HOW TO BE DECISIVE ABOUT DECLUTTERING

The secret to really tidying up is to do it all at once, as quickly as possible and categorically. What is meant by „all at once“ and „quickly“? From a few days to at most six months, constantly and continuously. It may seem endless, but it is not, because our mind will live the whole operation as one experience.

Tidying up starts with getting rid of what is superfluous and finding the right place for what you keep. It’s essential to separate these two actions and, more importantly, not to choose what to discard based on where you will put the remaining items. So how do you determine what is really superfluous? Choose what to get rid of according to your imagined ideal home and the lifestyle you want to live.

There are many things in your home – even unnecessary or broken – that are kept because of a personal connection. It’s important to pay attention to all the objects that we care about, keeping only those which give us a strong emotion and freeing the others. It may seem impossible, but every object, from clothes to books or crockery, says something about us, so it will be easy to understand which stories to hold on to and which to do away with.

Don’t go by room but by category. Each of us happens to place similar objects in different rooms. It’s helpful to group the same things together in one corner and then go through them. Start with the simplest items, e.g. creams and samples, socks and underwear, cutlery or rags. Never start with objects that bring vivid memories and emotions, such as books and music, jewellery and bijoux, clothes and shoes.