Decluttering Resources: Your Secret Weapon

Decluttering technically seems like something pretty simple to accomplish. It’s not super complicated, process-wise. But just like any other project, it’s a good idea to know your resources. Because when you are decluttering, things tend to come up. Things like questions, emotions and annoying road-blocks. These are all easily overcome…when you know your decluttering resources!

So let’s do a quick review of the resources you’ll want to line up ahead of decluttering. This doesn’t have to be a big thing. Giving it even 5 minutes of thought can be the difference between burning out and accomplishing your goal. There are three kinds of resources for decluttering: practical, emotional and last mile. Let’s get into it.

Practical Resources

Of all the decluttering resources, the first you should line up has to do with the practice of decluttering. In other words, how to do it. I know I just said decluttering isn’t complicated, and that’s true. But having a framework in which to operate is helpful. It can save you time and energy; precious resources when you’re tackling your whole home!

Decluttering has been a hot topic for the last decade-plus and there are many, many resources out there for you to explore. Decluttering experts like Marie Kondo have very specific methods you can follow. Or if you’d like a less rigid option, I have many helpful resources here on my site, including multiple Free Downloads, for-purchase Guides and an online course. How much practical support you’ll need varies from person to person and project to project. You know yourself best, so choose the resource that’s going to give you the right level of support.

A free download provides a framework that’s easy to follow. A downloadable Guide will go much deeper on the overall process, specific areas of your home and exercises to help get you into the right mindset. If the emotional parts of decluttering are the hardest for you, my online course is a helpful resource to guide you through the many minefields blocking you from finishing the job.

Emotional Resources

Speaking of decluttering resources and emotional minefields, it’s helpful to have someone who knows you are on a decluttering journey and why it’s important to you. It’s not critical that this resource is there with you in person while you work, but if you share your goals with a friend or family member they can be a sounding board for you when you are stuck.

That said, make sure your emotional resource is supportive of your decluttering goals. Choose wisely! If you approach it in a creative way decluttering with a spouse, parent, grown child or sibling can be a deeply bonding experience. But only if they are into it! If they aren’t, a supportive friend will do the trick.

If you can’t think of a good emotional resource in your community and you know decluttering is going to be hard for you to do consistently, consider bringing in a professional organizer or decluttering coach. A professional has lots of experience leading folks in just what you’re going through. They are an objective set of eyes and ears. They can keep you focused and know how to make the most of the time you are investing in decluttering. In my business I offer both in-home organizing and virtual coaching. Both are effective and popular. People do this and it works! So if you need that level of support you should absolutely look into available resources.

Last Mile Resources

Decluttering resources are especially important in the last mile of decluttering. By last mile I mean removing what you’ve decluttered from your home in the form of donation, resell or trash. I cannot stress enough how important it is to choose these resources ahead of time and know what your process is going to be when it comes time to move everything out.

What I see happen so often is people put so much effort into the decluttering, only for the stuff they decluttered to sit for months (years sometimes) in their garage, their car or whatever spot in their home ended up as the dumping ground for the edits. Don’t let this happen to you!

Find out what donation spots are near you and their hours. Be really honest with yourself about how much effort you are willing to put into resell and the best marketplaces for your categories. And finally, if your project is large and beyond the capacity of your regular trash bin a junk hauler may be necessary. I can’t tell you how good it feels when the pile of junk you accumulated vacates the premises. Find a good hauler and ask their lead time. You want the stretch where you are looking at a junk pile to be as short as possible!

Leveraging resources for your decluttering project is really about organizing yourself up front. It makes all the difference from the completion of the project to the ease with which you are able to accomplish it. A well-resourced project is the easiest and most pleasant to attempt. So get out there are line up those precious resources!