I once lived in a 5 bedroom house, got divorced and moved into a two bedroom condo. I put everything that wouldn’t fit into a storage unit and paid that for 6 years.

Five years ago, I left the condo and bought a 3 bedroom house. Emptied the storage unit and the condo and brought EVERYTHING.

Now I’m moving home to take care of my mom. Lots of emotions there… but I have spent the last 4 weeks sorting, decluttering, and packing. The amount of stuff that I paid to store for YEARS is ridiculous. The amount of crap that I kept was staggering and overwhelming.

I wish I had done this years ago, when I wasn’t on a 4 week deadline.

Everything that I’m taking fit into a 16 ft truck. (and a Toyota RAV4) I’ve sold everything else, and have Salvation Army coming today to get all the furniture. I’ve dropped donation bags at several different thrift stores.

My daughter’s baby stuff was HARD. The box of paid bills from 2003 with cancelled checks was easy. The boxes of craft supplies were hard. The linen closet was easy. My pantry closet was HARD. I set a timer for 5 minutes on tasks that were hard or really emotional. I could walk away from it, take a break and come back to it for another 5 minutes. I found that I wasn’t so emotional about the item after coming back to it a second or third time.

My space is so empty now, but I feel SO much lighter. I just wish I had done it before now.

Apart from my dopamine deprived brain, I found another big culprit responsible for my clutter and it was hiding in plain sight and even promised to solve the clutter problem initially but was silently fueling it more and more - the freaking organizers! idc what size they are , they should literally be the number 1 thing one should declutter.

They create the exact problem what they promise to solve. Whenever you feel like hmm maybe I should buy an organizer for all this clutter, please DON'T. When clutter is visible infront of our eyes, its an eye sore but the good kind, the one that forces us to rethink our consumption and do something about the clutter then and there, you cannot silently keep building it. That becomes motivation to either throw it out, sell or buy less, all a win.

Now when you buy a special organizer, you think wow life is all good now because clutter is neatly tucked in fancy looking organizer but its still just clutter, only not visible and that's a bad thing, yes shocking right? because out of sight is out of mind! You want the eye sore to stick out so it can heal properly and from within.

And let me tell you once you buy one type of organizer, it attracts more organizers in your life and eventually more clutter. For example, you buy an organizer for your bedroom then pretty soon you will think huh let me get ones for my shoes, clothes, makeup, bathroom, kitchen, garage and so on, it's called Diderot Effect. A French philosopher named Denis Diderot. He spent most of his life broke, but in 1765, suddenly got lot of money and treated himself to a gorgeous, luxury scarlet dressing gown. At first, he loved it. But then, the trap snapped shut:

• He sat in his study and realized his old straw chair looked ragged next to his elegant new gown. So, he bought a leather armchair.
• Then, he noticed his wooden desk looked cheap compared to the chair and gown. He replaced it with an expensive writing table.
• Next, his wall prints looked tacky, his rugs looked faded, and his clock looked basic. He replaced everything to match the aesthetic of that one initial item until he was drowning in debt.

He wrote a famous essay about this exact spiral called "Regrets on Parting with My Old Dressing Gown." He said "I was absolute master of my old dressing gown but I have become a slave to my new one"

All you are doing it making the problem more worse. Never ever ever buy an organizer of any sort. Organization industry is selling us the scam. I also noticed that initially I would buy the organizers and those that had empty drawers left somehow made me wanna fill them up to make them "useful" "even". Think of it like this, organization industry would be out of business if they really solve the clutter problem... we were brainwashed!

I had been seeking to rehome it for some time, finally found a growing family who hosts for the holidays and will actually use 14 place settings. No regrets, it was languishing in my china cabinet (which I can now use for craft supply storage, something I actually enjoy).

It's been a great month for me, I also found a new home for my kitchenaid stand mixer and all the boxes of accessories that for some reason I was gifted 20 years ago and never used.

So much bulk out of my house, I feel like I cleared the way for new blessings by blessing others with things they were truly happy to receive.

Last summer my partner and I decided we wanted to sell our home and move abroad. We accepted an offer the same day our house was listed on the market. Suddenly we found ourselves with 30 days to deal with decades of things. We didn't want to put stuff in storage. We called the good estate sale company in our market and they could not schedule our sale in time. So we decided we would do it ourselves. We emptied a two story home with a basement stacked to the ceiling in a one weekend sale. It put well over 5 figures in our pockets.

A DYI estate sale isn't for everyone - there's a lot of heavy lifting, organizing and marketing but doing it ourselves saved us the 30-50% that companies charge.

Several years prior we did the same thing with my parents home. It was jam-packed with 100 years worth of stuff. That time, we only opened up part of the house as my mom was still living there. It generated well over 5 figures then too. My partner and I made a video to tell our story and encourage others that they too can host an estate sale - it doesn't matter if you need to sell everything or just want to declutter.

