We’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t want a clutter-free home *wink* Let’s be totally honest, living with just the right amount, no excess + a place to put everything is absolutely as dreamy as it sounds, friend.

At Elegant Simplicity, we’re that slightly odd, and of course amazing, best friend of yours who loves to organize + declutter — everything. For our team, we enjoy the process of assessing, sorting, curating belongings and creating systems that remove friction from your life + make everyday living more efficient for your family.

But we’re also no strangers to the idea that sometimes… the motivation for decluttering can escape us. We all get busy, then our things pile up + the straw that breaks the camels back is when we utter those forbidden little words, “we’ll get to it later.” *wink*

In reality, most people turn a blind eye over + over again. Until eventually, decluttering leaves you feeling overwhelmed, frustrated + emotional. And sometimes, you know you should begin but you don’t even know where to begin or how to continue, even if you did begin sorting through the mess.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know why we lose the motivation to declutter in the first place? Or how to never lose the motivation to declutter again?

Well, my friend, we’ve got your back.

With nearly a decade + half, as a professional organizing firm, we’ve identified both — why we lose the motivation to declutter + how to never lose the motivation to declutter again *wink*

And the BEST news?

We’re sharing it all with you, right now. Let’s grow!

Bellevue, Washington professional organizing by Elegant Simplicity helps maintain the motivation to declutter.

Discovering Your 'Why' in Decluttering

At Elegant Simplicity, organizing is ever-evolving. Most people however, believe that organizing is like a rotisserie chicken — you set it up once + then forget it.

But it’s not. So if that’s what you’re looking for — keep on looking. That being said, if you want to truly fix the organizational challenges in your life + home — keep reading.

Being organized is continuous. And the moment we level with ourselves + acknowledge that clutter is a fact of life — we mentally begin to shift our perspective from “I’m completely frustrated that I still have clutter here because I just organized it last week” to “what clutter is still piling up in this area?”

“And the moment we level with ourselves + acknowledge that clutter is a fact of life — we mentally begin to shift our perspective.”

The Power of Understanding Your Decluttering Goals

You want a beautiful + functional home and the truth is, we’ll get you there but at Elegant Simplicity, we believe to get you from where you are –– to where you want to be that we have to look at home as a process of self-discovery + self-improvement.

To help you see that equally as important as knowing how to maintain the motivation to declutter is knowing WHY decluttering is important to YOU.

Because when we know + understand WHY living in a clutter-free environment is important to us — then the surge of energy to begin (+ at times) to get going again becomes easier, friend..

It’s easier for one very specific reason.

In life we are motivated by two things: fear or desire.

And because we’re really clear on what type of home you desire + why that matters so much to you — maintaining the motivation to declutter is simply a part of that process.

A professional organizer from Elegant Simplicity, in Seattle, Washington, is having an accountability partner to help maintain motivation to declutter.

5 Simple Steps To Maintaining The Motivation To Declutter

Beyond identifying why decluttering is important to you, which we can’t stress the importance of enough — here are some ways to maintain the motivation to declutter.

Craft an Organizing Roadmap or Organizing Gameplan

Whether you’re organizing your entire home or a single room like the office, creating an organizing roadmap before you begin helps to minimize overwhelm. It might look like a long list of things for you to do but an organizing game plan has a very clear role in getting you organized + helping you stay organized.

Think of your organizing roadmap like this — it’s a step by step plan to follow that also ensures that as you work, you’ll not only be checking things off but you’ll see the end in sight a lot sooner.

But having a plan isn’t only good for checking things off your list and providing a glimpse of hope. An organizing roadmap helps you break down the project into bite size phases making the entire process feel a lot more manageable and keeps you focused to ensure you complete all of your decluttering goals.

If you’re not sure where to begin with this, our Organizing Membership does just this. We help you not only outline + decide how to go about organizing your entire home but also what projects are the highest priority, when we should dive into them + what to do with all your stuff when you’re ready to get rid of it. Sounds fun? Let’s chat then!

