Why You Should Draw (or Write) Before You Declutter Anything
Decluttering your home? Learn why you should draw before you declutter to clear mental clutter first. This simple step creates lasting change.
The secret to lasting decluttering isn’t in your closet—it’s in your head.
Most people declutter the hard way.
They dive straight into their closets, garages, and junk drawers with high hopes and a trash bag. Maybe they even binge an organizing show and get hyped up to “finally tackle the mess.”
But here’s the truth no one’s saying…
If you don’t clear your mental clutter first, the physical clutter just comes back.
Decluttering isn’t just a project. It’s a process—an emotional one. Think about it, if decluttering was easy there would not be so much information about this.
If decluttering and organizing were simple the home organization and storage solutions industry would not have made $14.2 billion in 2024. The Freedonia industry analyzes the $14.2 billion US home organization product industry.
And whether you realize it or not, every pile you’ve procrastinated on is tangled up in fear, guilt, overwhelm, or “what if I need this someday?”
That’s why powering through rarely sticks and seldom leads to a sustainable clutter-free space.
So before you touch a single object, try this instead:
Draw. Or write.
Just for a few minutes. Just to see what’s really going on in your mind.
Lose the Fear, Do It Scared! Clear Your Mental Clutter is an article I wrote about breaking free from fear.
What’s Blocking You Isn’t the Stuff
Mental clutter is invisible—but it’s absolutely real.
And it shows up as:
- Indecision every time you hold something
- Guilt over what you spent or who gave it to you
- Fear of making the wrong choice
- “Shoulds” and shame that stall you out before you even begin
Sound familiar?
You don’t need better storage solutions.
You need a better way to untangle your thoughts before they sabotage your progress.
Writing | The Fastest Way to Hear Yourself Think
I’m not talking about pretty journaling or keeping a gratitude log.
I’m talking about raw, unfiltered stream-of-consciousness writing—the kind Julia Cameron taught in The Artist’s Way.
You put pen to paper and write without stopping, without editing, without trying to make it make sense. You just dump the noise.
When I started doing this writing known as ‘morning pages’ back in the mid nineties I wrote 3 full pages in a cheap spiral bound notebook. I had to do this quick and first thing in the morning before I left for my first paying job of my day at 6 am.
Saying I didn’t have time would have been warranted because working 2 paying jobs and starting a business left me very little time to even sleep. I saw the magic of doing a ‘brain dump’ first thing in the morning as a way to set myself up for a less stressful day.
I did this writing for years and years 24/7 without a break because I loved the clarity it brought to my thinking. Now I alternate between writing and drawing in the morning.
Try this before you start decluttering:
Prompt: “What am I afraid will happen if I let go of this thing?”
Write for 5 minutes. No overthinking. No censoring.
Or try:
“What story does this object hold that I haven’t fully acknowledged yet?”
You’ll be surprised how much lighter you feel before you even start sorting.
Check out 7 Quick Tips for Journaling Your Way to Clutter-Free Living!
Drawing | The Shortcut to Calming Your Overthinking Brain
If writing’s not your thing (or even if it is), try neurographic drawing—a technique where you let your pen move freely, crossing and looping across the page. Then, you round the corners of the intersections to create a sense of flow and resolution.
No drawing skill required. No rules.
Just a pen, a paper, and a willingness to see what comes through when you stop trying to control it all.
Before your next decluttering session, try this:
- Draw a single continuous line across your page
- Let it wander without a plan
- When you’re done, soften every sharp corner where lines intersect
- Breathe
You just gave your mind space to exhale.
For step by step instructions check out Create Your First Neurographic Art Step-by-Step for Beginners.
What is really fun is to create your first Neurographic Drawing and upload it into the
Neurographic Art Analyzer Tool! We did this in a live group call and had a blast!
Click here to try the
Neurographic Art Analyzer Tool!
Draw or Write | Don’t Skip This Step
You don’t have to be an artist or a writer.
You just need to pause long enough to hear what’s under the clutter.
Art Journaling for a few minutes gives you the ‘reset’ you need to gain some distance from the sea of disruptive thoughts swirling in your mind.
Start decluttering with a clear head that allows you to focus on the task at hand for lasting change and a clutter-free lifestyle.
Marj Bates is a life long ridiculously organized declutter-er and artist. Less is more are words Marj lives by in everything she does except collecting dogs. “Dogs are like potato chips! Can’t have just one.” says Marj. Marj wonders if growing up with a fanatically clean Jewish mom means her decluttering and organizational skills are in her blood.
For more Declutter Buzz & Freebies check out our safe and private Decluttering community on our Facebook page. We are a safe and private space of like minded folks tackling this all encompassing clutter thing once and for all. No shame allowed and always a few laughs!
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