343: When Decluttering Gets Hard: How to Tackle Decision Fatigue

📚 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK

Making Home Your Happy Place: The Real-Life Guide to Decluttering Without the Overwhelm releases February 17th.

Pre-order now to receive exclusive bonus goodies — simple, supportive tools you can start using right away.

👉 Pre-Order wherever books are sold

🎯 TAKE THE FREE DECLUTTERING STYLE QUIZ

Discover your personal Decluttering Style and get a clear, realistic starting plan that actually fits your life.

👉 Take the free quiz

---

When Decluttering Feels Impossible, It’s Probably Decision Fatigue (Not Laziness)

Have you ever started decluttering with good intentions… and then your brain just shuts down? You’re staring at a pile thinking, “Why can’t I just make a decision?” and suddenly everything feels hard — even the easy stuff.

Most women assume they’re unmotivated or undisciplined. But I want to offer a kinder explanation: your brain didn’t run out of willpower — it ran out of decision-making energy.

In today’s episode, I walk you through what decision fatigue actually is, why it hits so fast during decluttering, and three simple strategies you can use to prevent that “stuck” feeling before it starts — or get yourself unstuck when you’re already in it.

January tends to bring fresh motivation… and also a lot of pressure. More goals, more tasks, more decisions, more everything. If you’re already carrying a full mental load, decluttering can be the thing that pushes your brain over the edge.

This episode will help you work with your brain instead of fighting it — so you can make steady progress without burnout, overwhelm, or the “I’ll just do it later” spiral.

---

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

1. Start with the no-brainers to build momentum
   Begin with superficial clutter — the items you already know you don’t want (stained, broken, uncomfortable, mismatched). Quick wins give your brain proof and momentum before you tackle the “maybe” pile.

2. Give your brain one job at a time
   Decision fatigue gets worse when you keep switching gears. Choose one category or one question (like “Is this functional and usable?”) and repeat it — your brain can handle rhythm far better than constant mental toggling.

3. Use scripts so you don’t negotiate with yourself
   Open-ended questions lead to spiraling when you’re tired. A simple pre-decided script gives structure and keeps you moving—especially with scarcity clutter, sentimental items, or aspirational “future self” pieces.

4. Use these strategies proactively and reactively
   Start your session with them to prevent shutdown — and if you hit a wall mid-declutter, switch back to no-brainers, narrow your job, or pull out a script to get moving again.

5. Progress comes from steadiness, not marathons
   You don’t need to finish the whole closet today. You need a method that helps you stay clear-headed long enough to make consistent decisions — one small set at a time.

1. decisions easier.

---

Ready to Simplify Even More? Start Here:

🗞️ Join the Ready, Set, Simplify Newsletter
Over 35,000 women read it weekly for clutter-busting tips, tiny mindset shifts, and practical steps to simplify your home and your life.
👉 https://www.katyjoywells.com/simplify

🧡 Loved this episode?
Join me inside the Clutter Cure Club — where we take conversations like this even deeper, and I help you simplify everything.
👉 https://www.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub-page837548

📲 Come Say Hi on Instagram
Behind-the-scenes, real-life simplicity, and lots of laughs.
💛 @katyjoywells

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If this episode helped you, I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Your support helps this show reach more women who need a simpler way forward. 💛