How To Find The Motivation To Declutter When You Just Don’t Want To! |

Finding the motivation to declutter is the first obstacle you’ll have to face on your decluttering journey. Decluttering isn’t something you do once and magically enjoy all the benefits for life.

Decluttering is a constant habit you put into practice and make part of your everyday life. Sure, the amount of decluttering and hard work greatly reduces after you’ve made it through one massive round, but you’ll always want to embrace a mindset of decluttering to keep your space free from stuff you don’t want or need.

Holding on to that motivation to declutter is the most important thing. Once you’ve gotten through the first round of decluttering, you can start to implement a weekly cleaning routine or use zone cleaning to keep up with a dirty house. You’ll want to do the same with decluttering and come up with a routine that works for you.

Here are 24 tips to help you find your motivation to declutter!

Motivation to Declutter Pinterest Pin — *We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.*

Pinterest — *We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.*

[convertkit form=3749577]

Start with Why!

As always, with any journey, the first step is figuring out why you want to start. Knowing the bigger why will be the best way to help you find that motivation again and keep you on track when you want to give up.

But remember, your why must be strong enough to pull you back when you want to stray away from your goals. Your why must refocus you each time you question why you started in the first place. If your why is strong enough, you will always get back on track.

Once you know your why, post it in multiple areas around the house as a reminder. Your family command center is the perfect place and lets the whole family know what the end result should be!

Make a Plan

Without a solid plan, you’ll just get frustrated and will lose your motivation to declutter pretty quickly. If you know when you’re going to start, organize the areas of your home in a list, and plan the days/times you will tackle each section, you are setting yourself up for success.

Always start with a solid decluttering plan so you have something to work towards and you don’t feel like you’re all over the place trying to get things done.

Set Some Goals

Having clearly defined goals can help keep you motivated to declutter when starting your journey. Make sure the goals are realistic and don’t just shoot for one giant goal, but rather smaller goals that lead up to your larger goal. Hitting your goals should make you feel a sense of accomplishment so make sure each one is special to you.

Using the SMART goal (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timebound) format will guarantee your success because each goal you create will be laid out in a way that is easy to understand.

Look for Inspiration #declutteringgoals

A Pinterest board for your decluttering journey will definitely keep you motivated to see what’s possible. Don’t use it to compare yourself and your situation to others, but rather to inspire you so you can clearly envision what you hope to gain from your decluttering journey.

Find A Quick Win

Anytime you start something that seems too hard to accomplish, you always want to find some quick wins in the beginning. This will not only keep you motivated to declutter, but you will learn that you can achieve what you put your mind to. The finish line will seem closer the more wins you get under your belt.

Some examples would be to tackle a small area of your home first. It could literally be the junk drawer in your kitchen (we all have them!), the kitchen counters, the smallest room in your home, or even just one closet in your home.

Envision Your Decluttered Home

Use those Pinterest boards as inspirations to envision what your home will look like once it’s fully decluttered. Use this vision as motivation to declutter!

Sometimes printing your vision out on a vision board works great too! Show your family what you’re trying to achieve by dedicating your time and energy to your decluttering goals.

Get Your Family Involved

Getting help from the whole family can make things fun and it teaches everyone the skills and habits together so the burden isn’t on one person. Again, posting your family decluttering goal on your family command center is a great way to get everyone motivated and excited to help with the decluttering. Using a chore chart for the kids is a great way to help get them involved as well.

Make it a Competition

Find some friends who also need to get some decluttering done and make it a competition! Make a group chat where you can check in with one another, create goals together and hold each other accountable with weekly updates.

We all have friends who need a little decluttering magic so there will be no shortage of people who need an accountability partner just like you. They may also need a little motivation to get started with decluttering.

Start with the Biggest Eye Sore

If you start your decluttering journey with the area of your home that pisses you off the most, once it’s done you’ll feel so accomplished that you’ll see the benefits of decluttering right away. This will be enough to keep you motivated to declutter the rest of your home.

