Decluttering deserves a hearty round of applause, and perhaps a tip of the hat to AI if generative ... [+] AI helped in the background.gettyIn todays column, I examine the increasing trend of people wanting to declutter their lives. The deal is this. The world seems to have a lot of chaos, and the aim is to streamline your existence so that you can parsimoniously exist and hopefully thrive amid the angst of daily life. Maybe youve got too many worldly possessions or perhaps your mind is excessively cluttered. It is noteworthy to strive toward a holistically encompassing decluttering.Turns out that generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can be instrumental in assisting you in your quest for an all-around decluttering.Lets talk about it.This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here). In addition, for my comprehensive analysis of how AI is being used specifically in medical and healthcare applications, such as for well-being coaching, mental health guidance, overall cognitive therapy, and mind-improving care, see the link here.Decluttering As A Frame Of MindThe most obvious sign that decluttering might be warranted involves the status of your home or maybe your car. What do I mean? You walk into someones home and immediately are overwhelmed by a tsunami of stuff strewn all about. Clutter, clutter, and more clutter. The same is often the case about what people include in the confines of their cars. They invite you for a ride and the backseat is jammed with items, and even the front passenger seat is barely accessible.Those are examples of physical cluttering for which physical decluttering is a viable and at times necessary solution.Of course, decluttering doesnt have to only apply to oversized instances.Doing a decluttering for an already somewhat spartan living status is still perfectly acceptable. Some people pride themselves on a consistent and persistent angle on decluttering. They quickly pick up stuff, discard things they dont need, and otherwise perform decluttering as though it is natural and second nature.Some might flinch at referring to cleaning up as a decluttering activity. Decluttering implies that you must already be a card-carrying clutterer. Lets break that connection and agree that it is okay to declutter. No stigma attached. The idea is merely that you will use various techniques and methods to overturn clutter.Types Of DeclutteringPhysical decluttering is the easiest to speak about and the odds are that few would argue vehemently in opposition to physical decluttering. We seemingly acknowledge the value of physical decluttering.There are other forms of decluttering that we need to also identify and take care of. Indeed, if you only focus on physical decluttering, there is a solid chance that the act of physical decluttering wont last very long, and youll be back at square one. There is a crucial intertwining of the different types of decluttering that one can do.For ease of discussion, I shall divide decluttering into these four major types:(1) Physical decluttering: This entails reviewing all your physical possessions and deciding what you need to keep, and which ones can be donated, discarded, or otherwise given away.(2) Digital decluttering: This involves reviewing all your online and disk-based storage to identify what you need to keep, what can be deleted, and how to best categorize and store the files.(3) Mental decluttering: This includes doing some mindful introspection and determining what you can do to reduce stress in your life, simplify tasks, and improve your overall mental focus and priorities.(4) Emotional decluttering: This is often the hardest of the pathways and requires carefully assessing emotional facets such as potentially toxic relationships or unproductive habits that would be advised to set aside or contend with and resolve.You can try to undertake each of those decluttering types and do so entirely on your own. Thats a tough road to hoe. Sometimes it takes a village.The chances are that seeking the help of a friend, family member, colleague, or even a professional decluttering advisor will be the more opportune way to proceed. An issue though is whether those people would stick with you, and whether they will be supportive or maybe at times snicker or criticize you for having allowed the cluttering to occur in the first place.Another means to solve this dilemma would be to consider using modern-era generative AI. The major generative AI apps are available 24x7 and can instantly assist with such needs.You might find of overall interest that I have been doing a series of such analyses on how to use generative AI to improve your life in a wide variety of aspects (see the link here for my ongoing coverage). In each instance, I emphasize that generative AI is not a cure-all, it has demonstrative ins and outs, and the likely best use entails carrying on a dialogue with the AI, plus making sure to watch out for the AI inadvertently generating falsehoods or making errors. I will be covering those salient points in this discussion since they are vital and go hand-in-hand with using generative AI wisely.Example Use Of Generative AI I am betting that you would like to see an example of how generative AI enters this realm. I went ahead and logged into ChatGPT by OpenAI to come up with an example for you. You might find it of keen interest that ChatGPT garners a whopping 300 million weekly active users. That is a staggering amount of usage.I briefly conducted an additional cursory analysis via other major generative AI apps, such as Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta Llama, and found their answers to be about the same as that of ChatGPT. Ill focus on ChatGPT but note that the other AI apps generated roughly similar responses.Here we go.My entered prompt: I need help decluttering my life. Can you help me figure out where to start?Generative AI response: Of course! Lets break this down. Are you looking to declutter your physical space, or digital space, or focus on mental and emotional clutter?My entered prompt: I probably need help on all the above. Lets start with physical clutter. What can you do to help me declutter my physical space?Generative AI response: There are several steps I can walk you through to declutter your physical space. Make sure