Decluttering by Design: Setting up a Support Group

When you are faced with a major challenge, you need a support team to help you through it. Think of giving up alcohol, and what AA does for people who want to do that. Or think of training to run a marathon, and how much easier it would be running with other people. So if you feel that you want to declutter your home, but you can’t get started or have a history of starting and stopping, maybe finding or creating a ‘decluttering group’ is the answer to your problem.

Being part of a group has a couple of key benefits. First, there is momentum in groups. Individuals will feed off the enthusiasm, ideas and successes of everyone on the team. The old adage of 1 + 1 = 3 exemplifies this. Second, groups breed accountability. When you start something on your own, the little voices in your head can easily persuade you to stop it, and it is easy to follow those voices when no one else will know.

I’ve recently discovered that there are decuttering groups you can join on the web. They connect online, reveal what they are going to do, and report back on their progress. The other members of the group are not likely to be sympathetic to your flimsy excuses for not following through with your commitments, so there is a far better chance that you will be successful.

And if you can’t find a group, start one yourself. It can be people you know, or complete strangers. The important thing is that it is a group of people who will support each other in reaching their goals. And a clutter free life is an admirable goal!