Decluttering Tips for Overwhelmed, Sentimental Parents

We’ve all been there, standing at the crossroads between a jam-packed room and the dream of a clean, organized space.

We want a space that feels calm and easy to move around in. We want to find things without digging through piles. We want to breathe a little easier. But getting there isn’t simple. Before we can enjoy an organized home, we have to face one thing first: decluttering. And that’s where it gets hard.

Ally Canita, a decluttering expert and mom of two, shared in an interview with Smart Parenting, “Decluttering is not just physical (or about physical space), it’s also about having inner peace at home.”

But how do you do it when it all feels too overwhelming?

Picture a dining table buried in a week’s worth of clutter. Schoolbooks, leftover bread, half-finished snack packs, tumblers, shopping bags, and all the little things everyone sets down and forgets.

Now imagine a closet packed with clothes. Some still fit. Some don’t. Or a storage room filled with old toys, some still functional, others broken.

Just looking at makes you think, “Where do I event start?”

Ally suggests starting small. “Start with something less overwhelming. Identify an area, a relatively small area, like the dining table or a drawer.” When the space is manageable, it’s easier to sort through your things. What needs to go back to its proper place? What can still be used? What should be let go?

You can also focus on a single category, like books or papers, instead of tackling an entire room. Decluttering doesn’t mean deep-cleaning the whole house in one day. If you treat it that way, you’ll feel exhaused before you even begin.

“When you finish decluttering a small area, you will find satisfaction and a sense of achievement, ‘Uy, natapos ko.’ Then it will be easier for you to move on to bigger spaces or an area that has more items,” Ally explained.

She also shared one important reminder: “Don’t start with sentimental things. It also gets hard to declutter when we get emotional.”

Choose a drawer, your child’s closet, or the table where clutter tends to pile up. Avoid starting with an entire bedroom or living room. You can also focus on specific items such as books, kitchen utensils, lunch boxes, shopping bags, or bed sheets. “The burst of success from decluttering an area will motivate you to continue,” Ally said.

Not everyone can dedicate a full day to decluttering. For many parents, that’s unrealistic. Ally recommends setting aside 15 to 20 minutes a day for your chosen area. “Because we have work responsibilities, chores, and parenting tasks, we can’t really find time to declutter. Sometimes 15 to 20 minutes per day will do the trick. Just commit and do it every day,” she advised.

Decluttering isn’t just about clearing space. “It really starts from within, that’s why we also call it intentional decluttering,” Ally explained. Letting go doesn’t automatically mean throwing away without thought. “We need to shift our perspective and start to accept that there are things in the house that don’t go with our present season. Kumbaga, galing pa sa past. So to move forward and enjoy the present, we need to declutter,” she said.

She also reminds us not to tie every memory to a physical object. “Do we allow ourselves to associate a memory with a particular thing? Pwede namang hindi siya associated sa things. We can still keep them in our memory without the physical item.”

“My simple trick is to have separate storage. Hindi kelangang mamahaling storage boxes, kahit yung mga lalagyan ng biscuits o microwaveable containers pwede,” Ally shared. Sorting and segregating items helps maintain order long term. Decluttering once won’t work if everything goes back into one messy pile.

Group items according to use. Things you use daily should be easy to reach. “Put labels on the storage, para mas madali. Make sure din na lahat ng tao sa bahay know the sorting/segregating system,” she added.

For parents, letting go can feel even harder. Baby clothes, first toys, tiny shoes. Each item holds a memory.

“It can be particularly hard, but if you have space naman, pwede kang magkeep ng one or two items. The problem is when it becomes too much and you need the space for new things,” Ally explained.

Many parents think, “Sayang yung memories.” But Ally encourages a different way of thinking. “Yung ‘sayang’ would later on be going on for years. Then think about your space holding on to ‘sayang.’ When you declutter, it will feel light. Pagbukas mo ng drawer ng anak mo, madali hanapin ang mga bagay. Kasya yung mga damit, yung mga toys, tama sa age nila. These should be greater than sayang.”

She also encourages parents to teach mindfulness early. “Dapat hindi lang tayong parents ang mindful about decluttering and the things inside the house. We should also teach these to our kids.”

That includes being intentional about buying toys and small items. “We need to reframe their minds also, lalo na sa pagbili ng toys and trinkets. We need to teach them to own less,” she added.

In simple terms, decluttering can bring more than a tidy home. For parents, it can mean having inner peace at home and saving money.

Ally Canita is a decluttering expert who advocates mindful and intentional decluttering. She is also a motivational coach and co-founder of Clean Greenius, a decluttering company.

Still need more help getting started? Here’s a simple 5-basket decluttering system to make the process easier and more structured.