How To Help Someone Declutter

Today I am sharing how to help someone else declutter.  A few days ago my dad mentioned that he wanted help decluttering.  Since I love to declutter I was happy to help.

My dad, being the organized guy he is, knew exactly what to get rid of, but this isn’t always the case.

 

Here is the video of us decluttering my dad’s closet.

 

These are my best tips on how to help someone declutter their stuff

Declutter Step One

Realize you are not decluttering for them.  It is really easy to think you know what they should keep and what they should donate, but it isn’t your stuff! 

The only person who can truly declutter is the owner of the items.

There have been many times when I felt the person I was helping should get rid of more, but I never said anything about it because it isn’t my stuff. 

 

Decluttering Step Two

Try to be as encouraging as possible.  Not encouraging them to get rid of more, but encouraging the person to finish the project.  Talk about all the positives that will come from decluttering. 

How organized they will be, how much room they will have, and how easy it will be to keep everything clean.

 

Clutter-Free Step Three

Give the person you are helping different ideas on how to declutter.  For instance, my dad already knew what he wanted to get rid of, which made it very easy. 

There are many different ways to declutter. 

• You can pull everything out and then sort through it.  This makes a huge mess and can be very overwhelming.
• Another way is to decide on each item as you pull it out of where you are decluttering.  Pull something out and decide immediately if it is a keep, donate, or trash item.
• Go section by section.  Dump one drawer out, declutter it, and put it back together.

All of these different ways of decluttering can be very effective it just depends on what you think will work best in each situation.  I helped a friend declutter her closet and she had so much in there with not a lot of room to sort everything.  In this case, we ended up pulling about 10 items out at a time, sorting, and rehanging. 

Watch How to Help Someone Declutter:

 

Avoid Declutter Overwhelm Step Four

Try to avoid overwhelm.  If the decluttering pile is becoming a mess, bag it up and move it into a different room. 

If the “keep pile” is becoming huge start to organize it into sections of like items. 

Becoming overwhelmed could slow down the decluttering progress.  As the helper, it is great if you can keep the piles organized.

Sometimes the person you are helping might be unsure of what they should do with an item. 

This is when you can ask them some questions.  For instance, when did you last use this item? or is this something you really love?

Make sure you take some breaks while decluttering.  Set a timer for your break and get back into the process as soon as the break is over.  It can be very easy to get distracted and never finish a project.

 

 

Donate Decluttered Stuff Step Five

Donate the decluttered items immediately. 

Don’t leave the house with the items still there. 

If a pile of donation stuff sits in a house for too long the person might start to re-evaluate if they should keep things.  Other people that live in the house might start to go through the donation pile.

Another great reason to donate the decluttered items immediately is then you can see the progress that was made.  Everyone can see all the extra space that was created and how organized everything looks.

 

How to Help Friends and Family Declutter Conclusion

These five steps can really help when someone is decluttering. 

Some people need the support of others to get their stuff in order and decluttering can be a lot of fun too.  I try to keep decluttering light and fun with the process resulting in an organized home.

 

Read More Ways to Clear Out Your Home:

20 Reasons your House still looks Cluttered

How Often Should You Declutter?

How to declutter without feeling Guilty

Decluttering Help – Helping a Friend Declutter

Decluttering your Home With Kids

What Changed After I Decluttered the Kid Stuff

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