Living Clutter Free Forever - decluttering tips,home organizing, minimalist living

Why does decision fatigue stop your progress? 3 Quick decluttering strategies to stay motivated and in control #141

• Caroline Thor - Professional Organizer - KonMari® Consultant

Share episode

Why Does Decision Fatigue Stop Your Progress?

Ever stared at a messy drawer, ready to declutter, only to feel completely overwhelmed and shut it again? You’re not alone.

Decision fatigue is real, and it’s stealing your motivation to create the clutter-free home you want.

Every time you hesitate over what to keep, where things should go, or whether you “might need it someday,” your brain gets exhausted. And what happens next? You procrastinate. You give up halfway. The clutter stays.

But here’s the good news—you don’t have to stay stuck in this cycle.

In this episode, I’m sharing 3 quick, powerful decluttering strategies to help you beat decision fatigue, stay motivated, and feel in control of your home organization.

🔹 What’s the secret to making decluttering easier instead of overwhelming?
🔹 How can you break free from overthinking and start making faster, more confident decisions?

I’ve got you covered. These simple, actionable declutter strategies will help you stay on track, reduce stress, and finally make progress—without getting lost in the clutter.

Ready to ditch decision fatigue and take back control of your space? Hit play now.

I would LOVE to hear from you. Text Message me here.

Grab your FREE copy of  The frustrated parents' guide: how to get your kids to tidy up without them even realizing it! 

Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:
Join my online membership Clutter Free Collective
Join my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | Facebook
Visit my website www.caroline-thor.com
Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor
Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Speaker 1:

Hi there, I'm Caroline Thor, professional organiser, konmari consultant, teacher and mum of three. I started off my life as a mum feeling overwhelmed, disorganised and desperately trying to carve out some time for me amongst the nappies, chaos and clutter. One day, one small book called the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying changed everything, and I began to learn strategies for making everyday life easier. Today, I have the systems in place that means life can throw almost anything at me, and I want to share them with you. If you're an overwhelmed mum struggling to keep it together, then this is the podcast for you. Grab a coffee and settle in for a quick chat with someone who gets your reality. Hi there and welcome back to the living clutter free forever podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm really happy to be spending some time with you and talking about a topic that I think is so, so important, which is why does decision fatigue stop our progress when we're trying to declutter and organize or tidy or clean or whatever the thing is in our home? And by the end of this episode, you are going to have three quick decluttering strategies to help you stay motivated and in control.

Speaker 1:

Now I suffer from decision fatigue all the time. What is it? It's the mental exhaustion from making too many decisions, and it really can affect our ability to do the thing. So, for example, in the past, before I trained as a KonMari consultant, I would open a drawer. I would have every intention of decluttering and organizing it. It would be rammed full of stuff. The thought of getting it all out and going through it and making decisions about what to keep, where things should go, if that's not where they belonged, it was just all so overwhelming that I would very often end up closing the drawer and not even doing the thing I had intended to. Can I have an amen? If you relate to that I'm sure you do, I'm sure that has been you at some point, and there is a really strong connection between decision fatigue and procrastination or giving up halfway through. And if you have an ADHD diagnosis, this is going to be even more of a problem for you. I am bit of a confession time here. I am the world's best procrastinator. If I can find something else to do instead of the thing I'm meant to be doing, I will do it. I am just so bad at procrastinating and I really have to be strict with myself to get on and do the thing, sometimes because I know very well I will keep putting it off and keep putting it off. I don't know about you, but when I eventually get around to doing it, I'm like, oh, that didn't take me very long after all, and I wonder why I procrastinated on it in the first place. So why is it important that we understand that decision fatigue even exists? I think it's important to be clear that it can really affect your motivation and your clarity about how to go about doing something, and so I'm hoping that this episode will provide some practical strategies for you to help you overcome it.

Speaker 1:

So how does decision fatigue show up in decluttering? How do we even know we're reaching decision fatigue? So what are the signs? We may start feeling overwhelmed before even starting, like with me with my drawer. In the past, we might be making excuses or avoiding the task, like me with my procrastination, and and then this is something I see in a lot of my clients constantly second guessing decisions. Do I keep this or not? Have I made the right decision?

