Decluttering isn’t just about throwing things out. It’s about resetting your lifestyle and creating a space that aligns with who you are now.
But before diving in, it’s crucial to start with self-awareness.
Many of us focus on the physical clutter in our homes, but we often overlook the emotional baggage and personality traits contributing to the mess.
Recognizing your clutter personality is an important step in the process, and over 30 years of helping people reclaim their homes, we’ve noticed five distinct clutter personalities.
The Happy Heaper: Procrastination Meets Perfectionism
If you’re someone who’s always juggling people and projects, you might be a “Happy Heaper.”
Your home might feel like a whirlwind, but in the midst of chaos, you tend to know exactly where things are.
However, you struggle with perfectionism and procrastination.
You wait until every last piece of the puzzle fits before taking action, making decluttering feel like an endless task.
If this sounds familiar, don’t expect to declutter at lightning speed—think tortoise, not hare.
The Kind Keeper: Sentimentality and Shopping Habits
For those who associate their clutter with shopping or sentimental attachments, you might identify with the “Kind Keeper” personality.
Shopping is your way of unwinding, and you love keeping items that remind you of good times with loved ones.
However, this sentimental attachment often makes it hard to part with things, which can lead to feeling overwhelmed when trying to declutter.
Life changes, like a big move or the loss of a loved one, might trigger a desire to clear out, but the emotional pull of those memories can be hard to shake.
The Warm Weeper: Clutter as Emotional Shield
If you’ve been through personal loss or trauma, you could be a “Warm Weeper.
” The items in your home might act as a comforting shield, helping to mask the emotional complexities you’re dealing with.
While you might have friends or family who try to help, their well-meaning efforts often miss the mark, making you feel judged or misunderstood.
As a warm weeper, you know you need to declutter, but you want to do it on your own terms, not according to others’ timelines or expectations.
The Harassed Housekeeper: Juggling It All
Are you someone who constantly feels like you’re spinning a dozen plates at once? If so, you might be a “Harassed Housekeeper.”
You’re the one trying to keep everything together at home, but it feels like an uphill battle.
The clutter isn’t all your fault—other people in your household might be contributing to the chaos.
You may not have been taught how to maintain a tidy home, or maybe you know exactly what to do but simply can’t find the time to do it. Either way, it feels like you’re constantly in survival mode when it comes to decluttering.
The Nostalgic Knee-deeper: Feeling Overwhelmed by Clutter
The “Nostalgic Knee-deeper” is someone who feels overwhelmed by clutter—whether it’s something that has accumulated over time or a sudden surge of stuff.
For this personality type, clutter can feel like a constant source of embarrassment, and it might even define how you feel about your life.
If you’ve tried to get rid of things in the past but found it too difficult, don’t worry—transforming your home and embracing a life with less is still possible.
It may take time, but with the right mindset, you can make progress.
Common Challenges in Decluttering
Now that we’ve explored some of the common clutter personalities, you may find that you relate to more than one type.
And if you’re someone with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), you’ll likely experience unique challenges when it comes to decluttering.
For people with ADHD, decision-making can be particularly tough, as even simple questions like “Do I need this?” can trigger deeper emotional conflicts.
This can lead to decision fatigue and a sense of overwhelm.
Another challenge is hyperfocus. When you become absorbed in a decluttering project, you might spend hours on it and end up feeling burnt out.
This creates negative associations with the task, making it harder to return to it later.
Using a timer to break tasks into smaller chunks can help avoid burnout and keep you on track.
The Emotional Side of Decluttering
Ultimately, decluttering is about more than just the stuff—it’s about your emotional connection to those items.
By identifying what’s holding you back, you can start making progress, one step at a time, in a way that works for you.
With a little patience and self-compassion, you can clear out the physical clutter while also addressing the emotional baggage that comes with it.
Remember, a clutter-free space leads to a calmer, happier mind.
The process may take time, but with awareness and the right tools, you can create a home that reflects the life you want to live.
Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman’s new book Reset Your Home, Unpack Your Emotions and Your Clutter, Step By Step is available this week.
You can also find more resources and tips online at The Declutter Hub.