This is part of my series on Decluttering Mental Models.

OK, I’ll admit it: every self-help book talks about “adopting the right mindset.” They act as if it’s as simple as flipping on a light switch. But most don’t tell you how to do this.

So let me walk you through three thought experiments that put me in the right mindset. These thought experiments help me clarify what I materially need and what I can live without.

Thought experiment 1: You’re charged $1 for each item

Imagine someone charged you $1/month for each piece of clothing you own. How many shirts and shoes and ugly sweaters would you toss? Would you keep things that no longer fit? Would you hold on to things that are stained or need repair?

After you got rid of your unwanted clothes, would you feel less happy with less stuff? Would you grieve? Or feel relieved?

Would you wonder why you held on to so much stuff in the first place?

Thought experiment 2: Who’ll clean out your house?

Imagine that you died today. It’s not a pleasant thought but humor me. If you were no longer with us, who would clean out your house? What would they do with all of your clothes? Which things would they keep? Or donate? Which items would they drop in a dumpster?

Now think of the items that would end up in a landfill, surrounded by dirty diapers and rotting food. Why hold on to these if they don’t bring you any value? Why wait for someone else to discard them?

Thought experiment 3: Your house burned down

Imagine your house burned down and you lost everything. You had to start all over, but insurance gave you a new house and $25,000 to replace your stuff.

What clothing would you buy in the first week? The first month? And the first year? Which items would you never replace?

Which clothes would you secretly be glad are gone? Think about them. Why wait for a fire to have them disappear?

More Decluttering Mental Models:

Top 10 Favorites

  1. How I answer the question: “What if I need this later?”
  2. “The Container strategy” will simplify your decluttering
  3. Selling clothes is for suckers (unless you earn $15/hour)
  4. Wait 48 hours before buying stuff
  5. 21 questions to ask before you buy
  6. The radical way to measure wealth, part 1 and part 2
  7. We’re trained to be dissatisfied with what we have (and how to fix this)
  8. Clear clutter by zoning your home
  9. How screen time kills your motivation to declutter
  10. Dear car dealers: I don't want a "free" T-shirt with your logo

Get started

  1. Clear clutter by zoning your home
  2. How I answer the question: “What if I need this later?”
  3. “The Container strategy” will simplify your decluttering
  4. Hold each item and ask, “Does this spark joy?”
  5. When the “Does this Spark Joy?” fails you, ask these 6 questions
  6. Create your “Discard by Feb. 2022” box
  7. Decluttering yearbooks? Ask these 8 questions first

Shopping

  1. 21 questions to ask before you buy
  2. Wait 48 hours before buying stuff - version 1 and version 2
  3. How a grocery shopping list saves me time, money, and pounds

Manage your clothes

  1. Selling clothes is for suckers (unless you can earn $15/hour)
  2. Dear Dude with too many T-shirts: no one wants to buy them—just recycle/trash them
  3. Don't be like my friend Giorgio with his 400 Hawaiian shirts
  4. None of my clothes "spark joy"—so what do i get rid of?

Happiness & satisfaction

  1. Limit pleasurable things so they don’t lose their novelty
  2. We’re trained to be dissatisfied with what we have (and how to fix this)
  3. Craving never stops and my potato chip addiction
  4. Reminder: happiness levels stay consistent

Get motivated

  1. Want to boost your motivation to declutter? Immerse yourself in decluttering videos, podcasts, & books!
  2. How screen time kills your motivation to declutter
  3. Imagine your ideal home… Imagine all the clutter is gone…
  4. Feeling unmotivated? Declutter with a 5-minute time box

Manage your money

  1. The radical way to measure wealth, part 1 and part 2
  2. Save money by controlling aspirational identities
  3. I wasted so much money starting projects (and how I fixed it)

Manage consumption spirals

  1. How consumption spirals work
  2. Buying a house led to an enormous consumption spiral
  3. How craving completeness drives my consumption

Shift your Paradigm

  1. Change your environment, change your consumption
  2. 3 thought experiments to adopt a decluttering mindset
  3. Your home is not a storage unit for other people's crap!
  4. Before you buy stuff, do this little mental exercise
  5. Less space, less stuff
  6. That’s right, you and I pay for the privilege of seeing viagra ads
  7. Your home is an expensive container for your stuff. What’s your cost per sqft?

Manage your emotions

  1. Can you tolerate boredom?
  2. Fill the void with a long term goal

Control the Clutter

  1. Dear car dealers: I don't want a "free" T-shirt with your logo