The Art of Decluttering

When you hear the word support, it’s easy to picture reliance — someone stepping in and doing things for you. But in decluttering, good support does the opposite. It builds independence.

You’re invited to rethink what independence actually means: it’s not about doing everything alone. It’s about knowing how to decide, knowing where things belong, and knowing how to reset a space when life inevitably gets messy again. Decluttering isn’t a personality trait or something you’re born with — it’s a set of skills you can learn.

Getting support doesn’t mean you can’t do it yourself. Often, it means you’re choosing to learn faster, with guidance that suits your brain, your home, and the season of life you’re in. Just like working with a Pilates instructor, the right support helps you make progress without having to figure out every step on your own.

You’ll explore why trust plays such a critical role in building independence. Sometimes progress happens quickly, and other times it takes time, repetition, and reassurance. Real-life stories show how trust leads to engagement, skill-building, and growing confidence — whether you’re working with a client, a child, a partner, or yourself.

You’ll also reflect on what can unintentionally undermine independence, including rushing, taking over, or creating “perfect” spaces without teaching how to maintain them.
If you don’t feel independent yet, this is your reminder: nothing is wrong with you. You’re still learning. With the right support, independence is absolutely possible — and it grows one skill at a time.

You may also like to listen to these episodes:
Hidden Emotions
Spoon Theory

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Thank you to my sound engineer, Jarred from Four4ty Studio
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In this episode you’re invited to rethink what it really means to have an organised home by exploring the difference between being neat and being tidy. While neatness is about how your home looks on the surface, tidiness is about how it works underneath.

You can have a home that looks neat but still feels stressful if things don’t have a clear place to belong. When everything has a designated home, it becomes easier to reset your space without relying on quick fixes or constant effort. Tidiness creates structure, and from that structure, neatness naturally follows.

This episode encourages you to let go of perfection and focus instead on systems that support everyday life. When your home is set up to work for you, maintaining it feels lighter, more manageable, and far less overwhelming.

You may also like to listen to these episodes:
Bigger Living, Smaller Space
Object Permanence

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Thank you to my sound engineer, Jarred from Four4ty Studio
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fresh Start: What Are You Ready to Let Go of in 2026?

A fresh start isn’t about pressure, resolutions, or reinventing yourself overnight. It’s about intention. As a new year begins, this episode invites you to pause and reflect on what you’re ready to release — not just from your home, but from your life.

Decluttering is often framed as getting rid of things, but at its heart, it’s about recognising changing seasons. The person you were five or ten years ago may not be who you are now, and your home should reflect the life you’re actually living. When it doesn’t, clutter can quietly build — not because you’ve failed, but because your environment hasn’t caught up with your growth.

This episode explores the many forms clutter can take. It might be physical items like clothes that no longer fit your body or lifestyle, hobby supplies for interests you’ve outgrown, or furniture and décor that no longer feels like you. It might also be unfinished projects, side hustles that once made sense but no longer serve you, or belongings tied to expectations you’ve since released.

There’s also space to acknowledge emotional clutter. Items connected to grief, change, or past versions of yourself can be especially hard to navigate. Letting go doesn’t erase meaning or memories — it simply allows you to choose what you carry forward with intention.

As you look ahead to 2026, consider asking: What kind of life am I creating, and what kind of home will support that? You don’t need to declutter everything at once. One thoughtful decision can create momentum. One cleared space can bring relief.

A fresh start is built slowly, gently, and with freedom in mind. When your home reflects who you are becoming, it becomes a place that supports you — not one that holds you back.

You may also like to listen to these episodes:
Because. Really. And
Quitters Day

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This week we’re diving into Week Three of our “What’s Your Problem?” series — and I can’t tell you how important this one is. If you’ve worked through your quantity issues (too much stuff) and your systems issues (no real organisation), then your next hurdle isn’t about things or storage at all. It’s about you. It’s about habits.

Once the clutter is gone and the systems are in place, the problem shifts from your stuff… to your behaviour. And that’s good news, because habits are changeable with the right tools and a little intention.

One of our core sayings at The Art of Decluttering is: “Don’t put it down. Put it away.”
It’s simple. It’s powerful. It cuts straight through the temptation to procrastinate — because procrastination is sneaky. It convinces you that “later” is harmless, when in reality “later” is the thing making your home feel harder than it needs to.

Take the jacket example. You walk in the door. You’re tired. You drop your jacket on the bed instead of hanging it up. No big deal, right? But then you walk past it three more times. Your partner dumps their jacket next to yours. Suddenly the job feels bigger and you’re annoyed at yourself. And all of this drama could have been avoided if you’d taken the 10 seconds to hang it up straight away.

This is where phrases like “just do it now” or “might as well” become game-changers. They short-circuit the internal debate and remove the option to procrastinate. If you’re going to have to do it eventually, you might as well do it now.

Sometimes, though, you’ll notice that a system you created isn’t working because you’re not using it. That doesn’t mean you’ve failed — it simply means you might need to refine it. If your keys always end up on the bench instead of in the bowl by the door… maybe the bench needs to be the home. The best system is the one you’ll actually use.

Habits aren’t glamorous. They don’t give you the buzz that decluttering or organising does. But they are the quiet, consistent force that keeps your home functioning smoothly. And more importantly — habits bring freedom. Freedom to enjoy your space, your people, your time, and your life.

You may also like to listen to these episodes:
What's Your Problem?... Quantity
What's Your Problem?... Systems
Close the Loop
Rejecting Busy
Three Times a Day

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Thank you to my sound engineer, Jarred from Four4ty Studio
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re diving into one of my favourite topics: systems.

If quantity is the outer layer of the onion, systems are the next layer in. Maybe you’ve decluttered and reduced your possessions, but something still isn’t working. You look around and think, I’ve kept the right things… so why does my home still feel hard?

That’s a classic systems problem.
A systems problem shows up when items don’t have clear homes, when tidying feels complicated, or when things you genuinely need end up in piles on every flat surface. It’s not about too much stuff anymore — it’s about giving what you do have a simple, logical place to live.

The good news? Systems problems are fun to solve.

This is where organising comes in — not the Pinterest-perfect, colour-coded kind (unless that brings you joy), but the functional, sustainable kind that’s easy for your whole household to follow. When a system works, tidying stops feeling like a battle and starts feeling like… well, life just flowing.

I always come back to three organising foundations:
1. Like with like. Keep similar items together. It saves you time, brainpower, and frustration. No more chargers in eight different rooms.
2. Set limits. Containers — drawers, baskets, shelves — help you define “how much is enough.” Limits create boundaries that keep systems working over time.
3. A home for everything. If you can answer “Where does this belong?” you’ve solved 80% of your systems problem.

Once these are in place, your home becomes easier to use, easier to tidy, and easier to enjoy.

So if you’ve decluttered and you’re still feeling stuck, you’re likely in the systems stage. And that’s a beautiful place to be — because from here, everything starts to click.
Next week, we’ll talk about maintenance and how habits keep your space working long-term.

You may also like to listen to these episodes:
What's Your Problem?... Quantity
What's Your Problem?... Systems
What's Your Problem?... Habits
Out or Away
Location Location Location
Logical Organising

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Thank you to my sound engineer, Jarred from Four4ty Studio
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.