Sentimental value, overwhelm, and lack of options are some of the major constraints that keep people from decluttering. To get your family onboard your decluttering plan, you need to help them navigate these challenges.
You need to make sure it’s all worth it in the end and everyone gets to appreciate the benefits of letting go.
Some tips can help make them come around your
decluttering plans:
Take The Lead
The best way to
prove to your loved ones that letting go can be a good thing is by living it
yourself. Let them see you spending less time preparing for work every day
because you can easily grab your stuff from your clutter-free drawers and
wardrobe, while they always find themselves digging through a pile of stuff in
search of their favourite accessories or door keys.
Help Them Decide What’s Important and What’s Not
Help them identify what they can dispose of without regrets – duplicate items, unused items, stuff they’ve outgrown, etc.
Let them see how making more space for important things can bring more joy.
Tread Cautiously
But don’t just go ordering them around or giving your opinion when it’s really not needed. Respect their emotions and sentimental attachments. The aim should be to help them feel better in their space, not poison the air around the house.
If they’re taking
up too much room in a limited shared space, you can designate space for them to
keep anything they want.
Provide Decluttering Essentials
Now you’ve helped
them decide on what to keep and what to let go, but don’t stop there. Try to
make it easy for them to move items out. Help them decide exactly what they’ll
do with the decluttered items.
Using a self-storage unit is a great way to have a decluttered home while having a place for items they wish to keep.
Take it Slow
To help them overcome the overwhelm, avoid going it all at once. Tackle one part of the house or room per time. You can start with their wardrobe, then target the drawers the following week. Focus first on broken, damaged, unused stuff, before gradually moving to stuff with more sentimental value than practical value.
And as they begin to come around the idea of decluttering, you’ll meet less resistance.
Make It Lively and Exciting
You can introduce incentives and games to keep everyone in high spirits throughout the process. Don’t buy them new things while they’re still swamped in clutter – reserve the gifts for the day they declutter.
Some great game ideas for the decluttering day
include the Minimalists Mins game, where you take out an increasing number of
items every day starting with one on day one and two on day two, etc. Also, consider the decluttering competition where the person who declutters the most
wins the prize at the end of the week or month.
Declutter Regularly
Help them get into the habit of decluttering. You can make it a standing rule to declutter at certain times such as after a birthday party, or after Christmas. Or set aside a time of the week like weekends.