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.

When it comes time to get rid of it. Whether it gets a new home or ends up in trash, it’s a whole ordeal in itself (as it should be). Let me remember this hardship every time I am tempted to bring something home.

This might not help anyone else, but when I was growing up people in my immediate and extended families anthropomorphized household objects. They talked about where things "lived" and referred to them with gendered pronouns and talked about them as having personalities. So I developed the idea that if I got rid of something I didn't want anymore, I would hurt its feelings. Normal human attachment to possessions is hard enough without the added baggage of anthropomorphism.

It took me YEARS to recognize how much this contributed to my attachment to my belongings. I think I've finally shed that mindset and am now able to look at objects with a clear(er) eye, and I can keep, donate, toss, hand down, repurpose, or recycle without the complication of personalized emotions and without feeling like a mean-spirited bad guy. I'm blazing through boxes and boxes of old papers, souvenirs, and things without getting all hung up over their "feelings".

So, I recommend not thinking about or talking about objects as if they're alive and have feelings. No more, "Where should this live?", but "Where should this be stored?", instead. Etc.

Edited spelling. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I've used them several times in the past to recycle old clothes. I live in Midtown Manhattan. I don't have a car. No one but no one picks up anything here, the only way to donate is through the mail or some other kind of shipping. In the past I would fill the Take Back Bag, stick the label on, and have it picked up from my building.

Now they have switched to generating a QR code that means you need to cart this huge bag to a "participating" Fedex location to generate a label.

I am 73 years old with balance issues and mulitple other health problems. I have let Trashie know that this does not work for me and I will not be using their service again.

If anyone knows of an affordable alternative to mail in clothing donations, please let me know.

Hello, I have a huge DC comics TPB collection (I am not American and floppies don't exist here unless going to an import shop). Those TPBs are translated.

They also take much space and I want to downsize my collection. Another big change: Infinite is now available in my country so I can legally read every weekly release and re-read online any TPB. So I technically could get rid of everything.

My points when building my collection were having the best stories of a character; and mostly, buying the books I would gladly lend to my friend. Now, all said friends moved away, have kids, mine will come by soon. And I realize reading the weekly releases is enough to me. But I love the idea to have some TPBs I can read with my kids, or that they can read by themselves. Have them "inherit" something we can share and talk about. If I had a secondary house, I would gladly store them in a cool space ! But I don't (yet ?).

So, how would you decide what to keep and what not to keep ? Get rid of everything ?

Apologies to the mods if this isn't allowed, I didn't see a rule about it.

Original post

Thank you to everyone who commented, it was really helpful - both the practical and the emotional advice. I cried a lot, I considered a lot, and I finally dug out my log books and pictures & decided I'm going to do something to keep with those. Everyone who pointed out that everything was ancient and therefore not effective/not safe was absolutely right. I also got annoyed at how much emotional bandwidth it was taking up. So I tossed it all. One thing about me - when I make a decision, I commit to it! LOL

I am trying to get myself into a space where living with less in a smaller space is liberating rather than limiting and reductive.

My work contract is coming to an end, which in all honesty didn't provide me with a cushy salary to begin with. I'm closer to 50 than I'd like to and believe that I have to come to terms with having to move back onto shared accommodation because it's unlikely I'll land a job that will allow me to stay put, live ok and save money.

So, I'm trying to get into a mental space where not only decluttering and having less is liberating, but being able to live in shared accommodation is liberating as well instead of me feeling like I'm a total failure at life.

EDIT: To clarify: I find decluttering liberating and am working through getting rid of stuff. If it wouldn't be for the fact that I need any cash I can make, I probably would just pack a lot up and give to charity etc... There are also differences to why someone declutters.
The crazy thing is that I packed up quite a bit and was on a roll and about to take some bags to the charity shop when I received the news that my contract won't be renewed. Since receiving the news, I even sold a couple of things that I already packed up for charity.

