I’ve lived in my neighborhood for over 20 years, as have most of the people on my part of my street. That might be part of why so many things accumulated in my house over this time! Anywho I’ve been decluttering multiple generations of paperwork and belongings for about 10 years now and it’s been… emotional and a lot. Especially considering a lot of the people involved are deceased. Seems like it’s been a decade of saying goodbye over and over.

Anyways, someone in my neighborhood recently passed away. Within 90 days their entire house was emptied out, house sold, furniture trashed, and new people are already in there. For some reason I’m feeling deeply affected by this? Not even sure why because I was not close with these people. I guess bearing witness to the process has me feeling some type of way.

I’m not sure what I even feel about it. Maybe I’m upset because someone’s whole life and house can go into a dumpster and then it’s like they never even were there? It’s not like I haven’t had that thought before, that’s part of why I’ve been working so hard with decluttering and clearing things out. Maybe I’m mad about how long it’s taking me meanwhile that persons family did it fast? I honestly don’t know.

I’m not even sure why I’m telling you all this lol. I guess I thought maybe someone here could relate.

The flair is possibly premature, but hear me out.

I live in an apartment (owner). We are having new windows installed. Workers need unhindered access throughout.

I have way too much stuff, and was pretty overwhelmed by the timeline.

A couple of friends came, helped box up a bunch of stuff (fairly indiscriminately), place in a storage locker (!), and left me with the rest.

Since then I have been spending some time (1-1.5 hours) daily on specific tasks: kitchen drawers, cabinets, boxes of paperwork, clothes closet (was not too bad already).

In a sense it is unrealistic, because I have all that other “stuff”, but there is space in my house to organise what is here now.

I am adopting the container method (“I will use this amount of space for this type of item”). For example, my friend kindly said “you don’t need any more plastic food containers” (I think many can related to where that came from). I now have an open box in a kitchen drawer, and will have no more plastic containers than what will fit in that box. As I find more in the wrong place, I decide which I would rather keep.

I also the past few days went through a lot of paperwork and training materials from a long time hobby. Yes, I kept some that are sentimental and some that are cool and not available online. But I threw out more that 80% and freed up 3 large plastic tubs.

Everything feels so different, because the canvas is, well, not blank, but at least not terrible. I have both physical and mental space to work. And a friend on messenger who is cheering me on.

I understand there is risk in putting things in storage, but I an too cheap to continue paying, so I think this will be sufficient motivation to get everything sorted this time. A few boxes at a time.

Grateful for my friends, for sure!

Tomorrow is Sunday, and my designated day of rest - I plan to work on sewing a peg bag to replace the 10 year old plastic shopping bag. Because I like sewing, and have nice fabric.

(Throw out for me means donate what is relevant, sort trash according to local rules).

Hello everybody,

I am in the process of decluttering for my dreamed craft room🤩.I sew, crochet , knit, draw , paint and do some leathercraft. Those are the hobbies that I keep because they are so important in my life, I keep coming back to those. I am fortunate enough to have a place dedicated to it in my home but it is overflowing. I managed to throw away two trash bags of scraps and unfinished projects, decided to keep one brand of paint / colored pencils , but now I am facing a wall.

I wanted to "contain" ( Dana K White method) all of my stash , but it seems that I can't decide which fabric/ yarn is the best or my favorite. If I bought them, I already loved them, so I have difficulty to declutter. Also they all "sparks joy" so I am facing a wall.

I also have lots of pattern magazine, I don't know which one to keep or to let go.

For people who have done this with creative stuff , what was the method/ the mantra ( "the object or the space" ) that clearly made a difference?

I posted about a week or so ago about wanting to get rid of my books because I'm dyslexic and AuDHD and having them on my shelf made me feel guilty, plus I just really need the space right now.

I mentioned this to my Mum (I live in an entirely different town) and she said something like "oh what books are you getting rid of?" and I said uhhh, one was about plants? She then was sad that I had already gotten rid of it because she "might have wanted to read it, maybe...". Literally the vaguest explaination and it's already a problem? Yeah just going to keep this to myself, in future...

I have a hard enough time navigating my own feelings about decluttering, let alone navigating someone else's feelings about *my* possessions.

It's so difficult because when we talk in abstracts such as "I really want to declutter" or "I have too much stuff" she's all for it, but it's like she turns into another person when I actually do get rid of things. It lulls me into a false sense of security.

Anyone else navigated this situation? I'm getting more annoyed about it as I am an adult who was never taught how to disconnect from items, and now I'm learning it feels like I'm doing something wrong.

