A Few Insights from a Clutter Buster

Does your stuff – and the things around you – represent who you are today, or who you were in the past? This is one of several thought-provoking questions in my friend Kim Kubsch’s new book, Joy of Downsizing.

What Kim Does

Kim is what I would describe as a professional organizer, meaning she helps people through all kinds of transitions: loss of a loved one, moving to Assisted Living or a smaller space, clearing out a storage unit, preparing for a move, and more. She is truly a healthy dose of positivity and motivation, both of which are much needed when we feel overwhelmed by our decluttering or re-organizing project.

I focus on helping women with the financial decluttering side of life (one of my favorite free tools is a financial calendar from The Financial Awareness Foundation – scroll to the bottom of the link to find it). However, I have had personal experience with decluttering, both during a downsizing move of my own and while helping a couple of widowed family members. At those times, I found I needed to “Marie Kondo” my brain with helpful questions, phrases, or sentences to get through all of the sorting and decision-making involved.

When Something Is Not Clutter

One of Kim’s most helpful starting points for me, while assisting widows, was not to focus on Marie Kondo’s “does it bring you joy?” question. Instead, we shifted our focus to remembering that “if you love it or use it, it’s not clutter.” That gave us permission not to feel pressured to drastically reduce everything to less. But it did remind us to be honest in our answers to “love” and “use.”

I certainly was not the decision maker when I assisted in the widows’ downsizing situations. However, I could clearly see and feel the exhaustion in the process! Touching each clothing item, for example, to decide whether they loved it or used it – and then categorizing it’s next destination – was exhausting!

In one instance, “widow brain” (also often referred to as brain fog) added to the challenge of downsizing. The move’s timing was necessary for health reasons, which made the process even tougher. In the other situation, brain fog wasn’t a factor but tackling the task one closet a day, for example, definitely helped reduce the overwhelm.

Maintenance Is a Key – But Also a Challenge

An ongoing challenge once we successfully complete a downsizing or re-organizing is to maintain what we have accomplished. I felt pretty proud of myself when one of the lessons I’d learned also showed up in Kim’s book related to ongoing maintenance. I try to live by the “one in, one out” rule which I heard her speak about as well as include in her book. Still working on getting my husband on board with that policy when it comes to clothes, but hey, at least one of us is practicing it!

Are You a Minimalist?

The whole Minimalist Movement has likely also spurred interest in decluttering and downsizing. But just like one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, I’ve noticed differences in comfort levels when it comes to filling up counter or wall space.

For example, one widow I helped preferred her kitchen and bathroom counters to be full of items she knew she would use regularly – or simply liked to look at as decoration. Another widow preferred an “everything in its place” approach, keeping the same amount of “stuff” but storing it in different spaces. What’s your comfort level? Is it out of habit, intentional, or just the way you grew up?

Mental Health and Decluttering

Lastly, there is some research about the mental health benefits of decluttering:

1. Reduced Stress: Clutter can create visual chaos and stress whereas decluttering helps calm the mind and reduce feelings of overwhelm.
2. Improved Focus: A tidy environment minimizes distractions, allowing for better concentration and productivity.
3. Boosted Mood: Organizing and clearing clutter can lead to feelings of accomplishment, joy, and relaxation.
4. Better Sleep: A clean and organized space promotes relaxation, making it easier to unwind and sleep well.
5. Relief from Anxiety: Decluttering can alleviate the anxiety caused by disorganization and chaos.
6. Increased Energy: The act of decluttering can energize you, as it involves problem-solving and achieving visible results.

These seem like plenty of good reasons to tackle whatever organizing project you have waiting for you! Whenever you’re ready, I highly recommend Kim’s thorough guide, which includes action lists, tips, the top 10 mistakes to avoid, and so much more. Her overall advice is “decluttering is a way of life and anyone can embrace it with decluttering just a few minutes each day!”

You can find additional resources in our Downsizing Your Life column.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What was your downsizing experience like and what can you share about any DO or DON’T tips? Is there a decluttering project waiting for you now and how will you tackle it? Let’s share our experiences to help each other in our community.