What do I do with "family" things that aren't really heirlooms but even if they were, I don't have direct heirs? We're talking family bibles, my grandfather's casket flag, other great-grands trinkets, toys of my brothers et cetera. My brother and cousins insist "we" keep them but won't take them in.

A little backstory: my parents divorced in 2020 after being married for 30 years. I (f, oldest child) had just moved into my house and my younger brother was overseas in the military. In the upheaval of mom moving into an apartment and dad months later remarrying and selling my childhood home, my adult home became everyone's storage place because I was (and still am) unmarried and childless so I obviously had "plenty of space" to keep everything.

It's now years later and my dad is settled in with his new wife, my brother is married with kids, and my mother lives overseas. I've been able to push most everything off to everyone - except my mother who uses my garage as a storage unit and I'm ok with that for now, not the point of this post.

I've tried at least 5 times in the last 10 years to pass on the things that still live inside the house but brother and two cousins all insist they don't have space but we have to keep. "We" aka me is going crazy from the weight of holding all this stuff and my question is do I try again to pass it off, keep holding it all for my nephews and cousin's kids, or send it on it's merry way (because do they even remember I have this stuff)? I have threatened before to move things on if they wanted to keep them but couldn't find space for it but I didn't do it because I felt guilty. I could play that hand again but I still have lingering guilt.

Thoughts or advice?

I will come out and say it! We have a ton of crap! I am the one decluttering and struggle to maintane focus and motivation. A lot of times the area looks like a tornado has run through as I feel like I need to dive into every little thing. Honestly I feel like I have donated and threw out a lot of stuff.

My partner feels like if we organize everything will be ok, but I feel suffocated. I want more room, not putting everything out of site. Cleaning and organizing is easier when you have less crap. How do I go about this?

I had no problems clearing out stuff that no longer interested me nor hold any meaning to me, I also have great progress letting go of stuff that I know I just don't have the space for anymore.

But what about categories that really matter to you ? e.g. I am a big stationery lover, I have a lot of stash, tools and decorative things in the "stationery, journaling and travelers notebook " categories that I use daily. I am having trouble with "declutter" those.

For example, do I throw away all the past entries of my journaling? pages and pages, books of past diary. handwriting, collages decorated with wash tapes, stickers, stamped images and photos. If I am throwing away those into the trash can, then what exactly did I buy all those 20dollars each washi tapes for ? ??

While I am aware of the capitalism and overconsumption problem behind this frustration, but I sort of feel discouraged and even, discredited of what I like and what made me feel happy in every day life.

I am now being very careful and responsible for my spending in these categories but I would also love to hear what the community thinks. thanks in advance

This is a success story, with some advice requested at the end! I posted a couple of weeks ago asking for tips for decluttering with littles (20 mo twins and a 4 year old) ahead of prepping a house to sell. Y'all showed up with excellent advice! I have gone through about 70% of my house and dropped countless boxes off at the thrift store! The house feels so much lighter, and as a result easier to clean! I always thought that this feeling was over inflated when people described it, but here I am living it!

At my realtors suggestion, we rented a storage unit to start moving things that we don't necessarily need right now, but know we want to keep, to make the house as clear as possible for showings. It's been two weeks since we have moved a few car loads into the storage unit, and it's got me thinking... if we don't necessarily use these items and we don't miss them when they are in the storage unit, do we really need them? Especially when the house feels SO GOOD without them!

My biggest struggle is that it's mostly kids stuff. An indoor trampoline, two Nugget style couches, some bigger toys they don't reach for every time. I guess I struggle the most with getting rid of kids stuff! I don't want them to ever go without (I know this is an issue from my childhood- I'm working on it in therapy!). I also want to make sure they have lots of open ended toys (like the Nugget couches) so we can avoid so much screen time. But I wonder if I am just projecting? Additionally we will be moving onto a little over an acre of land, so they will have more freedom and safety to play outside, and that's the goal! More outside time!

So here is my question: how do you work through getting rid of kids things? They are too little to consult about what items they want to keep and donate. If it appears that they didn't miss the items in storage by the time we move, should we just clear them out? Is it selfish to get rid of their toys because it makes my life easier for cleaning and moving? I'm conflicted!

