Hey Reader

This week I’ve been doing something that feels super exciting and just a little lottle daunting.

A whole house declutter 😈

While I do ideally want to tackle my digital spaces as well, this week I figure I'd just focus on the physical spaces.

As said, I'm really excited about this project; I’ve actually been researching and prepping for over a month now 😂

Finally getting started has felt like a bit of a milestone, but even with the preparation, some decisions are still hard.

Even as someone who considers decluttering their "favourite sport", there's one space I avoid time and time again.

My office 👀

This one is always the hardest for me, which is definitely why I've been avoiding it.

There’s just so much stuff. More problematically, there's so much useful stuff.

Despite the difficulties though, I've given myself some guiding questions that have been hugely helpful in helping me let go of over 400 items so far (spoilers for next week's progress vlog, haha)

Whether it's been in my wardrobe, kitchen drawers, or the dreaded office, these questions make it so much easier to decide what stays and what goes.

The idea - Make letting go easier

While decluttering is something I really enjoy, I know it definitely isn't for everyone!

Even if it’s not your idea of a good time, clearing out what no longer serves you is very worthwhile.

Not only will it help create space physically, but by letting go of things that induce feelings of guilt and negativity, we also give ourselves positive mental space too.

Plus, it makes your environment easier to function in, which helps reduce friction and decision fatigue day to day 💪

Every item we have is essentially giving us homework. This is to varying extents, but for instance:

• Photo frames mean you need to take, print, and switch out pictures
• Pens need checking to make sure they still work.
• Extra clothes means extra laundry…and folding. Ugh.

Some items are worth the homework they give us. Some are easy to decide we want to keep them.

But for the others? This is where a good set of probing questions can help.

Does present-me use this item?

A simple question with a slight twist.

Rather than just asking "do I use this item?", adding the time restraint can help us be more realistic.

Here we aren't considering past-us or ideal-future-us, but more so what our current needs in our current season of life are.

If the item isn't serving this present version of you, it might be worth letting go of it.

Does keeping this item make my life simpler?

I love items that make life easier, but it's good to weigh that against any of the ways they add complexity.

Given that every item we have is giving us homework, it's important to consider whether that homework is worth any of the payoffs.

Like all of these questions, the answer is going to be specific to you.

For instance, for the longest time I didn't think that having photo frames up in our house was worth the dusting that would come from having all those extra small surfaces 😂 Nowadays I might be changing my thoughts on that though 🤔

This can also be a good question for those items we're keeping "just in case" though.

Those ones that are still in good condition and are useful, but they aren't being used by current-us.

Some follow-up questions you can ask for "just in case" items are:

• When in the last year has the need for this item arisen?
• If I did actually need this item, would it be easy to get again?
• Would I know I have this item if I actually needed it?

If you're not even going to remember you have it, it's probably not worth keeping for the special case where it would be useful.

How does this item make me feel?

Rather than just asking "do I like this item?", I prefer to open up the options to the full range of emotions.

It can also pay to dig a little deeper with this one and follow up "how" with "why".

This is especially good for items that are making me feel negatively in some way.

Guilt is a big one, and while there are so many reasons why I might feel guilt from an item, most of the time it comes down to "I should be using this, but I'm not".

You know what the best part about this is though?

The easiest way to get rid of the guilt of not using something is to get rid of the item itself.

Don't worry, this doesn't mean just throwing it in the trash.

Donating or selling items like this lets them fulfil their destiny in a different place with a different person. Someone who isn't going to use it just because they "should" but because they genuinely want to.

Would I rebuy this item if I had the funds again?

This has been the best one for me for this decluttering project.

Asking ourselves if we'd re-spend money to have the item can help us break away from the sunk-cost fallacy.

Rather than thinking about how much money or time we've already spent on the item, consider instead how much you'd spend to bring it into your life again.

If I wouldn’t spend money on it now, that tells me something about its value to me today.

If the item cost doesn't work as well, this one also comes in some variations:

• If this item got hella dirty (like gross dirty) would I wash it, or would I throw it away?
• If I was moving house, would I pay movers to move this item?

Use whichever version resonates best with you!

Let's take action

Next time you're considering decluttering an item and start thinking "should I keep this?", run through the questions of:

• Does present-me use this item?
• Does keeping this item make my life simpler?
• How does this item make me feel?
• Would I rebuy this item if I had the funds again?

I'm not at all saying that we need to get rid of everything and go to the extremes of minimalism, but a little bit of essentialism through these questions can give us more peace.

If you have any favourite decluttering questions, I'd love to hear them 😄

Hit reply and let me know!

Until next time!

- Jess

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