Retirement Is a Beginning, Not Just an Ending
Retirement is a new start, not just an ending.
For many people, that new start feels abstract—until they make it tangible by changing their physical surroundings.
When you retire, you begin the search for a new identity, a new purpose, a new you.
That search is easier when your environment no longer reflects a life you’ve already left behind.
Decluttering as a Signal: Things Are Different Now
Decluttering prior to retirement can help you to create a sense of a new start.
Decluttering isn’t about becoming a minimalist; it’s about aligning your space with the life you’re stepping into.
It’s typical for us to accumulate a lot of stuff as we go through life.
Decluttering supports the intellectual concept of a new start in life with a physical fresh start.
Retirement coaches Roberta Taylor & Dorian Mintzer wrote about this concept in The Couple’s Retirement Puzzle where they say retirement is “A process of letting go of what is no longer necessary, while opening the space for creating what will come next.”
In retirement, letting go isn’t a loss—it’s often what makes room for clarity and intention.
You’re setting aside old things and replacing them with new.
It says things are different now.
As Celia Dodd writes in Not Fade Away,
“One simple step can transform your life: decluttering. Clearing the decks is a great way to make physical and mental room for your new direction.”
Decluttering Is About Choice, Not Loss
Before you start decluttering, you need the right attitude.
Decluttering is not just about getting rid of things.
Instead, it’s about deciding which things you really need and really love, and choosing to keep them in your life.
Especially in retirement, it’s one of the few areas where you get to make clear, deliberate choices right away.
As Marie Kondo wrote in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,
“To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.”
When you get rid of all the clutter, you can appreciate the things you’ve decided to keep because they’re no longer surrounded by clutter.
At one time, we had a lot of photographs and paintings up on our walls. We decided to simplify. when we walked in a room, we really didn’t see anything because we had so much on the walls.
Now we have one piece of art on each wall. It’s much more likely that when we walk into the room, we’ll notice that one thing that we really enjoy.
On our last trip to Colorado, we picked up a poster of Rocky Mountain National Park. We had it framed and hung it in our kitchen. It seems like every time I walk into the kitchen, I notice that poster and stop and take a look at it and enjoy it.
If we had five posters up in the kitchen, I probably wouldn’t look at any of them. It’d just be too much clutter, and the picture that I treasure would be lost in the clutter.
In retirement, fewer but more intentional choices often lead to greater satisfaction—not just on the walls, but in how we spend our time.
Discard First, Then Organize
One thing you need to clarify as you start decluttering is the difference between decluttering and organizing.
Decluttering doesn’t mean taking all your old stuff and hiding it in boxes in the garage, in closets, or under your bed.
That’s not decluttering, that’s organizing.
Organizing can feel productive, but it often postpones the harder—and more freeing—decisions.
Downsizing expert Marie Kondo wrote in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,
“Effective tidying involves only two essential actions: discarding and deciding where to store things. Of the two, discarding must come first.”
Discard first, then organize what you decide to keep. As Joshua Becker says in The Minimalist Home,
“Never organize what you can discard.”
It’s not decluttering just to reorganize and hide the clutter.
How to Start Decluttering Without Overwhelm
Decluttering won’t define your retirement, but it can quietly support the kind of life you’re trying to build.
1. Start Small and Build Momentum
Start your decluttering with something small, not big.
For instance, if you have a garage that’s just completely stuffed, it’s going to be very difficult to motivate yourself to get in there.
Instead, start with something simple, like one drawer in your kitchen or one closet in your bedroom.
As you declutter and enjoy the process, that will motivate you to tackle the harder ones. You’ll build momentum as you go along.
2. Decide What Stays and What Goes
When you are decluttering an area, pull everything out. Pick up each item and decide to discard it, donate it, sell it, or keep it.
Discard things that you don’t really like, or that you haven’t used in the past year. Even if they were expensive.
Saying, “I might use this someday,” isn’t a sufficient reason to keep something. If you haven’t used it in the last year or two, you probably won’t use it.
Get rid of it.
For items of value, donate or sell them.
If it’s relatively easy to sell on eBay or another venue, I’ll sell it. If it’s not something I want to handle, I’ll donate it. Almost all of our clothing goes to Goodwill.
3. Keep What You Use, Need, or Love
Keep items you’ve used in the past year or items you love. As Marie Kondo often encourages, keep it if it sparks joy when you touch it or look at it.
You’ll also want to keep items that are of practical use. It’s something you’ll need to use this year or use infrequently.
4. Handling Sentimental Items Gently
Many people have difficulty dealing with sentimental items that they’re not using.
Sentimental items are often tied to roles and seasons of life that no longer exist, which is why they can be the hardest to sort through.
One approach is to keep a limited number of sentimental items. For instance, decide you’ll keep not more than 50% of what you have right now.
the approach my wife and I took was to take photos of items that have sentimental value but aren’t things we’ll ever use.
Photos are more accessible than items closed up in a box buried in the basement.
5. Take Your Time—This Is a Process
There’s no reason you have to do it all in one weekend.
Writing from her personal experience, Margaret Magnusson suggests in The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning,
“If you decide to downsize your home, it is a good thing not to be in a hurry… take your time and proceed at a pace that suits you.”
Take your time and proceed at a pace that suits you.
Helpful Resources for Decluttering
Books
• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, by Margaret Magnusson
• The Minimalist Home, by Joshua Becker
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo
Websites and Blogs
• Becoming Minimalist —Real stories, thoughtful articles, practical decluttering challenges.
• The Minimalists — essays, podcasts, and videos about intentional living.
YouTube Videos
Becoming Minimalist — Josh Becker on minimalism, habits, and lifestyle design.
Closing
Retirement gives you something that work rarely did: space to choose more intentionally.
Decluttering doesn’t have to be dramatic or fast.
It just needs to be deliberate.
One drawer.
One shelf.
One decision at a time.
If you’re approaching retirement or have already started, pick one small area this week and let it reflect the life you’re moving into, not the one you’ve left behind.
AI Note: I wrote this blog post myself, using my own words and thoughts for the initial draft. I used AI only to suggest headlines, section headings, images, and text improvements.
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