Many people get frustrated when they declutter. Much of this frustration is because decluttering takes a long time to show results. This often happens because some actions and conditions make it take longer to see results. We will look at some of these so we can be ready for them and even avoid some of them.
You have more stuff than you realize
The average American home has over 300,000 items in it. For people who have clutter problems, that number is even greater. Most people don’t know this. So, most people have more things than they realize. This means that decluttering can take longer than most people realize.
You are spending too long on each item.
Most people use fewer than half of their things. This means that the average household has over 150,000 items that go unused. If it takes one minute to remove each of these, it will take over 104 days to declutter. This is impossible because it assumes that you are decluttering 24 hours per day. If you declutter for 8 hours per day, it will take over 10 months. Even then, it is still a full-time job for the duration of the decluttering.
The 60 seconds that it takes to remove an item goes from the decision to remove it to when it is gone from your home. If you want to reduce decluttering time, you will need to declutter en masse. One good technique is to pick out the things you will use and discard the rest. This will allow you to get rid of many things at once. So if you have dozens of pens, you can pick out your favorites and get rid of the rest.
You are not devoting enough time to decluttering.
Any project will take a long time if you don’t schedule enough time for it. We all get busy at times and it is easy to put off decluttering. But you schedule time for decluttering if you expect to get it done.
You are starting with the more difficult spaces.
The difficult places take longer to declutter. So you will have to spend a long time before you even notice any progress. These often include spaces such as attics, basements, and garages. They are difficult because they are large spaces that are often used for storage. They can be discouraging and can cause someone to give up before seeing the progress. When you declutter, you should start off with easy spaces. This will let you see the progress that will provide encouragement. You can start with a small closet or even a small drawer. A living room can also be a good starting place.
You are starting with the more difficult things.
Decluttering can take a long time if you start with things that take a long time to decide. These can include sentimental items and “maybe” items. It is best to start with the easiest things first. These will need little or no decision time. Here is a list of things to get rid of starting with the easiest:
Anything that brings up bad memories:
Things that remind you of sad events
Things that remind you of events that make you angry
Things that don’t work such as the following:
Trash
Clothes that don’t fit or are in disrepair
Old newspapers, old magazines, old catalogs, and junk mail
Broken or obsolete gadgets and their accessories
Expired medicines and stale food
Other things you don’t need to use, including the following:
Things you forgot you owned
Unopened boxes gathering dust
Hopelessly redundant items
Clothes you haven’t worn in well over a year
You are buying things you don’t need.
Buying things you don’t need often leads to having things you don’t use. It can slow, stop, or even reverse your decluttering progress. Also, it will cause clutter to build back up after you finished decluttering. It is why you must stop buying things you don’t need when you declutter. In fact, it is the most important and overlooked step in decluttering.
You are decluttering one space into another.
When you “declutter” one space into another, you are not really decluttering. Instead, you will be delaying the decision to remove something. You will also be transferring the clutter from one space to another. Now some useful items should be in another room. But if you don’t have a use for something, you should remove it from your home.
You are trying to reorganize before decluttering.
Some people think they should organize their things before removing what doesn’t belong. But this is a mistake. Reorganizing things you won’t use is just rearranging the rubbish. It wastes a lot of your effort that you could use to declutter your space. Also, when you declutter first, you create more space to re-organize what is left.
Your “just in case” category is too large.
Many people like to keep things just in case they might want to use them. But “just in case” items are for emergencies. This means something bad can happen if you don’t have the item or something like it in certain scenarios. So, a first aid kit, a spare work uniform, and a fire extinguisher are good “just in case” items. It is because you don’t have these items when the situation calls for them, then bad things can happen. But there is no “just in case” trinket.
In summary, here are some reasons why decluttering takes so long:
You have more stuff than you realize.
You are spending too long on each item.
You are not devoting enough time to decluttering.
You are starting with the more difficult spaces.
You are starting with the more difficult things.
You are buying things you don’t need.
You are decluttering one space into another.
You are trying to reorganize before decluttering.
Your “just in case” category is too large.
You can account for these and avoid most of them. If you do, your decluttering will be quicker and less frustrating.