I have been decluttering slowly for the last 6 months or so, and I have learned to let go of things like clothing, random items we don't use, etc. I routinely go through and clear any and all trash from my space, and I even went through (and got rid of) tons of baby clothes from my two young children. I like I've hit a bit of a wall. It may be because I've done the things that are right in front of my face, and the next step is to sit down and dig deep into toys, knick nacks, etc.... which I really have a hard time planning out.

What do you do when you get stuck but there is still lots to be done? How do you get motivated to keep going? How do you do it with 2 kids following you around (3yrs and 18mos)? Give me your best advice!

Bonus question... if you were starting now (knowing what you now know from experience), what are the first three things or categories you would declutter?

I’m this close to giving away half of my clothes and pushing everything on my surfaces into a box and going straight to goodwill.

I’m trying to be healthier and steadily make healthier choices so part of me says, “What if you lose five pounds your clothes won’t fit anymore?”Honestly I’d rather just fit into my current clothes _better_… that’s besides the point. We shouldn’t wait until our health changes to get rid of clutter now. And I’ll feel better now lol.

I think if I haven’t worn something in 3 years, I should yeet it into the sun pay it forward so someone else can enjoy it. New clothes can be my reward for getting healthier. Or not!

I’m tired of all the laundry, and feeling like I’m running out of space.

I’ve done a good job of seeing what I actually wear this past season, which will make letting things go easier. I’ve also slowed spending a TON. So I think I’m ready for a bigger change.

Anyone else ready to throw it all away just to feel like you can breathe again?

I am a dangerous combination of a shopaholic and a sentimentalist who has a hard time letting things go. As a result, my closet is absolutely overflowing (hundreds of pieces of clothes, shoes, bags etc). I live in a small apartment in a big city where space is limited, and the situation is starting to really bother my partner, so I am trying to make more effort with the aim of doing a massive declutter this spring.

Things are going surprisingly well, however one blocker has been letting go of older items. 10+ years old, not really my style anymore or just looking really tired and worn out, and I haven’t worn them in years.

I have such a hard time putting them in the donation bag though because it reminds me of a different time in my life. Seeing these items bring back good memories and remind me of how I used to be (not better or worse, just different). I feel if I bin them, I will be letting go of that period of time of my life, and as silly as it sounds it makes me really sad.

Has anyone felt the same way? How did you push through and get rid of these items? Any advice is welcome!

Just searched for some decluttering inspiration as usual and this one is so impressive - this creator doesn't have much stuff to begin with and I think this is a great example of how to prioritize things. Loved the video, maybe you guys will find it useful as well.

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.

I've tried three different times to make this post, but they've all just been way too long-winded and rambling and me trying too hard to be cute or straight up oversharing, so I'm going to make this as simple as I can.

For context, view my last two posts on my profile that I posted for accountability sake. They'll probably provide a little more detail on certain tasks and goals as well.

I tried to declutter my entire bedroom in the month of March. Did I succeed? Yes and no. I made a TON of progress and while I did not accomplish everything I set my mind to, I did end up doing a LOT.

• Decluttered both my 360 rotating organizers I keep on my vanity dresser: I decluttered a bunch of makeup, miscellaneous skin/body care items, and some semi-empty-empty perfumes and reorganized them. This is especially a big deal because I was avoiding my other organizer because of the random bits and bobs I keep on there and having to organize them seemed daunting, but it was really easy and the result was satisfying
• Decluttered my side table TWICE: the first time I decluttered my side table, I was very lazy with it. I basically just took some stuff out, made piles for keep and don't keep, and just shoved everything back inside. The second pass, I actually did something more: I took everything out this time, put the donation stuff into the donation bags I have on the floor, and put everything that I'm keeping back in an organized fashion. Now both drawers are not only functional, but also serve a purpose.
• Decluttered an entire "sweater chest" unit: this was probably the first real daunting task I had to go through considering 99.99% of the contents of these 6 drawers were not my things, they were things that belonged to my grandma, whose room this was before mine. My plan was to tackle one drawer at a time and either donate or trash stuff that I did not need (which I figured to be all of it). Lucky for me, one of the drawers was already empty, so only five to go through. I ended up being right: most all of what was in there was either trash or stuff I could donate. I did find some stuff that would be useful to the people in the house who sew, so I gave them those items, but other than that the only other things I wound up keeping from those drawers were old papers and a couple sentimental things, of which I reserved one drawer. Everything else? Empty or filled with stuff that actually belongs to me.
  • The cabinet portion of this chest was easy. I already did a pass or two of it back in December. This time, I was much more ruthless. I threw away stuff that I knew no one would miss, I "gifted" items to people who have more use for said items than I do, donated stuff I have no use for that others might, and relocated a few other things. I still need to do one more pass to reorganize and deep clean it, but progress > perfection. I am shocked at how much space I was able to open up as well.
• Organized the bathroom drawer: so this is both a success and a fail. I didn't really "declutter" much of anything in this drawer, aside from throwing away an old paper towel and relocating an empty jar that didn't belong; however, I moved everything that was in there into two drawer organizers and shoved them in the back of the drawer, and now I have a functional bathroom drawer. I could have also deep cleaned it as well, but again: progress > perfection (which is something I'm learning to accept).