Speaker 1:

Deciding to let that go, and trying to make all these decisions then just gets very, very wearing. So why is this happening? First of all, too much clutter means too many choices. So if you're quite near the start of your decluttering and organizing journey, it could very well be that you've just got so many decisions to make. It's just too much. I promise you it gets easier as you go on and you start to have less stuff in your home. Another reason why it happens and this ties back to last week's episode, so if you haven't listened to that, go and listen to episode 140. Emotional attachment to items makes decisions harder. And then the third reason why decision fatigue can happen is a lack of systems to guide the process. If you haven't thought in advance about how you're going to tackle the project, how you're going to break it down into small steps, how you're going to make it manageable, that's when the decision fatigue can start to come in.

Speaker 1:

So three quick strategies to beat decision fatigue. Number one set a timer and limit your scope so you can use the Pomodoro technique and I use this when I'm doing my online decluttering sessions with my membership or when I sometimes invite some of you along. So a simple 15 to 30 minute timer. I always use 25 minutes. I think that's really motivating to focus on a small, specific area. Now why does this work. It reduces the mental load by creating a clear boundary around your effort. You know you've only got to work for 25 minutes and then you're going to get a break, and knowing that for your brain is just so great because it's like, okay, I don't have to do this for very long, it's going to be over soon.

Speaker 1:

Let's just focus and get it done so, for example, you could tackle one drawer within a category of items, or one shelf, or within your clothing a single category, so just socks or just t-shirts. Or within your clothing a single category, so just socks or just t-shirts. So that is my first strategy. My second strategy would be to use the yes-no system. So ask yourself a binary question to streamline decisions Does this spark joy, or would I buy this again today? That's always, I think, a really interesting one. If you were in the shops today, would you buy this item? If your answer is probably no, then it might be time to let it go. And this works because it gets rid of the mental gymnastics of having to justify every item. It makes it quite clear. It's like does it spark joy? No, okay, it can go. Would I buy this again today? Yes, great, it's staying. So you could do that. Practice on items like mugs that are quite easy, or old clothing and I know it sounds crazy to practice it, but the more you practice, would I let this go or wouldn't I on things where you feel fairly clear about it. It will help you when you come to items where the waters are a little bit more muddy.

Speaker 1:

And strategy three is using a done for you decision system. So this is where you create preset rules for common categories. For example, I'm only keeping five mugs or I'm going to get rid of any clothes I haven't worn in two years. I have a wonderful lady, lisa, in my membership. She has done an amazing job with her closet, which was absolutely round to the gunnels with clothes, and she set herself a percentage of clothes she had to get rid of in each category. She's even been keeping spreadsheets bless her so she can see exactly how much she's let go, and that is really, really motivating her.

Speaker 1:

Oh, and that brings me on to how to stay motivated, so celebrating small wins. I'm always going on about this, but it's so important If you can acknowledge your progress, no matter how small, even if it's. I got rid of one pair of socks. Great, that's one pair of socks less you've got to deal with every week. And this is what Lisa has been doing. She can look back through her spreadsheet and she can celebrate yes, in that category, I got rid of 50%. In that category, I got rid of 70%, whatever it happens to be, and she can see her progress and celebrate it as she goes, and that is being really motivating for her.

Speaker 1:

Another thing you can do to stay motivated and in control is leverage accountability, so the people within Clutterfree Collective have each other and me to hold them accountable. So that is absolutely brilliant. But if you haven't got that option, you could work with a friend to keep the momentum going. And another thing that will really motivate you and help you stay in control is to revisit your why. Think about the bigger picture. Why are you wanting to do this? How will decluttering help you? How will it help you create a space that supports your best life? And if you pull all those things together best life and if you pull all those things together staying motivated and in control, having quick strategies to beat the decision fatigue in the first place I promise you it will make life so, so much easier for you.

Speaker 1:

So let me just remind you of the three strategies to beat decision fatigue.

Speaker 1:

Set a timer or limit your scope for how much you're going to try and get done.

Speaker 1:

Ask yourself the yes, no system questions.

Speaker 1:

Does this spark joy or would I buy it again today?

Speaker 1:

And finally, use a done for you decision system where you're creating preset rules so you know exactly what you're aiming for and you know you are going to be successful.

Speaker 1:

I would encourage you, or challenge you, even to try one of these strategies today, and I would love to hear about it. So come and share your progress with me on Instagram. I am there at carothor and I would love to hear from you and hear how you're doing. Let's end by reminding you that small, intentional steps are going to lead to big change, and actually you've already taken the first step by listening to this episode today. So now take the next step and decide what you're going to do and do it, and then let me hold you accountable by sending me a message, and let me be your biggest supporter and cheer you up until next time. If you've enjoyed this episode, please send the link to a friend you know would appreciate it. Until next time, or on Facebook at Caroline Organiser, thanks for listening and I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter free ever after.