Decluttering questions you need to ask besides “does it spark joy?”

A couple of weeks ago, I’ve touched on the topic of sustainable decluttering. That post mainly dealt with the environmental aspects of decluttering and how we can make sure we let go of things in an eco-friendly way.

But there’s another way we can use the term sustainable when it comes to decluttering – its results should be kept up for a long time.

I’m afraid this aspect of decluttering is neglected a bit. Often, we focus on the act of decluttering alone – how to sort out, organize, and let go of things. Sure, the initial results are great – a more organized life, a cleaner home, happy family.

But what happens after we threw out, donated, removed everything we categorized as clutter?

How can we make sure they don’t creep back weeks, months, or years later?

There’s a reason that stuff ended up as clutter. It may be due to a lack of regular organizing, a long time of neglect, or bad shopping decisions. Often, that “clutter” used to be your hard-earned money. I’m quite skeptical that idealistic, clean state can be kept up without some major lifestyle or habit changes.

Decluttering is just the start. Sure, sometimes it’s hard to even start, as it all seems overwhelming. If you have difficulties with the beginning steps of decluttering or you’re struggling with the decisions on what to keep or discard, you can find tons of practical guides and helpful questions to ask on the internet that will help you get going.

Related: 25 items you can declutter immediately

But I’m suggesting a different set of questions now.

Questions that may help you get to the root of your organizing, shopping, and hoarding issues. Questions that may help you gain clarity regarding what needs to change in order to keep up this blissful state.

Because if you don’t change anything, you’re destined to make the same mistakes over and over again.

5 essential decluttering questions you should be asking yourself

1 // When did you get it?

Has it been lying around the house for years? Or is it a relatively new purchase? Both options might tell you something interesting about your buying (or hoarding) practices. If it’s been around for ages, you may have a hard time letting things go. If it’s a recent acquisition that you still feel like you should let go of, you probably have to reassess your shopping habits.

2 //Why did you buy/get it?

Was it a deliberate purchase? Or something impulsive, the result of FOMO or a bad day? Did you think about how you’d actually use it? Or was it a gift from someone? Or is it just actually really worthless clutter and you have no idea how it ended up in your home? I think it’s so essential to analyze these questions and draw some conclusions on how intentional you are in bringing stuff into your life.

3 // How much did you use/wear it (honestly)?

The moment of truth: did you actually use/wear it? If yes, how long, how often, and how much? Was it worth buying? Is there maybe a pattern you see, like getting similar stuff without actually using them? Just to give you a personal example: for a long time, I’ve been totally unable to resist buying different eye shadows. Which is pretty dumb considering I’ve been using the same 2 shades for years now, boring or not. See? A pattern. Once I accepted my makeup habits (and acknowledged this hoarding specialty), it became much easier to ignore the makeup counters and shiny new palette releases.

4// Why have you kept it so far?

Has it been living in the back of the drawer under a thousand different objects so you basically forgot about it? Or have you kept it “just in case”? Was it a gift and you felt bad about decluttering it even though you’ve never used it? Or is it a sentimental object? Whatever the cause, get to the bottom of it. Once you pinpoint your difficulties (e.g. organizing, sentimentalism, indecisiveness), you have a much better chance at tackling them.

5 // Why do you wanna declutter it now?

At this point, it’s probably wise to come up with a bit more concrete answer than ‘it doesn’t spark joy’ (though it’s a good starting point). Your answer may be that particular item simply ran its course: it’s broken, old, faded and you cannot really use it anymore. Or you’ve realized it never really suited you (at this point, refer back to the “why you bought it in the first place” question). Or your taste, lifestyle changed and it’s not practical/enjoyable anymore.

Try to come up with a realistic and honest answer: why now? Why don’t you need/want this anymore? I guarantee the answer will help you in the long run.

That’s it, basically. 5 areas, a little bit of investigation, a hefty dose of honesty, and you can draw the right conclusions. It’s totally worth that extra time because this is the only way you can ensure that decluttering is not a Saturday afternoon chore, but a truly life-changing experience.