Overcoming the Overwhelm: The Gentle Start to Decluttering

In this episode of The Simple Joy Show, I will take you through the challenges many face when beginning their decluttering journey – the paralysis of not knowing where to begin and the weight of feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task.

But, fear not!

Whether you’re staring at one cluttered drawer or an entire room, this episode provides guidance to ease your journey.

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Transcript

Hayley Forster [00:00:00]:

Hello, and welcome back to the Simple Joy Show. Now I know a lot of you are here because you’re excited and eager to start to clutter in your homes and your lives. And you may have even tried in the past, but you’ve been stopped by the fear of overwhelm and being unsure of where to begin. So today, we’re gonna navigate through those feelings, debunk the myth of perfection surrounding the cluttering, and equip you with practical strategies to start you on your decluttering journey.

Hayley Forster [00:02:54]:

So many people are really keen and eager to start decluttering, but actually when it comes to sit down and actually starting it, they back out because they’re either confused about where to start and then the overwhelm builds up.

Hayley Forster [00:03:50]:

And before you know it, months have gone by and you’ve still not managed to do anything. So that’s what I want to discuss today. Now, the first big hurdle is not knowing where to start and that is often a fear that’s rooted in either perfectionism or overwhelm. Decluttering as a whole, it might feel scary to you because you want to do it perfectly.

Hayley Forster [00:04:24]:

But the truth is there is no perfect way to declutter. As with most things in life, if you wait until you can do it perfectly, you’re never going to start. Decluttering can be quite messy, quite an emotional process as well. For many people, not just you. The only way is to just get started because if you keep waiting for that perfect moment, it’s just never going to come. There’s ways to get started that are gonna help you ease into the process and build up the momentum – by starting in in easier places, less emotional places.

Hayley Forster [00:05:19]:

So just pick a spot that feels right for you and just get started. Accept that it’s going to be messy. Accept that it’s probably gonna involve a lot of trial and error, and you need to understand about how it’s gonna work best for you and what’s gonna make you feel as though you can do this and move forward. You might try out a few different decluttering styles and methods, but trust me when I say that clearing some clutter imperfectly is always going to be better than just waiting and worrying about clearing it in a perfect way that ultimately doesn’t really exist. I always say that the journey begins with a single step, so just picking an area that calls out to you that feels right for you, whether it’s a drawer, a cupboard, or even just one particular shelf in a unit, just go there, start to declutter it, and just make an impact. It’s always easier to pick somewhere that’s less emotional, so try and keep that in mind. But just remember, it’s okay for you to make mistakes.

Hayley Forster [00:06:25]:

It’s okay for you to change strategies but ultimately the objective is progress, not perfection, and you just need to keep that in mind throughout your decluttering process. Now the second concern that might come from this is just you feeling overwhelmed with too much work ahead of you. Yeah looking ahead, all you can see is clutter, clutter, clutter, and you’re not alone if you’ve looked at your clutter and you’ve felt overwhelmed with it, you’ve felt buried under the weight of it all. That is really, really normal. And you’re gonna look at that clutter and you’re gonna think about how much work it’s gonna be to sort through it all, and before you even get started, you’re gonna feel overwhelmed. Now, the best way to overcome that fear is gonna be to stop thinking about it in terms of decluttering your entire home. Instead, what you want to do is break the work down in a really small, simple steps that feel much more manageable to you and therefore less scary.

Hayley Forster [00:07:32]:

Don’t think about decluttering your entire house. Just think about decluttering one room. Or if that still feels like too much, just think about you decluttering one drawer, one shelf, one box, one pile, even one small little area of a surface. You’ve got to remind yourself your home didn’t become full overnight. It probably took years and years and years to accumulate what you’ve got in there now. So just let yourself off the hook a little bit and just remind yourself that it doesn’t have to be a job that is done overnight. It’s gonna take time. It’s gonna be a process, but you just need to tackle the decluttering one step at a time and that every step you take moves you closer to reaching your decluttering goals.

Hayley Forster [00:08:21]:

So just remember to take baby steps. every item you decide to keep or let go, it’s progress. Cherish that progress. Don’t rush the journey, celebrate each of those decluttering achievements that you’ve got to, no matter how small they are because it’s a big achievement. So, next time that you find yourself hesitating, just remember these tips. I’ve purposely done this as a short episode because if you are starting to feel that overwhelm coming on, just put this episode on. Just put it in your ears and listen to it before you get started. Just as a reminder to tell yourself that it doesn’t all have to be done at once.

Hayley Forster [00:09:03]:

It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just start somewhere small, even if you do 5, 10 minutes a day, and that will make a big difference. So just remember that your journey is your journey. It’s unique to you. Yes.

Hayley Forster [00:09:56]:

There’s gonna be some hurdles, but you’ll work out how best to do it for yourself and just remember that getting started is the best thing to do. So thank you for spending this time with me today on the Simple Joy Show. I will see you after my big holiday, but until next time, embrace the journey and cherish each and every simple step. Take care.