Where to Start Decluttering First In Your Home
Where Do You Start When Decluttering, Especially When You Feel Overwhelmed?
Does the idea of decluttering feel heavy and overwhelming? Maybe you have tried to start the process and soon became frozen and overwhelmed by so many decisions and emotions.
You are not alone. This is one of the most common struggles when starting the decluttering process.
There are thousands of items in your home, each with decisions. Do you keep, donate, sell, or throw it away? If you keep it, where do you put it? How much do you keep? How do you organize it? How much time will this take? What if it is sentimental? How do I not keep it? Then, there is the fear of making the wrong decision. What if you need it later? Should you keep it, just in case?
You may have read, or someone may have told you to pick a place, anywhere, or begin with a place that creates the most stress. Also, many experts advise you to start with a hot spot, a place that collects clutter. You know, a drop zone where everyone drops things instead of putting them away. However, I bet that right now, you are thinking, but how do I start? It’s all too much.
There is a better place to start that may cause you more stress than you realize.
Your clutter can cause stress, anxiety, and even depression. If you have a lot of clutter, you create many visual stimuli for the brain. You may not realize that every time you see your clutter, you have already made thoughts in your mind—thoughts about your clutter and yourself.
You could be telling yourself you are messy, adding guilt or shame. You may blame others for being disorganized or collecting things, which could add frustration and tension. Maybe you tell yourself you deserve all of this, or it’s okay to have clutter because that is how it has always been. You have thousands of thoughts running automatically through your mind daily, most of which you are unaware of.
Your stories are as individual as you are. There are no right or wrong thoughts; they are just thoughts. However, your thoughts create emotions, which soon create beliefs about you and your things.
The great news is you can change those thoughts by changing your environment.
The top of your bedroom nightstand and the floor area directly by the nightstand are the number one places to change your environment. The most important reason for starting here is that it is the first thing you see when you wake and the first place your feet touch in the morning. It is also the last thing you will see before going to sleep. The subconscious mind is most intuitive as you rise and retire for the day.
Imagine waking in the morning and seeing your nightstand with only the things that serve you as you rise. You feel at peace and have room to breathe. When you start clearing the clutter from your nightstand and floor first, it sets the tone for the day. As you begin the decluttering journey, you will quickly begin to feel more in control and good about your accomplishments because you started with the nightstand first.
Your thoughts and feelings about yourself and your clutter will shift, motivating you to continue the process. I created a guide for you, Where To Start Decluttering For Quick and Easy Results. Most importantly, they are areas where you probably have a lot of thoughts and feelings attached to, possibly causing you more stress and anxiety in your life than you realize. The goal is to change those spaces so that you shift your beliefs about yourself and your home to clear your clutter and calm your chaos.