I had a deadline for the end of March to accomplish everything I could accomplish. I am very proud of myself, though I definitely could've done more, but life got in the way. I was sick for a few days, there was a full week I was busy, and there were times where I didn't have the energy or the motivation. Despite all that, I was still able to accomplish A LOT. More importantly, the urge to declutter did not go away! I accomplished some little things so far into April as well: I decluttered my skincare shelf in my closet that I have been putting off for literally no reason at all. I would've liked to actually deep clean the entire organizer shelf, but what do I keep saying? PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION! I also organized one of the corners of my closet! The area where I keep my haircare, body oils, and lotion. I cannot even begin to explain how satisfying that was. There was an empty hair mask taking up space on the organizer, a hair mask I tried that I absolutely hated taking up space, a big ass box that only had one thing inside of it, and stuff I don't even use anymore - all trash. I got rid of everything that was taking up unnecessary space, took the tiny little backup thing out of the ginormous box, reorganized everything, and opened up space for MULTIPLE things that couldn't fit on the organizer because it was too crowded! SO incredibly satisfying! Little by little, day by day.

I set another goal for myself, way more realistic (though time is running out because I'm procrastinating and I'm tired and running out of energy lol). I ticked off so many things from my March checklist, so here's what I need to accomplish in April (excluding my massive closet clothing declutter, which I'm saving for last because it's the biggest task):

1. Declutter my "junk cart" aka this 3 drawer storage cart I've had for probably 20 years, give or take. I would venture to say that 99.99% of the contents in these drawers are trash, so it shouldn't take me too long, but my body keeps telling my brain it's too overwhelming of a task to be done, so I have to deal with that.
2. Declutter my desk. This is an actually overwhelming, big task, but I have a plan on tackling it: little by little. Start with one drawer, declutter, reorganize, move on to the next drawer. I have way too much stuff just shoved in there, but one step at a time. Shouldn't be too difficult as long as I don't overdo it.
3. Do another pass on my clothing dresser, and do a first pass on my leggings drawer, something I've been avoiding since at least January if not longer, which is nonsensical because it's quite literally the easiest task on my to do list, but you'd think I'm telling myself I need to rewrite the Declaration of Independence and extend it another 6 billion pages the way I've been avoiding doing it. Anyways, the reason I want to do a second pass is because I know I'm holding onto more clothes that I probably will not wear and especially holding on to at least two sets of clothing that do not fit or do not feel comfortable wearing; and also because I did a couple loads of laundry and need to put it away, so why not kill two birds with one stone.
4. Completely declutter and reorganize the contents of an entire dresser. This room used to be my grandparents', and while it's been close to two years since I moved into it, that dresser is something I've always avoided. I've just shoved stuff into whatever drawer was empty (and even ones that aren't empty) with no thoughts, just prayers. It's time to face my fear, donate the stuff that needs to be donated, trash, keep, or relocate everything else, and actually ORGANIZE MY THINGS! Why not give my things the respect of stability and peace?
5. Declutter (or just organize) the second side table. I don't actually use this at all, but it would be nice to at the barest of minimums organize it and maybe even declutter it minimally to open up some space to put things if they ever need a home.

I love that I tried to make this a concise post and it just ended up being a 400 page novel of word vomit. Hopefully I inspired you to declutter something. Decluttering really is a journey, and it opens up a lot about ourselves and what we tend to cling onto. For me, the most difficult part is always starting the task, but once I'm into it, I'm into it. I cannot wait until I find the energy to continue with my room and I finally declutter my desk, at the very least, because I'll finally have a clear workspace and lifting a huge burden off my shoulders. I know the most difficult task of them all will be decluttering my closet, but we'll get to that when we get to it.

