2020 has been a year that has given us a lot of time in our homes, and thus a lot of time to see our clutter.
Are you a part of the mom camp that sees their clutter in a new light? And is also sick of seeing it? Maybe you even need it gone, but just don't know what to do about it. You're in good company, 78% of people overwhelmed by clutter have no idea what to do with it. Which is why I gathere up the best decluttering tips of 2020 for you.
These tips are a collection from the moms inside the Motherhood Simplified community.
The top decluttering tip moms learned in Motherhood Simplified this year is: just declutter one thing.
It sounds simple. Maybe even too simple. But it works. This simple task of #justonething took off like a rocket this year. I know that as moms we already have a million and one things to do. Decluttering is just one more task on our to-do list.
So I tried to create a decluttering challenge for moms that would be effective, simple and non-intimidating.
I challenged everyone to declutter just one thing, every day for one week and see what happened.
What happened was EVERYONE ended up decluttering MANY things. That little bit of action created a wave of momentum that carried them so far.
When you do just one thing, you feel accomplished. You realize that you can declutter. You see that it really doesn't have to be all or nothing, or take a ton of time and energy.
Every little bit you do counts. Even if it's just one thing.
Your clutter costs you so much more than money.
So many of us hold onto clutter because we see the wasted money. We forget that it is costing us our time, energy, sanity and in essence – our life.
The money was wasted when you bought the stuff you didn't need. Even if it was something you bought because you forgot you had it, or lost it.
Most of the time our clutter does not come back to us in the form of money. We all have essentially the same kinds of clutter, and it really isn't that special. Which is why it most often does not come back to us in the form of money. We don't want to buy clutter we already have.
It's okay to let your clutter go.
Many of us hold onto clutter because we don't want to be wasteful. A noble cause for sure. However we don't see the root issue which is overconsumption. Clutter begets clutter.
What I mean is, when we have too much stuff, we can't clearly see what we have, or how much.
So we continue to get more. Either more stuff, or more things to store our stuff. And the problem continues because we are treating the symptom, not the cause.
The waste does not happen when we choose to declutter the thing, it happens when we consume it in the first place when it wasn't needed or truly wanted.
The other belief I have is that we have more stuff in our homes, and storage units to ever possibly be used, or repurposed. Sometimes the most mindful thing to do is just let it go, and move forward with better consumption habits. You're still a good person even if everything you ever had doesn't get used. It's way too much to ever be used.
Decluttering is not a numbers game
The point of decluttering is not to measure what you have.
Yes, make sure what you have fits in your space. But there is not magical number of toys to have.
Or even a magical description of what things you “should” have – specifically when it comes to toys if you are a mother.
Keep what fits in your home. In an amount that you can easily manage.
Keep what your family loves, uses and wants. Let the rest go!
I have a large family, and that means I want a large house. Not to hold our stuff, but to have room to breathe.
By “minimalist” standards that breaks all the rules. But the rules are not the point. Doing what feels good and right to you is.
You are not a bad housekeeper, you just have too much stuff
Seriously. No one can organize clutter in a sustainable way.
There also isn't a single person who can manage a home and family that has way too much stuff. It just isn't possible.
There is nothing wrong with you, and you are not lacking any special “mom skills”.
The solution really is to just have less stuff. Don't shift it from place to place in your home. Or put it into bins, boxes and shelves hidden away. Just get rid of it!
Clutter consumes more than the space in your home. It consumes your mental and emotional energy as well. This drains your physical energy and is a big part of why it exhausts you so much.
I'm letting you off the hook here. You can manage your home well, if you have a manageable amount of stuff.
Everything you're keeping for later, is costing you something now
Is it worth it?
That clutter you keep for just in case and what if, is costing you your sanity today.
I know you might need it one day, and it could possible make something slightly more convenient in the future.
But it's costing you your sanity right now. Every time you see it, clean it up, move it, organize it….
It's taking away from your life right now. So, is it worth it still? There is no right or wrong answer. Just something to think about!
These are the best tips of 2020 from the Motherhood Simplified group!
If you want more support make sure to join us in Decluttering Simplified to put these tips into action!!