By Martha Tobin
Everyone has grand plans at the start of the year to organize their homes. New year and a new you that will encourage more peace and mental clarity, better sleep and less feelings of overwhelm.
But achieving this can be difficult when obstacles come up.
So here are 8 common organizing and decluttering obstacles and solutions to overcome them:
- You have no idea where to start: pick a space that you want to focus on and then ask yourself what your vision is for this area (i.e. more productive home office, more calm bedroom, etc)
- You’re feeling too overwhelmed to start: begin with 15 minutes a day. Maybe attach these 15 minutes to another daily habit (i.e. tackle a small area while your laundry is in)
- You find it hard to get motivated: gather 5 medium sized boxes and label them: ‘to donate’, ‘to sell’, ‘to recycle’, ‘trash/recycle’, ‘items that belong elsewhere or to be returned’
- You get too distracted: focus on one room and one space in that room at a time (i.e. desk, closet, kitchen drawers).
- You’re scared you’ll keep too much: keep in mind the peace of mind that you want for 2026. Ask yourself if the items you are keeping are adding to your life or draining you.
- You know you’re holding onto too much memorabilia: there is no need to save everything from your past. If need be, take a photo of the item so that you can keep the memory and reclaim that space.
- You don’t feel you have the right storage systems: storage systems don’t need to be fancy or colour coordinated to work. They just need to have ‘like with like’ items sorted into them and proper labelling.
- You’d let go of more if you know where to donate items: there are many worthy organizations in Ottawa that are desperate for items. Check out our Charities page for some options
Releasing items that are no longer serving you is a great way to start the year off and take back control of your life and your home,
Make 2026 the year of choosing you so that you can breathe easily and feel less weary!
Would you like a FREE consultation so we can see how we can be of assistance with your Organizing and Decluttering? If so, reach out to me at Martha@Declutter4Good.ca