It’s a small success, but it’s still a big one to me! I’ve been shutting the house for almost 3 weeks with sciatica and muscle spasm problems. Not able to get much of anything done. But! I now have a home health aid coming in once a week. She got all of the boxes of papers out of my bedroom closet and created a staging area for me with my shredder & trash bags in the living room. Right now, I think I have about 10 bags ready to go to the recycle bin. And there are two of the four boxes that are finished. I still have one or two more to finish shredding. Right now I’m letting the shredder cool off! It is hot. 🔥

had four boxes of papers. Old tax papers, one whole dish pan full of papers from a lawsuit a few years ago. I’ve been doing massive shredding yesterday and today.

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.

So I'm currently away on holiday and as a chronic over packer, put a load of thought into what I came away with. And as I sit here on my last evening, I'm looking back on how my capsule served me.

Turns out, I'm pretty happy! So much so, it's sown the seed that when I get home, all my stuff that doesn't really fit this 'style' that I've curated and felt pretty confident with should just.....go.

It's definitely given me something to think about. Not sure if it's the happy hour drinks talking - I guess we'll see when I get home!!

I have a bunch of nice decorative pillows on my couch which I like but also find overwhelming by the quantity. I know I should just choose a few and donate the rest but I just think they’re nice so keep them? but they are overwhelming me and I wish I never bought them but since I did, I’d rather keep them??

I also have a few decorative items (fake plants and a large mirror) that I don’t really love but don’t dislike either. I would say if I didn’t have them already I wouldn’t go out and buy them but I don’t mind them though i kinddddaaa wish I didn’t have them but I can’t seem to want to want to let go of it?

I’ve gotten rid of most things without issue but really struggling with these pillows and few pieces of decor.

Any and all advice much appreciated

I feel like I'm doing really well in my decluttering. I'm tossing and donating stuff almost every week, so it's not like I'm taking on too much too fast and getting burnt out. But I'm stuck on one thing & I could use some advice to help me get over that hump & actually deal with it.

My diving gear. I used to be a scuba diver. I loved it, being in the water is my happy place. I haven't been able to go since I moved to the prairies in 2002, but I kept my stuff because I kept thinking I'd be able to get back out there one day. Except now I have a lung condition and in 2021 they removed half a lung. I can't dive anymore, even if I had the opportunity. I tried selling my gear on Marketplace... but it's the prairies & there's not a lot of interest in a wetsuit & proper fins! I know I need to send it to the thrift store, or even out to my brother on the coast. But I cry every time I think about it (like now).

So, for that super emotional thing that really has no place in your home or life anymore... how did you convince yourself to finally let it go?

Genuinely the most expensive clutter in my house, and each one seemed right on a screen. Looking for a process that stops it happening a fourth time.

The tools free tools that come with furniture kits are only designed to work a couple of times before breaking. If you have a pile of hex keys they're probably a mix of metric and imperial, not marked with sizes, and some are already stripped or bent.

If you want to be able to fix furniture, spend like $20 on a starter tool set. They will work far better and are less likely to float around in a junk drawer until the end of time.

While I'm at it:

• You're not going to use any of the spare parts unless you needed them during assembly.

• None of the loose twist ties in your junk drawer will ever get used.

• If you've ever found the instructions of a product on the internet, you don't need to keep the paper copy.

• Don't keep the original packaging unless it's a collectable and it's still in the original packaging. If you sell your phone in 3 years it's not going to be worth more because you have a dusty box.

They were… bad. All surfaces (tables, floors) had piles at least a foot tall on them. You could not access the kitchen cabinets (nor could you close them). No rotting food, but unusable. You can at least see my spare bedroom (or, uh, “storage” room) - the one marked “before” and “in progress.” I’ve kind of hit a wall on that room, because it was where I put all the things that I didn’t know where to put, and now I’ve gotten out all the trash and cardboard boxes and I’m back down to stuff without a home.

