5 Lies That Will Keep You Stuck in Clutter

Are you struggling to keep up with the clutter in your home? It just maybe that you’re believing the lies that keep you stuck in clutter.

Yep, we all do it, fall victim to misconceptions about what it takes to keep the clutter at bay. But believing these lies results in finding yourself surrounded by even more stuff than you started with, Yikes!

Even though we have great intentions for wanting to declutter our belongings, allowing these lies to get in our head is what prevent us from following through with those intentions. After all, there are a lot of decluttering myths about what it takes to live an organized, tidy life.

No matter what declutter your home and keeping it in order is hard, but these lies make it harder than it needs to be.

Are you believing any of these:

I just need to get organized
I Just Need More Storage Containers
You Have To Give All Your Stuff Away
Decluttering Is Too Overwhelming
If I Get Rid of It – I’ll Regret It

If you’ve believed anyone of these, keep reading to learn the truth and see how you can have a clutter-free home:

Lie # 1 – I Just Need To Get Organized

Truth:

Organizing and decluttering is not the same thing. Organizing is about creating a management system to keep things in place. Decluttering, on the other hand, involves the elimination of excess which is preventing you from maintaining or sustaining any organization system.

Yes, organizing systems can work to keep your clutter in place … for a few days. However, the clutter will unquestionably creep back in. This is how we end up stuck in clutter. You simply can’t organize clutter. If you try, you’ll only end up with organized clutter.

The bottom line is that if you have too much stuff to keep up with no organization system in the world is going to work long term.

Before you can begin to create a sustainable organizing system you’ve got to clear the clutter. After all, why do you want to organize the stuff you don’t use, love or need?

Stop trying to organize your clutter. Instead, spend some time decluttering the excess, and then organizing the rest will be easy.

Lie # 2 – I Just Need More Storage Containers

Truth:

Spending money to buy containers to stick your clutter in so you can get it out of sight is not the solution.

We all need a certain amount of things to make our homes run efficiently and be functional. These things do need a place to be kept or stored. Often storage bins or baskets are a great option.

However, if all you do is hide the clutter instead of eliminating it, it won’t be long before your running back to the store or hitting that buy now button for more storage items.

One of the few things I can guarantee you is that unchecked clutter multiplies and the storage containers you buy today will soon lead to you needing a few more next month and on and on until you’ve run out of room for your storage containers.

Stop stashing away your stuff so you don’t actually have to deal with it. That is what’s keeping you stuck in clutter. Purchase storage containers ONLY after you’ve decluttered the excess.

Lie # 3 – You Have To Give All Your Stuff Away

Truth:

I promise you don’t have to become an obsessive minimalist to reap the benefits of a simpler clutter-free lifestyle.

Decluttering your home isn’t about limiting yourself to a certain number of items or letting go of things you truly love and use. Rather, you should keep the things that you love and use. Those are the things that make your home a reflection of you!

The point of living a simplified and clutter-free lifestyle is to allow you to clear space in your home and life for those things that matter most! When you have an excess you waste precious resources. Those resources involve both your time and money, in caring for things that don’t matter to you anyway.

So stop feeling like you need to give up all your stuff and own nothing. Simply get rid of the clutter that is not serving you well. When you do, you’ll take back your time and money and no longer be stuck in clutter.

Lie # 4 – Decluttering Is Too Overwhelming

Truth:

I’m trying to dispel the lies so I’m gonna be honest with you! Yes, decluttering can be really hard and it can feel very overwhelming.

Here’s another truth, the hardest part is just starting. Far too often we look at our home, or even one particular room in our home as one big project. That’s when it becomes too much and overwhelming.

Instead, we need to break it down into smaller projects. Start with a drawer, a shelf, a cabinet. I recommend starting with the easiest items first, things that won’t require a lot of emotional decisions.

This makes the bathroom a great place to start. Follow these tips to declutter your bathroom you’ll gain some quick wins which will give you the momentum to move on to other areas.

Plus, you don’t have to do it all at once. If it feels too much, go slow. Just be consistent. Set aside a set amount of time, which can be as little as 15 minutes, to regularly work on decluttering efforts. As you stay consistent your little efforts will add up to big results over time and you’ll no longer be stuck in clutter.

Decluttering your home doesn’t have to be a huge commitment it’s lots of little commitments over time.

Lie #5 – If I Get Rid of It, I’ll Regret It

Truth:

Is it possible to get rid of something and later regret it? Absolutely – for a moment. It is highly unlikely that you will get rid of something extremely valuable or important to you.

The reality is that most of the stuff we keep we don’t need. When we hang onto things because we’re afraid that we might need it, in the end, it usually costs us so much more than it would be to borrow the item from a friend or family member or even replace the item if we truly needed it.

Remember everything you own costs some amount of your time and resources. You have to maintain the item, store it someplace that you’ll actually remember you have it, take time to clean and store other items around it.

When you look at the true cost of holding onto that item, even if you later find a use for it, your regret in having gotten rid of the item will be short-lived.

Which of these lies has kept you stuck in clutter?