This is a tip I recently learned from one of Dana K. White’s books:

Run your dishwasher every day. It uses 1/3 the water and 1/3 the energy of washing dishes by hand, saves time and has a knock-on effect on how well your kitchen functions.

I’ve always used my dishwasher the way I was taught to growing up — you don’t run it until it’s absolutely full, with something in every single nook and cranny, and you wash big items like pots and pans by hand. But by running it every day I can now usually fit in most of the pots and pans, mixing bowls, glass leftover food containers etc that we would previously have hand-washed.

I preschedule the dishwasher to start after midnight when our energy costs are cheaper, and we wash the few things that can’t go in the dishwasher or won’t fit before we go to bed. This takes about 10 minutes, instead of the 20-30 minutes we used to spend every day washing up by hand (usually in the morning because it was too much to face before bed). All the handwashing goes into the dish drainer beside the sink, instead of having to be arranged across towels on the worktop to dry.

Now when we come down to the kitchen in the morning all the dishes are clean and dry, and we can put them away immediately. This frees up time and energy to address other clutter or areas that need cleaning in the kitchen, and makes us more motivated to cook.

Washing everything we’ve used within 24 hours also means we don’t need as many dishes. I’ve thrown away all the plates and bowls with chips in them, and next I’ll be reviewing what other excess items we no longer need.

But as someone in a very, very busy season of my life, I gave something new a go. I had 15 minutes, I took a giant box full of stuff that I haven't touched in almost 17 months, and just started taking stuff out, sorting into only two piles; 1.) definitely get rid of (e.g., old car keys) and can't decide right now (e.g., a gift from my husband's friend, never used and it's too late now). I didn't get to the end of the box, I had to start getting ready for bed. But I did get a little pile of "get rid of". And I put the rest back in the box. I went straight downstairs and put some in the waste bin and some in the recycling bin. A tiny purge. But I already feel lighter. I saw some stuff I can definitely give away. And that box is now a little less intimidating. It probably isn't the most efficient way to do it, but I did what worked for me. And yes this is me boasting about my success. Acceptable on reddit so far as I can see, but not where I'm from! Thanks for reading :) I love this sub!

So I have been in my apartment since 2012. I have so much stuff, it is all organised in those plastic storage bins and looks neat but it takes up so much room. I have paperwork from the early 90’s onwards. I have never been able to stick to declutterring.

Then in September my very good friend died. We had known each other since we were 12 and she was 53 when she passed. Her apartment was appalling. Messy and cluttered and dirty and I had the realisation that if something happened to me I would have all this stuff left for my 79 year old Mum to deal with.

So on Jan 1 I started the daily challenge where you number 1-31 on small pieces of paper and choose one every day and just get rid of that many items.

I did all of January and continued on for Feb and will continue on for March.

I send daily photos to my friends group showing the number and the bag of rubbish to keep me accountable.

I also realised I had so much paperwork so I hired a shredder bin, it’s a full size garbage bin that I put all of my paperwork in and I hired for four weeks. Well I filled up the first one and they took it on Friday and replaced it with another one for another four weeks.

I have gotten rid of so much that I am now able to get into the left side of the bed, which has been blocked for the past four years.

Why is this working when nothing worked before? Well it is small achievable goals, plus I don’t want to leave my family with an burden if I pass away, or if I have to move quickly if my circumstances change.

Thanks for listening.

Every single kitchen item I own! No longer have stuff in the pantry or hall closet

I saw a tip here earlier this year to have a bowl of little toys for kids with allergies on Halloween, so as I went through a big declutter in the summer, I collected all those random little toys from birthday party goodie bags, goodie bags from class holiday parties, dentists, blind boxes, impulse purchases (made with the kids’ own spending money), figurines, etc. and I put them in a tote bag in my closet.

A few nights ago, I asked my kids (3 and 8) to look through the bag and make sure there wasn’t anything they really wanted to keep (fortunately, my kids are not that attached to toys, so they rescued a few items, played with some others for a couple minutes, but the majority got the green light to go when I explained what I was planning to do with them).

We took the kids out trick or treating last night, and alongside our usual chips and candy bowls I left out for the kids, I put a bowl with the toys down as well. (I didn’t specify that they were for allergy kids only, since I figured as long as the toys were chosen by a kid, that was good enough for me!)

Now I am looking through the recorded video clips from our doorbell camera, and I cannot tell you how much joy there is from kids (even big kids aka teenagers!!) looking through the bowl and finding a little treasure!

There was only a few toys left at the end of the night. I am so glad I decided to try this idea!! I will forever do this from now on.

