Do you have a huge, overwhelming decluttering project? Are you convinced that you need to do it all yourself because you have to be the one who decides everything? It doesn't have to be that way! There are ways to involve family and/or friends so that they make the same decisions you would have made. The key is documenting some rules about decision-making before you get started and empowering others to use those rules to declutter on your behalf.

Making a list of things that can be trashed or donated without question is an easy place to start. Even if you initially thought that everything has to be reviewed by you first, I'm sure there are some things for which you can delegate the decision-making. Common examples include:

• Receipts for store purchases

• Clothing that is outside of a particular size range

• Toys that your children are too old to play with

• Soiled or torn clothes and linens

• Empty containers and boxes

• Expired foods

If you feel stuck in making the list, start off independently going through some items. As you make a decision about an item, consider if there is a rule that can be applied. For example, if you come across store catalogues, you might realize that you can make a rule that all catalogues from specific stores can be thrown away.

Make sure that as you create your rules list that you are documenting them in a clear and unambiguous manner so that anyone reading the list will understand exactly what you mean.

In addition to making a list of rules related to discarding and donating, it can be useful to have a plan for where items that will be kept should go and how they should be handled. For example, you might instruct your assistant to put certain categories in specific areas and/or to sort items that are being kept into categories in boxes for you to assign a home later.

Once you've created a rule, you'll have to trust that rule is being followed. Make sure that the person you choose to assist you is someone who will be willing to honor the rules you've put in place and will not make unilateral decisions beyond what has been pre-determined.

If you say that you trust the person then you have to stand by that. Do not go through what they have disposed of and second-guess them. Doing so can easily lead to resentment on both sides and a rupture of the relationship. It can also reinforce the incorrect belief that you are the only one who is capable of handing the situation.

You don’t have to tackle your decluttering project alone. Use the above ideas for rules as a starting point to get some assistance and make your huge project a little less overwhelming.