Introducing myself and wondering how someone with two jobs gets the time to declutter and get rid of stuff that your partner says they can't part with. I am a fan of southwest decorating and I love bohemian as well.
Hi, welcome! This is a tough one and I think the situation will look different for everyone. When it comes to finding the time, you need to be realistic about what will work with your schedule, but baby steps (even if it's 10 minutes before work or something) really do help! For example, I try to keep up with a regular 5-minute vacuum every day or every other day because my dog sheds a lot, and that feels good enough for me to feel like the house isn't becoming a big hairball haha. Then I try and leave deeper cleans for when I know I have more time to dedicate. Accountability also really helps me out, and if you're the same, you should join our Spring Cleaning Cure! It starts up in a few weeks. You can find all the details here 😊
For decluttering things your partner has an attachment to, what has helped me is trying to understand what the connection is to the piece and trying to see if there's any other way to honor the item in question without physically keeping it—like passing it onto a loved one or donating. My husband and I have a rule that if we have things stored away in boxes that we can't part ways with, we need to at least know what is in that box, otherwise, we feel like we're just holding on to hold on. It's all about communication though and it does take time, at least speaking from my experience!
My experience with decluttering is that I start working on my own stuff, and then my partner gets the bug too and starts working on his stuff. So I would advise not going after your partner's stuff at all. Do yours first!
And for communal stuff that you both use, like kitchen or living room stuff, maybe try to work on it together in very short bursts, like, "This drawer is too stuffed; what can we do?" At a time that's good for both of you, and hearing what each other thinks is the problem, which is often not the same for both partners.
Good luck!