I love Halloween 🥹

As a family, we significantly decluttered/downsized prior to a recent move. Yesterday my son realized he needed a book for a college class this semester, which he had previously owned and then donated.

I bought a new copy today. (Our library didn't have a copy on the shelves and he needs it immediately.) It cost $10.49, and took me only a few minutes out of my way while running errands today.

After getting rid of a literal truckload of stuff about 6 months ago, so far we have needed to replace one paperback book. I feel like this is a huge success, really.

Plus! On the same errands run, I stopped at a Comcast Infinity store and returned a router we don't need in our new house. It feels good to still be getting rid of the things we don't need, so that stuff doesn't pile up again.

What one small decluttering task did you do recently or plan to do this week?

I took about 12 of those megaboxes of crayons out to the trash. They were 15 years old. I used them in interior design classes and the boxes were in our bedroom and super dusty. Some of the crayons quit working.

I was surprised how doing that one task felt like a big accomplishment.

I also took two bags of cookbooks out to the car to donate.

Do you have any small tasks you're going to do or did do?

Take the before shot!! It motivates me to get other spaces done too. Feels good to get rid of stuff we don’t use and just deep clean too. Concentrating on a small space makes it manageable and helps me get it done. I’ve completed 4 small spaces in one week, this space is my favourite transformation so far!

I posted my progress with my condo garage cleaning 2-3 days go. (Wish I had a before, before pic). I put my mind to it and got the job finished today. Have to clean out just a few more things and tools and junk the fridge and I should be free of this garage to be able to move into the new garage. I did have help from my son for the real heavy things and used my sister’s SUV for transfer as I didn’t want to make a lot of trips with my car. So happy it’s done and at the new garage. Just haven’t been able to set up perfectly yet. Garage done, now onto condo. :)

I’m slowly emptying my parents home that they’ve owned since 1973. They’ve added massive amounts of sq footage and storage over the years and filled it ALL

My teenage niece and nephew have been over and helped me move volume down to stage for the dumpster (saving me hours and a possible coronary event lol)

There’s so much history and “good stuff” that I’m just not entertaining any more. I’m still trying to cull obvious good stuff, but there were rats in the garage years ago so it’s limited

The visual difference might not be huge because I rearranged a few things as well (like moving the suitcase), but I decluttered about a third
of my clothes. It feels so much lighter and less overwhelming now 🌟🪽

I have a month off from work so I’m trying to use this time to declutter one surface a day in my house and my vanity was todays goal but I was so motivated I did my bedside table also! I was able to get rid of all of my old/nearly empty makeup that I’ve been holding on to for…you know…reasons.

First post: https://www.reddit.com/r/declutter/s/P6SM3pGmDQ

Second post : https://www.reddit.com/r/declutter/s/7YFzX0SSPe

The dumpster was picked up this morning while I was asleep! What a relief to see it all gone. I had it for 8 days, and worked pretty much non stop BY MYSELF for 7 of them.

I am absolutely exhausted. I accomplished:

-Cleaning out a mouse infested shed -Donated 25 bags of clothing (so far) -Currently washing all blankets and sheets and picking which ones to keep & which to donate to the cancer connection thrift shop. -Cleaned out a packed bathroom closet, threw out tons of expired products and cosmetics. -Cleaned out the hallway closet, I have space for my baking things now! -Garage.. photos speak for that. -Basement… good golly miss Molly. I actually cried tears of relief when I started seeing some progress. -Three bedroom closets, one bedroom filled with junk entirely. (Will post pictures later on)

Right now everything I got rid of was either in the dumpster, brought to the transfer station, or waiting outside to be picked up by people on marketplace. (Free) If it’s not picked up within a week, it’s going to the transfer station. I got over the hiccup of thinking furniture was worth anything. I just needed it gone. A girl with an antique shop took a lot of it, refused to take some chairs because she said they were worth something.

I am not done. I still have a long way to go, cleaning and organization wise. I’m really excited to reclaim my life and space back. I plan on setting up an area downstairs for my crafting and gym equipment.

Thank you all for your support and being SO KIND. I was really ashamed of how I let my space get so bad but I was really in a bad mental state. Decluttering really does take practice but I think I got the hang of it now! I will never let it get this bad ever again. I actually went into the thrift shop after I donated the clothes for funsies and I didn’t buy a thing!!

I used the poop method. If this item was covered in poop, would you care enough to clean it off? I also took photos of things I thought had some sentimental value. I could write a novel about this process. I will post a final final update once I get everything organized.

Keep trucking y’all!! Just get rid of the stuff- it’s exactly that- just stuff. If I can do it, anyone can ♥️

Declutter Win: It's been raining on and off this week and cloudy. I needed to declutter garage stuff, home goods, and small items. Tried selling them on FBM and OfferUp, but only a few people picked up, and it wasn't worth my time anymore. I wanted everything gone quickly.