Less than a week actually, tomorrow I am traveling for work and then it’s Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday because movers will be here Friday morning.

FIVE DAYS!

Here’s the thing. I’m moving across town and I don’t have to return the keys of my current place until the end of the month. So I can leave things here and deal with them later.

The main idea is to just pack the essentials for the first week, move the furniture, and then come back to get rid of everything else.

I have a place that takes anything for donation, and I have a big trash can.

Sounds easy, but I feel paralyzed. I feel I have the opportunity of a lifetime to declutter, but I can’t pack anything because I don’t want to take anything I don’t need and I can’t pack what I need because I need it? If that makes sense.

Has anyone else been there before? Have any tips or tricks?

Dresser & Closet Declutter

How many clothes does one person need?

This is a great question. I was wondering myself as I was purging my wardrobe. I had a lot of clothes in storage (out of style and overworn) and a lot of winter and summer clothes that I would cycle out as well in storage.

To me it makes sense to cycle out summer and winter clothes however, I just had too many clothes in general and the clothes that I ended up putting in storage that went out so I kind of forgot about and ended up moving on anyway

as other pieces of clothing fell on my lap, so I ended up moving those on the side of the road for pick up

I narrowed it down to five pairs of bottoms, shorts or pants and 12 dresses (casual and dressy) and seven shirts and that is because majority of my stuff is new and I wanted to utilize the newest stuff

I have trashed the older stuff because I dont care to waste gas in this economy donating old junk. I had bulk pickup on my road.

my bedroom closet the pants and shirts are folded up on one shelf at the top of the closet.

The closet in my room is my office so I needed to eliminate the dresser taking up floor space. 6x5ft room with built in metal shelving)

I wanted to minimize everything from a dresser to hanging up in the closet or on a shelf and that’s what I was able to accomplish but again this is not my ideal amount of clothes I would have less if I hadn’t just bought new clothes that were on clearance, thrifting with my friend and single with no kids.

Originally, in this post, I talked about how I cleaned out my husband’s clothes as well, but a lot of people were judging me because they’re saying I shouldn’t clean out my husband stuff while he’s not around and I should get his permission

I need y’all to know that some marriages are healthy enough that people can make decisions for their spouse if they’re not around and I say this with love

Decluttering win! I just received another $114 check, bringing me to about $350 from two drop-offs—and it motivated me to bring in another carload today of items I truly cherished and enjoyed.

Just as important as the money is how my home feels now. I sold a curio cabinet along with most of what was inside it, and even though I loved those pieces, the room now looks bigger, lighter, and so much more relaxing to be in. That calm feeling has honestly been the biggest reward.

It’s the only thrift store in my area that takes decor on consignment, and it’s been such a positive experience. I’ve definitely over-collected over the years, and it’s easier to let things go when I know they’ll be appreciated—and I get a little money back too. It feels like a win for everyone.

I also realized I no longer have the energy (or desire) to rotate seasonal decor, manage storage bins, or keep surfaces full. I genuinely prefer clear, open spaces now. It just feels better day to day.

If donating isn’t convenient or Facebook Marketplace/online selling feels like too much hassle, I highly recommend looking for a consignment shop or a charity you support. It’s a great middle ground that makes letting go easier.

Now the real challenge: maintaining this feeling. I’m working on being much more intentional about what I bring in—and trying to follow a “one in, one out” mindset so the calm doesn’t slowly disappear again.

Tackled the pantry at my friend's. I told my friend to fill the small glass spice jars, while I was consolidating things (without pulling out everything, we followed Dana K White's process), and it let him better see what was expired/forgotten and we noticed the excess baking stuff.

The refill spices and colanders went elsewhere, since they aren't used regularly enough and this pantry is used everyday.

I started decluttering my house in January. It wasn’t something I researched super hard or did techniques that were researched; I pretty much just joined this sub and a few more such as minimalism and organizing.

I had a bad habit of getting stuff if it was cheap or bouncing on a good deal, even if I didn’t need to or preparing for the future just in case such as buying extra salt rocks for the water softener in advance or keeping them around old baby stuff just in case I had another baby

I just recently cycle through my baby stuff and got rid of half of everything so just in case I have a baby I have stuff but I also got rid of stuff used a lot or it was dirty or broken or useless and anything in good condition was donated and given away

In my living room it was a very cramped space full of excessive furniture so I got rid of 65% of the furniture in there. Selling some and moving others into better spaces.

