Build Your Decluttering Skills for Lasting Organization
Inside: Think decluttering is just a project? Shifting to a decluttering skills mindset changes everything.
When you think of decluttering, it probably makes you think of big marathon cleaning sessions where you're expected to get rid of 75% of your stuff in a weekend.
Raise your hand if you've ever felt discouraged watching a decluttering Instagram reel that makes it look SO easy while knowing your reality looks very different! I know I've been there.
And it's not surprising that most people think of decluttering as arduous work that’s nearly impossible – social media and TV love to show the exciting before and after videos of big decluttering projects.
You know the ones—where someone magically transforms a disaster zone into a magazine-perfect space in what seems like minutes.
Meanwhile, I'm over here trying to decide if I really need five different measuring cups while helping with homework, trying to make supper, and wondering where I put my phone!
But here's the truth:
Most of us don't have the time or energy to do huge decluttering sessions.
Decluttering is more effective when you approach it as developing a skill you can use for the rest of your life, instead of a big project that can be done in a weekend.
As a mom of two teenagers who once thought she could declutter her entire storage closet in one afternoon (spoiler alert: I couldn't), this realization was truly game-changing for me.
Learning to declutter effectively for long-term results is similar to learning a language or another complex skill.
With consistent practice, you'll get better at it!
It's like how I gradually learned to keep up with the mail instead of letting it pile up on the counter for weeks. Small steps, consistent practice!
Of course, you could opt for a big decluttering project, and even finish it with amazing results. But true decluttering success comes from developing specific abilities over time, not from marathon cleaning sessions.
And let's be honest—who among us has an entire weekend to dedicate solely to decluttering? Between baseball practice, grocery shopping, and trying to find a minute to actually shower, most of us are working with 10-15 minute pockets of time at best!
The Decluttering Skill Set
As you practice decluttering on a consistent basis, you'll develop a unique skill set that will make your decluttering more effective over time.
Think of it as your decluttering superpower that grows stronger every time you successfully part with that shirt you haven't worn in three years but kept “just in case.”
Learning the skill of decluttering happens in phases, which I'll outline in this article.
But first, here are the major skills you'll develop as related to decluttering:
- Decision-making confidence
- Space evaluation and management
- Mental flexibility for letting go of items
- Systems thinking and creation
- Habit development and maintenance.
Don't worry if these sound intimidating—I promise you already use some of these skills when deciding which leftovers in the fridge need to go or which of your child's 87 art projects from last week to keep!
That's a lot of complex skills that make up the even more complex skill of decluttering! No wonder it can be so challenging!
The Beginner Phase: First Steps for Decluttering Newcomers
This is the phase where you can see a lot of progress quickly by starting with the “easy” items to declutter: obvious trash, duplicates, things you've outgrown, etc.
One of my first decluttering wins? Finding SEVEN half-empty bottles of shampoo in my bathroom cabinet. Seven! 😳
I felt like a decluttering champion just by combining them into 3 bottles and getting rid of the extra containers.
If you do short decluttering sessions, you'll gradually build your focus without overwhelm.
I like to set a 10-minute timer while my coffee brews in the morning. It's amazing what you can accomplish in the time it takes to make your daily caffeine!
Need some extra guidance? Get my FREE 10-minute tasks checklists that give you daily decluttering suggestions so you can start building that decluttering muscle.
You'll start to learn to identify what belongs in your space and what doesn't, while building your confidence through small, visible wins.
That rush you get when you can finally close your junk drawer without something jamming it? Pure decluttering dopamine!
The Developing Phase: Expanding on Your Abilities
After you've gotten the hang of doing short decluttering sessions, you'll naturally level up to the Developing Phase.
This is where things get exciting—like when I finally tackled my kids' dressers and could actually see what clothes they had. Game-changer!
In this phase you'll tackle more challenging decluttering categories, and you'll naturally create your own personalized decision frameworks.
For me, this looked like finally establishing my “one in, one out” rule for kitchen gadgets. No new air fryer unless something else goes to donation!
