When we struggle with clutter in our homes and lives, our minds usually default to thinking that the first step is to dive in and start sorting through the physical stuff. Although this is a great first step to making change towards a simpler, more organised and intentional life, there's one step that is even more powerful.
GAINING CLARITY ON YOUR WHY
To give ourselves the best chance of success, it's important to think a little about our deeper motivations - our 'why' behind decluttering.
Home organisation is often associated with storage containers, labels, and even arranging items by colour, but in truth, decluttering and organisation is less about the physical aspect of tidying and buying storage and more about clarifying our life values, priorities and goals.
There are many reasons why people want to get organised. It could be wanting a home that you can feel relaxed inviting guests into, wanting to simplify the stuff so that you can be more present with your family and others, starting a new job or business working from home and needing an inspiring space to work in or it could be to support a new life chapter.
Whatever your 'why' may be, it should be specific, inspiring and personal.
Think about what you want for yourself and your family. What are your reasons for wanting to simplify and organise your home? What's not working right now?
Create a vision for how you would like things to look and feel.
"When you are clear about your purpose and priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these - whether it is clutter in your cabinets or commitments in your calendar" - Victoria Moran.
THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR WHY
Your 'why' and your vision go together, and are really important because once you start thinking about what you want your life and home to look like, it's easier to make decisions and move forward.
Our living spaces should support us and reflect the life that we envision. Thinking about what we want for our lives and homes means that we can work towards those goals and create spaces in our homes that align with these goals.
It helps you process the different versions of yourself and your life and to see what is no longer part of your life that can now go, and what is still part of your life that can stay, that you can keep and enjoy. And if it needs to stay, your vision will help you to decide where it needs to live.
It's incredibly motivating to know that you are decluttering is because you want to make space for wonderful new opportunities to come into your life. It might not happen overnight, and it will take time and energy. It can be a long, steady process, but having a vision is so important to get it going and to keep it going. Your vision gives you something to look forward to at the end of all your hard work.
Your 'why' will help keep you motivated, and your vision will become clearer as you work through the clutter.
"The secret to successful decluttering is this. You will never get organised if you don't have a vision for the life you want" - Peter Walsh.
HOW DO WE UNCOVER OUR WHY?
If trying to pin down and clarify a 'why' seems too overwhelming, don't worry. There's no pressure. The idea is to start thinking about our intentions for our home and life.
Some people have an obvious why and a clear vision for their home straight away; others start with a feeling that they just need to do something but have no idea where to start or what they want to end up with. It will come.
If you’re struggling at first, give yourself some time to ask questions.
CREATING A VISION for your home
What activities happen in there? How do you want it to look, and more importantly, how do you want it to feel?
Forget about what everyone else has or living like a social media post. Your vision is not about living a life that looks perfect to someone on the outside looking in. It's about what’s really important to YOU.
Try to create a picture in your mind of what you want your space to be like. How does it look? And more importantly, how does it feel?
Don't worry about what is possible in this moment, and don't overthink it - write down whatever comes into your mind. It doesn’t matter if your home currently looks and feels nothing like this - that’s the whole point. This is your chance to create a home and surroundings that support you and your goals and not what has just happened to you.
One of the struggles we might have with our vision is that things might have been that way for so long that you can’t imagine it an other way. Thats absolutely fine! Sometimes it’s not until you start decluttering, and peel back the layers, that your home starts to ‘appear’.
If you find it hard to visualise your own space, you can try using Pinterest, collecting images from magazines or journalling the thoughts that come into your head. Get inspiration from the places you go or interior design shows for inspirations.
If this is still too hard - look at stress flips.
What makes life stressful? What’s doesn’t feel good?
If you find getting ready in the mornings and not being able to find clothes to wear stressful,
Your why of needing to eliminate that stress is clear, and your vision would be “Having a nice relaxing bedroom or wardrobe space, where my clothes are easy to find and put away’.
You can expand on your vision with details of the type of storage you would like and how it could be decorated if you wish.
THE BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS
What do you want to create more space for in your home? And life?
What are you looking forward to in life that is currently missing?
What do you want MORE of?
What do you want LESS of?
What is your primary motivation for making a change right now?
When it comes to decluttering and organising your home, what benefits are you most excited about? What do you need most?
What would a less cluttered home mean for you?
What would a less cluttered home mean for your family?
What things (other than material possessions) do you look forward to focusing your resources on (family, travel...)?
MAKE A STATEMENT
To simplify the answers to your questions and to make them even more powerful, you can also create your own mission statement.
Here are some examples;
"I deserve to own less in order to feel less stressed, and enjoy spending time with my family instead of nagging them to tidy stuff up".
" I want to live with less debt, less worry, less stress, less clutter, less maintenance and less distractions".
" Our home should be calm and peaceful, free from the stress and drama of the outside world".
"I want to enjoy having friends and family over without being embarrassed about the house".
" I desire to own less so I can....... "
"I want to feel......."
" I want to create a space for...."
MAKE IT VISUAL
After you have clarified your compelling reasons for decluttering, you'll want to keep them at the front of your mind. Whether it's through writing them down in your notebook, planner or journal, adding them to your vision board, or jotted on colourful Post- It notes around your space.
Whatever method resonates with you to maintain focus on your goals.
The key is to make your goals tangible and ever-present, ensuring you stay motivated and on track until you achieve them.
If you're feeling a little adrift you can revisit these prompts to refocus and align yourself with your goals.
In the end, decluttering is not just about tidying our home, it's about reclaiming control of our lives, AND aligning our surroundings with our deepest values and aspirations.
And as you continue on the journey, remember: clarity is not a destination, but continuous process of self-discovery and refinement. Revisit your goals, adjust your course as needed and celebrate each step towards a more intentional, clutter-free life.