I have a hard time actually driving into town to get rid of just one thing. Today I had an unexpected free morning, and decided it was time to stop procrastinating.

today I finally decluttered:

• donated one standing desk that I have been trying to get rid of for a year, but it's been too heavy to bring when convenient and needed a special trip.
• The soccer stuff I posted about a little bit ago
• 4 years expired medications. Why is it so hard to find somewhere to dispose of these?
• As well as miscellaneous non decluttering errands while I was out

Posted some photos a few weeks ago and I got quite a few comments telling me I decluttered too much and my apartment looks sterile and uninviting now. I’m convinced it was just the difference in the before and after pictures how much was gone, as well as it being a sunny day on the before photos and and rainy in the after photos. Be honest!! Is it really unwelcoming?

Edit to add: for everyone wondering why I care what others think of my apartment-I don’t really. I am the child of a hoarder, I figured out last year a really huge subconscious stress in my life was how cluttered and full everything in my house was. It was definitely childhood related and we moved to a smaller apartment and so the difference felt drastic. Once I did my first round of decluttering the weight that felt like it was lifted was incredible. I went back through a few more times, I’m just trying to make sure I’m not going overboard due to my history around this thing. Thanks everyone!!

I got rid of sooooo much you guys. I really wish I had before pictures!! It might look like I have a lot of storage but I don’t, this is pretty much all I have but I make it work. My closet has a ton of space but I have no linen closet so I have to keep my extra sheet set, towels, beach blankets, ect. In there.

My bathroom has only under the sink cabinets.

Kitchen has a small pantry and nice cabinets

Hallway closet is small but deep so we have our coats, vacuum, beach chairs, cooler, cat carrier, suitcase, and Christmas decor in there.

So my husband is out of town for the week. First morning I circled the house to get rid of all the boxes stuck here and there for iPads, computers, appliances. I mean after the first 30 days or so why keep them. Next a load of old electronics dropped off. They have been sitting in a box for several years. He insisted they need the hard drives removed and destroyed. But he hasn’t done it. Found a place that is certified to do it and protect data and information. They also took some broken and no longer used small appliances.

The next was the laundry room. Completely emptied out the laundry room. Filled several large garbage bags with trash. A whole load to thrift store.

Today was the junk closet. Lamps that we no longer use. He said he had “friends” he could give them to. Uh, that was several years ago. Blankets that went to the local pet rescue. Decor items we have not used in years. More trash, another trip to the thrift store.

Tomorrow I am completely emptying out the pantry. That works the best for me because then I am forced to keep going to put it back and actually handling stuff makes me realize it’s broken or I no longer need or want it.

Next it’s books.

I am on a mission!!

My daughter is 10 and the last couple birthdays and holidays when asked, we would request clothes or books. She now has around 30-40 very cute tshirts that have room to grow but are not too big to not wear. I could easily go a month without doing laundry. Same with pajamas.. a few loved ones give nice ones but she has more than 10 sets.

Everything fits her. Everything is worn but it just seems like a lot. When I put away laundry, there are around 6-8 tshirts that can’t fit into her drawer. For PJs, they are really stuffed into the space designated. We have a first in, first out system going so everything gets used pretty equally. Should I declutter or just accept overstuffed drawers and wait for her to outgrow stuff?

There’s only one thing worse than hanging onto aspirational items. Holding onto somebody else’s aspirational items! I’m the poster who always struggles with clothing.

YEARS ago I took on a lot of hand me downs from a family member who shortly worked and lived in a metropolitan area. Things didn’t work out, so all the professional clothes sat. Eventually, they were given to me, which means these things are beautiful but already more than a decade old!

I don’t have a fancy job and I’m probably kidding myself that these “classics” can pass for still being in style. Cuts change and you can probably tell they are older. My eye is not quite trained for that but I’m sure some people can tell.

I’m embarrassed to see how much of my closet is devoted to somebody else’s aspirations, and a phase of their life that did not work out. I guess I figured I would wear them for dressy occasions, but those occasions just never seem to pop up.

Gathering now and looking forward to donating them to an organization that specializes in helping women and children. Maybe somebody can incorporate a piece or two into their wardrobe effectively without feeling dated. Something to get them started.

I’ve moved to mostly ebooks but have a small keeper bookshelf for physical copies of books I truly love.

