Where to Start ClutterLess Living?

Making the decision to organize your life can give you a feeling of excitement; which is almost immediately followed by a sense of helplessness. Our lives are complex and the things that clutter it up are in their own right complex. Don’t let this overwhelming feeling set you back… just breath and take the baby steps necessary to put yourself on a clutter-less track. Where to start then? Clothing is the perfect place and a great area to see immediate results visually and in your everyday routines.

The concept to remember about your belongings and determining which pair of pants to keep is, “Does the item bring you joy?”. Joy of life, joy of relationships and joy of things... this is my mantra and soon will be yours. Before you start deciding which pair of boots bring you joy you must gather all your clothes. ALL of them, from every drawer, closet, laundry hamper and storage spot you use. Remove them from bins, plastic wraps or hangers. It is important to feel the presence of all your clothing. Visually, it is very helpful to know what and how much you have.

Next hold and feel each piece to truly know how you feel about it, decide to keep it if it brings you joy, discard it if you feel nothing or don't need it and lastly choose to decide later if you are unsure, but decide by the end of the tidying session. Recognize when a belonging brings you stress or guilt instead of joy. 10 years ago I gifted my husband an electric guitar, he has yet to learn how to play it. He loves my consideration, but the item itself brings stress because it is left unfinished.

Some items don’t have use but still bring joy, the trick is to find those items that truly bring you joy. I had one client hold a blue velvet vest on her lap as she went through the rest of her tops. Intermittently she touched it and shared a memory with me about a time she wore it. In the end, even though it did not fit her, she decided to keep it because it brought her joy. She choose to keep it (along with only 5 other items) for her daughters when they grow up.

Items can bring you joy even if they do not fit or you don’t wear them. Look at them and decide how you can use them in your world to bring you the joy. Share them with your children, hang or frame them as a piece of art, wrap wires with beautiful fabrics or donate them to a worthy cause like a Women's Shelter or John Howard Society. Knowing your items are being used is an amazing release!

In my experience this is a good order to follow when starting to declutter clothes