You May Also Like: 15 Benefits of Decluttering Your Home

Throw a Decluttering Party

This one may seem a little silly, but I assure you, they really do work. Invite a bunch of friends over to your home with the goal of decluttering a section, zone or even just one room of your home with their support.

A lot of what holds us back from decluttering is a mental block or the sentimental hold some of the items have on us. I would suggest trying not to declutter the sentimental items during a decluttering party but definitely try to tackle an area that doesn’t hold as many memories and can be done by a group of people.

The garage is a great option for a decluttering party, especially because most areas (other than storage) can be decluttered pretty quickly without thinking. Only focus on whether or not you have used the items recently or will use them in the near future.

Reward Yourself

It’s always a great idea to reward yourself when you’ve tackled something of significance and believe me, decluttering is one of those things!

By setting up some rewards along the way, you will definitely find the motivation to keep decluttering. Find a few things you’ve been wanting and tie those rewards to a goal on your decluttering journey.

A nice dinner out, a new outfit, a mani/pedi sesh, etc. are all awesome ways to reward yourself along the way. Even adding one larger reward at the end of your first decluttering overhaul of your entire house is enough to keep anyone motivated to declutter!

Schedule Time in Your Day

What’s the corny, but true saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”? I mean, come on. It’s a corny, overused saying for a reason; it’s totally true!

At first, just plan in 15 minutes per day to declutter a section of your home. Once that becomes part of your routine and is habit, then up it to 30 minutes per day until you’ve gotten through your entire home.

Scheduling a specific time to do anything will ensure it gets done. Don’t just plan on doing it “tomorrow”. Literally, add a time in your schedule to focus only on decluttering for that 15 minutes. Add it to your family command center as some nice visual management.

Do it First Thing in the Morning

Oftentimes, we do the things we hate doing or just don’t look forward to doing first thing in the morning. Maybe this tactic will work for you if you are seriously dreading your decluttering session.

Try to wake up and just hustle for 15 minutes straight. See if that works for you. If it doesn’t try another time during the day, but definitely give this a try!

Decluttering, but Make it Fun

Whatever you have to do to make it fun; do that thing. If it’s dancing or awful, loud singing (that’s me), do it. Sometimes just making it fun and silly will get you through and keep you motivated to declutter again because you actually had a good time.

I totally blast the music and dance while I’m unloading and loading the dishwasher. It makes it go by fast and my kids see that I’m having fun and want to help too!

Set Realistic Expectations

As I mentioned in the SMART goal section, only set expectations that are realistic. There’s nothing worse than setting yourself up for failure because you’re super motivated when you set the goal, but then don’t actually hit the goal and then you become deflated.

Really think about what you’ve been able to accomplish in the past even if it’s not related to decluttering. How long did a project take you? If you planned on 2 days, but it actually ended up taking a week, maybe you underestimate a little. If so, give yourself too much time instead.

It’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver even when it comes to a promise you made with yourself.

Stay Positive

It’s totally true that keeping a positive mindset no matter what will almost fake your brain into believing you are

Track Your Progress (on your family command center)

Visual management is one of the biggest factors in staying motivated to declutter. Your family command center can keep a visual reminder of your goals and where you’re at with achieving them.

If your family is also involved, keep track of each person’s goals and make it a fun competition. You can see each person’s progress and keep one another motivated along the way.

Schedule a Party!

Now, this is different from our decluttering party. I literally mean to schedule a party with friends and family so it forces you to get your home decluttered before that deadline. This can double as a reward and also help you find the motivation to keep on going with your decluttering efforts.

The more you let people in and you’re open with what goals you are trying to achieve, the more you hold yourself accountable to hitting those goals.

If you let people know that you’re planning a huge party because you want everyone to see your newly decluttered home, people are going to be so proud of you and will pump you up along the way.

Don’t Think, Just Do it!

