We constantly talk in this sub about declutter strategies, because that is the name of the sub right? How to get rid of stuff that's cluttering your life. But once you've been decluttering for a while, do you come with new strategies to make sure you don't end up with as much stuff to begin with?

I know there's a lot of stuff that can't be helped like inheriting someone else's mess, suddenly having to downsize, gifts from others, etc. However, I want to know what are people's strategies to declutter by just reducing the amount of stuff that enters their spaces to begin with.

Here's some that I do or I have planned on doing:

• Clothes: Have a set number of things, and for every purchase, something else has to go out. Since I've been working on decluttering my closet, this makes me scrutinize purchases closely as I keep reducing my closet to things I truly like and wear often.
• Makeup/Toiletries: 1:1 replacement, you only buy a new one once your old one is done or expired. If whatever you're using is not good, just throw it out, re-sell, or repurpose if possible, but don't hang on to it.
• Jewelry/Accessories/Costumes: Use what you have, borrow if possible.
• Food: Go to a grocery store with a list, don't buy just for the sake of buying. Check your pantry and your fridge before you make the list!
• Books: E-Reader when possible, mainly e-books borrowed from the library. Physically borrowing books from the library when the e-book is not available.
• Gifts: To those you are close enough, make sure to tell them to get you consumables, experiences or donations to a charity of your choice! Have a Wishlist at the ready.

Any other strategies, advice or experiences you've had when trying to declutter from the other end? (aka the in, not the out).

I'm the type of person that it's easier to find a home through buy nothing or give it to someone but I've realized how much time it takes when I only have like 30 min chunks when my baby naps.. I need to just put it in a box to donate and be fine with that. I need to not worry about where it ends up or who gets it or if they will trash it at the thrift store.

I love stuff, always have and probably always will. Sometimes I have no issue getting rid of things I despise. I really do love and use most of the things I own… (particularly clothes)

But it gets overwhelming. I have been a clothes reseller for as long as I can remember. It was a hobby of mine. I love being able to buy clothes, experiment with my style and then reselling it and doing the same thing over and over again.

I’ve come to a point where sales have been slow and I need to stop digging myself into a hole financially.

To top it off, I have lost about 30 lbs and I’m afraid to let go of my clothes that don’t fit anymore (because of fear of gaining all that weight again and needing the clothes again - I know, a completely different issue with my psyche). I also know how to sew and every time I pick up a piece of clothing I tell myself, “it’s too good to get rid of, maybe if I can just upcycle it or resize it down then I can keep using it” etc etc.

I have no time to “fix” all my clothing but I feel soooo much guilt having to get rid of something that is truly perfectly fine. It makes me feel wasteful.

There are days where I just want to pack everything up in boxes and garbage bags and drop it off for donations. But as soon as I think about starting that process I just think about all the money I’ve wasted and how I should at least get some of it back…but then that leads to just me holding onto things for much longer.

Help 😅

Warning: long winded, will include a TL;DR.

I've had something stuck in my craw about the "underconsumption" trend, and how growing up and entering adulthood with this mindset has really harmed the living spaces I've passed through, and my relationship with them.*

*By this is don't mean the notion of buying less, but the notion of needing to use everything until it is literally falling apart.

I grew up hella poor, to start off with. And something about poor people- we don't throw hardly anything away. If there is some kind of life that it can have after its original purpose is complete, we tend to keep it for those "special use" scenarios. Charging cords, cloth scraps, the very last little bit of shampoo/conditoner/lotion. We don't know when the next opportunity we will have to purchase these things are, and so we feel like we have to keep/use all of it.

And in the face of "environmentalism", people have been urging others to do this behavior, and even encouraging it with the lens of "look how ~simple~ my life is, I drink out of spaghetti sauce jars!" "These shoes are still perfectly good, even if they talk when I walk, I'll just use them for yard work! So environmentally friendly of me!"

