How To Start Decluttering When Overwhelmed: A Step By Step Guide (For The 40+)

“Bottom line is, if you do not use it or need it, it’s clutter, and it needs to go.”  

Charisse Ward

Decluttering the home can be a daunting task, especially as you age. The idea of packing and discarding personal belongings is a difficult decision when each item has some memory attached to it.

So how to start decluttering when overwhelmed?

How many times have you started decluttering but left it in the middle after feeling paralyzed by the whole thing? When that happens, the only thought that comes to mind is how to start decluttering without that feeling of overwhelm and confusion.

However, it goes without saying that decluttering your home will create more space and free up your time from looking for items that are lost or misplaced. It will also provide you with peace of mind knowing that whatever you own is organized and easily found when needed.

We’re here with some decluttering tips to turn this task into something enjoyable and help you get rid of stuff that, over time, has added clutter to your space.

Trying to tackle a mountain of clutter while your home is untidy can be rather stressful. So before you ask yourself how to start decluttering when overwhelmed, visualize how you want your room to look before you start decluttering.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them, we may earn some commissions.

What Is The First Step To Decluttering?

So an ideal Decluttering plan would include the following steps:

Then create a plan to declutter and start the process.

Download the Decluttering Checklist that we have designed for you using the templates at Creative Fabrica to get started. It will help you tick off items as you progress.

How To Start Decluttering When Overwhelmed – Tips That Work In Midlife

By the time you reach your 40s, you realize that your house is practically a garage.

With so many items belonging to different members in the household, it can lead to an analysis-paralysis of what to keep and what to let go of !! And don’t worry, you are not alone in all this. Anybody who is in their 40s and beyond has been in this situation at least once.

But how to start decluttering without that feeling of overwhelm? And how do you make it stick?

Decluttering is one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health. So here are some ideas you can follow for minimizing waste (or, to say, junk removal) and storing your belongings so they can be easily accessible when you need them.

These tips on decluttering will help you get started and keep going.

Don’t Bring Any New Items Into Your Home Until The Decluttering Process Is Complete

Too often, you buy things out of a sense of obligation or because it’s a good deal. You end up with a mountain of clutter that doesn’t bring you joy anymore. The time has come to say goodbye to all this stuff and start living a clutter-free life.

So make a promise to yourself that you will not add anything new to your house till you get over with the decluttering process once.

Mental Preparation For Decluttering

Before starting the process, prepare mentally by admitting that the process will take time.

Mental preparation is key to starting the process of decluttering. It is important to be mindful and accept the emotional challenges that may arise as a result of letting go of personal belongings.

It can help to remind yourself that clutter leaves you feeling tired, frustrated, and anxious. A cluttered home leads to feelings of isolation and will not create the space you desire for creativity or a fun time with family and friends.

Collect All The Materials You’ll Need While Decluttering

Decluttering your home can be overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to start, what you’re going to need, and how long the process will take.

It’s a good idea to have a to-do list so you can keep track of all the items you need and how much time the whole process will take.

Collect all the materials you’ll need while decluttering –

• Bags for donation,
• Trash bags or cans,
• Bags to carry stuff from one room to another or the laundry room for cleaning.

Put Your Decluttering Projects On Your Calendar

When it comes to organizing, planning is the key.

It can be hard to motivate yourself to start a decluttering project when you have very little amount of time available. You’ll find that by adding projects to your schedule, you’ll be more likely to stick with them and be able to finish the task promptly.

Choose a time that works best for you.

Where To Start Decluttering From And How To Begin Decluttering?

Ok, so you are mentally prepared to make your space clutter-free. You have sat down and reflected on how great it would be to declutter. You imagined your home being rid of unnecessary items and have mentally created a space that is calm and ordered.

But again, that feeling of overwhelm creeps in. Where do you start? Which corner of your house should get your attention first? How do you begin the process of decluttering when your home seems like it’s bursting at the seams?

Here Are Some Decluttering Tips /Ideas To Help You Get Started.

One way of starting the decluttering process to cut the overwhelm is, to begin with the space that bothers you the most— the area of your home that is causing you the most stress or anxiety.