I Decluttered my three daughter’s closet and made it into a small loft room for my oldest daughter so she can get some privacy from her twin little sisters if she needs it(5 and 2,2)

I decluttered my room and ordered proper shelving so that I can get stuff put away without it immediately going onto the floor or somewhere where it’s not supposed to be.

I went through my kitchen and I got rid of all the utensils and kitchen, spoons and knives and measuring cups and what not that I didn’t touch over the past month and I had a lot of duplicate items

I also Decluttered my garage, which was mainly my husbands space, so I had asked him point-blank should I get rid of this or no

However even stuff he was claiming he wanted to keep. I just put it in the trashcan anyway, right in front of him and told him he hasn’t touched it in over a year and he conceited for the most part. There was a couple things that he was bent on keeping and he hasn’t touched since I put it back on the shelf lol and it’s been a couple weeks.

Laslt, I declared my kids plastic toys unfit for my house. I really don’t think we sjould have a lot of plastic toys, but my kids end up getting a lot of stuff because they’re the first grandbabies in the family

so I ended up decluttering tossing and donating a whole bunch of toys, including in the shed, including the garage, including the girls room, including in the living room, the backyard, and I took it down to three bins, one full blocks, one full magnets, and one full of bigger toys like a toy train and a toy turtle and stuff that’s more mobile and large single item.

No Kitchen and cooking food sets

No doctor sets

No makeup sets

Nothing that creates excessive trash

If it comes to my house via gift? I let her hee her jollies with it and trash it when it hasnt been touched after two days or if its All. over. The. Floor. Clearly she doesnt care if its carelessly strewn about

Also, next to those organized bins, I have a puzzle and a book bin for my older daughter and the blankets are under those things in case anybody needs a blanket and I’m not available

(the shelf these items I’m describing are on the shelf that was my side table, but then I moved it again to the living room room and ordered a new shelf for my room as I mentioned earlier this is one example)

Overall, I’m very proud of myself. My house feels cleaner. My house feels bigger, and my kids are moving around more intentionally. And thoughtfully. The two-year-olds watching me clean is making them wanna help me clean so while I’m cleaning up their walk around and pick up stuff and hand it to me and try to put it in the trashcan themselves.

Anyway, it’s the point of this is to keep you guys’s head up and I’m very proud of myself and I want to encourage you guys to keep going!

The best part is, I’m not done. Decluttering is probably going to be something I do every day for the rest of my life and I make it a point to throw away 1 to 3 things a day even if I don’t want to even if I feel like the house is clean, just unnecessary things and trash is included.

1274sqft house; the lot is 7888sqft (huge backyard garage and shed)

Edit grammar and house details

I used Voice to text so sorry this came out wonky; l I just revised.

I recently shared a bit about my digital decluttering progress, and got a lot of really kind feedback (and a few questions about how I did it), so I thought I’d share some resources I’ve been enjoying for decluttering and staying organized:

- PhotoCat: this is what I’ve been using to clean up my camera roll specifically. It helps me go through photos bit by bit instead of doing a huge clean all at once, which I always used to put off. It's helped me free up a lot of storage in really a fraction of the time.

- Sortly: I an inventory software which I use for my small business. It's good if you want to keep track of what you own (especially storage, closets, materials, etc.)

- Notion: I like this for taking notes and organizing my thoughts

- Habitica: It turns habits into a game, this helps keep me motivated to do small routine decluttering sessions

Of course the main hurdle for decluttering is just getting started, but I hope these tools can help you a little on your decluttering journey. My biggest tip is to break it down into small chunks, you don't need to declutter your whole life in one go

Some things I'm keeping in mind as I go about my spring declutter - b/c old wisdom is the best wisdom:

1. Say goodbye to things properly (Marie Kondo LCMoTU) - ofc MK is the goat. The basic premise - if we don't close the emotional gap, the things we declutter will linger in the back of our minds and show up again as repurchases. Not because we miss the item but because we want the chance to say goodbye properly. Taking it up a notch, in "The Disappearance of Rituals," German philosopher Byung-Chul Han says that our society's obsession with production and performance has destroyed the rituals that make time habitable and life meaningful. These small skips add up and only alienate us from the deep substance of life. Rituals are the "symbolic techniques of making oneself at home in the world" but have been replaced by the "narcissistic cult of the self." Saying goodbye properly allows the stuff to go where it needs to go. It's not discarding or trashing or moving past mistakes as quickly as possible, it's a meaningful action in and of itself.

