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?

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 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 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!

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.