Discover the key to your most effective decluttering spree ever - industry professionals claim it will instantly fuel your drive to discard items, sans guilt.
Getting rid of unwanted items can be a struggle, but imagining your belongings as if they had their own wants and needs can make it a whole lot easier. This clever decluttering trick doesn't require any special tools or excess time – just a bit of imagination! And, as organizational experts suggest, doing so will help transform your mindset from guilt to gratitude.
So, what exactly is this process called "personifying your possessions"? Shantae Duckworth, a home organizer based in Seattle, explains it quite simply: "It's about picturing your items as if they had their own desires, purposes, or characteristics – like that favorite book that yearns to be read again, or that cozy sweater wishing to keep someone warm."
When we start visualizing our things in this way, it makes it easier to let go of them. After all, if you're not wearing that sweater or rereading that book, wouldn't they love to be enjoyed by someone else? Plus, as Angelia York, vice president and organizer at Saint Louis Closet Co, says, it takes the focus off of the money spent on the item, reducing guilt and making the process feel lighter and more playful.
Personifying your possessions helps bypass common decluttering obstacles since it triggers a significant mindset shift about your belongings. Shantae explains, "Thinking of your items in a personified way is a gentle mindset shift that transforms our relationship with things from guilt or obligation to compassion and gratitude." In other words, instead of viewing items as items, you're thinking of them as having a life of their own, waiting to find a new home where they can be used and loved.
To give your items a new lease on life, you'll need to put yourself in their shoes and consider their purpose. Patricia Bathurst, a licensed marriage and family therapist, suggests asking yourself questions like:
- What does this item wish to do or be? (e.g., read, keep someone warm, or store something)
- What is its potential future story? (e.g., becoming someone's new favorite or signature scent)
- What can someone else do with it if you let it go? (let your imagination run wild!)
If, after weighing these things, you believe the item would be better suited elsewhere and you don't use, need, or love it, letting it go will be much easier.
Here are a few useful tools to help you along the way:
70 liter – A large basket can help ease the decluttering process by giving you a goal and a place to collect items you're ready to part with.
30 count – Biodegradable bags are perfect for collecting decluttered goods for donation or sale.
portable – Keep a journal with you to jot down your reasons for parting with items, which can aid the process of personifying your possessions and make decluttering easier.
This mindset shift can take some practice, but with time, it'll help you keep your home clutter-free and cultivate a deep sense of gratitude for both the items you choose to keep and the ones you let go. As Shantae puts it, "It's about setting things free to coexist with someone else in the world who can use them, love them, or might need them more than you."
- By personifying your possessions, it becomes easier to envision their desires and purposes, transforming your lifestyle to one of compassion and gratitude, facilitating the decluttering process.
- To maintain a clutter-free home and cultivate a sense of gratitude, consider journaling your reasons for letting go of items, based on their imagined desires and potential future stories, aiding the decluttering process in the realm of home-improvement and home-and-garden management.