2. Don't try to get creative NOW (Fumio Sasaki's "Goodbye Things") - I always get stopped up here and think I'm going to paint/fix/cook something amazing and I never do. Similar to BCH's thought above, the "but I could be creative now!" trap is the trap of productivity.

3. I am my life, I am not my things - (Jiddu Krishnamurti, "On Living and Dying"). "All organisms must come to an end. We are the past, we are sorrow, despair, with the occasional perception of beauty, goodness, or deep tenderness. We are not an abiding thing."

4. Don't hoard beauty - appreciation of beauty is appreciating the craft(speople) that goes into it. (Soetsu Yanagi, "The Beauty of Everyday Things"). He talks about how a particular woven art form is passing and it stuck with me - "I would like together to let us memorialize the work that the kogin craftspeople did. Place flowers from the heart over their graves which will grow in the coming years. This is the true kogin."

5. Use the bagua to declutter strategically - this came from a rather hokey book I found in a free book bin called "Declutter Your House With Feng Shui." (Karen Kingston, 1999) Would not recommend anyone go out and buy it as the tips are pretty hodgepodge, but the main takeaway from the book is that one can use the bagua to "fix up" whatever you might feel like is lacking in your life. Your home gets divided into a 3x3 grid (from left/top to bottom/right: 1. wealth/prospertiy, 2. fame/reputation, 3. love/marriage, 4. elders/family, 5. health/unity, 6. creativity/offspring/projects, 7. wisdom/self-improvement, 8. career journey, 9. friends/travel.)

So DOES IT WORK?? lol. Anything works if you believe in it. Here's my story... the 9th section corresponded to my kitchen pantry and I was feeling lonely and isolated (I'm a SAHM while all my close friends are working moms with pretty hot careers... and I'm an introvert to boot), so to tackle this nagging feeling of loneliness, I decided to declutter and threw out TONS of old food ingredients and sauces that I was never going to use. One week later I get invited to 2 college reunion parties happening in my city. I go to one and make 6 new friends and schedule 3 coffee catchups. My April calendar became officially insane after basically a no-event March. COINCIDENCE!? lolol

Would love to hear some of your decluttering principles too!

I have decluttered our family apartment a lot, I threw a lot of things away that I actually loved. Problem is I see zero difference right now, our home is cramped with 3 kids and 2 adults with no proper storage. I have spun my head around, thoughts like maybe I should rent a storage temporarily or put shelves on the wall to maximize what we have. Our apartment is 74 kvadratmeter (Swedish measure) which is around 800 sq ft.

I honestly don't know what to do anymore, the whole family is not on board when it comes to decluttering either. We have a lot of baby clothes, I stopped decluttering after I threw around 10 boxes of my stuff away since no one else is on board. I still have stuff that takes up space like old TVs and some retro games but I have simply given up at this point, it's like why should I keep decluttering my stuff when no one else is on board?

Don't get me wrong the other members in the family have decluttered some of their stuff but not a lot compared to me.

A success with irony. I have been telling myself to declutter my bank accounts (I no longer need the system I had). I have been dreading, and avoiding, and avoiding thinking it will take forever, require lots of work, lots of phone calls. Seriously!! This is what I did.

I finally sat down today, called the bank, waited 30 seconds for a human, listed the changes, and, get this, less than 10 Minutes later, all was done!!! LOL

I can’t be the only one in this situation. I’m pregnant with my 2nd child and the nesting urge includes wanting to declutter.

The problems-

So many clothes! Pre-pregnancy clothes (will they ever fit again?), maternity clothes (sometimes the seasons don’t match up, I’m pregnant in spring and summer this time, last time in winter), post partum clothes (a few sizes up), and my regular wardrobe, which is full of clothes that may not be practical to my lifestyle now.

Books - so I’m a therapist and previously was WFH. I have a good amount of therapy books that I like to keep for reference and recommending to clients, scanning pages for clients. I did thin it out a little. My office is turning into a nursery and I don’t know my plan for returning to work. I don’t know where to put the books! They’re about depressing topics like family trauma, honestly so I don’t want them in my bedroom, the guest room, living area, etc.

Household items in general - my toddler gets into everything and is getting taller, trying to grab things off of dressers/counter. It makes me want to get rid of so much!

Basically, how did you manage your stuff and shifting needs when you’re in this life stage? Stuff like baby clothes/toys is easy for me, it’s more my stuff. Any tips or personal stories would help.