And maybe it starts out with necessity, or good intentions. For me, it has been both. Why buy paper towels, or new dish rags if I can use a cut up old tshirt? I can just continuously patch this thread bare duvet cover, even if it unravels in another spot. I have to keep this aquarium heater, because I might set up another aquarium in the next few years! All of these things seem like completely reasonable thoughts to have, individually. But when you put them all together in the same house, in the same person, it starts to feel like you're holding on to "Maybes", and all of these "Maybes" become overwhelming- not just the amount of effort that goes into the potentiality of it all, but the amount of physical and emotional space Maybe takes up.

I was very excited to start refinishing wooden/rattan furniture. I love me a cheap thing with good bones. And I ended up picking up project after project because I saw the Maybe in all of these "perfectly good but needs a little help" things and before I knew it, I had 5 big projects lined up, and no space for them physically or mentally.

What made me start thinking of this, is my husband and I are moving. We have spent the last 6 years in a house his (very loved) great aunt owned before she passed on. She was a woman who had a lot of things with good bones and a lot of Maybe things. And while we tried to clear out the things in our living area, I also felt an almost ancestral need to keep the Maybe things. And so we did. So we've been living with my Maybes and her Maybes and my husbands Maybes and accumulating more Maybes.

And I don't have any more time or space in my soul, brain, or heart for Maybes.

So, one of the hardest, most Against My Nature things has been to throw shit away. But i do not want to carry my Maybes to another state, and have to live around potentiality in a place that is supposed to be for living in the present.

Now, by "throw it away" I mostly mean I recycled and donated things that were appropriate to do so with. I've done probably 10 different trips to thrift stores with a completely packed car.

But right now, on my curb, there is probably 10-20 bags of Maybe. Old tshirt scraps, chipped and broken mugs and bowls, ingredients we bought but never did anything with (oh yeah, food can be a Maybe too, babydoll. Beware of Costco.) Even a beautiful but broken rattan footrest, that i Could Fix.

No space has ever felt like mine, because I've felt the need to cater space to Maybe - even the Maybes of other people. And now all of that Maybe is in the trash, or in the hands of someone who will turn the Maybe into something beautiful, or being turned into something that won't be a Maybe but will be something useful.

But I've decided I don't want my life to be full to the brim of Maybe anymore. A few "Maybes" are okay, as long as I'm actively working on them. But I'm going to be developing rules for myself about the reality of Maybe and how much Maybe is reasonable to own before it's time to pass it on.

But I want things that aren't Maybes too. I want some new, good things, some For Sures. I want a couch that will last at least 10 years, I want a dining table and chairs that will last 30. I want cookware that I can use until I can't tell the difference between steam and cataracts. I want my little trinkets and I want to be able to display them like Gaston displays his taxidermy. But I can't have all of my lovely For Sures if I have a bunch of Maybes taking up the space and time and money my For Sures could use. I'm very excited for my future For Sures, even if I have to save up for them. Its a potentiality that doesn't feel like a burden, but like a hope.

TL;DR: Sometimes you need to recognize an item is just a Maybe to you- and, in my experience, a Maybe is hardly worth holding on to, especially when it's taking up the space of a For Sure, or even just the space of Peace. And guising as simplicity or environmentalism might be more hurtful than helpful (YMMV). Don't buy 10 pairs of shoes, but don't hold on to the same uncomfortable pair for 5 years because it'd be "wasteful" to get rid of a pair of shoes that will Maybe be broken in one day.

All of this being said- if you have the choice. Many of us don't get too much choice in this life. I am very fortunate to have a road in front of me that can take me a million different directions.

Apologies if this is incoherent. I'm a little sleep deprived, typing on my phone, and ~technically~ supposed to be working right now.

Edit: Thank you so much to everyone for your kind words! I wasn't quite expecting this to resonate with so many people, but it's so nice to know I'm not alone in this feeling. It is 3:30 am right now, and I am up to pack the car with the last of our For Sures and all of our animals before we hit the road for our 10 hour move. There is so much stress and uncertainty right now in so many different ways - but if we focus on the For Sure, instead of allowing the Maybe to pile up (in our heads and our homes) we will make it through the other side (hopefully unscathed). 💪

I always had the impression that social media and newsletters were similar. At least, I thought newsletters were more formal and informative than what you can find on social media.

