Nowadays, it feels like everyone’s searching for some life-changing hack that will make decluttering easier—and trust me, I understand!
This hack is a great way to get on top of your clutter because it reduces the mental load associated with decluttering.
Choose one item you already know you want to declutter. Before you get rid of it, pause and look for concrete reasons why you don’t want that item anymore. Look for more reasons why you don’t want the new item … and repeat the process.
Wanting to keep things “just in case” is a common decluttering challenge, and it’s made worse because humans have an innate negativity bias.
Reduce the fear of giving something up by addressing it head-on. Next time you want to declutter something, but you’re afraid of giving it up, ask yourself this question: “If I needed this item and didn’t have it, what are five things I could do instead?”
Whether you realise it, everything you own has a cost. We spend money when we buy things and often spend even more caring for or storing them.