Struggling to Declutter_ This video might help.

Hi, I'm Melissa Maker, an accidental cleaning expert and someone who also struggles with decluttering. I've been doing these cleaning and decluttering videos here on YouTube for the last 11 years as a way to help myself and to help other people who are like me, those who struggle with cleaning. So in this video specifically, I want to share kind of the five-step plan that I use to tackle a room or a space when it comes to decluttering. I know how overwhelming it can be, and I know that when I read other things or watch other things online to try and get myself motivated, I just want to tune out and completely avoid all things decluttering. So in this video, my goal is to empower you to declutter. Just a quick reminder, if you haven't done so already, to subscribe to the Clean My Space channel and stick around to the end of this video where I'm going to tell you the one thing that I have the hardest time decluttering and how I deal with it. The thing I experienced and I know so many people experience when it comes to decluttering or the thought of decluttering is this visceral gut reaction of stress and overwhelm because it feels like, where do I start? Oh my gosh, this is going to take me forever. And what I have found that works for me is to really reel that in and say, okay, what is the most important area that I need to tackle? Can I tackle that one first? And I feel like once we spend time and determine what our most important areas are, or in Clean My Space lingo, what we call MIAs, you know, most important areas, it really gives us a path or a road that we can take to decluttering. So we can say, I don't have to do it all at once. Rather, my bedroom is really important, but my dining room, I don't care about so much. So once you kind of have this carved out, then you have a starting point and you can sort of work your way down your list of most important areas and totally not worry about areas that don't matter to you. At least not now. Of course, your MIAs will change from time to time. So when I think about my current MIA or most important area to declutter, it's my office. And I'll tell you why. I renovated my office space over the past year and a half. And in order to get some of this renovation done, I had to tuck things away. Books, office stuff, like all kinds of items just went into this one built-in unit that I have. And honestly, I haven't opened those drawers in a long time because I just have not wanted to look. So for me, if I'm really honest, that is my MIA. And that, this spring, is where I need to focus my efforts. And that brings me to a common question, which is, what is your most important area, the one area that really stresses you out, the one area that you know you need to declutter and perhaps you've been avoiding, at least for this spring? So let me know what that space is for you in the comments down below. Once you've made the decision that you're going to declutter an area, that's great. But when is it going to happen? And this brings us back to the famous adage, what gets scheduled gets done. The way that I do this is I time block things in my phone. So I know if I have to get anything done, whether it's make a phone call or go to a bank or pick something up, I put it in my phone. And I do the exact same thing when it comes to these cleaning or decluttering tasks that I don't necessarily care to do. But if they're in my calendar, they do get done. And if for whatever reason, I can't get to it that particular day, I can at least shift it to another day. So it's there, it's present, and I know it has to be dealt with. So if you're scheduling things in, or if you're struggling with scheduling things in, just even put 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes in your calendar to at least get started. What I've also noticed has happened for me in the past is when I've scheduled something in for say 30 minutes, I really get into it and I'm doing well and I'm really into whatever I'm listening to and I'm just in a zone and then I'm not going to disrupt myself. So schedule something in and maybe give yourself a little bit of a buffer just in case you really do get into that zone. If I had to pick like the most fun thing in this five-step plan, I would say this is it. And it's all about visualizing what you want your space to look like. The reason I think this is fun is because really it requires the least amount of work and I'm lazy, so this one's good for me. But really the goal of this particular step is for you to see your room as it is in all of its glory and then imagine what you want it to look like. So whether you can see that in your mind's eye, whether you have to go online or Instagram or Pinterest and just see pictures of organized spaces that feel good to you, that you sort of want to use as an inspirational cue. Or even if you want to take it a step further, go real technical and create some sort of a planogram like the way a retail store is planned. So you kind of know here I want this, here I want this, I only want this stuff on this shelf or this stuff in this cupboard. The more specific you can get, the easier it's going to be for you to know what your space needs to look like by the time you're done. And I actually think a planogram is a great way to go because it shows you exactly how much space you have available for certain things and where those things need to