Another effective method?

Begin with the area that will have the greatest impact on your daily life, for eg, your bedroom or, if you work from home, your office space.

Begin the decluttering process by focusing on what you can see.

This includes visible surfaces such as desktops, dresser tops, table tops, flat surfaces, as well as floor space. After you’ve cleared out the clutter in those areas, you can go through your drawers and cabinets, storage spaces, and closet shelves.

Don’t Forget To Pay Attention To The Big Picture

• Don’t get so caught up in sorting the tiny trinkets that you can see on your shelves that you overlook the larger items that are causing chaos in your space.
• Take on one task at a time
• Just begin. Once you get started, you’ll gain enough momentum to keep going. Begin with five minutes. Baby steps are essential.
• Keep it short and sweet
• The initial stages of decluttering are always the easiest to complete. Take a look around your home and remove anything that is either unused or unwanted.
• Give yourself a pep talk!!
• Keep visualizing
• Visualize how the space you are cleaning will look after all the effort you put into tidying it up. This will keep you motivated!!
• Give everything a place. One of the most important steps in organizing your home is to find a designated space for every item you own.
• Ask for help. If required, request assistance from a professional organizer or family members. Teach your children to keep their belongings in the proper place.

Questions About How To Start Decluttering When Overwhelmed In Life After 40

When it comes to decluttering, one of the most common problems is feeling anxious and overwhelmed. So how do you start decluttering when overwhelmed? The answer is by asking relevant questions to yourself.

It’s easy to feel like you have to declutter your entire home in one day, but that’s not realistic or necessary.

When you’re deciding what to keep, there are a few key decluttering questions you can ask yourself:

These four questions get to the heart of deciding what should stay in your home.

Steps To Start Decluttering And Organizing Your House Or Personal Space

When your house is cluttered, it can be difficult to focus on anything else. You feel like you’re constantly tripping over things, and you can never find what you’re looking for.

Not to mention, a cluttered house is an eyesore. Fortunately, there are ways to organize and declutter your house or personal space.

Make decluttering your home a habit. You can do so by following these popular decluttering tips to get started.

1. Set Aside A Space For Incoming Papers And Posts

Documents and other loose papers can be a major distraction in any office or personal space.

To avoid the constant pile-up of papers, many people choose to designate a specified space for incoming documents. Ideally, this space should be located somewhere close to your workstation, but it can also serve as a centralized location for all incoming documents from colleagues, vendors, friends, and family.

Designate an in-box tray or location in your home (or office), and don’t put papers anywhere other than that place.

2. Begin By Choosing One Particular Area

Sometimes it can be overwhelming to go through decluttering everything in your home. The trick is starting with one area at a time.

You could start by tackling your kitchen or closet, then move on to your bedroom or living room if you need more space. Do not forget or ignore the bathroom!!

So once you clear that single area, that becomes your clutter-free zone. Once you’ve created a clutter-free zone, ensure that it remains like that! Now, gradually expand your no-clutter zone each day until it encompasses the entire house.

3. Keep All The Counters Clutter Free

A kitchen with a lot of counter space can make for an easier time when prepping food and cooking, but it’s even more important to keep the counters free from clutter.

The dishes left in the sink after a meal or the spoon left out on the counter from breakfast will only create more clutter for you to clean up later. Therefore, it’s important to clean them up right away.

4. Choose A Shelf

It can be hard to decide what items to declutter, but the first step is to gather all of your belongings on one shelf or area of your house.

When you start, simply pick an item and ask yourself the following questions:

If you do not answer yes to any of these questions, put it in a pile that you’ll eventually donate.

5. Remove Stuff Kept On The Furniture

Many times one lands keeping all their junk on the furniture because it’s convenient, but that can lead to a cluttered living space.

If you want to live in a clean and organized environment, simply store away all those items that you keep on the furniture.

By taking just a few minutes, you can remove things from the tables and other surfaces and store them away. Stop procrastinating on this and follow the two-minute rule.

