Decluttering is just a series of making decisions
In its simplest form, all you are doing is deciding what to keep and not keep. The tricky part is actually knowing how to be decisive in decluttering. There are ways to make this simpler for you though, and it doesn't need to be a emotionally intense experience.
Often people think they need to jump right to making decisions on their sentimental items. This is a common occurrence, but it is the wrong way to do it.
Your sentimental items are not the things that are making your every day life hard. We tend to put the focus on the wrong items, like the piles of stuff on our floors, counters and couches. Not only are your sentimental items NOT the reason you are overwhelmed, but they are the hardest things to make decisions about.
Hopefully this helps you understand a little more about how to make decluttering decisions – focus on what the most pressing and urgent clutter is, and choose the easiest things to make decisions on
Keep it really simple, and declutter the easiest things first
Keeping it really simple is one of the foundational decluttering principles I teach in Decluttering Simplified. I mean this very literally – start with the things that are easiest to make decisions on. Often this is in a space like a bathroom, or under the kitchen sink, where there is often a lot of trash, expired products and duplicate items you can easily let go of.
This is essentially exercising your decluttering muscles and getting used to making decisions in the easiest way possible. You get experience, and you feel the relief of a cleared space! Not only are you letting go of your clutter finally, it feels easy and makes a noticeable difference.
Focus on what is most impactful
Declutter the areas of your home that will make the biggest impact on your days. What is the area of your home causing the most stress for you? What consumes the majority of your time?
Get rid of the excess stuff that take away from your ability to have free time and open space. This is often things like excess laundry, toys, paper piles and random piles of stuff lining your stairs, walls, counter spaces and miscellaneous furniture for instance.
Don't get caught up in the details of deciding
Analysis paralysis will keep you stuck. You will end up shifting your clutter around instead of decluttering it from your home for good.
Trust yourself in this process. You know exactly what to do, and how to do it. Your mind tricks you into thinking that you don't. When you feel the urge to decluttering something, do it!
I teach the foundations of these decluttering principles in Decluttering Simplified. Join us inside the course to implement them the quickest, and simplest way possible! You can do this and you know exactly how to be decisive in decluttering!