How do you decide what to let go when decluttering?

There are many factors that make decluttering a hard task to follow through with. If you manage to get through the various hurdles, and you’ve at last made the time, then you're left with the hurdle of deciding what to let go. How do you decide?

Clutter is a result of putting off decisions. Decluttering is a process of making decisions. What I find to be fruitful and fulfilling is, instead of trying to determine what to let go of, focus on what you want to keep. Things that held meaning for you three years ago may not be relevant to your life today. So it’s important to tune into how you feel now about your things.

Everything in our home is under our care. Each item requires our time, energy and money to keep and maintain. The main question is, is it worth it to you? No one else can answer that question for you, you have to decide for yourself.

What do I let go when decluttering?

Decide what you want to keep instead of what you want to let go.

Focusing on what to keep based on what has value and meaning to you will make it so much easier to see and let go of the things that you no longer want and need. It is a way of taking stock of your belongings. This will give you a feeling of appreciation for the abundance you have. And even though you’ll end up having less than before, you’ll feel prosperous and as if you have more.

Questions To Ask When Decluttering

Here are some questions that you can use as a guide to help you decide what to keep and what to let go of. It helps to hold each item in your hand and ask these questions. You don’t have to get a yes or no to all the questions. They work together to give you a holistic perspective of how you feel about your belongings.

1. Do I love this?

Things that you love or make you happy uplift your energy. Things that you don't love lower your energy. You don’t have to keep everything you love because you may not have room.

2. Do I use this?

If something is useful to you, that is a good reason to keep it. Its function gives it a positive purpose in your life. If something is useful but you never use it, why are you keeping it?

3. Do I have room for this?

This question helps you stay realistic about the amount of space you have to balance your answers to the first two questions. It may be the most helpful for a final pass, once you see how much you still have. A space can only hold so many things before the energy stagnates. Stay connected to the size of your space and how you want it to look and feel.

More Good Questions To Ask

• Does this add value to my life?

• Is it worth my time, energy and money to keep and maintain this?

• Does this enhance my life-force energy?

• Does it remind me of a time in my life I’m ready to move on from?

A few extra tips…

If you absolutely love something it may not matter if it's useful or not. Likewise you may not love your toothbrush or suitcase but those are two very useful items when you need them so that gives them a positive purpose in your life.

I don't subscribe to the philosophy that if you haven't used something in x amount of time then you should get rid of it. I think it's much more nuanced than that. Yes, if you haven't used something for years or ever and you're holding on to it because you are afraid you might need it someday, that might be a good time to let it go. Other times you may have forgotten about something and now as you're tuning into how you feel you rediscover it and find it has meaning. I call these ‘buried treasures’.

There will also always be those things that we need only every once in a while and it's worth it to keep them. But you need to create some limitations for those things.

If you end up with more than you have room for, another great question is this one from Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist...”What would I use instead?”

Because maybe you've ended up with five spatulas that you love and use. But you still have more things in your kitchen than you have room for. This question helps you refine further to your favorites.

Declutter one category at a time.

For example, go through all your tops before moving on to your pants. Or go through all your books before moving on to papers. Or address one drawer in your kitchen instead of the whole kitchen at once. This will reduce overwhelm and it’s easier to decide when you are aware of all the things you have in one category.

As I said at the beginning there are many other hurdles that can contribute to making decluttering a hard task. One being making the time to do it and another is the emotions tied in with our things. I will address some of these other hurdles in future blogs.

Remember to take breaks and be kind to yourself.