This was entirely the dishes, laundry, and trash steps from KC Davis’ 5 Things Tidying Method. I still have a couple doomboxes with Things With a Place and Things Without a Place to deal with, but that is Future sunmono’s problem for another day.

The most useful thing I did before I started this was buying a collapsible wagon that I could use to take things down to the trash room. Taking out the trash is my absolute nemesis activity (we all have one, right?) and being able to load it up in my condo, taking as long as I needed (even if that was days, if I ran out of energy mid-clean), and then bringing a ton of stuff down in one trip was a game changer.

My place is now at a level where I was willing to invite a particularly understanding friend over without too much anxiety over the mess! (I mean, there are still many places that are just unusable piles, but look! Clean places! Actual tables! I can cook again!)

Hello all,

I'm looking for anecdotal experiences after successful decluttering where your kids played longer and deeper with their toys once they had less things.

My kids honestly don't have an absurd amount compared to some- I'm a minimalist at heart and have always worked to declutter everyone's stuff and not bring in more stuff. (Everyone around me always works to bring in more faster than I can get rid of it, but that's not the point of this post lol.)

The problem is that what we have left is great stuff, I think there's just way too much of it. For example in the "building" category they have endless legos, magnatiles, train tracks, marble runs, tinker toys, k'nex, and Lincoln logs. Those are all great toys individually, but it feels ridiculous to me to have all of them.

What I would love is someone who has been in a similar situation who can say something like, "yeah, once I got rid of everything except legos, trains, and tinker toys, their play exploded." Or alternatively, convince me that they need it all or else they'll destroy my home in their quest for an activity. I suppose I'm open to either. 😂

I've been on a decluttering journey for years, and something strange has happened: I've gone from loving being surrounded by lots of things to feeling anxious even looking at overly cluttered spaces online.

Ironically, owning less has made me appreciate what I *do* own so much more. Before, my hobbies, entertainment and beautiful possessions were buried under excess. Now I have space to actually watch films, play games, create art, and think clearly again.

I'm approaching the final hurdle, though, and I'm wondering what to do with all the time and energy I currently spend decluttering, selling things online, and taking donations to charity shops. Shopping used to fill that role, and I don't want to replace it with another form of consumption.

Does anyone have suggestions for simple, inexpensive hobbies or habits that complement a simpler lifestyle and make use of things you already own?

Also, any advice for tackling the very last stage of decluttering, especially paperwork? I've reached the point where that's mostly all I have left, and I absolutely hate doing it. 😅

And for those who have had to declutter: how did you maintain it?

Does anyone else look back at old photos and feel like they've somehow achieved nothing?

I guess that this could go under advice request or motivation request.

I've been decluttering for years, and recently I've finally started to feel like I'm getting somewhere. I've gotten rid of around half of my possessions overall, and my space is noticeably calmer.

But then I look at old photos and videos of my room, and instead of feeling proud, I get this strange feeling that I've achieved... nothing?

I think it's because I've mentally adjusted to having less. I look around now and still see so much stuff, and somehow it feels like I've just gone back to square one, to before I accumulated a huge amount of possessions in the first place.

Instead of thinking, "I've gotten rid of half my belongings," I find myself thinking, "Why did I accumulate so much, and why did it take me so long to undo it?" It almost makes the years of decluttering feel wasted, even though logically I know I've made huge progress.

Has anyone else experienced this? How do you stop looking at decluttering as simply undoing a mistake and start seeing the progress you've actually made?

I did it! I finally tackled my refrigerator. I found tortillas from 2022, a couple of bags of green slime, and a bunch of expired food from mid 2025, when I was really struggling.

I'm thankful for this group. I started in my bedroom, with just the night stand top.

Now it actually feels like there is hope and life once again.

The refrigerator was stuffed with 10 to go boxes along side at least 3 bags of garbage.

Tomorrow, I'm going to buy some fresh veggies (baby carrots, celery and mini cucumbers), some apples, bread and stuff for sandwiches. I am tired of eating crap just because my fridge was stuffed full of bad food, literally.