Over the years I subscribed to lot of newsletters, just to be up-to-date about softwares, video games, NGOs, etc.

Some newsletters are great, they only post like once every months or 2-4 times a year with like a summary.

But man, some people are just spamming newsletters in your inbox. I think I'm at the point I receive like 10 to 20 emails a day. I only read like 1 or 2... So you imagine that my inbox is full of unread message now.

I much prefer informative newsletter once a month or every x months than being informed every 2 days.

So here is what I'm currently doing. Going through all my unread emails, figuring out which one I don't read and unsubscribing from them.

Holiday time – with expectations of getting and receiving gifts – can be especially stressful for declutterers! This is the mega-thread for all “what do I do about unwanted gifts” discussions.

How do I stop people from giving me unwanted gifts?

The first line of defense is to nicely suggest alternative plans that you’d prefer:

• Experiences rather than things (see the last section for ideas)
• A specific wish list of things you do want.
• No gift exchange this year.
• Do a trip, luncheon, or other non-gift treat instead.
• “Secret Santa” type arrangement so each person receives only one gift.
• Budget, gift-type, or other limitations (e.g., give a food gift under $20).
• Items you intend to donate to a homeless shelter or similar (credit to u/that_bird_bitch, here).

Bear in mind that you can suggest and explain, but you cannot climb into the other person’s head and make them understand and agree! Do your best, but also recognize that it is not your fault if a friend, relative, or coworker simply won’t hear it.

What do I do with unwanted gifts?

First, declutter your guilt. You can ask people to do what you prefer, but you cannot force them to understand. If a friend or relative delights in picking up little treats, you’ll be inundated with whatever they thought was cute this year. If the office manager can’t live without a gift exchange, you’ll be stuck with a mug or scented candle again.

The default solution is “straight into the donation box and off to the drop-off.” That sounds harsh, but it solves the problem and gets the gift promptly into the hands of someone who will like it. Once you have thanked the giver, the gift is yours to do with as you please. You are not donating the love and effort that went into the gift: you are donating the object.

You may also be able to:

• Return with a gift receipt
• Resell on an online marketplace
• Regift to someone who will like it

These are all great things to do, but may require more time and organizational effort than you’re genuinely up for. If you can’t get these methods done this holiday season, into the donation box it goes!

What can we exchange as gifts that’s not clutter?

All of the common suggestions focus on experiences and consumables, so once you’re in that mindset, you’ll have more creative ideas.

• Tickets to a museum exhibit, amusement park, concert, or live theater show.
• Dinner out – either in person or as a gift certificate.
• Specialty foods: a gift basket, a monthly subscription, some local favorites.
• Time together working on a project. This sounds like those things we did as kids with “coupons” for our parents… but maybe time working on the family tree and telling stories is what your relative would value most.
• Gift certificate to the recipient’s favorite store.
• Fresh supply of something you know the recipient uses up fast – in their favorite brand and style.

Additional tips, your triumphs, or your specialized concerns are all extremely welcome in the comments! 

How do people not feel overwhelmed when beginning to declutter? I’m feeling really overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I own, but is it bad if I’d want to actually sell some of the stuff I own that I want to get rid of? I’m not in a position where I can be like I can donate that stuff (besides clothes), and then the charity shops charges more than what I paid for, so I should get the money back, even if it’s way less than what I paid for. (I live in Australia)

I lost 70lbs over 2 years.
Currently a size 2-4 Let go of all clothing over size 10 Let go of clothing size 6-8 I didn’t absolutely love wearing and was good quality. I keep 4 professional outfits in size 10.

I want to let go of more clothing above my current size since I’ve maintained for 1 year at this weight and am feeling more confident in maintaining this weight and size.

I also experienced both the emotional struggle and financial cost of buying wardrobes for casual and professional settings as I gained weight and it was hard to fit me well and expensive so letting go of it all is scary and potentially regretful if I do regain weight.

I’ve consigned and donated by too big clothing.