Don’t overthink what needs to be done. Sit down, write out what areas of your home need decluttering, build a plan around those areas, sprinkle in some goals and maybe a few rewards and get started!

The more you lament on all the things that need to get done, the more overwhelming the decluttering process will seem. If you keep things simple, they will be simple.

Think of the Long Term Benefits

There are by far so many more long-term benefits to decluttering than short term benefits. This is a great thing because it means that you will continue to reap the rewards years after your initial decluttering efforts. This alone should help you find the motivation to declutter!

Less Time Cleaning

Can I get an Amen!?! Hallelujah!

Who doesn’t want to spend less time cleaning? This is literally the holy grail of why you should declutter your home.

There is overall less dust, less unnecessary stuff, and less mess. Spend less time cleaning and more time doing what you love! Doesn’t that sound amazing???

Less Mental Clutter

This was my why right here. I remember walking through the door after work one day and just lost my SH*T! I could not figure out what was going on with me until I started noticing a pattern. If I walked in a room and there was clutter everywhere, I felt like my brain was on overload.

I could not focus and all I could do was stare at all the things that needed to be put away. I literally couldn’t just sit down and enjoy a book or show, I felt like I needed to clean up before I could enjoy anything.

Finally, I realized we had too much stuff and thus began my decluttering journey.

It Becomes a Habit (won’t have to think of doing it later)

Once you’re in the decluttering mode, it just becomes second nature. You don’t over-buy things you don’t need, you actually think about purchases you make and you’re willing to remove one thing from your home to replace it with something new.

You Save Money

Like I said above, you start to make more conscious purchases. You don’t over-buy as much and you consider what the new item will replace. Oftentimes you’ll find that you don’t need that new pair of shoes or that new candle. Use what you have first, then replace them as they get old or used up.

You’ll enjoy your home more

When your home isn’t cluttered with things, you can actually enjoy the space you live in more. You can’t believe how much joy clutter can take away until you have fully decluttered your home to see what it truly can become to your family.

You May Also Like: The Importance of Home Management: 5 Unique Benefits

Think of the Impact on Your Mental Health

Again, this was so huge for me. Now when I get home, yes there’s still a mess from my kiddos playing all day, but it only takes me 10 minutes at the end of the night to clean up. Oh, and they help too!

I go to bed most nights with a completely clean home. That’s all thanks to having a decluttered home. The only way I can do this while still working full time and commuting 2+ hours a day, is to have less stuff.

Going to bed in a clean home each night is seriously the best feeling. Sure, there are nights where I’m too tired and the house is a hot mess, but that’s ok too. You have to be easy on yourself when you can’t find the energy.

Use the Zone Cleaning Concept

Check out this post on Zone Cleaning and there is a decluttering checklist to help you get started. You can use the same concepts listed in this post to help you section areas of your home to tackle during your decluttering journey.

Use a Timer for Short Bursts!

Timers can push you to keep you laser-focused on only one task at a time. When you have the mindset that you only have “x” minutes to get something done, you usually end up doing more within that timeframe than you would have without the timer.

Set your timer for 15 minutes the first couple of times to see what you can get done in a short burst. This will help you plan out your goals as well and keep them realistic.

Make it a Habit

Continue your decluttering journey until you find yourself naturally getting rid of things you no longer have a use for. Once decluttering becomes a natural habit, you can keep a basic checklist of areas to declutter on a routine basis. It won’t be as intense when you first started, but it will help you keep up with the entire home so it never gets back to the state it was in when you started this journey.

Keep the Motivation to Declutter Alive!

Once you find your motivation to declutter and you’re able to hold onto it, you can tackle any decluttering project that comes your way! I can’t wait for you to experience what it feels like to have a clutter-free home that you can fully enjoy with your friends and family. Let me know how you find the motivation to declutter in the comments below! I’d love to know what works for you and if you have any helpful tips for others!

How to Find the Motivation to Declutter When You Just Don’t Want to!