happier without

I was drowning in clutter. It made me mad. Miserable. And ashamed of my own home.

I spent hours - whole weekends - trying different decluttering approaches, including Marie Kondo, but they didn't help.

And the clutter kept coming in.

UNTIL I discovered simple methods for letting go of all the stuff I am happier without.

I still don't have a squeaky clean home, all minimalist and pristine. Far from it. To be honest, I rather like life a little bit messy.

BUT I have let go of hundreds of bags of stuff:

In just a few minutes everyday.
Without ANY big stop-my-life for the weekend declutter sessions.

My declutter journey has created a space I can organize and clean and look after simply. A space I actually enjoy living in again.

And it has eased my deep down anxiety and explosive anger. I am simply happier with a simpler, less cluttered life.

If you struggle with clutter I hope I can help.

I am sharing here the easy ideas and tips that help me declutter and organise, including:

Simple declutter methods - alternatives to Marie Kondo - you can follow when you're busy and tired and overwhelmed
Declutter checklists
Declutter challenges for each room in your home including kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and closets
Step by step guides to clutter hot spots
My approach to selling clutter
Practical ideas to keep clutter out
Motivational support to get you started and help you succeed

These resources will hold your hand through each step of your declutter journey AND they are all completely FREE.

So do save this page for easy reference.

I'll briefly introduce each declutter tool below. For the quick index whiz down to section 8.

1. Declutter Methods

KonMari Didn't Work For Me

I tried the KonMari method to decluttering because so many people swear by it, but it did NOT work for me. My 3 big problems were it:

Was overwhelming - starting was hard, keeping going even harder
Made an enormous mess
Demanded time I didn't have

Marie Kondo didn't help me either with:

The rest of the family's clutter
Selling stuff to help with family finances
Letting stuff go responsibly, so it didn't all end up in the tip polluting the planet

AND it did not make me happier. Yanking everything out actually made me more anxious. And that made it harder to let stuff go.

Luckily, I discovered two simple methods that addressed all these challenges and made me happier in the process. They are called:

Just 10 Things
and The Power Purge

Just 10 Things

I love the Just 10 Things declutter method.

It takes only 5 or 10 minutes a day, but helped me clear thousands of items of clutter.

It's amazingly powerful because it turns decluttering into a simple habit we can succeed at even when we're exhausted.

AND it makes us feel happier every single day.

Read this simple guide to get started.

The Power Purge

I top up Just 10 Things with the Power Purge method. Especially, when I am fuming and furious with my family.

It channels all our angry energy BUT doesn't create a big old mess on the floor.

2. Declutter Checklists

We all have our own variety of crazy clutter. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I hoarded.

But these handy checklists open our eyes to lots of the obvious clutter we are ignoring:

Use these checklists with either of my declutter methods or with one of your own.

And you can get the whole family involved by turning them into bingo sheets - whoever says goodbye to the most, wins.

3. Declutter Challenges

For more hands on support, use these daily declutter challenges to turn decluttering into a simple daily habit, you can follow as easily as cleaning your teeth.

Each day's challenge focuses on just one area. This stops us from being overwhelmed by all the possible stuff we could let go.

And helps us get down to true essentials.

Every day we let stuff go, it becomes easier the next day to let go of even more.

4. Declutter Hotspots

Clutter gets everywhere, doesn't it? And that's one of the horrible things about it.

But we also have hotspots don't we? Huge clutter monsters we are scared to take on.

So I have step by step guides to tackle the big 3:

Garages - also works for basement & attics
Paper - all those piles we daren't touch
Boxes - of forgotten stuff

PLUS help with cleaning stuff & bathrooms.

5. Sell Clutter Easily

We all know about selling on eBay but most clutter is low value and not worth the effort.

The thing is, it all adds up. 100 things worth £10 or $10 is a £1,000 or $ we can use to pay off debt or start an emergency fund.

And with Just 10 Things we can easily let go of thousands of small value items that could help our families financially.

So I developed this simple trick for selling clutter on Facebook with very little effort.

It won't sell everything but it will help.

6. Keep Clutter Out

Clutter sneaks into our homes every day in so many different ways, doesn't it?

From the grocery store. In the mail box. In kids' bags. And partner's cases. Off Amazon. After shopping binges. And THEN there's Christmas. And birthdays. And Easter. And Valentines. And Halloween. And Mothers' Day.

An endless trail of new stuff, we don't have time to enjoy or space to look after in.

To help you shut the door on clutter I have got two clutter free gift guides:

I have also got some practical simple tips to help keep every day clutter out.

But we also need to change our mindset about stuff, and I found these four simple ways to enjoy living with less particularly powerful

7. Declutter Motivation

We all know we want to declutter, don't we? And that's why Marie Kondo is such a hit. She seems to offer us a clear path to letting stuff go.

But I know so many people who are desperate to declutter and bought the book, then never got started. Or managed one drawer.

Because it needed hours of free time and created - initially - more chaos. Yanking everything out - or even the thought of it - made them crumple. It was too much for them.

That's why I am passionate about sharing a simple alternative for those of us for whom Marie Kondo just didn't work.

We truly can reclaim our homes with a gentle decluttering rhythm that lets a little go daily.

Declutter Rhythm

I found that this habit of daily decluttering was amazing motivation in it's own right; every day we can feel the calm of letting things go:

And the daily declutter prompts helped build the habit, but I also found it motivating to truly acknowledge the pain clutter causes me and focus on the key benefits of letting clutter go:

101 Ways Clutter Causes Pain
6 Benefits Of Decluttering

These have helped me clear hundreds of bags and boxes of stuff I am happier without.

But like most people I did cling on initially to sentimental things from loved ones.

Sentimental Clutter

They were tucked away in boxes, so no they didn't bring joy but recognising that didn't make it any easier to let go.

What helped much more was to weave a wealth of other ways of remembering into my daily life. To help you with this I've shared:

20 Lovely Ways To Remember People

My final secret for successful decluttering was everyday support from friends who:

Suffered like me with a chaotic home
And truly wanted to reclaim their life

BUT felt life was far too short to spend endless weekends yanking everything out, making a mess and interrogating every item we own.

Every Day Support

Knowing I wasn't alone with my clutter truly helped. Friends inspired me to keep going even when life was hectic and to believe in my vision of a simpler more joyful life.

So please do:

Join me on Facebook where I share easy inspirational ways to enjoy living with less
Sign up for my free newsletter to receive more easy decluttering tips

Hopefully, you will find here all the resources you need to reclaim your home. Do save this planner so you can dip in when you need to.

And please share it with friends.

And spread the word that Marie Kondo may be wonderful for some, but there is another way. And it's a whole lot simpler.