The Keys to Unlock Your Clutter: Actions You Can Take

You know you need to let go of excess stuff. You even read my 3 Sticking Points blog and now you want to let it go. But actually getting rid of it seems overwhelming and you just can’t bring yourself to do it. I know that feeling!

Before I was a professional organizer, I was a milliner (a hat maker). Immersing myself in the world of millinery design, I had amassed quite a collection of wooden hat blocks, the molds on which I formed hats by hand. I scoured thrift shops, scrolled eBay, and searched for block makers around the world to build my collection.

This fall — after not working as a professional milliner for over a decade — I made up my mind to reduce my collection, keeping only as many as I need to fuel my hobby.

In my last blog, I outlined the 3 Sticking Points  — Emotional, Practical, and Financial — that hold us back from detaching from our excess stuff. These hat blocks hit all three sticking points for me! But after confronting the reasons for holding on, I faced another hurdle: How do I actually get rid of them?

Once you find your sticking points, you need a KEY to unlock the clutter!

The Keys to Unlock Your Clutter
= The actions you take to address your Sticking Points
(emotional, practical, and financial)
​and let the clutter go.

If your clutter is stuck because of EMOTIONAL attachment,
the KEY = Honor the item.

Letting go of the item is not throwing the feeling away. Remember, an object is something you project emotion onto. It is not the memory, not the person who gave it to you, and not the love.

• Take a picture of it. Better yet, take a picture of yourself with it.
  
• Write down or tell someone the story behind the item.
  
• Give it to someone who’d appreciate it or to a charity that’s meaningful to you.

If your clutter is caused by PRACTICAL considerations of potential usefulness, the KEY = Gain perspective.

“It still has good use left in it.” “What if I need it later?” A new perspective: Let someone else use it while you gain back space in your home!

• Donate it now while it’s still in usable condition and/or still in style.
  
• List it on your local Freecycle or Buy Nothing group.
  
• If you find you need/want it again, be resourceful. Borrow one, make do with something similar, or find a workaround.

If your clutter is stuck because of FINANCIAL concerns,
the KEY = Get real!

When you look at the object, all you see are dollar signs — either the dollars you put into acquiring it or the dollars you could make from selling it. Get real! If you’re not using it and don’t love it, it’s not valuable to YOU.

• Research the market. Check online and locally for SOLD items to see if any have sold and what price they actually fetch.
  
• Sell it cheaply and quickly online with sites that make it easy. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Thredup, Poshmark, and Depop are just a few. 50% of what you paid is a good starting price.
  
• Think about your track record: How often have you followed through on selling things? If it’s not good, cut your losses and donate the item. Compliment yourself on your generosity!

So what did I end up doing with my hat blocks? In looking at the whole collection, I realized I was only emotionally attached to a couple of blocks: the ones I bought in Italy. Deciding to keep those enabled me to evaluate the rest more neutrally.

For practicality’s sake, I kept a small assortment of the most useful blocks and then resolved to get the rest into the hands of working milliners. Some quick research on eBay and Etsy helped me get real and unlock the financial sticking point. Though the market had dropped and the blocks weren’t going for what I originally paid, there were still milliners looking to buy blocks.

Since I’m a veteran eBay seller, I was able to list and sell them within a couple of months. It warmed my heart to interact with the buyers and to know that my hat blocks would be used for years to come to make new hats for new heads!

Now that you have the keys to release your clutter, have fun thinking about how your cast-offs might bless someone else’s life.

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My expert advice will guide you to the actions you need to take to actually let go of your excess stuff.