Did you know that a lot of clutter is really just things you have to make decisions about? For many of us it is very true. So today's post is all about how to get rid of the clutter caused by indecisiveness.
You will learn exactly what an indecisive disorder is. Why it matters when you tidy your house. And what can you do about it to finally eliminate the mess!
What is Indecisiveness Disorder?
Indecisiveness can be a major source of clutter in many homes. It's a mess as a result of things you can't, don't want, or haven't made up your mind about.
It's the stuff you don't know what to do with. Or you are not sure whether to keep it or not. Or you're afraid you might need it one day, so keep it"just in case".
These can be projects that you want to start. Books you want to read but can never read.DressesUdscouldone day carry toys that your children will one day want to play with.Das Make-UpYou might start using it one day (even if you never reach it). Decoration elements that you do not use but want to use later, etc.
You probably know you don't use, need, or love this type of "stuff". But you just don't want to commit to the decision to get rid of it. So instead of making a decision about what to do with it, you avoid making decisions and stick with them.
But the thing is, if you do, you've made a decision. They chose to keep the element and allow it to keep adding clutter and thatStrain that adds clutter– for your home and your life.
"What you don't change, you choose."
~Laurie Buchanan
Why does indecisiveness disorder occur?
In many cases, indecisiveness occurs for emotional reasons. You may feel safer or easier to remember things you don't want to make decisions about.
Sometimes you avoid making a decision out of fear or fear of regretting it.
You may worry that you will need an item later and regret getting rid of it. Or maybe storing "extras" gives you a sense of security that you're always prepared. Even if that means living with clutter, excess, and unused/necessary things in the meantime.
ThatFear often hidesbehind words like "what if", "maybe", "might need it", "sometime" etc.
Other times, not making a decision feels easier.
The things that are hard for you to choose could leadstrong affective tiesor a lot of emotional baggage. You know that sorting them out and making decisions about them takes emotional and mental work. And maybe it feels difficult or scary to do that job. Then it feels easier to avoid work and decisions.
Or maybe you're just tired andburnedtrying to keep a house full of so many things day after day. And you just don't have the energy to make decisions about these things.
Why does that matter?
It can be easy to wonder why it matters. Why can't you just keep the things you can't decide about and not take care of them?
It's important because indecisiveness can accumulate and create a significant amount of clutter in your home. And if your goal is to create a tidy home that offers you moreTime, space, energy and freedom, you must make the decisions once and for all.
Everything you own takes up some of your time, space and energy.
Avoiding making a decision about whether or not to keep something in your home is not a one-off event. Anything left in your house is something you need to deal with further. Go ontake some of your time and energy.
You have to tidy it up, clean around it, organize, find, pick it up, put it away, move it to find something else, rearrange it, etc.
even if it is"Out of sight out of mind"in a storeroom, attic or basement it stands stillover there.It still weighs you down and requires you to maintain, manage and maintain it.
In fact, storage space can be both a blessing and a curse. It's nice to have some storage space. But it also gives you more room to stack the things you need to make decisions.
Make the decision once or face the subject over and over again
If you keep clutter out of indecisiveness, you'll have to keep making cleaning decisions about the same things over and over again every time you do another round of cleaning because your house feels cluttered with all the "stuff" you haven't made decisions about .
Instead, you can make the decision to get rid of something you don't use, need, or want.once, then you never have to deal with it again.
After you've made the decision, it's no longer about your head. It will never take up your time, space, or energy again once you make up your mind and get rid of it.
And remember: if you feel overwhelmed or exhausted from having to take care of your home and the things in it,the best you can doit's messy!
Tidying up gives you back a lot more time, space, and energy. So finding the energy to tidy up and make decisions now may seem difficult, but cleaning up the mess is exactly what will make your life easier in the long run!
Reduce decision fatigue by eliminating clutter
Another good reason to get rid of the clutter caused by indecisiveness is that it can add a lot of decision fatigue to your life.
We are only able to make a certain number of decisions each day before the quality of those decisions begins to degrade.
Essentially, you can only make so many decisions in a day before your brain gets tired and stops making the best decisions possible. All those decisions add up and wear you down throughout the day. This is called.decision fatigue.
We all have to make many decisions in the course of a day. What to wear, what to eat for breakfast, how fast to drive, what to say in an email, how to address a problem at work, what to make for dinner, etc.
Some decisions are important, others are secondary. But they all contribute to decision fatigue.
Why waste some of your limited decision-making power digging through the clutter? Removing the clutter will help eliminate some decisions from your day and reduce the decision fatigue you face.
Here is an example. You have 15 tops in your closet, but you only like and wear 5 of them. Every day you have to assimilate and decide between the 15 peaks. even though you areFor realJust decide between the 5 you like and the ones you actually use.
Why force yourself to make decisions about tops you don't like and never wear anyway? Get rid of the 10 you don't like. Then all you have to do is choose between your 5 favorites, which you always choose anyway.
