I often come across blogs and posts that suggest starting your decluttering journey with something like your junk drawer. Are you serious?! Cue the stress, anxiety, and a sense of absolute overwhelm! Fact: this is a terrible place to start. For anyone feeling overwhelmed by mess, picking a single space or room without clear guidance is unhelpful and vague.
So, you’ve decided to declutter your home and life—but here’s a reality check: these are two very different things. Your home is where you reside; your life is where you grow, evolve, and pursue your greatest good. If both are cluttered, there’s a disconnect that makes living within these spaces far more difficult. So where do you start? By addressing your mental clutter.
This is the foundation of all the work I do at ReclaimYou, whether it’s Clutter Coaching or Life Coaching. Mental clutter is often overlooked, yet it’s the single most important step in your decluttering journey.
Understanding Mental Clutter
Mental clutter is the constant background noise in your mind—the unfinished tasks, the stuff that keeps you up at night, the ongoing worries that drain your energy. Before you start decluttering your physical space, you need to clear out the chaos in your head. Here's how to begin:
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Consider: Getting those things out of your head and on to a piece of paper. It may be things like....
- Calling a family member or a service provider.
- Asking for forgiveness or making amends.
- Sending that text message or email you’ve been avoiding.
- Paying a bill that’s been lingering.
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Journal Your Thoughts: Think of this as a revolving to-do list. Write down everything causing you stress, the thoughts keeping you up at night. Again, by putting it on paper, you’re freeing up mental space.
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Tackle the Hardest Task First: Set aside time each day to address one item from your list. Start with what feels most difficult. Once you confront that, everything else will feel more manageable.
Why Mental Clutter Matters
Clearing mental clutter is often skipped but it’s crucial. It sets the tone for every other decluttering step you take. When I first started implementing this in my coaching programs, the results were powerful. Clients reconnected with estranged family members, mended broken relationships, and experienced profound emotional healing. Witnessing these transformations moved me to tears.
Now, I begin every course and coaching session with this step because it has proven to be so impactful. Addressing mental clutter gives you the clarity and emotional bandwidth to make decisions you won’t regret—like letting go of things you truly don’t need.
Get my Free Mental Clutter Workbook to get you started