Inside: Think getting rid of waste is just a project? Switch to a removal skills the mind changes everything.
When you think of decluttering, it probably makes you think of big marathon cleaning sessions where you’re expected to get 75% of your stuff out over the weekend.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt depressed watching a crumbling Instagram reel that makes it look so easy when you know your reality looks so different! I know I was there.
And it’s no wonder that many people think of decluttering as an almost impossible task – social media and TV love to show fun videos before and after big demolition projects.
You know them—when someone magically transforms a disaster site into a magazine-worthy location in what seems like minutes.
Meanwhile, here I am trying to decide if I really need five measuring cups while helping with homework, trying to make dinner, and wondering where I put my phone!
But here’s the truth:
Most of us don’t have the time and energy to do big decluttering sessions.
De-cluttering is more effective when you think of it as developing a skill that you can use for the rest of your life, rather than a huge project that can be done on a weekend.
As a mother of two teenagers who once thought she could destroy her last closet in one afternoon (spoiler alert: I couldn’t), this realization was a real game changer for me.
Learning to effectively dissipate long-term effects is like learning a language or any other complex skill.
With consistent practice, you’ll get better at it!
It’s like how I slowly 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 can choose a big decluttering project, and finish it with amazing results. But real decluttering success comes from developing specific skills over time, not marathon cleaning sessions.
And let’s be honest—who among us has an entire weekend to dedicate to sorting things out? Between baseball practice, grocery shopping, and trying to find a minute to take a shower, most of us work on 10-15 minutes at best!
Waste Elimination Skill Set
As you practice decluttering on a consistent basis, you will develop a unique skill set that will make your disposal more effective in the long run.
Think of it as your waning superpower growing stronger every time you successfully part with that shirt you haven’t worn in three years but kept “just in case.”
Learning the ability to remove objects happens in stages, which I will explain in this article.
But first, here are the biggest skills you’ll develop related to decluttering:
- Confidence to make decisions
- Space exploration and management
- Adapting to attitudes by letting things go
- Programs for thinking and creating
- Practice development and maintenance.
Don’t worry if this sounds intimidating—I promise you’re already using some of these skills when deciding which leftovers should go in the fridge or which of your kid’s 87 art projects from last week to keep!
That’s a lot of complex skills that build into an even more complex de-cluttering skill! Shono can be so challenging!
Beginner’s Section: First Steps to Finish Newcomers
This is the stage where you can see the most progress quickly by starting with the “easy” things to get rid of: obvious junk, duplicates, old stuff, etc.
One of my first decluttering wins? Finding SEVEN empty shampoo bottles in my bathroom cabinet. It’s seven! 😳
I felt like a master at eliminating waste by grouping them into 3 bottles and taking out the extra containers.
If you do short de-cluttering sessions, you will gradually focus your mind without being stressed.
I like to set a timer for 10 minutes while I brew my coffee in the morning. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in the time it takes to make your daily caffeine fix!
Need more guidance? Get my FREE 10-minute workout checklist that gives you daily suggestions to declutter to start building that ripped body.
You will begin to learn to identify what is appropriate in your environment and what is not, while building your confidence through small, visible wins.
That rush you get when you can’t close your junk drawer without something cluttering it? Pure pure dopamine!
Advanced Stage: Expanding Your Skills
After you’ve found time to do short decluttering sessions, you’ll naturally come to the Improvement level.
That’s where things get interesting—like when I finally got to meet my kids’ dressers and see what clothes they had. A game changer!
In this section you will tackle the most challenging decluttering stages, and you will create your own personalized decision frameworks.
To me, this looks like finally establishing my “one in, one out” rule for kitchen gadgets. There is no new air fryer unless there is something else to donate!
You will have a better sense of when you need to take a break and as you improve in 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 the clutter, every decision—big or small—consumes our limited mental resources.
Research by Dr. Roy Baumeister, who coined the term ‘decision fatigue,’ suggests that as we make more decisions, our ability to make future decisions deteriorates, making it difficult to stay on top of the clutter.
During this stage, you’ll also improve some of the systems you’ve created before as you learn more about how you use your space, and what you need to make it more functional and usable.
Functional Section: Mastering Continuous Management
Those who stick with their waste removal routine over time will eventually reach a level where they can implement preventative measures, and implement effective daily and weekly maintenance practices.
This is the promised land, friend!
Where you can find matching socks in less than 30 seconds and automatically know that free swag from the conference needs to go straight into the donation bin rather than cluttering up your office.
Here you can begin to pass these skills on to family members, either by example or through direct teaching.
One of the signs that my decluttering habit was passing by example? It was when my son took it upon himself to rearrange his bedroom in preparation for his grandmother’s visit. Organizational skills and reasoning? Pride doesn’t even begin to cover it.
You will also be able to confidently handle the most challenging stages of removing items and sensitive items.
Like finally going through those boxes of your kids’ clothes without crying foul for hours.
The Intentional Practice of De-Professionalism
Learning how to eliminate waste is not the same systematic method for everyone.
Your decluttering journey may look completely different from mine or your neighbor’s, and that’s okay! A friend of mine gutted his entire garage over the weekend, while it took me weeks of 10 minutes to get the same result.
Depending on your situation, motivation, and energy, your path will be different from the next person’s dissection journey.
But decluttering regularly will help you improve.
It’s like how I had to learn how to use a new blogging platform for Mom Planning—it felt dark and confusing and I NEVER liked it! But with consistent practice, it started to feel like second nature.
Removing waste works the same way: it may feel difficult at first, but the more you do it, the easier and more natural it becomes.
Similar to learning a language or playing a musical instrument, decluttering is a skill that develops with consistent practice. According to Anders Ericsson’s research on intentionality, we do not develop skills through random efforts, but through deliberate practice and refining our skills over time.
Structured exercises such as 10-minute activities can help you strengthen specific de-cluttering skills, and spaced repetition of daily de-cluttering activities will help you maintain your skills.
Learning from problems is also part of the process of building your decluttering skills.
Like that time I threw out old magazines that I thought no one was interested in, and my husband started looking for them. Oops!
But even mistakes teach us something about what we really value and use.
People often measure their decluttering progress by counting the number of items they remove from their property.
While this can be very motivating, it’s important to consider the progress you’re making in developing decluttering skills.
The real win isn’t just that you donated 50 items—that you can now confidently make decisions about your items without second-guessing them for days!
Related: Long-Term Organization: Why Most Systems Fail (And How to Make Yours Stick!)
Being an Organized Person
When you focus on building your decluttering skills, you improve your goal from “organizing my house” to being “an organized person.”
It’s like the difference between eating a disordered diet and developing healthy eating habits that last a lifetime. One is temporary; one changes who you are!
When you start thinking of yourself as an organized person with strong de-cluttering skills, you will make decisions that make you more organized!
As James Clear points out in his book “Atomic Habits” when you focus on self-awareness-based habits (“I’m organized”) rather than outcome-based goals (“I need to organize this room”), your new behavior sticks because it aligns with who you believe you are. This little mindset shift has made all the difference in my journey to eliminate waste!
Remember that skills improve with practice.
Each small victory—each closet organized, each decision made with confidence—brings you one step closer to the calm, active place you deserve.
Take action today and get started with your first 10-minute decluttering task!
I believe you! And remember, even if all you manage today is emptying your wallet or one kitchen drawer, that’s progress to celebrate. Now excuse me while I go clear out the mountain of laundry in my closet… we all move on!
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