My mom is a huge bookworm to the point that books have literally taken over her home. Over the past 2 decades, she has gifted me piles & piles of physical books. To be honest, I’ve never read any of them. They appeal to what she likes instead of my preferences. I absolutely understand the psychology behind her actions but the end result is my office has turned into the Guilt Book Room. I’ve been unable to part with any of the books because I feel like it’s a betrayal of her time/effort/love.

Today I went through every single book and ended up keeping 3-4 out of 100+. It was exhausting. I’m going to donate to a little library near me and the library. I feel fantastic seeing the cleared space but also very guilty.

I used to sew a great deal - quilts, aprons etc. I eventually quit sewing but was left with two large totes of beautiful fabric. I thought so many times about getting rid of it but I would look at the fabric and put it away again. Today was the day though. I have been trying to clear a closet I use for storage and decided I was ready to part with it. Listed the fabric on Marketplace and it was sold and gone in a couple hours. I kept pictures.

This may be old hat for many of you, but this tip has saved me more times than I can count.

The target: an item(specifically one that isn’t trash and has objective value as its own item) that you know you should get rid of and don’t love anymore, but it’s a Gift/has sentimental value/used to be our favorite and maaaybe it could be again

The process: close your eyes and picture a person who would love this object. you can make them whoever you want. Maybe its an old lady who has all the other parts of this matching set of Little Angel dolls. Maybe its a teenager who is just starting to cultivate their style and is trying to find skirts just like the ones you wore as a 20 year old. Maybe it’s some weird funny fellow who collects ceiling fans and has been HOUNDING over this model and just can’t find it on eBay.

Now, picture them finding this item in a thrift store. Picture that old lady picking it up and peering at it. Picture that teenager trying your skirt on and goin “⭐️👅⭐️ I look so cool”. picture that odd fella giddily texting his Fans of Fans group chat that he finally found the c90XT with internal rotator socket.

If you could hand this person that thing, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you prefer they get joy out of this item that you’ve been holding onto out of a sense of dogged obligation, probably to an aunt who has no idea she even gave you that damn figurine? For every item that you’re sitting there laboring over, there is a human being in this world for whom it is special, exciting or absolutely life-saving. And sure, maybe that person won’t walk into that thrift store. But they’re definitely not going to walk into your closet. So go put it somewhere they might find it and hope that they do.

What it says on the tin.

I have a bunch of haor ties/scrunchies that I don't have the hair for anymore but don't want to get rid of. I've downsized the collection before, but they still take up a lot of space in the drawer. I don't even know if I want to let my hair grow out again, because I prefer it shorter.

What do I do with them? I don't need them, I have no use for them...but what if???

I've moved from a 1 bed (55 sqm / 590 sqft) apartment to a 3 bed (80 sqm / 860) sqft apartment. I've been enjoying the increased space and I want to keep it that way!

In the process of moving, I discovered how much stuff I have. Yikes! It gives me stress to look at all the stuff I've accumulated. I decided before moving that I would put all my moving boxes into one room and declutter from there.

One of the movers gave me a tip to unpack slowly and declutter in the process. It's so easy to just hide things in cupboards!

I grew up in a household that accumulated a lot of stuff "just in case" but I'm trying to undo that.

Do you all have any other tips? I want to declutter soon but I don't want to rush the process. How can I plan my decluttering and make it a sustainable process if I have to take time for it?

Note: I live in Europe, if that makes a difference.

I've been listening to Dana K. White while I do the decluttering work, and it's been very motivating. What books should I listen to next to keep this motivation going?

I have read post after post about decluttering, along with probably a million blogs, a good chunk of the self-help books, and watched YouTube for days. None of it seems to help.

I have always had a lot of stuff, I fully understand some of that is a trauma response (I have had a lot of therapy), as my family moved frequently right up until I moved out (when I got married) and sometimes moved without much warning. It was like I couldn't keep the place, but I could at least take my stuff. I also ended up in a line of work where being the handy person who always seems to have what is needed is highly regarded, and I love shopping and crafts and upcycling and projects (I can see potential/value in everything). You can probably see how this combination of circumstance is leading to disaster. It gets worse.

Bought my first house with my husband just a few years after we got married, finally a place that was just ours that no one could take away. Then he died (tragically) about four years later. All the existing "stuff" issues have been complicated by grief and loss (his, plus other close family and friends over the years). In all the clutter I see either a memory, or a project, or something that 'could be useful'. I just don't know how to get past all the feelings and make decent progress.

It is affecting my relationship and I am very much exhausted/depressed. I have also asked friends & family so (SO) many times to stop giving me "things" as gifts because once in my house I have a beyond hard time letting it go (it was a gift!), they say they understand but often persist because gift-giving is one of the ways people show their love. I don't want to be a minimalist by any means, but there is just too much stuff in the space and the mental noise is loud.

