Take This Self-Quarantine Time to Declutter and Simplify Your Life
6 steps to get started
The first step in crafting a life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t. ~ Joshua Becker
Whether you have decided to self-quarantine, social distance yourself, or you are being cautious due to underlying health conditions, you might find yourself with some restlessness at not being able to go about your regular routines.
Why not use this time to declutter and simplify your surroundings? Even if you had a yard sale last summer or regularly clean out the junk from closets and drawers, you’ll be surprised at how much has accumulated again. No excuses now — you have time on your hands and limited distractions to dive in deep.
But, if you have been burying yourself for some time you may feel overwhelmed or helpless, asking where do I start? Don’t worry! You don’t need the cast of Hoarders to rescue you. Like minimalism itself — the steps to getting there are S-I-M-P-L-E
S — start with something easy I — imagine where you want to be M — make steady progress P — pare down and pare down again L — look for ways to bless others E — engage in the process
Start with something easy
I’m a literacy teacher by trade so the way I teach children to read is the way I approach any problem in life. We introduce children to letters first, then sounds, and gradually we teach them to put sounds together to make words. It would be ridiculous to throw a reading passage with long multi-syllabic words at a Kindergartener and say, “Here read this.”
Use this approach as you begin to declutter your physical surroundings.
Pick an easy area first. Don’t start with items that are going to evoke painful or powerful memories. Save those for after you’ve built up your resistance to feeling overwhelmed.
When preparing for a big move across the country, the last thing I sorted through and purged was the boxes of my children’s pictures, artwork, and writing. I saved a few that showcased milestones, a particular talent, or special memory. If I had started with these personal items first I would have gotten sidetracked at the least and stuck at the worst.
Inertia takes over when we’re overwhelmed so save the emotionally laden items for last after you’ve created some momentum and tolerance for letting go.
Imagine where you want to be
If your vision is a cleaner home, use this as your motivation. Envision walking in the door from a long day at work (once you stop self-quarantining!) and being able to flop into your favorite chair to relax. Imagine your home free of clutter and easier to clean and maintain. A haven of peace, tranquility, and ease.
My goal was to downsize my home so I could have more land, less house. I kept the idea of walking around my property, watching goats graze in my pasture and listening to the sounds of birds and stillness in my imagination while I slugged through the tedium of cleaning out closets.
Make steady progress
You don’t have to be the hare; it’s okay to be the tortoise. Small efforts consistently usually prove to be more sustainable than large extravagant efforts. Chances are you’ve got a long way to go so avoid burnout by doing a little each day.
One day it may be cleaning out a single drawer or the bathroom closet. That’s okay. In fact, as long as you are not up against the clock just commit to a slow, steady pace. This will allow you time to process things and not make hasty decisions.
I should state here that you will probably toss or donate one or two items that you may look for later and it happens to all of us. But, trust me, it won’t be anything that will devastate you. Don’t let this stop you from making decisions about what to part with.
Don’t rush the process. Sit with memories, allow yourself to examine motives or process emotions.
Ask yourself why did I keep this? and chuckle at the memories that erupt. Imagine letting go of an item and process how that would feel.
Haste is never a good strategy when dealing with heart issues. If we only purge for the sake of purging we short circuit the healing and growth opportunities.
*** Be Prepared! Our Emotions Can Be Attached to Things! ***
Lest you think I’m over-dramatizing how emotionally charged the process of cleaning out closets and filing cabinets can be let me share a couple of examples.
Finding the closing documents on a house that we lost a lot of money on brought back a lot of bad memories, regret, some anger, and shame. I took a marker and wrote across the folder: ‘the worst decision we ever made’ and then gleefully shredded those documents.
Pulling clothing and accessories that were never worn out of a stuffed closet made me feel ashamed of my spending habits. Mentally calculating the waste of money didn’t do much for my peace of mind. But packing, unpacking, rehanging, and staring at those items would have been more painful so parting ways was the solution.
Similar scenarios were acted out over the months as I sorted through tablecloths that belonged to my mother — but how many tablecloths did I really use? Vases — I remember the flower arrangement that came with that one…. on and on…it was work, I tell ya!
But there were good memories too. Taking time to sort through boxes of letters and cards offered an opportunity to call an old friend and reminisce about high school and “do you remember when…?”
Holding my son’s journals and artwork allowed me to see a piece of his heart and reminded me of his journey through childhood.
Progress is the goal. Nobody hands out awards for getting to the minimalist finish line.
Pare down and pare down again
When we remodeled our kitchen, I gave away unused and duplicate items. I wanted to only put back items I found useful. Astonishingly, when I prepared to move just two years later I was still able to pare down my kitchen items.
You can do this with clothing, toys and games, DVDs and CDs, books, seasonal decorations, and items in the garage. Go through once and wait a while. Do another sweep and you’ll be amazed that you can still find things to part with.
Look for ways to bless others
It’s all about perspective! Instead of viewing the process as losing things from your life, think of it as giving to the lives of others.
As a former reading teacher, I had shelves and shelves of children’s books, but I no longer teach and my kids are grown, so hoarding hundreds of quality books seemed selfish. It was pure joy when my neighbor’s daughter came to my garage sale and eagerly bought up armfuls of books because she was graduating with a teaching degree and setting up her own classroom! Win-win!
Another large pile of books was donated to a women’s prison ministry.
Those boots you never wear but keep because you feel guilty about the price tag? — somebody who could never afford to pay what you paid needs a quality pair of boots.
Engage in the process
It’s not just about the stuff! It’s about discovering you and working through heart stuff too. Don’t bypass your emotions during this process or you may find yourself struggling to let go or just replacing the items you do discard later on down the line.
We often run from our emotions because they can make us uncomfortable. This process is all about clearing out what holds us back or clutters our life, from piles of unused magazines to emotions and memories that no longer serve us.
You are not just making space in your closet, you are making space in your mind and heart.
Engage with your life! Don’t be a spectator. This is not a process you can contract out or pay someone to complete for you. It’s about YOU — getting to the core of who you are so you can begin to live like you were created to live — unencumbered by clutter and distractions.
My journey began with the need to downsize my house and gain control over my finances so I could analyze if my job was worth the stress it was adding to my life, but this adventure has taken me places I didn’t even know I wanted to go!
I’ve dealt with emotional clutter. I’ve restructured my finances and changed the trajectory of my career. I’ve let go of toxic relationships and moved to a new state, rediscovered gifts and dreams I had buried under possessions and status. I’m still sentimental but I’ve learned to curate instead of collect.
I’m imagining a refined simple life where all my earthly possessions fit in a motorhome so I can travel and see new places.
Seize this time! Use it to dig into your closets and your heart. When it’s time to emerge and enter back into your regular routine you can do so with a new focus and a decluttered life.
