Difficulties of Clutter Release

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There are many types of physical clutter.

When we think of clutter we often think of a messy area where much of the stuff is useless.

Or we might think of clutter as just having too much stuff so that it is difficult to find places to put it or to find what we need.

Clutter might be things that that are out of sight, but we don’t use. We kept them because they were gifts, family items, or sentimental reminders.

We may have accumulated items for projects or plans that we aspire to accomplish in the future but right now are just taking up our space.

If you are now feeling that you need to get rid of clutter in your home but just can’t seem to wrap yourself around how to even start, let’s look at some ways to make it easier to release.

First know your “why”.

Why are you wanting to let go of the clutter?

·        It’s affecting my living space

·        It’s reached the level that it is causing stress

·        There is an upcoming change in my life – marriage, divorce, baby, child moving out, work change

·        I'm moving

·        I'm doing a Swedish Death cleaning

Knowing your why helps with deciding what to release.

Now we all know the drill. We get containers for each category of items to be released.

·        Trash

·        Recycle

·        Shred

·        Donate

·        Keep but going somewhere else

But roadblocks crop up that can slow down or even stop progress.

·        Trash – what can and cannot go into the land fill

What do I do with hazardous waste materials?

Are batteries hazardous waste?

What about medicines?

If I have a lot of trash, should I get a dumpster or bin that will get picked up?

Can I stage my trash in one area and have someone pick it up and take it to the dump?

·        Recycle – what can be recycled

What can I put in my curbside recycling bin?

What about electronic recycling? Where can I take that? Do I have to wipe information from my phone/iPad before recycling?

What about plastics that my curbside won’t take?

Can fabrics get recycled?

What about Styrofoam?

·        Shred – what needs shredding

How do I decide if I should shred a paper instead of just recycling it?

How long do I need to keep papers before I can shred them?

If I have a lot of shredding, where should I take it? Will some places come to you and shred?

·        Donate – where is the best place to donate

Where do I donate furniture?

Will donation sites pick up?

How do I donate items that are valuable?

What about items with a history attached?

How do I distinguish between a donatable item and just trash?

·        Keep but going somewhere else – I know I want it but not sure where

Should I set up a staging area until I am sure where I will use it?

Should I see if my family wants it?

I know where I want it to go but I can’t get to that area yet, so where do I put it now?

As professional organizers we can help our clients answer many of these questions. Different places have different trash/recycling rules and different opportunities to dispose of items responsibly.

But some of the choices need some more consideration. What is the most important consideration at this point in time?

·        Saving the planet

·        Tight end time for finishing project

·        Limited time/energy weekly to work

·        Budget

·        Holding on to a legacy

·        Guilt with getting rid of items

Most of my clients want eco-friendly ways of disposing of their belongings and in the area where I live there are a lot of options. However, the options usually take some extra time and effort. This means that those items may sit around in the house for a long time.

For example, one client had accumulated probably 50 or more full cat food tins that were not going to be used. Most were past the best used date so not donatable. I asked her to give herself permission to trash these this one time rather than opening all of them, dumping the contents, and rinsing the cans so that the cans could be recycled. At first blush, she was aghast. But then as she put the cans into the trash, she admitted that she felt relief to have them gone and not sitting in her living room.  

This past week I worked with a client who had several expensive items that had been gifted to her that she knew she would not use. One item was a leather-bound journal, and it had her name and an inscription on the cover. She finally decided that she would see if a friend who used nice journals would want it. She is also planning on donating some items to a Church Circulation Days of Celebration.

I have a large collection of crystal wine glasses that I gathered during my years living in Germany. Many have a story behind them. I used to use them once or twice a year for large parties and really enjoyed them. I have not used them since our Covid era. I am lucky that a niece has recently moved near me and because of her husband’s job promotion will be entertaining more now. She is happy to take them off my hands.

When time is not an issue, it feels good to find the best place to donate your stuff. But sometimes getting it gone as soon as possible is the wanted outcome.

Getting the clutter out of your house is the main goal.

Deciding what is that clutter and how to discard it can be overwhelming. Talking it out can clarify your thoughts. Getting help from Professional Organizers or counselors is a big help.

If you want some help with identifying and releasing your clutter, reach out to me or other professional organizers in your area.  

Jonda S. Beattie, Professional Organizer owner of Time Space Organization, and co-owner of Release, Repurpose, Reorganize. She is based in the Metro-Atlanta area. As presenter, award-winning author, as well as a retired special education teacher she uses her listening skills, problem solving skills, knowledge of different learning techniques, ADHD specialty, and paper management skills to help clients.