Why is it so much easier to help someone else declutter?
Have you ever helped someone else declutter? Have you found that it's so much easier than doing your own stuff? If so, you're not alone.
Bec & Tara chat this week about how we can be great at helping other people declutter. We can be focused, rational and practical. We are enthusiastic and energetic. But then when we have to do our own, we avoid, procrastinate and get anxious. We find other things to do instead, and we agonise and make excuses.
We also chat about what kind of person is the best type of person to help you declutter - and who might not be!
Show Notes:
The reasons we find it difficult to get rid of our own clutter:
Emotional & sentimental ties
That feeling of ‘I might need it one day’
We can justify almost anything to ourselves
Our stuff can carry a deeper feeling of unfinished business
Lack of willpower
Don't want to make tough decisions
Get stuck thinking about the right place for it to go
Get in the loop of perceived value versus real value
Feelings of wastefulness or guilt about discarding
Why is it easier to help others get rid of their stuff?
No personal attachment
Won’t accept flimsy justifications for keeping things
The feelings of guilt, waste, money spent and lost aren’t as prominent
Easier to stay focused - less likely to wander down memory lane
Often people find it easier to motivate and inspire others rather than ourselves
More goal focused
What’s the answer? Declutter with others - but make sure they are the right ‘others’
Beware of decluttering with family which might have an interest in you keeping your stuff or who want you to hold onto family things that you want to let go
Beware of decluttering with people that have something to gain or want you to meet their standard rather than your own
Hire a professional - someone to guide you and teach you the skills to declutter again in future and stay decluttered