One Simple Mindset Change to Decluttering

Sometimes simple solutions come out of nowhere and completely change the game. Do you know what I mean? You’re faced with a problem and think you have a workable solution, and then reality hits and you’re left second-guessing your own brilliance. That’s where I’ve been as we get down to the last remaining items in our house. We’ve sold our house. We moved over a year ago, so our current residence is fully stocked and decorated. But there is still so much we want to keep, and that leads to decluttering. Again.

Declutter First, then Declutter again

That’s what I wrote in October of 2024. Oh I thought I was soooooooo smart. I thought I had it all figured out. “Declutter at your own pace. When in doubt, start small. Catch and release. Declutter, then declutter again.” Those are the things I said that were so brilliant. And while they are all still very true and useful practices, decluttering goes so much farther than these initial steps.

Declutter before you move

Declutter before you move. That’s what I wrote in May of 2024. We had just recently moved and I thought I had so much figured out. I gave seven questions to ask yourself while decluttering before a move.

1. Would I purchase this item if I were shopping today?
2. Would I pay someone to pack and move this item for me?
3. Does this item bring me joy?
4. Does it serve its intended purpose?
5. Have I used this item in the last year?
6. Could someone else get value from this item?
7. Does this item hold sentimental value to me or my family?

These were the questions I was asking myself about all those initial items we were taking or leaving. Then I asked four more questions:

1. Why: Why would I keep it if I don’t use it?
2. Maintenance: Am I willing to maintain the inventory this item creates?
3. Storage: Am I willing to give up valuable space in my new location, to store this item? 
4. Cost: Am I willing to pay for storage space to store this item long term?

Decluttering those last remaining items

After going through this process for over a year, I realized as we were emptying out our house that there was still so very much left. Yes, we had donated over a dozen truck loads of still usable items. Yes, we had thrown away or recycled at least half a dumpster full of junk and trash. Yes, we still had bins and furniture we were storing for our adult children. Yes, there was still a lot of stuff we wanted to keep in storage, because we didn’t have a place for it yet.

That was when I started second guessing my own process. And that was also when this one simple mindset changed my decluttering for the better. Let me explain what happened in the early morning hours while I sipped my coffee and sat beside the fire.

Like Beowulf’s treasure

As I sat sipping my coffee and looking at piles of items I wanted to take to the apartment, and piles I wanted to move to controlled storage, I felt completely and totally overwhelmed. I thought I had this decluttering thing down to a science, and there I was, sitting like Beowulf with my treasured hoard.

I decided I would spend the day going through the items again – I mean, that was my advice wasn’t it? Declutter, then declutter again. I flipped through stacks of artwork and dug through bins of home decor. And that’s when it hit me. I am attached to these things.

I am. I am attached to these things. This stuff. And why? Because someone gave it to me as a gift twenty years ago? Because it cost a lot of money fifteen years ago? Because we bought that artwork after a family vacation and it reminded us of the destination seventeen years ago? These items have served us well. I don’t want to be ungrateful. I am thankful they provided inspiration and decoration and made our house a home. But now, as if by magic, they had turned into a problem to solve. How is that?

Past vs Present vs Future

That’s when it occurred to me that these items represent our past. The life we used to live. They aren’t a reflection of our present or our future. I cannot take my past into my future with me. My past doesn’t serve me. Like a toaster oven that only functions at partial wattage, my past can only do so much. Sometimes it’s simply time to move on. Many of these items will only sit in a box or a bin. And in a few years, I’ll have to go through this entire decision-making process again. Why?

The mindset change that changed everything

I was in desperate need of a mindset change. I was in need of peace. Recently I have been wearing myself out taking things to the donation center. One day I decided it would be brilliant to offer these items up to our neighbors. I lugged a large folding table into our front yard, printed a F R E E sign, and started hauling out everything I could get my hands on. A chair, at least 20 pieces of artwork, home decor, six or seven table lamps, an antique bed from the 1940’s…the list was endless.

And guess what happened? People stopped by to take these treasures into their own homes. For FREE. And I didn’t have to drive anywhere!

And that, my friend, was the mindset shift changed everything. What if someone knocked on my door and handed me the items in these remaining piles? For FREE? That would be so exciting. But do you know what I would do? I would sift through them, I would keep the things I wanted, and freely discard the rest. I wouldn’t second-guess my decision, I wouldn’t hesitate to part with something, I wouldn’t agonize over if I might want to use it again someday because I used it that one time, for that one thing… NO. I would simply keep what I loved or could use right now and let go of the rest.

Possess your possessions or they possess you

Those Switchfoot lyrics are what I wrote about just last week, and there I was, allowing my possessions to possess me, to hinder my decision-making-process, to keep me stuck in the past and not moving toward the future.

So, as I sifted again through artwork and dishes, cookware and record albums, I realized that so much of what I was holding on to was the past. Isaiah 43:19 says this: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past! See I am doing a new thing! (NIV)” We hear that, a lot. “See, I am doing a new thing.” But we don’t often hear the first part. We have to forget the former things – and we cannot dwell on the past. It does not serve us. In fact, Lot’s wife was turned to a pillar of salt because she simply looked back. Her past, looking at her former things, literally cost her her life.

Moving forward

As I sifted through all of those piles one more time, decluttering for another round, the amount of things I was suddenly able to let go of was astounding. Artwork can be replaced. Decor trends will change. Memories last a lifetime. I, for one, want to hold onto the good ones – that means letting go of the past so I can continue to move forward.

What are you taking with you into your future? Is it time to declutter things that are holding you back, reminding you of past hurts, or the what should have beens? Like a pair of shoes you’ve long since outgrown, maybe it’s time to let some things go so you can move into your future with comfort and ease. Forget the former things and do not dwell in the past.

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