
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