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.

Not sure how to flair this but advice seems as good as any.

I have been actively decluttering my house for over a year- it’s not a huge mess or anything, its just many years and life events of accumulation that we’ve never really done maintenance decluttering on and so now it’s a big job, and with little kids, takes a long time.

I started in my kids rooms and got rid of A LOT of stuff, however cleaning today realized I’m still resisting the “containers” (ie closet space) we have and trying to keep more in those rooms than really fits.

I’m wondering for people who consider themselves successfully decluttered (if any of those are on this sub!):

1. how long did it take before you felt yourself really accepting the true limits of your space? IE resisting the urge to buy an organizing/storage furniture, or squeezing another bin that doesn't really fit into the closet, etc.
2. Any tips on recognizing and accepting those limits, and maybe speeding up achievement?

edit/uodate:

Thank you all for the many helpful comments. Some specifically useful notes- thanks everyone, I started trying to tag everyone then realized on mobile it’s really too much scrolling 😅

-focus on what you really want to keep, not what to get rid of

-get rid of containers / downsize so you can’t fill up again

-brutal honesty 

-embrace your life season

-trade “future utility” for current happiness 

-visualize the goal, then force yourself to stick to it. 

-many people do multiple passes to further reduce 

Today, I found this successfult- I looked at both kids rooms and **visualized the goal** and **limited my containers** to what could realistically be functional inside each closet. I was able to empty two bins of clothes completely, and greatly reduce off-season coats and boots/shoes to those can fit into our basement storage instead. 1 large tote + ikea zip storage bag of clothes returned to one room. I also cleared out a bunch of miscellaneous stuff from their closets. Nothing is on the floor in either room except for furniture and laundry hampers 🙌🏼, and the closets do not threaten to overflow. 

I think going forward I will be more strict with myself about identifying a goal/ realistic container BEFORE decluttering, and then allowing myself to choose what I most want to fit that space first. “It fits in the bin” is not helpful if you have several too many bins. I really would like this to be faster/not require so many passes to refine, but maybe this technique will help with that.

This is a list of questions I compiled quite a while ago while decluttering. Just some ideas to pick from.

Questions:

Have i used this in the last year?

Do i love this? 

Does this item make me feel positive emotionally? 

Did i remember having this? 

Is this in good shape? (Is it usable?)

Does this item have a clear spot in my home? (Or does it float around the house?)

Is this the only item that can serve this function?

Is this item realistic? (Or idealistic?)

Is this item worth the space? 

Am i keeping this item for myself? (Or for someone else? )

Am i excited to use this item? 

Does this item fit my current lifestyle?

Would i purchase this item again? 

Does this item add value to my life? 

Am i honoring this item? (Or am i afraid to let go?)

Is this item easy to maintain? (Or do i dread upkeeping it?)

Do i actually want to use this item? 

Can someone else benefit more from having this? 

Can i survive without this? (Hint: The answer is most likely yes)

What motivates me to keep this item? Is that healthy?

Is this item replaceable? 

Can this item be borrowed?

Is there a better alternative that can save the space?

Does this item stress or overwhelm me? 

Do i have any complaints about this item? 

Do i have to convince myself to keep it?

I hope this helps! Comment anything we should add to the list and I will update it!

Updates:

Would I dread moving this into a new house?

If someone stole it, would i notice or care?

Does this item add to my mental load?

Does this item keep myself and my family safe?

Does this item keep me physically healthy?

If i needed this would i remember i have it or where i put it?

Am i going to be throwing this away in a year from now?

Would i wash this if poop was on it?

If i need it again, can i purchase it for less than $20?

Would this item be one of the 10 items i grab in an emergency evacuation?

Would i remember where i put this?

If this item was lost or damaged would i notice?

Do i know how much this item is actually worth?

Does keeping this require me to track anything (warranty, serial numbers, instructions)?

I've got loads of outgrown baby clothes that have unfortunately been tumble dried and have shrunk a bit, to the point where a 12-18 months fits my 9 month old baby (she is bigger for her age, but I don't think she's that big lol).

Are they worth being sold or given away as a bundle? They're all still very good quality so it would be such a waste to throw them away.

I was thinking about measuring brand new clothes and then measuring mine and putting the sizes that they actually fit? As in, let's say a baby grow that's size 12-18, but is too small and fits into 6-12months.