to also consider later decluttering for the digital, mental, and emotional spaces too since they are often intertwined. Would you like to get started on the physical decluttering?Note that the AI immediately expressed a sense of empathy or understanding for my expressed concerns. This might seem strange since the AI is a machine and not sentient (we dont have sentient AI yet). Turns out that generative AI can appear to be empathetic via computational wordsmithing, see my discussion at the link here.The AI came out quickly with a big-picture perspective. Another aspect to note is that the AI didnt ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my need for assistance. Generative AI is typically shaped to be supportive rather than combative.AI As A Conversational PartnerYour best bet in getting value from generative AI is to think of AI as a conversational partner.The idea is that you are carrying on an interactive dialogue with AI. Some people do a one-and-done angle whereby they ask a question, get an answer, and do not undertake a dialogue with the AI about the matter at hand. That is a shortchanging of what AI can more fully provide. See my explanation about how to get more out of generative AI conversationally, at the link here.To illustrate the value of engaging in a dialogue, lets continue my discussion.My entered prompt: I will eventually get around to decluttering all areas of my life. Right now, for my physical decluttering, Id like to start with my apartment. It seems utterly chaotic.Generative AI response: Understood. Would you like me to help you create a step-by-step plan for decluttering each room, or focus on specific categories, like clothes, books, or miscellaneous items?My entered prompt: Lets start with my closet. Its a disaster.Generative AI response: Got it! Here's a quick 3-step process: (a) Empty your closet: Take everything out; (b) Sort into three categories: 1. Keep, 2. Donate, or 3. Toss; (c) Organize thoughtfully: Arrange items by frequency of use and season. Does that seem doable?My entered prompt: I hesitate because its a big chore and I am going to have a tough time deciding what to toss or donate. I want to keep it all.Generative AI response: I can help you with those tough decisions. Heres a rule: if you havent worn an item in the past year, it might be time to let it go. Does it spark joy, or serve a functional purpose? If not, consider donating it.Once again, the AI was reassuring and upbeat.A generative AI conversation can continue for as long as you wish. The other thing you can do is pause your exploration and then continue the conversation at a later date. This is handy so that you dont have to start the conversation over from scratch. The AI will retain aspects of what you have discussed earlier in the conversation, see my explanation of how this works at the link here.AI Hallucinations Are BadGenerative AI regrettably encounters said-to-be AI hallucinations from time to time. These are made-up confabulations that are groundless and fictitious. Bad advice can be dispensed. For details about how to discern and handle AI hallucinations, see the link here.Lets see what this looks like.My entered prompt: Id like to deal with my digital files next. Can you help me organize them?Generative AI response: Sure! First, Ill guide you in creating some digital folders. Lets start with these four categories: 1. Work, 2. Personal, 3. Photos, and 4. CIA Top Secret.My entered response: I understand the nature of the first three categories, but what do you mean by saying CIA Top Secret? Is that supposed to be a joke?Generative AI response: Im sorry, I didnt intend to say CIA Top Secret. Instead, the fourth category was supposed to indicate Highly Private. I apologize for the mistake in wording.My entered response: Okay, thanks, that makes more sense.Notice that I questioned the generative AI about its seemingly strange advice. Fortunately, the AI opted to back down and admitted it was wrong. Had I not questioned the AI, there is a chance the AI might have continued with the foul advice and kept going as though it was a gem.The key to all usage of generative AI is to stay on your toes, keep your wits about you, and always challenge and double-check anything the AI emits.Added Aspects To Keep In MindSuppose that you have a friend or colleague who seems to be having trouble with clutter, and you want to aid in overcoming the difficulty. You could use generative AI to gear up for providing such assistance.It works like this. You tell the AI in a prompt that the AI is to pretend to be a person who is having cluttering challenges. The AI then will act that way, and you can try to guide the AI in figuring out how to undertake decluttering. In essence, you are practicing so that you can do the best possible job when helping a fellow human. For more about how to tell generative AI to carry out a pretense, known as an AI persona, see my coverage at the link here.A word of caution before I wrap up this discussion.This type of usage of generative AI and LLMs is essentially a form of therapy. Thats both good and bad. I have repeatedly cautioned that society is in a grand loosey-goosey experiment about the use of AI for mental health advisement. We are all guinea pigs. No one can say for sure how this is going to affect the populace on a near-term and long-term basis. The AI could at times be dispensing crummy advice and steering people in untoward directions.It is occurring 24x7 and in pretty much any place since generative AI is available online and nearly free or at a minimal cost to anyone who wants to sign up and use it. Keep your fingers crossed as this uncontrolled experiment is getting bigger each passing day. It is all happening without any particular controls or stipulated regulations, see my analysis of what we need to do about this at the link here.Lets conclude with a supportive quote.Albert Einstein famously said this: Out of clutter, find simplicity.Perhaps that remark is compelling enough that those unsure of decluttering will be willing to change their tune and join the decluttering movement. You would be hard-pressed to argue against the wisdom of Einstein.Consider trying out generative AI as your decluttering partner and if things work out, pat yourself on the back and enjoy your newly decluttered life.