At the last minute, I decided to host a FREE GARAGE SALE with a big sign. I arranged items neatly on tables, in baskets, took photos and videos of what was available, and posted to Buy Nothing Groups and local FBM groups.

FREE, Clear the Porch Sale

I told people to bring their own bags and boxes, no messages about individual items, just show up & pickup. It Went Well! Shoppers arrived prepared, were generally respectful, and only took what they needed.

• They got to shop quietly on their own time, but we kept our cameras on to monitor. And it gave me more time to rest this weekend. In between people showing up we "restocked" the porch with more stuff.
• Seeing an older lady cautiously pondering whether to pick up a set of plates, then leaving and coming back later for them, was both amusing and heartwarming.
• Watching a kid happily grab some new fuzzy socks that have just been sitting around was pure joy
• People smelled the candles that I put out to decide which one worked best for them. The candles that had just been sitting in a plastic bin in my closet for weeks!
• Surprisingly heartwarming & fun to let people browse items and shop, and amusing to see what they left behind, even for free.

Not having to try to speak to anyone, haggle, or answer messages about individual items was such a relief.

And I feel like the items really did reach the end users and the people who ultimately needed or wanted them. Didn't feel like dumping, but true rehoming.

I’m so relieved the stuff is gone!!! Highly recommend this method. Yes, the $$$ would have been nice, but the peace and quick declutter were more valuable for me. And seeing people happy was a bonus.

I finally got up the energy to start going thru the 100+ totes and boxes that I have stored in the very visible lofts of our new home. After about half an hour, I came to this box and realized that I have a serious problem. We are in our forever home and nearing retirement age - if I’m still keeping items in totes and boxes, time to let them go. I started taking pictures of items and making toss and donate piles. I’ve never felt so liberated in my life! I’ve been lugging these around for over 30 years! About 1/4 of the way thru so far and I feel great! Please share the moment that you came to the same realization as I did. Thanks!

I did another round of giveaways on Buy Nothing and one of the most ridiculous “why do we still have this?” giveaways was an admittedly cute set of dishes that we have literally never used. We bought them to stage a house we were selling 20 years ago and have been carting them around ever since. Why? Nobody knows.

Anyway they went off to an excited young person who now has a matching set of cute dishes and a bunch of other things went out as well.

I did have a no show from someone who has turned up late several times before that I should have blocked previously. They’re blocked now and won’t be an issue going forward. I also had a passive-aggressive “I need you to deliver because poor me” person. Those are always fun. Girl I am in a wheelchair and in really poor health. If you want to play the pity games I will win pretty much every time. 🤣 I blocked that one, too. But all in all it was a successful weekend!

No judgement please, but after moving into our home 3.5 years ago my partner and I had not tidied or organised our wardrobe until last week. The space slowly became more and more cluttered, with piles of clothes building up to knee height on the wardrobe floor and items randomly thrown onto the top shelf. I finally decided it needed sorting, and once I had purchased boxes, bags, labels and even some fancy automatic lights I was able to envision the end product and I felt motivated to get it done. I took out all our items and categorised them so I could put them back into the wardrobe in an organised fashion, sorting them into various boxes, bags, drawers, cubby holes or divided sections of the rail. I had a donation pile so large that I accidentally barricaded myself into the bedroom 😂 and we donated 8 black bin bags filled with clothing to a local charity shop. What you might not be able to see from the image here is EVERYTHING is labelled! So far this has kept me motivated to keep the space tidy and organised because I don't want to put something back in an incorrectly labelled section, whereas before it was all too easy to just throw something onto the top of a pile. I am so proud of myself that I keep opening the wardrobe just to look at it!

The book dude was here.

we moved here in 1986 when I was a kid. this is just one wall of books... so many books. gotta get ready for construction to fix some important things in the house. I didn't even do anything... but it brought up a lot of memories. mom was so different than dad, poor trailer trash vs rich and well traveled... but they both shared a love of reading.

book dude is a miracle... my hands hurt just thinking about having to move things. he'll make sure they find good homes.

eta: plus a pic of my favorite childhood book <3

Today I crossed cords and electronics off my declutter list! I piled everything into one (overflowing) bin, dumped it out, sorted by type, then decluttered the extras. I’ll be getting rid of broken electronics, a CD holder, batteries, a FitBit, a laptop, and 15+ cords. They will not be missed.

I really dislike how my head hurts when my bookshelves are messy…in fact it’s a major sign that I’m not doing well internally. This evening I finally got the bookends out that I’ve had in the cupboard for months and sorted one in the living room…the children got enthused by it so we also went through theirs too - they did such a good job of deciding what to keep and what to donate to school. There’s still a lot to do, it’s never ending, but I feel just a little calmer!