The Best Way to Resolve Clutter

Resolve clutter by pretending you’re moving once a year. Declutter, donate and organize effectively while saving money and space.

Resolve Clutter: Pretend You Are Moving Once a Year

I must ask what motivates me to be on top of my de-cluttering and organizational process. Everyone has their own tolerance level for messy spaces, and I do a pretty good job of staying neat and tidy. In fact, if there had been no such thing as Feng Shui, I could have easily become a professional organizer.

I usually go through my entire house, closets, cabinets, and drawers once a year. Play some upbeat music while doing this if it helps you stay energized. I discard and give away items I no longer want or need. And because I generally don’t have clutter issues, the stuff I give away might total one or two grocery bags filled with stuff.

When I had actually been preparing for a literal move of residence, I got more serious about re-homing stuff, and the pivotal question in my mind at those times was: Do I really want to pay a mover to move this? This has been a Litmus test for me, and if the answer is “no,” then it means I don’t care about that item or don’t care enough to take it with me. The replacement cost might be less than moving a large bulky item. In any event, this is just a mindset to explore when evaluating how much clutter and unused items you really want to hang onto.

Saving money can be as good as making money, so in a similar predicament, I have known people who filled storage units with things they cannot use in their current living situation. And yet, they fantasize about using those furnishings or pieces of equipment “one day.” When the cost of storing those items exceeds their replacement value, then it’s time to get real. Often, the attachment to certain items is overly sentimental and illogical. One case in point: I had a boyfriend who stored woodshop equipment that he could no longer use because of a serious back and neck injury. Another friend had been maintaining, for more than a decade, a Public Storage Unit filled with furniture from her deceased parents’ home. Would she use those furnishings herself “one day?” It was highly unlikely, as her finances could only afford her a studio apartment.

I understand that these irrational attachments to possessions represent some serious psychological issues beyond the scope of this self-help article. However, the bottom line is that money as a motivator can still inspire some to clean up their scene, whether it is right in the home or off-site in public storage. How much does this storage cost you per month or per year? And frankly, do those stored items have a monetary value that you could use for other priorities? The friend who stored her parents’ furniture could have afforded a nicer and bigger place for herself to live in if she had applied the monthly storage unit costs to her rental budget.

I realize that I may be too logical and innately organized to ever be a professional organizer myself. I might not have the stamina or patience to work with individuals who are perpetually paralyzed by inaction. In fact, the way that I deal with my own emotions and “funk” is by cleaning and organizing.

Without assigning blame or clinging to the past, ask yourself as you go through your stuff if you can justify spending money on having someone move these items and 2) is there a reasonable profit to be made by selling these items or taking a tax credit for donating them?

For the last big move I made, I was downsizing, so I got rid of 40+ boxes of household items and some very large bulky items as well. Having a garage sale for these items would have been a hassle and too time-consuming. The tax write-off was much more appealing. I carefully documented each item to be donated and spread out the contents of each bag on a table, photographed in case I were to be questioned or audited regarding the year where I claimed several thousand dollars in charitable donations.