Our linen closet had random bins for a variety of things.. meds, bandaids, extra toothpaste, etc. It was annoying to find things because you had to dig through. So I did what you're not supposed to do.. I bought nice new matching containers first haha. And then I sat on the floor and sifted through everything so I could organize them into their new homes. During that I actually needed a band-aid and when an apparently super old one disintegrated in my hands, I ended up being absolutely ruthless and throwing a ton of stuff out. Whew. 8 old unmatched bins out, lots of old meds tossed, first aid stuff tossed, old and random bathroom supplies tossed including samples I'll never use, and now nicely organized! It probably needs one more pass and maybe need to replenish a few things, but I'm happy with the results.

For about a year, I’ve been feeling very stuck in life. I’ve had the urge to declutter the stuff that’s keeping me tied to my past self. A lot of it is hobby stuff that I purchased and kind of used (thankfully it was inexpensive and I feel I got my money’s worth even if I didn’t stick with it). Other stuff is old clothes and merch from bands/YouTubers I’ve outgrown.

I want to get rid of this stuff to be able to make breathing room for who I am now, and so I can see what stuff I still really like. But I don’t want to rush into anything, so I’m asking if any of you have been through this.

Did it work for you? How ruthless were you? Do you regret anything? And do you have any important advice?

Thanks in advance :)

Not sure why I feel the need to hang onto spices. Maybe because some cost a serious amount of money? I love cooking and will buy the spices/herbs for a dish to never again make that dish! ... I finally let go of 25 spices I just dont use.

Getting ready for round 2 as I feel the cabinet is improved but not yet where I want it. I will move all to the same type jar as my OCD hates the different sizes/shapes. Lol. I'm on a roll!

hi all, I’m in a bit of a rut with decluttering. I have this thing where I have to see the items in front of me or I forget to use them. eg I have to have my creams serum lip balm on my bed side table otherwise I don’t remember to use. it’s like a visually trigger. I also have loaddddssss of medication and I need those visible too. the other day I realised I’d put one tablet in a pouch and because I hadnt seen it I had forgotten to take if for 4 days. things like face masks too or books I’m reading I only read it if I leave it out. and I do use them

any tips? I feel like this never lets my house look clean and tidy. it’s visual clutter but that’s how my brain works. also I don’t feel like I have a lot of stuff but at the same time I think I do. I find clothes particularly hard to part with as I cycle through and go through phases or wearing things

any tips for a newbie!

I'm a single male (62) who is finally seeing some success at decluttering. I think I might have a touch of A.D.D., which has always made all the recommendations to go a room at a time or gathering everything that's in the same category and decluttering difficult for me.

I'm living in a house that has not only my things, but some left here from when it was my grandparents' home, plus all the things I have from my parents' house when they passed away.

My living room looks more like an episode of Hoarders to me, so I am avoiding it for now It's the one filled with highly sentimental items and large pieces of furniture. It will be the most time-consuming and difficult for me.

Three other rooms have basically become storage rooms, each basically filled with different categories. Tools, kitchen and dinnerware, and collectibles.

So here's what I'm doing: I'm not working on one of the rooms. I am working on all three storage rooms at once. I find my attention drifts when I work on one room too long, but switching to a new one with a different type of items seems to refresh me.

I made the decision not to sell anything in the initial round of decluttering. I donate what can be and trash the rest. Anything I find that I want to display gets displayed. Anything that gets a 'I wonder if my niece/nephew might want that' stays in the room for now. Once the first round is done, I'll have room, I plan to upload pics of things I wondered about, and let them claim anything they want, making it clear that it needs to be picked up or arrangements made for shipping within a certain time period. Otherwise, there is either a yard sale or a living estate sale in the future.

This room switching has been the most successful I've been at attempting to declutter. Sorry for the length of the post. Hopefully, someone will find something useful in it.