Why You Can't Start Decluttering (and How to Finally Get Started)
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- 7 min read
Have you bought the home organisation books, saved the decluttering articles and still haven't managed to get started? You're not alone. Here's what I've learned from helping clients turn good intentions into homes that work for the lives they're living now.
By Sue Spencer | KonMari Consultant | Professional Home Organiser, Hampshire UK | Published: 6th August 2026
A few weeks ago, I was helping a client work through years of accumulated paperwork when we found a folder of old newspaper cuttings, all about decluttering. There were features on Marie Kondo, organising wardrobes and creating a calmer home, most of them dating back to 2019 and 2020.
A few days later, it happened again with a new client, except this time the cuttings went all the way back to 2009. As we worked through the paperwork, we also found a printed copy of one of my old weekly planner downloads, complete with the A Life More Organised logo I stopped using in 2020. It made me smile because it was another little piece of evidence that this wasn't a new problem or a passing resolution; she'd been trying to find a way to get more organised for years.
It's something I see surprisingly often. Over the years, I've found countless copies of decluttering articles and home organisation books in clients' homes, sometimes on bedside tables with bookmarks and folded pages, sometimes tucked away on bookshelves alongside magazine articles, handwritten notes and decluttering checklists. I started taking photographs of them because I realised I was seeing the same pattern again and again.
Some of my clients see the books and newspaper cuttings as evidence of an unfinished project. I see them as a sign that they genuinely want to make a change. After more than eight years working in clients' homes, I've come to believe that motivation is rarely the problem.
The people I work with are already motivated. They're busy professionals and parents juggling work and family life. They're rightsizing after decades in the family home or adapting their homes as children grow up and leave. They know they want to make a difference, but finding the time and headspace, and knowing how to get started, often stops them from making progress.
Clutter rarely arrives all at once. It builds gradually as life changes around us. Children grow up, work becomes more demanding, ageing parents need support, or a house move takes priority over everything else. Before you know it, your home is full of belongings from different stages of your life and the systems that once worked no longer do.
Eventually, you look around and realise that something needs to change. The problem is knowing where to start.
Why Marie Kondo's KonMari Method works for me
Long before I trained as a KonMari Consultant, I was looking for a better way to organise my own home. When I discovered Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, what appealed to me was the step-by-step nature of the KonMari Method. Instead of being told to simply "declutter the house", there was a clear order to follow: clothes, books, papers, komono and sentimental items, together with a focus on decision-making based on how each item made me feel. For the first time, the whole task felt manageable because I knew where to start.
That's one of the reasons some of my favourite clients are the ones who have already read Marie's book or watched the Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Something about the method has already resonated with them. They like the idea of creating a home that supports the life they want to live, but knowing what to do and actually finding the time and headspace to do it are two very different things. Working alongside them helps me adapt the process to what works for them, whether that's taking regular breaks, working in smaller sub-categories or simply having someone alongside them to keep the momentum going.
I've lost count of the number of Marie Kondo books I've found in clients' homes. For me, they're not a sign of failure, but a sign of hope – evidence that the desire to create a calmer home was already there.
3 ways to start decluttering when you're feeling overwhelmed
If there's one thing I've learned from working in hundreds of homes, it's that decluttering isn't about finding the perfect storage box. It's about reducing overwhelm, getting started and seeing results that make you want to keep going. If you've been meaning to start for months, or even years, these are the three things I always suggest to clients.
1. Start with your why, not your clutter
One of the first questions Marie Kondo asks is what kind of life you want to live, and it's a useful place to start when you're feeling overwhelmed by clutter. When clients first get in touch, they usually want to talk about what's wrong: the overflowing paperwork, the spare room that's become a dumping ground or the wardrobe that's impossible to keep tidy. That's understandable, but it's only half the picture.
Before you start sorting, think about how you want your home to feel when you walk through the door. Perhaps you want calmer mornings because you can find what you need, or you'd love to sit down in the evening without seeing piles of paperwork waiting to be dealt with.
If you're rightsizing, perhaps you want to feel excited about your next home rather than anxious about everything you need to sort before you move. Once you have that vision in mind, you're not just getting rid of things; you're making space for the life you actually want now.
2. Start smaller than you think you need to
The thought of tackling an entire wardrobe can be enough to make you put it off for another month, so don't start with the whole wardrobe. Start with your socks or underwear drawer. Once you've made those decisions and finished one small, manageable category, you have an organised space you can immediately use and enjoy. That little win can give you the confidence and momentum to move on to the next category.
The same principle applies elsewhere. Rather than deciding you're going to "do the kitchen", choose mugs, baking equipment or food storage containers. You don't need to finish the whole house to feel that you've made progress. In fact, making the task smaller can be the difference between thinking, "I can't possibly tackle all of this," and thinking, "I can probably sort this drawer before lunch." My KonMari declutter category checklist can help you see the categories at a glance and choose where you'd like to start.
Once you've finished, don't immediately look around for everything that's still left to do. Take a moment to enjoy that organised drawer and notice how much easier it is to use. You've completed something, you can feel the benefit straight away, and that little success gives you momentum to tackle the next sub-category.
3. Make the KonMari Method work for you
There isn't one right way to work through the KonMari Method. The categories and the principles provide the framework, but how you work through them can be adapted to you, your energy and the way you naturally make decisions. Some people make their best decisions first thing in the morning, while others are more focused after lunch. Some can work for two hours without a problem, while others need a cup of tea and a break after twenty minutes.
If decision fatigue creeps in after an hour, take a break. If a whole category feels too much, break it into smaller sub-categories. If you find it difficult to maintain focus, give yourself a shorter session with a clear goal.
Find a way of working with the method that suits you. Once you understand what helps you make decisions and keep going, decluttering becomes much more manageable.
Ready to make a start?
If you're not sure where to begin, my Declutter Your Home Checklist gives you a simple way to work through your home using the KonMari categories, so you can see what's ahead without feeling you need to tackle everything at once.
What those newspaper cuttings taught me
When I think about those newspaper cuttings from 2009, I realise how easy it is for something like decluttering to stay on the "I'll get round to it" list. There is always work, family, another job that needs doing or something else that feels more urgent. And before you know it, another year has passed.
That doesn't mean you've failed. It means you've been busy living.
When I work with clients, I love seeing what happens once they've completed their first session. They have a finished category or an organised space that they can use and enjoy. A wardrobe becomes easier to choose from or a mountain of paperwork is finally sorted and under control. They can see the difference their decisions have made, and that gives them the confidence to keep going.
As we work through more categories, I see something else change. They become more confident about making decisions, discovering what systems work for them and starting to know what they need from their home. It's not just about having a tidier house; it's about making their home work better for their current lifestyle.
So, if you've owned the book for years, downloaded the checklists and saved the articles but still haven't managed to start, that doesn't mean you've failed. If anything, those things tell me that you've wanted change for a long time. Perhaps what you've been missing isn't another piece of advice, but the time and guidance to turn that intention into action.
And perhaps that's enough to know you're ready to begin.
If you're feeling overwhelmed or simply wondering where on earth to start, you don't have to figure it all out on your own. Sometimes the first step isn't opening another decluttering book. Sometimes it's reaching out to someone who can walk alongside you, one thoughtful decision at a time.
Want some help getting started? Find out more about working with Sue to declutter and organise your home.