>>> Psst. If taking the next steps 1:1 with us isn’t your jam, then let us help you via our Organizing Kits or for FREE :) Inside our free resource library is an actual Organizing Roadmap we’ve used to help clients work through their homes.

Scheduling Time for Decluttering

One of the reasons why so many of the clients we’ve helped declutter + get organized have had success, and friend there’s been hundreds, is because our organizing process is hands-on. Which means, you are an active participant in decluttering your own belongings.

The catch?

You have to schedule time on your calendar. Sounds daunting? Let us provide a glimmer of hope. We all have the same 24-hours in a day + though finding the time sounds difficult it’s not. What isn’t easy, when you’re not used to doing it, is knowing how much time to set aside.

BUT the reality is clear… if you don’t schedule any time at all, it won’t happen.

In fact, the very last thing we do before leaving an Organizing Strategy Day is pull out our calendars with our Organizing Members to schedule our hands-on organizing sessions. This encourages you to make it a priority + as your accountability partner, our organizers presence not only helps you stick to it but guides you in why this is important, what we need to be doing + how to go about doing it most efficiently.

If you’re organizing on your own, whip that iPhone out + schedule time in your day to declutter. Then, use your organizing roadmap and commit to following through with it. The follow through is huge here, it won’t work unless you do.

If you’re working on a really small project or trying to maintain an already organized space, don’t be afraid to schedule 10-minutes a day to tidying up.

Tracking Your Decluttering Achievements

So, you’ve bitten off a project before + still haven’t completed it?

Often our biggest hurdle when it comes to maintaining the motivation to declutter is seeing the change.

And this can be incredibly difficult because the act of decluttering typically means making a mess. It always gets worse before it gets better. It can be easy to lose sight of any progress you’ve made at all + also hard to see how far you’ve come.

Toss in kids + spouses, pets + day-to-day life, oh + that thing called work.

if you’re not tracking your progress you won’t notice how close you really are to the finish line.

One of our favorite things to do with our clients is to not only check things off our Organizing Game Plan but to take a before picture + an after picture — this way you can compare the two side-by-side + see your progress.

When you start to see the change in one area of your home + your life, the motivation to declutter becomes invigorating. You begin seeing your entire home with possibility + that my friend is when you know you’re not just motivated you’re invigorated to keep going.

A professional organizer from Elegant Simplicity, in Bellevue, Washington, is having an accountability partner to help maintain motivation to declutter in this main bathroom.

Celebrating Your Organizing Milestones

Decluttering + organizing your home is simple but not easy. It takes a clear process, allocating time to declutter + keeping track of your achievements.

It can be an emotional, physical, and mental rollercoaster at times culling through belongings — especially if there’s sentimental attachments to things.

However, there’s incredible power in living in an organized home. The benefits of living without clutter in a home that’s everything you need + nothing more® have a lasting affect on your life + your mind.

And because organizing is continuous you don’t have to be entirely complete to feel a sense of accomplishment with where you’re at. It’s important to celebrate your organizing achievements as these are milestones in your journey.

A little reward never hurt anybody *wink*

So… we like to consider what is something you’d really enjoy for having put in the energy to declutter + organize? Think about experiences for yourself like a day at the spa, a girl’s night out with friends or things that you can consume like a bottle of wine or dinner for two at a dreamy restaurant.

Organizing is the ultimate act of self care so indulge once more in an experience. Life is too short to not celebrate progress. And part of maintaining the motivation to declutter is embracing the progress.

Partnering with a Professional Organizer

Helllloooo, Elegant Simplicity!!!!

There is nothing like having an expert with a trained eye to hold you + others in your home accountable… in a fun way of course *wink*

Together, we set big goals like decluttering and organizing your entire home — we identify what’s motivating you to declutter + tap into why this is really important and help build organizing systems around your everyday routines. Not to mention, we know all the tips, tricks + top secret hacks to getting it done.

Maintaining your motivation to declutter is about showing up with the right mindset.

Progress happens when you consistently “plan your work and work your plan.”

There you have it...everything you need to know! If you find yourself losing motivation, unsure of where to begin + feeling like you really need an accountability partner you can get started here.

P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.