Q: “How Do I Know When to Declutter Vs. Organize?”
“It’s common to feel some level of guilt or anxiety at the thought of throwing things away, especially if you’ve had the experience of discarding items that you ended up needing. When this happens, it’s usually a case of over-decluttering and not enough organizing.”
Q: “I can’t figure out how to throw things away. I’m afraid that if I declutter I’ll end up getting rid of something I actually need, which has happened to me before.”
It’s common to feel some level of guilt or anxiety at the thought of throwing things away, especially if you’ve had the experience of discarding items that you ended up needing. When this happens, it’s usually a case of too much decluttering and not enough organizing.
“Decluttering” and “organizing” are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. To declutter is to get rid of stuff. It’s fast, easy, and produces immediate results. Organizing is what comes after decluttering. It’s taking what’s left and making it work for the phase of life you are in right now. Organizing takes much longer to complete, and it requires regular maintenance.
[Get This Free Download: 22 Clutter-Busting Strategies]
Generally, decluttering works really well in our 20s and 30s. But it isn’t as useful in our 40s, 50s, and 60s, when we have things that we like and have used for a long time. We don’t have much need to declutter.
It seems that decluttering has been your default mode of achieving order in your home for a long time. You might be used to having success with decluttering, so you assume that you need to declutter every time you feel overwhelmed and need relief. But then you declutter things you actually need, and decluttering no longer brings you the same relief it used to. This is over-decluttering.
So instead of decluttering, try organizing. Organizing doesn’t mean putting everything in cute containers. It’s asking yourself: What do I need in this phase of my life? How many of those things do I need? Where would I store the things?
It sounds counterintuitive, but in the process of organizing, you might find that you need to buy more things, especially if you have transitioned into a different life phase and/or you’re living with other adults.
Decluttering and Organizing: Next Steps
- Free Download: Organize Your Home By Working With Your ADHD Brain
- Read: How Do I Get Rid of Stuff I Don’t Use But Worry I’ll Miss?
- Read: What Will It Take for My Home to Stay Organized Forever?!
The content for this article was derived from the ADDitude ADHD Experts webinar titled, “Your Organized Home: Functional Organization for Your Life Phase Right Now” [Video Replay & Podcast #463] with Lisa Woodruff, which was broadcast on July 19, 2023.
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