go, what the home is for the items that you have. It will also help you further declutter because if for whatever reason you find you have a few random items, you might realize that once you've put your planogram together or once you've visualized your space, those items don't actually make sense in this room anymore. And that can be a very helpful step when it comes to parting ways with items that we don't need anymore. This is the stumbling block, so I just want to make sure that you are mentally and emotionally prepared for what we're about to do. And this comes down to being able to effectively question the items that you have in your space. So you've picked your MIA, you've blocked out the time, you've visualized your space, and now we've got to get down to action. You actually have to look at the items and decide, do I need this? Do I love this? Do I want this? Does it make sense in my space anymore? Was it here for a reason, a season, a lifetime? You got to go through all that stuff and you have to be lightning fast. I always say, kind of jokingly, that you have to be like a psychopath when you do this. No emotion, because emotion makes us hold on to things. If we feel guilty that we spent too much money on something and we don't want to get rid of it, or because Aunt Gladys gave it to us for our wedding and what would she think if we got rid of it? We just, we can't have these emotions. Emotions are what make us hold on to things we don't need. So ask yourself the right questions, ask them quickly, remove your emotions, and make your decisions. If it serves a purpose in your space and it looks beautiful and it makes you feel good, hang on to it. If it serves a purpose in your space and it's ugly, keep it, but at least hide it. The goal here is we want our room to look beautiful and inspiring, but also be useful and purposeful at the same time, and spaces where we don't have to dig through a million things to find what we actually need. Most of the hard work is done, but the final step is to take action. Now, keep in mind, you've got to be good to yourself. There are going to be some emotional roadblocks that come up. You might really battle it out in your mind, like, I need this, I'm going to keep it, or I just can't get rid of this one particular thing. There's some sort of emotional draw to it, but really, really press yourself to get over that hump and make the decision. And then once you've made the decision, figure out what you're going to do to move on from it. Are you going to sell it online? Are you going to donate it? Does it just belong in the garbage? Figure out what you have to do to safely and effectively dispose of that item, and always keep in mind what the highest and best use for that item is. Do your very best to keep it out of the landfill, and let this be a reminder to you that when you do accept things into your new home, whether it's a gift or something that you've purchased, or a free sample, whatever the case may be, be really mindful about it. Where is it going to go? Does it fit into my planogram? Will I have to get rid of this in six months? This has really helped me be very much more mature when it comes to my buying decisions and things I'm willing to accept. Even as someone in an influencer position, we get emails a lot about, oh, does Melissa want this thing? Oh, can I send you this? And we say no to so much of it, because at the end of the day, it's just clutter that builds up in my home, even though it's cool and it's free, and I'll have to get rid of it eventually. And now, my admission. The thing that I really struggle with. It's an emotional item. It's a sentimental item. Greeting cards. First of all, I think the whole world of greeting cards is utterly ridiculous. They are so expensive, and then you always forget the card when you're buying a gift, but then when you get the card and someone writes a beautiful sentiment in it, you're like, oh, I should keep this to commemorate my 37th birthday. And then you have a stack of cards. I'm saying you, but I'm really talking about me. And that's one of the things that I have trouble with. Someone spent seven, eight bucks on this card. It's pretty. They wrote a nice thing in there. What do I do with it? I can't just throw down in the garbage. And so now I have a box of cards from like 30 onward that I'm trying to figure out what to do with. So the way that I'm going to be tackling this, because of course, this box of cards is in my office. I'm going to go through them. I'm not going to worry about what they look like. OK, that's your problem. You bought me the card that's on you. But I'm going to look at the sentiment. If it's something really special or if it marked a really special occasion, I'll keep it. Otherwise, I have to just move on from them because they're not serving any real purpose in my life and they're taking up space. Let me know if you deal with that kind of sentimental slash emotional challenge when it comes to cards or written notes in the comments down below. If you want some more motivation for your decluttering journey, you can check out these videos right over here. We've got a whole playlist prepared for you. If you want to support the Clean My Space channel, you can do so by subscribing to it. And you can also check out Makers Clean, where we sell all of our premium microfiber cleaning tools right over there. Thanks so much for watching, and we'll see you next time.