Get Rid of the Clutter: Dealing with Indecisive Clutter
Now that you can identify the "procrastination disorder" in your home, it's time to act. To start making decisions, clear out the clutter you don't use, need or love and create the streamlined, clutter-free home you crave!
Here's how to get rid of indecisiveness.
Get rid of the hiding places of clutter
The first step to getting rid of indecisiveness is to eliminate places where possibleEasily hide indecisiveness.
Stop making it so easy to put things somewhere and stop making decisions about them.
Think about what you usually do with your indecisiveness disorder. Do you put it in a corner of the basement? Put it somewhere in the back of a closet? Push him to the side of the room and pretend he's not there?
Wherever it is, you must rip off the band-aid and leave yourself no choice.
The spot(s) you use for the mess you can't or won't make up your mind about was your crutch. This way you avoid making decisions and create a mess in your home. You need to take off your crutch and stop making it an option to hide the mess of indecision.
That requires some discipline, because technically the space will still be there. But you must decide that you will no longer use it for the indecisive mayhem.
Use space to add value to your life
A great way to simplify this is to use the space for another purpose that adds value to your life, to keep you motivated and stop polluting it.
For example, perhaps you could set up a workout area in the area of your basement where you currently dump indecision. Or organize the closet where you currently hide your indecisive clutter and use it as a pretty spot for your linens. Perhaps your spare room could be a nice place for guests, rather than a dumping ground for clutter.
Only you know what works for you. But finding a functional purpose for the space that adds value to your life is a great way to stay inspired and avoid clutter.
Make choices to get rid of clutter
Next, you need to constantly remind yourself that your goal is to make decisions and clean up clutter. Instead of moving clutter from one place to another to "decide later".
Don't be afraid to start organizing instead of ordering. Just because you have space to keep something doesn't mean you use it, need it, or love it enough to warrant keeping it!
This takes some practice. Don't be hard on yourself if you constantly have to remind yourself to tidy up,don't organizeOr mix things up.
Declutter for a short time
It can be helpful to work on cleaning in short periods of time. Work on cleaning up for a few minutes and then take a break. This can help keep your mind fresh and prevent decision fatigue.
As soon as you feel like you're having a hard time making decisions or start organizing or shuffling clutter instead of getting rid of it, stop and take a break.
Come back in a few minutes, a few hours, or even a few days when you feel refreshed and ready to make more decisions.
Give yourself spatial boundaries
Another useful strategy for forcing yourself to make orderly decisions is to give yourselfspatial boundariesfor each room or category of items you order.
Decide how much space you are willing to devote to the room or category you are ordering. Then use that space limitation to motivate and encourage you to be more reckless and make decisions about what to keep or what to get rid of.
For example, you might decide to limit your Christmas decorations to what fits in two containers. This space constraint forces you to be more ruthless when decluttering and only keep what you actually use and love for Christmas decorations.
You can do this with almost any item category.
Maybe just keep track of the number of books that fit comfortably on one shelf. Or just keep a certain number of hangers in your closet to limit the amount of clothes you have. You can even give your kids space limits for their toys and only keep what fits comfortably in the designated spaces.
ask yourself the right questions
Sometimes it is enough to make orderly decisions by asking the right questions.
Anything you keep should be something you use regularly or really love. But sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to determine if you really want to keep something or not.
look at this postfor a big list of questions to ask yourself to dig deeper and decide what's worth keeping or not.
If you are unsure about something, keep asking this type of question.questionsuntil you feel confident in your decision to keep it or get rid of it.
Use a "maybe" box, but be very selective
Sometimes while you're cleaning up, there are things that you get really stuck on. Maybe you need to think more about what you do with the items. Or maybe they are very sentimental and you need more time to get over your feelings. Or maybe the fear and "what if" are really strong for a particular item.
If that is the case, a"Maybe box"it can be a great tool.
Put anything you're having trouble making a decision with in a maybe box. Seal it up and keep it out of sight for a set amount of time, maybe 1-3 months. Set a reminder on your calendar to come back to after this time.
If you return to the box and haven't needed, wanted, or even thought about the contents of the box, you can safely dispose of it, knowing you won't miss it.
It's like a proper safety net. So you can be more ruthless in your cleaning decisions without fear of regret holding you back. And it can be a very useful tool when you are cleaning up.
But remember to use the “maybe” checkbox very selectively. Especially if you tend to keep a lot of indecisiveness.
If you might put more things in the box than you make decisions, this isn't an effective decluttering tool.
Use the maybe box for things you're really attached to. It should be used for a select few items, not the bulk of what you rank for.
Eliminate clutter by making one cleaning decision at a time
For most of us, ordering is a process. It takes time, patience, trial and error to live with less to see how good it can be.
If you're having a hard time getting rid of clutter because it's difficult to make decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of, you're not alone.
Start noticing the indecision in your home. Then use the tips and strategies in this post to make informed decisions, one decision at a time.
And remember to focus on progress, not perfection. Every time you decide to remove clutter from your home, you're one step closer to your cleaning goal.
You can do it, just keep making those decisions, clear out the clutter and create a home you love!
