Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward With Your Life

282 snips

Dec 26, 2023

Matt Paxton, a downsizing and decluttering expert known for his work on TV shows like Hoarders, shares his insights on simplifying life. He discusses the psychological barriers to decluttering and provides practical tips, like creating a ‘maybe pile’ and a ‘legacy list.’ Matt also delves into the emotional attachment we have to possessions and how to overcome it while keeping important memories alive. He stresses the importance of starting small and embracing minimalism for personal growth.

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ANECDOTE

Matt's Start in Decluttering

Matt Paxton's career began after cleaning out houses for his deceased relatives.
He realized he could make it a career, as people would pay for this service.

ANECDOTE

Extreme Hoarding Examples

Paxton once cleaned a house with 300 live cats, highlighting the extremes of hoarding.
Another project involved removing over a million pounds of trash from a mansion.

INSIGHT

Reasons Behind Hoarding

Hoarding is often linked to trauma or significant life changes, like divorce, death, or an empty nest.
These experiences lead people to seek comfort and self-worth in possessions.

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Note: This is a rebroadcast.

You want to declutter. You want to downsize. You want to live more simply. So what’s been holding you back from getting closer to those ideals?

My guest today sorts through both the psychological and practical roadblocks that can get in the way of living more minimally, and more in the present. His name is Matt Paxton, and he’s a downsizing and decluttering expert, a featured cleaner on the television show Hoarders, the host of the Emmy-nominated show Legacy List With Matt Paxton which showcases people’s heirlooms and treasures, and the author of Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life.

We begin our conversation with how Matt got into cleaning out houses and working with hoarders, and some of the worst cases of hoarding Matt’s seen. We then get into both the mindset and brass tacks tips he’s learned from the most extreme cases of clutter that can be used by regular people who just want to pare down their stuff. We talk about why we can feel so attached to our possessions, and how to let them go, while still preserving your and your family’s memories. Matt recommends how and where to get started with your decluttering, and offers tools, including creating a “maybe pile” and a “legacy list,” for deciding what to keep and what to chuck, whether you’re dealing with big items like furniture or small stuff like documents and pictures. Matt explains what to do with your stuff whether trashing, donating, upcycling, or selling, and how much you can reasonably expect to get when you do the latter (spoiler alert: it’s a lot less than you think). We end our conversation with how, after you’ve decluttered your place, to keep it from getting clogged up again.

Oh, and we also discuss where to find hidden stashes of money when you’re cleaning out the house of an older person who’s died.

This is a really fun and interesting conversation that definitely motivated me to clean out our house.

Resources Related to the Podcast

Connect With Matt Paxton

Matt’s Website