Decluttering Tips to Get a Head Start on Downsizing

An older woman puts an artificial plant in a box marked Donations.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

When I retired as editor of Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, one of the things at the top of my to-do list was to clean out my closets and get rid of other assorted stuff that had accumulated over decades. Now, eight years later, I have to admit that I’ve made only modest progress.

I’ve made at least one pass at all the closets, given away much of my work-era wardrobe and handed off to my now-grown kids all their old school papers. Yet somehow the closets are still full, the books seem to have regenerated on the shelves, and I don’t even want to think about the pre-cell phone photographs.

I’m not planning to move anytime soon, but I sought advice from downsizing specialists on how to get a head start on paring back my possessions.

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Tops on their list is to keep your emotions out of it.

“Start in a small space without a lot of sentimental value, like a bathroom or linen closet,” advises Mary Kay Buysse, co-executive director of the National Association of Senior Move Managers. “By the time you build up to a chest of drawers or bookshelves, you’ve established a rhythm, and you’re ready for bigger jobs with more emotional investment.”

Also important: Adopt a system that works for you. Instead of attacking your closet a few pieces at a time, Buysse recommends that you empty the whole closet and then start putting things back.

If that sounds overwhelming, another option is to “be constantly editing your things,” says Marni Jameson, author of Downsizing the Family Home. “The whole process of thinning out your closets and your home should be a lifestyle, like putting money into your 401(k).”

Jameson keeps a giveaway bag in her closet and a box in the garage, and she tosses things in as she goes along.

Leah Friedman, a professional organizer and executive consultant, recommends inviting a friend or hiring an organizer to help as you sort through your stuff.

“Getting someone else involved will push you harder, like having a personal trainer,” Friedman says. “And it can help make an emotionally draining task more fun.”

Don’t count on your kids

“They don’t want a darn thing,” says Buysse, especially big brown furniture, dining room sets and TV armoires. “By the time older adults pass away, their children are often in their 50s and have everything they could possibly need.”

Bottom line: Be ruthless. “There’s no ‘maybe’ pile,” says Buysse. “There’s a ‘keep’ and a ‘go.’ ” A “maybe” pile will trip you up every time, she says, because you put off making a decision and potentially end up spending thousands of dollars on a storage locker.

Buysse recommends the one-year rule, which is a standard in her field: If you haven’t worn it or used it within a year, it’s a candidate for the “go” pile.

Jameson advises asking yourself whether you would buy an item again. “Don’t keep something because so-and-so gave it to you or because it was expensive.”

Apply the same tough standards to things you may have inherited from your own parents. “Don’t feel guilty about donating Grandma’s china,” says Friedman. “You’re not donating Grandma. It’s just her china.”

When you do plan to downsize, it’s time to shift into overdrive. Don’t even try to squeeze all of your things into a smaller space. Instead, measure your new space and start from scratch.

“If you have to cut back from 12 kitchen cabinets to two, figure out what goes into those two cabinets,” says Buysse.

In the meantime, enjoy the feeling of freedom that comes with shedding superfluous stuff. “I believe you can de-stress if you get down to ground zero in your home,” says Friedman. “If you want to sleep better, have nothing under the bed.”

Got any decluttering tips you’d like to share? Just let me know.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

Janet Bodnar is editor-at-large of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, a position she assumed after retiring as editor of the magazine after eight years at the helm. She is a nationally recognized expert on the subjects of women and money, children's and family finances, and financial literacy. She is the author of two books, Money Smart Women and Raising Money Smart Kids. As editor-at-large, she writes two popular columns for Kiplinger, "Money Smart Women" and "Living in Retirement." Bodnar is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and is a member of its Board of Trustees. She received her master's degree from Columbia University, where she was also a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics Journalism.