Clearing out the clutter — from old tax returns to clothes you don’t wear to keepsakes that are no longer meaningful to you — can be a wonderful gift to yourself and your family, organizing experts say.
Linda Hetzer, co-author of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home with Janet Hulstrand, has talked to hundreds of people about paring down what they own, and she remembers one retired woman who went through all of her belongings, sold some of them and gave away many other things. When asked why she had done it, she said, “I am doing this for my children. I don’t want them to have do it. It’s a gift.”
“We can keep the memories and get rid of the stuff,” Hetzer says.
In fact, half of people around the world say they could live happily without most of the items they own, according to a new survey of 10,574 adults ages 16 and up in 29 nations. And two-thirds say they make it a point to get rid of unneeded possessions at least once a year, say the findings, released Tuesday by Havas Worldwide.
Retirement is an ideal time to declutter, experts say. “You don’t want to leave your kids a big mess,” says New York City organizing expert Julie Morgenstern, author of Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life. “And you also want anything that really has value — either monetarily or sentimentally — to be accessible to your kids, so they don’t have to weed through tons of stuff to find those things on their own.”
On top of that, “your life will be better if you are not overrun with things that are obsolete and don’t have any relevance to your life now,” she says.
Here are 10 tips to decluttering from Hetzer and Morgenstern:
1. Take your time. It’s a huge task for most people, and if you rush through it, you’ll feel more stressed and may end up getting rid of things you wish you’d kept, Hetzer says.
2. Define your treasure guidelines. Figure out what is the most valuable to you, Morgenstern says. “Ask yourself: If someone waved a magic wand and cleared the clutter, what would you be sorry that was gone?” In your closet, it might be the clothes that look really good on you and one or two pieces of sentimental clothing, she says. You might want to keep handwritten notes, but throw away printouts from the Internet, she says. Talk to your accountant or financial adviser about what you should keep.
3. Make a plan for the discards. Before you begin, decide where everything is going to go after it’s sorted, Morgenstern says. Label boxes and bags so you don’t have to sort through things twice. Arrange to drop things off or have them picked up within a week, she says. If papers need to be shredded, make sure you have a shredder available or know what service you are going to use.
4. Clean out by category. Sort through items by categories, not by room, Morgenstern says. So go through old magazines, receipts, financial paperwork and old tax returns. Do each one separately. Ditto on clothes. Divide them into work clothes, casual clothes and shoes and work from there, she says.
5. Break down big tasks into smaller ones. So you’re not overwhelmed, tackle your entire linen closet one shelf at a time, Hetzer says. Go through your kitchen, one drawer and cabinet at a time. “Doing it one small task at a time gives you a sense of accomplishment and encourages you to move on.”
6. Have a special guideline for tough decisions. When you can’t decide whether to give something away or keep it, Morgenstern advises asking yourself, what is worth more to you: the object or the space and energy it will clear for the next chapter of your life? If you are hanging onto something for sentimental reasons, then ask yourself: Is this the best representation you have of a person you love or a time of your life? “It’s very hard for people to get rid of things that someone gave them, but you don’t need every piece of memorabilia,” she says.
7. Make presents of family heirlooms and sentimental items. One retired woman gave away jewelry, china and family heirlooms to her children and grandchildren as birthday and anniversary gifts, Hetzer says. “She enjoyed the process of giving and only regretted she hadn’t done it sooner.” This also avoids family squabbles later, she says.
8. Expect a slow start and some second thoughts. The process often goes slowly for the first hour to 90 minutes, and then the momentum usually picks up, Morgenstern says. Then, once you’re close to the end, be prepared to hit the wall of panic, a moment where you are overwhelmed with the amount of empty space, but you have to stay grounded, she says. It will soon be filled with objects or experiences more relevant to the next chapter of your life.
9. Take time to mourn. In order to give away things, some people need to find a way to separate their memories from the objects, Hetzer says. Sometimes it’s really helpful to talk about the objects to other people. It can make it easier to let them go.
10. Check everywhere. In each room, pull out drawers, go through all boxes and bags and drawer linings. Hetzer found a gold chain in the lining of her mother’s jewelry box. She knows one man who found $1,200 in the bottom of a shopping bag filled with plastic bags in his mother-in-law’s house.
