Decluttering: A Sustainable Challenge Requiring Emotional and Practical Effort

Whether you call it decluttering, death cleaning or a clear out, many of us face the onerous task of paring back our possessions, or those of a loved one.

There can be many reasons: from managing the mountains of stuff that comes with small children, to downsizing or moving house, or dealing with a deceased estate.

Sometimes, it’s the desire for a simpler life. About one in three Australians can’t stand the amount of stuff in their home, according to a survey commissioned by insurance company Choosi.

“In consumer society it’s very easy to acquire, but a lot of people find it difficult to get rid of things,” says Julie Whiting, founder of The Decluttering Co.

Clutter – stashed in cupboards and drawers, spare rooms, and storage facilities – usually involves items that people have been avoiding, she says. Decluttering is hard because it requires people to make multiple decisions at once, as well as the logistics of where to take things and the emotions of letting go.

Sorting through stuff may be physically and emotionally draining, but is it sustainable?

Keep, donate, recycle, discard

Jennifer Macklin, who researches waste systems and behaviour change at Monash University’s BehaviourWorks, says the overall aim is “to rehome what you can, then recycle and appropriately dispose of what remains”.

Aside from navigating the various platforms, collections and drop off points, the process can be emotionally fraught. People hold on to things because they value them, she says, so part of the difficulty with giving things away or selling them is the realisation that other people may not want them.

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Whiting recommends people tackle the area that is most annoying, first. Then start processing things into piles: keep, donate, recycle, discard.

When it comes to giving things away, donating to a charity store may seem like an easy option, she says, but it’s not always the best. Re-sale platforms and buy nothing groups can ensure the item goes to someone who wants it.

“Get familiar with your council recycling options, and what sort of things they take,” she says, adding that these services are often available free of charge.

Tackling your wardrobe

Decluttering by yourself is tough, says professional organiser Susanne Thiebe at Less Mess, and people shouldn’t feel ashamed to ask for help.

“I really coach people through: does it have to stay? Can it go?”

Thiebe will often start with clothing, because the state of someone’s wardrobe can have a big impact on their daily lives. “You wake up and you see a mess,” she says.

Clothing and footwear are a common source of frustration and can be the hardest for people to part with. One study found about 84% of Australians owned garments they haven’t worn in the past year.

Clothing must be quality and in good condition to be given away or sold. Textiles can be challenging to recycle or compost, Thiebe says, and some may end up in landfill.

Once clothes have been sorted, it’s time to organise what is being kept. Choose a system that works – for example, a teenage wardrobe, where each shelf or cube is dedicated to a different category of clothes, could be organised even when things are thrown in without being folded.

“Tidy is for other people, organising is for us,” she says. “Tidy is about putting it away and making it look nice. Organised is not just about putting it away, it’s about finding it too.”

Fix your furniture

Furniture can be especially challenging, says Ashley Eriksmoen, a designer and woodworker living in Canberra. When people downsize or a family member dies, they can end up with heirloom-quality pieces that need a new home.

“People have a kind of moral hesitation about it, they don’t feel OK throwing out furniture the way they do Tupperware,” she says.

“We have this caretaking stewardship mentality about it.”

But there’s a huge amount of unwanted furniture in Australia, she says, more than can be accepted by charity stores, reuse hubs, or rehomed in buy-nothing groups. The excess is driven by the availability of cheap furniture, people’s desire for their house to look fresh and stylish, and the limited channels for repair or refurbishment.

“The most sustainable choice is the piece of furniture that already exists,” she says.

If you can find a way to modify furniture to keep it in use, that’s preferable. “You don’t have to keep all eight dining chairs and the dining table,” she says, “maybe you can cut it down and make it into two tea tables.” She encourages people to give simple repairs or paint jobs a go – especially if the alternative is hard rubbish. Local repair cafes or tool libraries may be able to help.

Recycle or toss

Books are one of the hardest things to donate, as many charity stores don’t accept them. But they can be recycled if you take the covers off, Thiebe says.

Many council depots and recycling stations accept paints and chemicals, batteries, light globes, cables and other e-waste, as well as things like baking trays, CDs and DVDs. Some retailers offer take-back schemes for certain types of furniture, office supplies, sports gear, toys, clothing, and medicines.

“If in doubt, put it in the red bin,” she says. “It’s better a wrong item in the red [rubbish] bin than contaminating your whole yellow [recycling] bin, or ultimately the whole truck.”

Learning from the experience

Dr Melissa Norberg, director of the Behavioural Science Laboratory at Macquarie University, researches ways to help people consume less. Acquiring things can make us feel good, she says, but the feeling doesn’t last, so we buy more.

“When you’re having a tough time getting rid of something, and when you have to put something to landfill because no one wants it, really stop and think about what’s being thrown away and can you prevent bringing those types of things into your home again. Take it as a learning lesson, rather than beating yourself up and feeling bad about it.”

A German study says the decluttering process can be a window for people “to reflect on and realign their possessions and desires for goods” and a starting point for shifting consumption practices.

“The decluttering process can be quite energy and time-consuming, and it does make people think twice about buying that stuff,” Whiting says. “Everything in our house, someone will have to make a decision on at some stage, and if it’s not us, it’ll be our loved ones.”

Overconsumption, not decluttering, is the cause of waste, Thiebe says. “You create the landfill when you shop it, not when you let go of it,” she says. “Don’t buy so much stuff in the first place.