4 MINDSETS PREVENTING YOU FROM GETTING RID OF CLUTTER

Does it feel like getting rid of clutter has been on your to-do list forever?  How often do you look around your house and feel like there’s just clutter and junk everywhere? You desperately want a clean and organized home but where do you begin? Even the thought of trying to clear the clutter feels overwhelming.

You’ve honestly tried to get a handle on it, but the more you try to get rid of things the harder it seems to get. And now, you’re having a hard time parting with anything.

Mindsets Preventing You From Getting Rid of Clutter

Look, anyone who has battled the dreaded clutter monster can tell you that getting rid of things is hard. After all, if letting go of things was easy we wouldn’t have so much clutter in the first place.

But what if I told you that the biggest hurdle to getting rid of clutter may very well be your mindset?  When our focus or way of thinking about something is off, it can really interfere with our efforts to accomplish those things that are truly important to us.

The good news is that our minds are amazingly powerful.  Often all it takes is a simple shift in the way we think to turn everything around.

So let’s see if any of these mindsets are preventing you from decluttering your home and if they are let’s turn them around so they finally stop preventing you from getting rid of your clutter!

1. Guilt

Guilt is probably one of the biggest roadblocks preventing you from getting rid of clutter. It is so easy to keep something just because we feel guilty about getting rid of it.

I remember one year a dear friend gave each member of my family an ornament for the Christmas tree. Each ornament was the symbol for each of our zodiac signs.  They were very detailed and very beautiful. Looking at them it was clear that they were very expensive for Christmas tree ornaments.

Well as a Christian, we don’t participate in any form of astrology. My friend knew this and when she gave the gift she said, “I know that you don’t follow astrology, but I loved them, and I love you so I want you to have them”. Ugh, major guilt, right?

Here is something that my friend cared enough to want me and my entire family to have, was artistically beautiful and of high quality. But, because they conflict with my faith there was no way I could or would ever display them. At the end of the year, I packed them up carefully with all the rest of the Christmas decorations.

The following year when I pulled out the Christmas decorations there they were. Immediately the guilt returned. There was no way I could hang them on our Christmas tree.  But they were still new and how could I just get rid of them? I ended up rewrapping them and placing them back in the box.

I did this for several years before I came to grips with the manner in which guilt is a negative emotion I was experiencing at the beginning of the Christmas season year after year. 

You see, when we hang onto something out of guilt, it creates a negative atmosphere that does nobody any good. By changing my mindset about the guilt, I was finally able to let the ornaments go.

2. Focusing on the Numbers

When you first start exploring downsizing, simplicity, or minimalism you start hearing a lot of talk about the number of things you should possess.

There are many articles written on counting the number of items you have. They encourage having no more than 100 things or how everything you own should fit in a suitcase. These articles tell us why we should have no more than 33 items in your capsule wardrobe or 40 hangers in your closet.

But simplicity and downsizing should never be about having the least amount. Rather, it’s about having the perfect amount for YOU and your family!

When we focus on the number of items we should have, we miss the mark.  Focusing on the numbers keeps us just as enslaved to our stuff as being overrun by clutter piles everywhere.

You see what constitutes the perfect amount of stuff is different for everyone.

If you love it or use it keep it!  On the other hand, if it’s something you haven’t used in the last year or you don’t have a place in your home to store it, it’s most likely a good idea to get rid of it.

The point is, don’t get caught up in numbers. It’s important to remember that being consumed with how little you have is just as burdensome as having too much stuff.  Simplifying your life should be freeing not binding you with legalism.

3. Scarcity Mindset

We’ve all been there, we pick up an item to declutter and stop and think “what if I need it someday?”

This single question has us living in a constant state of overflowing and cluttered houses.  It’s crazy the amount of useless stuff this one question keeps us holding onto.

You have to trust that if a time comes when you really and truly need it, you will be able to replace the item.

Honestly, in all the times I’ve held on to something “just in case”, I don’t think there has been a time that I actually dug out the item and used it.

In fact, the opposite is true.  I couldn’t tell you the number of times I bought something I needed only to later stumble on the same item I already owned buried in the back of the garage.

After decluttering, I can 100% tell you the benefits of having a clean and organized home far outweighs any minimal benefit I would get from holding on to something “just in case”.

Don’t let the scarcity of mindset prevent you from getting rid of clutter.  Let go of this mindset and trust that you will have those things that you do need when you need them.

4. Feeling Like You Are Not Doing Enough

I am a firm believer that decluttering your home should be about clearing space for what matters most to you. However, if we are not careful when we begin to declutter our homes it can become more about getting rid of stuff and we lose focus on why we started simplifying in the first place.

We begin to feel defeated like we’re not decluttering enough or we struggle with a hard time letting go of anything.

Look, if you’re not ready to let go of something today, it’s okay,  you very well may be ready tomorrow. You need to continually go back and continue to declutter.

Simplifying your life is a journey it’s not a race. Your life and home did not get cluttered overnight you need to stop expecting to unclutter it overnight. Move at a pace that works for YOU!  

Getting rid of stuff depends on its usefulness or how much joy it brings to your life.  The key here is you don’t want your stuff to weigh you down.  At the same time, this doesn’t mean that you have to get rid of everything.

Stop being critical of yourself for not doing enough.  The journey to simplicity is just that a journey. It is not a sprint it is a marathon at a slow pace meant to be run over a lifetime.

How to get rid of clutter 

If you find yourself riddled with guilt, obsessing over the number of things you should own, having a scarcity mindset, or being too critical of your efforts, these just might be what’s preventing you from getting rid of clutter.

Stop and refocus your mindset. 

When it comes to getting rid of clutter without feeling guilty, remind yourself that guilt is a negative emotion you don’t need in your life. The money has already been spent. The truth is your clutter costs you a lot more to hang on to than it does to let go of it!

Also, it’s not about a particular number of items, it’s about the number that’s right for you.  Let go of any clutter that you do not use or love that is all you need to focus on.

Don’t let the fear of not having enough get in your way. Trust that your needs will be provided for. 

And above all, remember your clearing space for what matters most to YOU! Your home did not get cluttered overnight and it will take some time to get rid of your clutter. So show yourself some grace and know that you are doing your best. 

Now that you’re ready to start clearing the clutter, read How to Get Started on a Clutter-Free Home Today!