Using self care to prepare for decluttering

30 June 2025

In May, I republished one of my favorite blog posts, Self-care, which is about the importance of taking time for self care even if you feel like you should be working on decluttering and organizing your home. I suggested that you could use self-care activities as a reward for making some progress on your organizing projects.

I received a lovely email response from reader Joan Paul who suggested that self care could be an important way to prepare for the stress of a decluttering and/or organizing session.

She wrote:

Maybe filling our tank with self-care before starting a decluttering project is just as key or even more important than using it as a reward. Maybe if we are properly nurtured by our self-care we won’t be so paralyzed and overwhelmed about decluttering!

I love that way of thinking and to be honest I hadn’t thought of that way before.

Taking care of yourself is one of the most important things you can do to live a happy and healthy life. If clutter has gotten out of hand and you have difficulty addressing it, then incorporating some self care into the process (whether that’s before or after the decluttering session, or both!) can only benefit you.

Sometimes self care looks like calling in an organizer or an organizing team to jump start your activities or get it done swiftly. (I’m a huge believer in asking for help and wouldn’t have been able to survive last year’s move if I hadn’t hired organizers to get me packed and unpacked.) If you live in St. Louis, we’re happy to help you. If you live elsewhere, you can find an organizer near you at NAPO.net.

Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash

Tagged with: decluttering, empowerment, self care