5 Mindset Shifts to Help You Declutter with Ease
We often make decluttering hard instead of choosing to declutter with ease. It’s a common problem because our minds come up with so many reasons to hold on to stuff. These mindset shifts will help you declutter with ease.
Changing your mind or tricking yourself into letting go can help you declutter with ease. Once you see that this is an inside job, you can begin to let things be easier.
5 Mindset Shifts to Help You Declutter with Ease
Even though you are dealing with the things around you, it’s the thoughts within you that will make decluttering feel completely overwhelming or easier. Use the following mindset shifts to change the way you think and talk about your clutter.
1. Letting go of stuff is easier than holding on to it.
We assume letting go of things is really hard but as it turns out, holding onto things is much more difficult. You have to hold on to things like clutter in your house, negative thoughts, goals and expectations all day, every day. They consume your space, time, energy and emotions. You only have to let go once.
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The stories we tell ourselves about letting go make us fearful. Then, when we actually let go of something that isn’t adding value to our lives, we feel free. I often have to challenge my thoughts and stories and I’m always happy when I do. Don’t feel like you are failing when it feels like it’s hard to let go of stuff, just check in on the stories you are telling yourself. Maybe it’s harder to hold on to stuff.
2. When everything matters, nothing does.
After my grandparents died, I remember sorting through so many pictures of them that I rarely looked at while they were alive. I knew after looking at them, I’d put them back in a box and never appreciate them. Because I had so many, none of them felt that important.
I found one picture of my grandmother curled up on a chair with my grandfather. They both looked so happy, content and connected. That’s how I wanted to remember them. I turned the photograph into a bookmark so whenever I read a book, I can think of them, honor their memory and smile. I was able to let go of the other clutter and photos with less heartache because this one image was enough to fill my heart over and over again.
Declutter with ease and think about how your clutter is serving you (or not). Would you enjoy more of it if there were less of it. Less doesn’t mean none, so keep what makes you smile.
3. You have already paid enough.
Realizing I had paid enough changed everything for me when it came to letting go with more ease. Now I don’t hold onto guilt or feel bad when I declutter. Even when I am letting go of something that I paid a lot for, I release it with the thought that I have already paid enough.
I paid with my money, my time, my attention and my emotions. Holding on to something I don’t want anymore only means I continue to pay.
This is why I strongly recommend donating your stuff instead of selling it (unless you really need the money and have the time to deal with it). Let this be the moment you simplify for good and break the cycle of buying and decluttering.
Give yourself permission to let it all go. Donate it to a local donation center, find an organization that will pick it up or even better, drag it to the end of your driveway or another convenient location and put a big “FREE” sign on it.
4. Just in case means never.
The just in case excuse for holding on is a messy combination of fear and procrastination. We hold on because we aren’t quite ready to let go but we rarely use or enjoy the just in case stuff we keep. Take a look in the back of your closet, in the junk drawer, under the sink or in boxes in the garage or attic and it’s clear that just in case means never.
Admitting that just in case means never allows us to stop procrastinating and invites us to let go and stop living in fear of not having enough. When we say goodbye to just in case, we can start living and giving in more meaningful ways.
5. Owning less is not a sacrifice. It’s a gift.
Shift your mindset to help you let go. Getting rid of stuff that doesn’t serve you anymore is not a sacrifice. It’s a gift. For you and everyone around you. Less really is so much more. Once you get rid of the stuff that is weighing you down, you’ll have more space, time and energy for everything else. For specific decluttering strategies, read 50 ways to leave your clutter.