You'll have a better sense of when you need to take a break too as you improve at recognizing and managing decision fatigue.
Because decision fatigue is real! I once spent 10 minutes deciding whether to keep or donate a half-used spiral notebook. That's when you know it's time for chocolate and a mental break.
As we navigate through clutter, every decision—big or small—drains our limited mental resources.
Research by Dr. Roy Baumeister, who coined the term ‘decision fatigue,' shows that as we make more decisions, our ability to make future decisions deteriorates, making it harder to stay on top of the clutter.
During this phase, you’ll also refine some of the systems you created earlier as you learn more about how you use your space, and what you need to make it practical and useful.
The Proficient Phase: Mastering Ongoing Management
Those who keep up with their decluttering habit over time will eventually get to a level of mastery where they can implement preventative practices, and use efficient daily and weekly maintenance routines.
This is the promised land, friend!
Where you can actually find matching socks in under 30 seconds and you instinctively know when that free swag from a conference needs to go directly into the donation bin rather than cluttering up your office.
Here you may begin to transfer these skills to family members, either by example or through explicit teaching.
One of the signs that my decluttering practice was transferring by example? It was when my son took it upon himself to completely reset his bedroom in preparation for his grandma’s visit. Organization skills and thoughtfulness? Proud doesn’t even begin to cover it.
You'll also be able to confidently handle decluttering the most challenging decluttering categories and sentimental items.
Like finally going through those boxes of your children's baby clothes without ugly-crying for hours.
Deliberate Practice for Decluttering Mastery
Learning to declutter isn't a structured path that's the same for everyone.
Your decluttering journey might look completely different from mine or your neighbor's, and that's perfectly okay! My friend decluttered her entire garage in a weekend, while it took me weeks of 10-minute sessions to achieve the same result.
Depending on your situation, motivation, and energy, your path will differ from the next person's decluttering journey.
But decluttering on a regular basis will absolutely help you improve.
It’s like how I had to learn how to use a new blogging platform for Organizing Moms —it felt clunky and confusing and I did NOT like it! But with consistent practice, it started to feel like second nature.
Decluttering works the same way: it might feel hard in the beginning, but the more you do it, the easier and more natural it becomes.
Similar to learning a language or playing an instrument, decluttering is a skill that improves with consistent practice. According to Anders Ericsson's research on deliberate practice, we develop expertise not through sporadic efforts, but by intentionally practicing and refining our abilities over time.
Structured exercises like the 10-minute tasks can help you strengthen specific decluttering abilities, and the spaced repetition of working on decluttering daily will help you retain your skills.
Learning from setbacks is also a part of the process of building your decluttering skills.
Like that time I decluttered old magazines that I thought no one was interested in, and then my husband started looking for them. Oops!
But even mistakes teach us something about what we truly value and use.
Often people measure their decluttering progress by counting the number of items they remove from their space.
While this can be super motivating, it's important to consider the progress you make at developing decluttering skills.
The real win isn't just that you donated 50 items—it's that you can now confidently make decisions about your belongings without second-guessing yourself for days!
Becoming an Organized Person
When you focus on building your decluttering skills, you're upleveling your goal from just “organize my house” to “becoming an organized person.”
It's like the difference between going on a crash diet versus developing healthy eating habits that last a lifetime. One is temporary; the other transforms who you are!
When you begin to think of yourself as an organized person with strong decluttering skills, you'll make decisions that make you more organized!
As James Clear points out in his book “Atomic Habits” when you focus on identity-based habits (“I am an organized person”) rather than outcome-based goals (“I need to organize this closet”), your new behaviors stick because they're aligned with who you believe yourself to be. This small mindset shift has made all the difference in my decluttering journey!
Remember that skills develop incrementally with practice.
Each small victory—each drawer organized, each decision made with confidence—brings you one step closer to the calm, functional space you deserve.
Take action today and begin with your first 10-minute decluttering task!
I believe in you! And remember, even if all you manage today is decluttering your purse or one kitchen drawer, that's progress to celebrate. Now excuse me while I go tackle the mountain of laundry in my closet… we're all works in progress!
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