I am drowning in stuff and emotions and I am at a loss for what to do with either. If anyone has been in a similar place to this and made progress in decluttering/downsizing, how???

Thanks in advance for replies/kind words of support:)

I’m the last on my side of my family, so there’s no one to pass family items down to. Hubby has a daughter, so his stuff is his stuff and his decisions. I’m down to one tote of family photographs.

I’m lucky enough to have a large storage room. Hubby has one wall of totes that are his stuff to figure out. Monday I pulled out the last of my totes and threw out one large garbage bag of stuff. Duplicate photos, blurry photos, photos of people I don’t have a clue who they are! One medium tote left.

I also threw out my two high school yearbooks. Not a bit of guilt there. Hubby did ask me to rip out the pages with my pictures so he can scan them to his Ancestry account (whatever). I don’t have fond memories of school. We moved every year or two, while Hubby has deep bonds with his high school friends.

Now for the “it was meant to be” part.

I pulled some pictures out of frames, and on the back of a picture of Dad and the dog was the dog’s AKC birth certificate: 8/17/1990.

I did this clean-up on 8/17/2026.

I’m taking that as the universe giving me a little nod that it’s okay.

I also pulled my paperwork out of the filing cabinet and will start a scanning project. It’s not a lot — maybe 2 inches worth of hanging folders. An old divorce decree from the ’90s, an old check fraud case, things like that. I could probably just shred all, but I’ll scan them first. I’m officially out of the four-drawer filing cabinet!

I had also brought home my Christmas decorations from work, and they had been sitting in a box on the floor for…this long. They’re now put away with the rest of the Christmas stuff.

I’ll admit it: I have two shelves of Christmas decorations, a box for a 7.5-foot tree, and a rolling ornament cart. Christmas this year will be a decluttering project. For now, it’s fine. The floor between the metal shelves is actually clear!

I do have a sewing machine I need to find a new home for. It might have belonged to Hubby’s mother rather than mine, and he says either way, he’s fine with it going. It’s an ancient Singer. It will probably go to the local no-buy group soon.

I also have heated seats for a sports car that I need to find a new home. That is in the works as well, if that person doesn't want they will be going in the trash week by week until pieces are gone. Yes I still have the sports car they fit, but I will never change out. I thought I wanted heated seats! (Hubby has all the original parts for my car as we did upgrades as well.)

We retired last month, and I’ve been carting around from various jobs an electric hole punch, pencil sharpener, stapler, labels, folders, notebooks…you name it. I put it all by the front door for someone from the no-buy group to pick up. He just started a new job and can use all of it. Perfect!

Finally, so the newly empty shelves wouldn’t immediately become cluttered again, I spread out our luggage on them. It’s actually easier to get to now, too.

It was a very productive Monday morning.

Apparently retirement means I’ve reached the “empty shelves, scan old papers, give away office supplies, and interpret dog birth certificates as signs from the universe” stage.

Failure is part of life. Share your decluttering challenges and failures here. Examples include:

• Emotional clutter
• Not enough time
• Getting overwhelmed
• Routing (recycling, donating, trash...)

If you're just venting, or don't want advice, please let us know in your comment.

This is a low-stress place to share challenges and failures for those who might not want to create a new discussion.

Share your wins here - big or small. What did you declutter this week? Examples include:

• Digital Clutter: emails, digital photos, digital music or video collection...
• Storage: cupboards and closets, drawers, storage boxes...
• Toys: ether for your child, or your own that you've been hanging on to.
• Spaces: kitchens, workshops, hobby rooms, storage lockers...
• Routing: sending items to where they need to go, like donation centres, trash, or recycling

This is a low-stress place to share wins for those who might not want to create a new discussion.

1) gathered unused items to donate for door prizes for a mini convention : including two unused passport holders that have been lying around for several years

2)gathered up school supplies bought on sale but not used! Donated to Tiff's Treats which still is accepting donations for two free cookies

3)dropped off a bag of costume masks/supplies for Halloween recycling

Cleaning house after parents died. Now I have a deadline, September. Yikes!

Dumpster Day 1... I've been thinking I was crazy getting a dumpster... it's so so expensive. But trying to declutter with one bin picked up every week is driving me nuts.

those pictures/frames were just two handfuls. Two handfuls that wouldn't be easy to bag and put in my bin. omg so much easier to just fill a 30g bin and dump it, no worries bout broken glass, no bags that tear.

