5 Reasons You Shouldn't 'Aggressively' Declutter at the Start of the Year
The new year might seem like the perfect time to tackle clutter head-on, but experts say going in on the attack can do more harm than good
The start of a new year brings fresh intentions and resolutions. Alongside vows to eat better and move more, decluttering the home often tops the list. If January 2nd sparked a sudden urge to overhaul your space and banish clutter for good (because let's face it, New Year's Day itself is a write-off), it can be tempting to go all in, but ruthlessly clearing shelves, cupboards, and drawers in one fell swoop comes strongly ill-advised by professionals.
Decluttering aggressively with all guns blazing rarely leads to success, but especially at this time of year. Yes, January signals a return to routine, which may seem like the perfect moment to reset your space and usher in new habits, but it’s also a month marked by financial hangovers, post-holiday blues, and the effects of dark, cold days. Purging our home with such fierce determination can actually compound these low-level stresses, rather than relieve them.
Even organizing professionals trained in decluttering advise against an aggressive approach in January. "As a KonMari Master Consultant, I'm wary of aggressive decluttering, which usually means trying to get rid of a large volume of belongings quickly," says professional organizer Sue Spencer, founder of A Life More Organized. Instead, she's guided by Marie Kondo’s philosophy of keeping items that "spark joy". "This approach is more likely to create a home that truly works for you, rather than stripping it of the personal touches that make it feel like home," says Sue.
So, if you're wondering how to declutter your home in a way that feels kinder — and ultimately more successful — this New Year, here are five reasons to avoid aggressively decluttering right now.
1. Decluttering Should Always Be Intentional
Decluttering should never come from a place of desperation. For it to be successful, it needs to be well-intentioned. If you approach the task aggressively, you're less likely to make calm, rational decisions, especially this time of year.
"Decluttering without intention turns into frustration-based purging," explains Ann Dooley, professional organizer and founder of Simple Joy. "When people declutter in January purely to 'get rid of stuff', the process is often driven by guilt or overwhelm instead of clarity. Without a vision for how they want their home to support the year ahead, items are removed reactively — and the space doesn’t end up feeling any better to live in."
When you rush to start decluttering in this manner, you're likely to make regretful decisions, discarding items you later realize you needed, loved, or will later find useful. Like committing to a severe New Year's resolution without proper consideration, you're likely to set yourself up for failure.
2. Aggressively Decluttering Will Exhaust You
Decluttering can be exhausting at the best of times, not least when you're tackling the task with grit and aggression at the start of the year. "At best, you may manage a couple of big purge sessions and then give up," says Sue Spencer of A Life More Organized. "At worst, you could get overwhelmed halfway through, with everything out on the floor and abandon the piles you’ve created, leading to more mess and stress than the original clutter."
To avoid decision fatigue when decluttering, be realistic with your decluttering ambitions. "Decluttering requires sustained focus and self-trust," says Ann. "Doing too much too quickly can overwhelm the nervous system, making it harder to make thoughtful choices — and often causing people to stall or quit before they see real progress."
Instead of aggressively decluttering your whole home in January, set smaller, more achievable goals. Sue suggests focusing on one category (like your sock drawer, clearing odds, and starting to use a sock drawer organizer like this one from Amazon) at a time and completing it before moving on. "This will help you see exactly what you have so you can make confident decisions about what to keep and discard," she says. "The small wins from ticking off a category will build momentum without being too overwhelming."
After transforming her own home with the KonMari Method® in 2017, Sue discovered how decluttering does more than create space, it transforms the way you live. Based in Winchester, Sue helps families, busy professionals, and home movers across Wiltshire and London create calm, organized homes that support their lives. With over 20 years in corporate marketing, she understands the challenge of balancing work, family and home life. She specializes in rightsizing, helping clients adapt their current homes to suit their life stage, whether they're growing a family, empty nesting or downsizing.
3. The New Year Can Be a Bad Time to Over Purge
The start of the year might seem like a great time to nurture new habits, but it doesn't come without its challenges. Perhaps you're already committing to a New Year's resolution, or maybe you're feeling a financial burden post-Holidays. With all of January's existing challenges, adding more pressure to yourself this time of year can do more harm than good.
As Ann explains, the start of the year can be emotionally-loaded with post-holiday exhaustion, less daylight, and disrupted routines. "Decluttering at high speed asks people to make deeply personal decisions while they’re already depleted, which can lead to regret, anxiety, or avoidance rather than relief," she says.
Before you begin decluttering, make sure you're in the right headspace. "New Year decluttering is often driven by 'new year, new me' resolutions rather than a clear plan of what’s working in your home," explains Sue. "In an attempt to remove a large volume of ’stuff’, decluttering decisions are often rushed, and items are later regretted or re-bought."
If you are determined to adopt some New Year decluttering resolutions, focus on simple rules or practical methods that make it easier to stay on track, rather than going in on the attack.
4. It Can Make Home's Feel Sparse Instead of Supportive
In the depths of January, we all seek comfort from our homes, yet decluttering ruthlessly can often lead to a space purged of its previous warmth and personality. That's why it's important that you steer clear of aggressive decluttering if you want a home that feels sparse instead of supportive at the start of the year. As Ann notes, "the result may look cleaner, but the home can feel colder, less personal, and less grounding — the opposite of what most people crave this time of year."
This doesn't mean you should avoid decluttering your home completely in January, but it's important to remember that it isn't about creating a blank canvas. "Instead, it's about shaping a space you can relax in, that supports you, and functions well," Sue explains. "Being clear on this helps you make confident decisions about what to keep and what to let go so you don’t lose the personal touches that make a home feel right for you."
Ann Dooley is the founder of Simple Joy with Ann and a Master Level Certified KonMari Consultant based in New York. As the creator of the Dooley Method, she helps families use home organizing to strengthen parent-child connection. Her passion is to work with families with young children who are overwhelmed by clutter, guiding them to tackle it together while fostering connection, respect, and gratitude. Her work has been featured on the Tamron Hall show and in Domino magazine, and she has been recognized by Expertise.com as one of the 12 best home organizers in New York.
5. Aggressive Decluttering Often Ignores Emotional Context
If you feel the need to declutter aggressively this time of year, take a moment to consider why. Is it because you want a clutter-free home, or is there another reason beneath the surface, like a strained relationship with sentimental belongings? There's often an emotional context attached to our desire to declutter, and it shouldn't be ignored.
"Clutter isn't just 'stuff', it's often tied to guilt, the past, or aspirational future identities," says Sue. "Aggressive decluttering pushes these emotions aside rather than working through them, which is why the clutter so often creeps back." This is why slow decluttering might be wiser than going in with an aggressive attack. "This helps you to move through your emotions and frees you up to start enjoying your current life, which is much more in tune with a New Year declutter," Sue adds.
Decluttering Reads
Written by Matt Paxton, this book explores releasing and letting go of things that no longer serve you, as well as identifying the items that might just be worth keeping.
Francine Jay gives readers an insight into having less stuff and finding joy in such. She guides readers into simplifying their lives and managing the overwhelm of clutter.
Based on the BBC One show: Sort Your Life Out, this book explores what you need to do to successfully declutter in your home through three transformative methods.
Aggressive decluttering at the start of the year is a mission doomed to fail. Instead of attacking your stuff, it pays to set clear intentions, small goals, and take things slowly if you want to guarantee success. "Even small edits like this, which are easier to maintain, create calm without stripping personality from your home," says Sue.
Ready to draw up a real plan of action? Choose a couple of decluttering challenges to have on your radar this year, and the effects are bound to be more productive, fulfilling, and effective.
