My Journey to Decluttering
August 14, 2026
I expected to hate it. I certainly didn’t think I’d tackle disorganized rooms with gusto, or that decluttering would be fun. Writing a blog about my experience wasn’t on my radar either, yet here we are.
My official decluttering start date was January 13, 2026. That’s when I joined Joshua Becker's course, Uncluttered. Had you been in the room with me, it might have looked like an impulse purchase, but it was not.
I’ve wanted to clear stuff out of the house for years. My husband, John, and I have accumulated over 40 years’ worth of stuff, belonging to ourselves and others. I’d say we need to “get organized and clean out”, and I thought about it even more, but my intentions and follow through didn’t line up.
In December 2025, John and I talked about retirement again and our need to downsize. In past conversations, these seemed like far-off events, but he’s retiring this year. We cannot put it off any longer.
You know how every good story has a protagonist who faces one challenge after another? Well, our decluttering story is like that. We aren’t just retiring and downsizing—we’re also moving out of state. And I had a mobility issue.
My health issue is an important part of our story because I could barely walk when we decided to move. Getting through Trader Joe’s was impossible, so a summer move was daunting, but we didn’t have a choice.
Here’s our timeline:
December 2025
We decide to retire in nine months and move out of state. We plan to list our house by June 1. I can hardly walk.
September 2026
My husband retires. We move.
There's just one problem: I don't want to take all this stuff with us.
I Tried Before
We had five months to declutter and a few months to list, sell, and close on the house—and I’m the real estate agent. An additional challenge on our plate.
I wasn’t convinced we could pull this off. In the past, I tried numerous times to deal with clutter. I would buckle down and organize a couple of rooms, or we would clean out the garage, but we never get very far. I would get overwhelmed and stop, or something would come up and I would move on.
One time I hired someone to help with my office and art studio—my most disorganized rooms. Those areas looked good afterward, but I didn’t know how to achieve those results, let alone maintain them.
I hired a professional organizer once, and I’ve taken classes to learn organizing tips, but you know what? Organizing is not the same as decluttering. Hiring people didn’t solve my clutter problem—it continued to exist. Here’s the truth:
My values were clashing, and I was caught in the middle.
Prior to my injury, I owned a business that helped people with probate. I’m not an attorney, so I didn’t deal with the legal side. I helped families navigate the logistics of real estate and deal with all the household “stuff” after a loved one died. Grieving spouses and adult children have enough on their minds without having to think about all the stuff. That’s where I came in.
In that line of work, I saw what happened when plans didn’t go the way someone wanted, and the thought of leaving a mess for our kids started to erode my excuses.
I remember a frustrated son with a tangled-up estate because his father’s will was not executed properly. A sobbing daughter hoped her mom would have a moment of clarity at the attorney’s office. Mom needed to sign her directives before dementia took over completely.
My work was sobering and rewarding. And it was a constant reminder that someone would have to deal with our stuff if I didn’t. It would be the kids or me, and in thinking of it this way, downsizing became an act of love.
I’d had it with stuffed closets and disorganized drawers, and I was tired of wasting time searching for something I knew I had. I also knew what would happen if I didn’t deal with it.
I wanted a change, but change doesn’t come just because you want it. Plain and simple, I needed help.
That’s when I saw Joshua Becker’s ad for the Uncluttered course, and he said it wouldn’t be offered again. So I clicked the “Sign Me Up!” button.
I joined the class, but I didn’t expect much. I mean, I had tried everything I could think of without success. I didn’t know who Joshua was, and hadn’t heard about his popular “Becoming Minimalist” blog. I didn’t know he was a best-selling author. This guy’s helped people declutter for ten years. He must have a tip or two that can help me.
I decided I could follow his plan and join the Facebook community. I like being accountable, and I could use Facebook for that. Classmates would help with motivation. I figured I’d see more success with the class than without it, so I joined.
The fact that I’m here now, writing a blog about my Uncluttered experience and how transformative it was, is something only God could orchestrate.
Participating in the course not only taught me how to unclutter my physical space – it changed the way I think about things. More importantly, and perhaps most surprisingly, I learned valuable spiritual lessons that I’m convinced could not be learned without this untangling process.
By mid-March, I was excited. I saw changes in myself and my surroundings. I felt more confident. As my thinking shifted, so did my spending habits. It felt good to have less in my home, like we could breathe again.
It was fun to walk into a room or open a drawer I had cleared. It felt different.
Our rooms aren’t picture perfect or Instagram-worthy—that’s not my goal. We still have some inherited pieces and 40+-year-old furniture, but it's uncluttered. We know what we have and where it is, maybe for the first time in our marriage.
Downsizing and decluttering take time. We aren’t done yet, but we’re implementing our plan. John’s still working, our house is on the market, and we’re waiting for the right buyer. We knew this would be the hardest part—when we’re not in control. Thinking about our future home helps.
I’m so grateful for Joshua and the Uncluttered community. They supported me when I struggled and encouraged me to keep going. We celebrated our wins together, no matter how small. And when I didn’t know how to do something, the group was ready with ideas.
I learned a lot, too. I discovered that decluttering isn’t just about physical space—at least it wasn’t for me. I learned to declutter, but then took the process deeper. I realized my biggest need wasn’t organization but learning how to release things, and that included negative thoughts and emotional baggage. Untangling these things makes room for more life-giving experiences.
Clearing the Way
Somewhere in the course, I had an aha moment: I’m investing in the future that John and I want. As my emotional and mental spaces clear, I’m making way for what’s next in my life. I don’t have all the pieces yet, so I don’t really know what’s next. And that’s both scary and exciting.
The idea for Clearing the Way came as I experienced greater freedom through decluttering. As the class was coming to an end, I knew I still had more to learn and do—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I figured it helped me so much surely there are others who would benefit, too. And selfishly, I wanted to keep posting and encouraging because as I do that for others, the momentum keeps going in me. And the more I thought about the blog, the more excited I became.
I'm learning to be more intentional with both my thoughts and my things as we prepare for retirement and a major move. I'm sharing what I learn here on Clearing the Way—and I hope you'll find something helpful as you clear your own way forward. If you'd like to follow along, I'd love to have you join me.
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