6. Clean Up The Floors

With time, all households inevitably have a little bit of dirt and stains on their floors. This is part of why it’s so important to take care of your flooring with regular cleaning.

There are many different ways to clean hardwood, tile, vinyl, and more flooring types! These include mopping them down with water or cleaners, scrubbing spills with soap and water or various other solutions, vacuuming up dust and pet hair, etc.

7. Cupboards, Cabinets, And Drawers Should Be Decluttered

Take everything out of drawers, cupboards, and cabinets and sort the items into three piles:

• Things that should go in the drawer, cupboard, or cabinet;
• Things that belong somewhere else; and
• Things to get rid of.

8. Create Some Simple Folders

Make some simple labeled folders for your major bills and similar paperwork. Put them all in one place.

You can also use binders to keep all the important documents like bank documents, insurance papers, letters about your house, and receipts of all kinds.

9. Clear All The Junk. Donate when possible

Take some old clothes out of the closet. See if you need those clothes, and check whether you still fit into them. If not, take them and donate it to some needy people.

Remove all old cooking tools, pots, and pans from your kitchen. Check your pantry and refrigerator regularly for old and expired items. Check the expiry date dates of frozen goods.

10. Keep Clutter Hotspots Clean

Do your home and office have any such areas which can be considered as main areas for clutter? The counters, tables, drawers, and chests are the most common areas, which over a while, become the hub spots for clutter to accumulate.

Keep track of those areas and ensure that you do not unnecessarily dump all your things in these places.

11. Practice Putting Things Right Away

There is nothing worse than having clutter all around your house. It can be overwhelming and impossible to clean up. To prevent unnecessary clutter, you should practice putting things away right away.

This will prevent clutter from accumulating and help you maintain a cleaner home without too much work.

I read somewhere that if it takes you less than a minute to do a task, just go ahead and do it. I have put this habit into practice in my life and have found that a lot of my tasks are taken care of without much effort.

12. Clean Your Medicine Cabinet

Keeping your medicines stocked in an organized and clean place makes it easier to retrieve and identify the medication you may need. It also decreases the chances of exposing yourself to expired or even counterfeit drugs.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends organizing your medications by date, name, and type. When you organize your medicines, get rid of any expired medication that has been around for more than five years.

13. Put Away Or Donate Books That You Never Read

It’s not uncommon to have a few books that you’ve never read. And, while many of us have a love-hate relationship with books we anticipate reading but never get around to, there are some readers who simply never even open the cover.

If you’re in this category and want to make room for new books, it might be time to give up on these unread titles.

14. Go Wireless

Whenever possible, go wireless (for example, by using a wireless mouse or printer). Cables are one of the most difficult (and tedious) things to organize and clean, so the fewer there are, the easier it is.

15. Buy Goods And Items That You Need

Shop with extreme care and assess what you want to buy and what you need to buy. Procrastinate on purchasing new items. It is generally said that you should avoid procrastinating.

However, if you suddenly have the urge to purchase, procrastinating about it could do you some good !!!!!

Benefits Of Decluttering- Minimalist Tips For Decluttering In Your 40s And Beyond

Decluttering or cleaning up your home should not be a task you need to avoid. Once you start getting into the habit of tidying up your space regularly, you will see that it not only cleans up the mess around your house but also cleanses your mind.

In the first place, create a project for six months, within which time ascertain that your entire house or space becomes a clutter free home or office.

For me decluttering my house has a therapeutic effect on me. Try it and you will see the difference it has in making your life better and happier.

Is It Possible To Enjoy Decluttering?

Yes, it is absolutely possible to enjoy yourself while clearing the clutter around you. There are a few things you should keep in mind to make the process of decluttering your home or any space a happy and enjoyable one.

The act of decluttering can be overwhelming and intense. So plan a weekend for decluttering.

With the right mindset, it can be a fun weekend activity for you and your family. One way is to establish a list of things you want to declutter, noting if they are

From there, decide on one item per day that needs to be taken care of and decide how to start decluttering these items.