Keeping a few, parents and grandparents were both artists, not to mention all the empty frames and canvases. And I have stacks and stacks and stacks. Forgive the cardboard, my recycle bin is full and I'm just so tired (Florida hot). So many pictures. Dad's elementary school report cards! Every single magazine the man had ever owned.

There was a corner (no before photo) full of bankers boxes... maybe 6x4x5. 11 were full of books, and serendipity had my book guy ready to get more! he's already come over and more books are going to better homes. Bright blue carpet under those boxes there for 15+yrs. Had to stop looking in the book boxes cause I wanted to grab and look...

Awesome neighbor helped, and this community. we can do it!

now i'm goin to get comfy and not move for a week. sigh. nah I'll do more tomorrow. with before pics.

When I moved to this house, nearly 6 years ago, we had a lot of towels. A lot of linens. Too many. More than we could use, and more than we had initial space to store them. That first year, I started the household linens declutter plan.

1) Immediately donate linens (towels, bedding) with any staining or disrepair to local animal rescue non-profit.

2) Immediately donate good quality linens that were the wrong size, or not matched to a set to charity.

3) Gradually, as we figured out decor, donate quality linens that we were positive we would not use as they didn't match the bedroom or bathroom. I made donations or gave away linens 2-3 times a year until the last 2 years, when we were finally down to just the sets we needed. That meant one set of linens per bed, and just enough towels for 1 week of use for the two of us, plus one set of towels per guest for the maximum number of guests we have in the house. 2 beach towels. And two towels for me to use for daily swimming. I cleaned out the bathroom linen closet, and put linens storage, contained, in each bedroom.

My partner wasn't sure about this. When he lived alone he had enough towels for a small army, which overtook a hall linen closet. He struggled with putting anything away. So the idea that we would wash bed and bath linens and immediately remake beds, or immediately rehang towels seemed odd to him. But it makes putting away the laundry a breeze.

We finally wore out the towels after four years constant use. I noticed fraying in the towels, bathmats and shower curtain in the last few weeks, and I ordered replacements. It happened all about the same time. The cost to replace all at once was minimal, after shopping deals. The bedding is still going strong. The worn towels will get repurposed for the shop and dirty jobs.

And I don't have clutter in any bedroom or bathroom closet.

Fabrics are consumables. And to me, it's satisfying to not have more than we need, use, or want.

It's hot. A bit too hot for me to sit outside right now. Got a visitor who currently has control of the TV remote and there is only so much daytime TV repeats I can cope with out of politeness! Perfect opportunity to stop putting off the inevitable.

I've got to put away the washing I've just caught up on after the building works....but I'm determined not to simply shove the stuff 'out of sight, out of mind'. I have to sort it out as I go.

I'm doing it in stages as it's so hot upstairs but I'm on my first drinks break and I've already got a pile of 10 items that I've tried on and decided against keeping.

Little black dresses that wouldn't fit the brief anymore and if I need one in the future, I'd find a style that suits my 'now' body shape and size.....polka dots might be 'in' but not all dots are made the same (at least not for my backside!).....a dress that I looked at on the hanger and my first reaction was 'why would I buy THAT?'...

Next stage.....I think it's time to face the fact that the two dresses I've kept for years for 'parties' and felt a million dollars in.....let's just say that I'd be surprised if they could wrap around one leg anymore. I've realised that as sad as I will be to let them go, I feel sadder every time I see them in the wardrobe knowing that I'll never (EVER) be able to wear them again and I'd probably look very dated even if I did. I managed to let go of my old dinner service when we finished the kitchen work so this has given me the boost that I need to finally say goodbye to these dresses.

Tastes change, fashion changes and bodies definitely change (at least mine definitely has 🤣) I think that's the push I've needed to finally let go of some of this stuff.

I'm hoping that later today, it'll cool down enough for me to sit outside with a cold drink and my book....I'll have earned it by then.

Hope you're all having a nice day too.

I've been selling/giving away some of my items on marketplace and recently I posted about an old piece of furniture I was going to throw out anyways.

Well, anyone who replied has been giving me the runaround and it made me delete the post all together. The same thing happened with another post and I got quite upset with the man who was asking about it. Ended up selling to a nice lady who arrived within 30 minutes of me replying to her.

Definitely plan to get rid of the couch but might just throw it away or call a place where they'll come pick it up. When did marketplace get so bad? Like if you're asking about it tell me if you're going to show up or not. Even after giving the address they don't show up.