April 2025 - What comes after decluttering?

Something I have been thinking about a lot recently - and that seems to be echoed by the clients I have and the enquiries I am having - is the "so what"... so we have less stuff, less stress, less overwhelm... but for what!

What are you planning to do with the space, the time and the energy that you are creating?

It is an odd "problem" to consider but it is very relevant, and actually the not knowing can have a lot to do with why decluttering feels hard. If we don't know why we are doing it, what we are really aiming for, or more scarily - what is going to come in its place (Because the scarcity and lack fears are real and getting rid of stuff doesn't always feel safe - but that's for another day) then we go round in circles never knowing if we have made progress because we don't have an end goal.

You know the feeling - you get yourself ready, you set aside some time, you clear out maybe 3-6 big black bin sacks of stuff, maybe you finally clear the kitchen table properly or the hall way or the kids drawers. You feel like you have put a lot of effort in, it can be physical work and you have so much "clutter" to show for it. But in a few short hours or days the boost you felt has worn off, the space looks cluttered again!

You tell yourself that you just need more time, more help, more motivation to get it done. It is easy to see why you would start looking externally for a better way - a system to stop this happening, a way to declutter in 5 minute bursts etc etc. But the problem isn't the clutter itself... the problem is why it is coming, why it is hanging around and why is it coming back.

Think of a tidal wave - if we keep trying to shield ourselves and protect ourselves but we are standing in the middle of the ocean we are going to keep getting surprised, assaulted and frustrated with the waves. However, if we take the time to understand the sea, the tides etc. then we might stand half a chance of avoiding the tide. It is a losing battle if we don't understand the tides or what we are doing at sea in the first place 🤣

We are not to blame for this - it is true that with less stuff something will be better. We know we feel better when our space is clear, and definitely we feel worse when it isn't. We know our minds work better and we are more patient. But do we know what we want this clarity, peace, time and energy for?

There is a constant narrative at the moment on social media about systems, schedules, apps and most depressing of all "Sunday Resets". As if all of our thoughts and actions should be around planning, organising and "systematising" our lives when surely the aim is to minimise the need for all that boring nonsense so we can actually LIVE?

So if you want to STOP thinking about decluttering, BREAK the cycle of clutter once and for all so you can actually start doing those things you really want to then you need to do something differently...

Let me know your thoughts? I would love to hear what comes up for you as you read this and what your bigger, more exciting goal might be beyond decluttering?