Decluttering Ideas-How To Enjoy While Decluttering For the 40+

If you have not been a very organized person until now, the thought of decluttering can give you that sinking feeling. However, I can tell you that you can make the entire process enjoyable.

And once you start enjoying yourself decluttering will never seem to be a chore anymore. You will always look forward to it for the rest of your life!!

• Play Your Favorite Music While Doing The Cleaning Work

Play your favorite music when you do all the cleaning chores! Studies have shown that people who listen to music when they clean up are more productive than when they work in silence.

• Wear Loose-Fitting Clothing

When you clean, wear loose-fitting clothing to allow for more movement and less strain on your back.

• Have Your Favorite Beverage In Hand

Having a favorite beverage handy while doing the cleaning work is about as good as it gets. There are plenty of options to choose from. You’ll have to decide for yourself what tastes best, which will vary depending on your preferences.

If you’re up for trying new things, go with an energy drink! They’re great for staying focused and alert while working hard. What’s your favorite?

• Keep One Space Where You Can Go And Rest If You Feel Like Taking A Break In Between

A tip to stay productive while doing the cleaning is to create a space that is one zone away from the zone you are currently working in.

For example, if you are working on a zone in the living room, create a spot in the kitchen that you can go back to when you get tired.

• Do Not Be Too Concerned With Perfection

Do not be too focused on perfection when you are on the task of cleaning up. The very first time that you clean the house may be a little bit more tedious than later on. Yet, if you can hone your skills, it will make the job easier for you down the line.

. Just Get Started, And Slowly You Will Make Progress

It can be overwhelming to tackle a project that appears too big and complicated. Yet, if you just take it step by step, you will find that while you’re doing the work, it’s not so bad after all.

Think of it this way: The sooner you start, the sooner you finish!

• Do Not Overstress Or Get Too Worked Up Over The Whole Thing

Many people are tense when it comes to cleaning their homes because they think about the mess that remains.

However, your worries should not get in the way of you enjoying your space. You can take care of everything without getting too stressed or worked up over the whole thing while doing the cleaning work.

• Be Aware That This Is A Good Thing And Is Going To Benefit You In The Long Run

Cleaning work is a good thing and is going to benefit you in the long run. The first thing you notice about a clean house is the smell.

There are many benefits of cleaning up, from preventing bacteria from spreading to causing allergies and asthma to having less dust that can lead to breathing problems.

• Make It A Pleasant Experience

The best way to make cleaning a pleasant experience is to find ways to make it fun. This can be accomplished by playing music or getting a friend or family member to help and chat with you while you clean.

Another way is to reward yourself after you finish a room and then work on the next one. Cleaning can be exciting when done this way!

• Create A Cleaning Routine

Cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore if you have a routine of doing it regularly, every day, or even every other day. By allocating some time to cleaning daily you do not allow things to pile up.

• Maintain Regular Decluttering Sessions

Once you have put in the effort to clean up your home, you should learn to appreciate the clean look and keep it that way. For this, you should schedule deep-cleaning sessions periodically without fail.

.Journal Your Decluttering Experience

To get the most out of decluttering, I recommend journaling your journey. Write down your thoughts and feelings as you go through the process. This will help you stay motivated and see the progress you’re making.

How To Start Decluttering When Overwhelmed: Key Takeaways

Decluttering can be a difficult process, but it’s important to clean the house of unnecessary items and organize what is left. Once everything has been sorted out, decluttering will help to lead to a healthier lifestyle and increase productivity.

Decluttering has a lot of benefits, and there are a lot of ways to start decluttering. But at the end of the day, you have to do what works for you.

When decluttering your home, make sure to get rid of anything that is not necessary and no longer provides joy in your life. Follow these rules, and you will see a difference in how you feel, both mentally and physically.

Let us know what are your favorite aspects or go-to method while decluttering.

You can also get inspired to start your decluttering journey by reading our blog post on 51 Powerful Quotes About Decluttering.

IF YOU ENJOYED READING THIS POST, PLEASE PIN ONE OF THESE IMAGES BELOW!

I will be grateful for your kind gesture. Thank you!