World-famous dog behaviorist Cesar Millan said in his book How To Be the Pack Leader that the home a person lives in says a lot about their personality. In this sense, he wasn’t talking about the color of the living room or the type of rug in the hallway. He stated that if there’s chaos or stress in someone’s mind, then it will likely spill out into the surrounding environment, resulting in clutter and, in extreme cases, hoarding.
This can mean that it can be hard to declutter a space effectively, as the clutter can sneak back with time. So, here, you’ll be guided through some top tips on how to declutter a space and keep it clutter-free.
Sort The Items
It sounds obvious, but if you’re looking to sort the space of someone who’s seemingly collecting everything, you’ll come across collectibles with no value everywhere!
So, work with the person to sort the items into three groups: toss, keep, and donate. If the person you’re working with is a hoarder, this is going to be very tough, as they’ll want to keep all of it. Just take it slowly and be prepared for a few setbacks. If you put pressure on someone who’s living in clutter, it may lead to an argument, which will halt the whole process.
Start Small
When it comes to decluttering a space, it can be very easy for the person who has collected the items to become overwhelmed with the task at hand. If you’re looking to clear a space like a bedroom or a kitchen, start with a small area like a wardrobe or a drawer. This will help you to get the space into order and then move on to the next part of the clearing. Remember, you don’t want to overwhelm the person, as this will lead to stress and upset.
Reiterate The Goal
You may find that the person you’re working with will regularly ask what the point of the decluttering is. So, make sure that you have a goal in mind. In the case of decluttering, it’s to get rid of items that are no longer being used. In the case of getting rid of hoarded items, it is to make the space usable again and to give the person more room.
Seek Help
As stated at the start of the article, hoarding and cluttering is often the result of inner anxiety. Indeed, in the upcoming new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, hoarding disorder is set to be labeled as its own issue without being linked to OCD, as it once was. In order to keep the person with the clutter happy and well, they’ll need to seek therapy from a professional who’s trained in this area.
Maintain The Space
Clutter and hoarding have a habit of sneaking back into the home if the space isn’t maintained. Take a few hours a week to check in on the person you’re helping to make sure that they’re not re-cluttering the space, but be aware that setbacks are common. Don’t be discouraged and seek to help them to remove clutter whenever you can.
