Consider This:

  • Low price, non-matching systems work just as well as expensive matching systems, as long as they are good quality. 

    • It’s fun to go buy three sets of brand new white IKEA bins so that everything matches and looks nice. But if you already have some blue ones and Target has some green ones on sale, go that route.

    • “Low price” and “cheap” are not the same. “Cheap” breaks easily and leaves you with a broken system AND a piece of trash to haul away. Be careful how low-price you shop.

  • “Picture perfect” is not the same as “functional”.

    • It’s beautiful to have the books lined up by size and grouped by author and all exactly half an inch from the edge of the shelf. (At least, to me it is!) That’s rarely functional, especially with small children. Better to put away the books on the shelf out of order than leave them on the floor because they don’t know exactly where to put them.

  • One man’s clutter is another man’s decoration - and vice versa.

    • Minimalism isn’t for everyone. If you collect coffee mugs, you don’t need to declutter all of them, or even any of them, especially in the beginning. BUT, if you are living with a minimalist, they deserve to feel comfortable in their own home too. Compromise. Keep the mugs, get rid of something else.

    • Rule: If it gives you anxiety to see it, it’s clutter. If it gives you joy to see it, its decoration. Sometimes things need to be curated, rather than culled.

  • Your ideal organization structure may not be what is practical for right now. 

    • I love the idea of a filing cabinet with color coded folders for each utility bill, and taxes separated by year. I also have two little kids and am a single mom, so instead I set all my bills to auto-pay and have a folder marked “taxes” that has everything I’ve ever sent in for the last 10 years. 

    • Meet yourself where you are. Once you’ve built the habits you need to maintain the current system, then you can work on evolving it bit by bit into your dream system.

  • The “sunk-cost fallacy” as it applies to clutter.

    • You’ve had that blouse for 5 years and never worn it. But it cost $60! You can’t possibly get rid of those shoes, what if you might need them for a fancy event? And that sweater would make a great Halloween costume, if you ever went to a party.

    • If you don’t have an practical, current, and realistic use for it, it’s just clutter. Yes, that’s $60 down the drain, but otherwise it’s $60 taking up space in your closet. Either way, the $60 is gone. And will you ever actually go to a fancy gala, or an 80’s themed Halloween party? Possibly, but not realistically. (Unless you will, in which case it’s not clutter.) 

  • Decluttering emotional debris

    • That piece of furniture doesn’t fit the room, but it was Grandma’s favorite rocking chair. You can’t stand Precious Moments figurines, but you inherited a whole set from Mom when she passed. Great-aunt Edith gifted you a full set of fine china for your wedding, but you couldn’t throw a fancy dinner party if your life depended on it. 

    • Items only have the value we assign to them. Take pictures of all the kids in Grandma’s rocking chair, then gift it to a new mother. Keep one Precious Moments, and sell or donate the rest to a collector. Save out one plate or teacup for display, and donate the rest.

    • Lastly - if you aren’t ready to declutter your sentimental items, that’s ok. Put them in a box, and deal with them later. Meet yourself where you are.