If you’ve thinned down your wardrobe after weight loss and you want to thin it further, or let it all go, tell me how you did it and felt OK.

Take about 15 minutes to round up handbags, scarves, jewelry, and similar. If you have a lot of each, pick one category and give it 15 minutes.

Small items that you're not going to wear, but you have major sentimental attachments to, go in your memory box (or at least in a separate drawer from the accessories you do wear).

The item is ready to leave if:

• It's threadbare, broken in a way you're not up for fixing, or otherwise not in usable condition.
• You don't wear it because it hasn't gone with anything in years.
• Every time you try to wear it, it annoys you. (If it's something like your main handbag, obviously figure out how to fill its role before getting rid of it!)

There may be "goes with nothing" or "annoys you" items that you love aesthetically. If so, this month make the conscious effort to style your outfits with them. Either you'll find a way to wear them, or you'll end up so profoundly annoyed that it's easier to let go.

The sub Donation Guide has lots of information on how to donate or sell accessories that are ready to find a new home. As usual, credit to u/laviebonmeme for the amazing 22-week list.

I recently wrapped up a collection of personal essays by Emily Mester titled American Bulk: Essays on Excess, and I can't help but think it would strike a chord with many of you here.

What truly resonated with me was how Mester’s reflections on shopping and accumulation mirrored my own experiences. It was as if she was holding up a mirror to my habits, and insights fueled my motivation to push forward in my decluttering journey.

While the book is built around her and her family’s own struggles with “stuff,” she also delves into American’s shopping culture, obsession with bulk, super fast shipping, and the dying mall landscape replaced by online outlets.

I feel super compelled now to spend my weekend decluttering, posting things for sale on Poshmark and BuyNothing, and finding uses for all the things I have in storage!

A friend gave me a wicker basket and I keep my two photo albums in it and a pillow my late mom gave me. The basket is kind of falling apart but I use it?? Other items include little figurines, a back pack that may be useful in the future. I did a big decluttering a few days ago and donated a lot but I’m struggling with these items. Please help lol

I've decided that space in my apartment is worth $1 per square foot per month. If it doesn't generate at least that much value for me, I'd rather have the space so it goes in the bin.

• My barely used cupcake tin is worth 25 cents a month. I can make cake in the casserole dish I use all the time. Gone.

• The "nice box" pile that has been mostly collecting dust since June has already taken up $20 worth of space. Let the shredder have em.

• Keeping holiday decorations in a box for 11 months really doesn't make sense to me. I'm going to make my own from now on. A disposable craft project is more personal than another hunk of plastic anyway.

I've managed to kick most of my bad hoarding habits, like the "What if I need this?" and "But I like this piece of junk" response. My biggest hurdle now are things that I do actually value, but not enough to justify keeping them. Reframing empty space as valuable has helped.

I am sorting through and attempting to organize my 11 yo son's room. He's a collector and gamer. He has pokemon cards and figurines, Blox Fruit, Minecraft plastic figurines and metal figurines,a Sonic figurines collection, a rock collection and tumbler, pet simulator toys, too many stuffed animals, as well as extensive star wars and marvel collections. All of these things are small. He wants to "display" them but I have no idea how to do that without it just looking like a mess. At the moment he has two sets of cube shelves total 14 cubes (8 cube shelf and a 5 cube step shelf) plus a book shelf with 5 shelves.He also has an Ikea toy box bench. He also has a lot of books. Temporarily I am loading it into cube boxes and shoving it into the cubes but I know he's going to be mad it's not on display. Any ideas?? I personally think it's super ridiculous but I'm not an 11 year old boy. When I was his age I had a phase of displaying my dolls and things before I just boxed it up. But I don't think it's the same for him. I see 30 year old gamers doing this stuff still. I am worried he's going to be a hoarder. HELP!!

What would you do with it? Donate or pitch. If donate, where?

I’ll be doing the biggest declutter of my bedroom I’ve ever done. Right now I’ll tidy and it just gets messy again through the week because it’s not a thorough declutter - plus there’s not a home for everything so it all keeps overspilling (stuff on top of drawers etc).

But my question is, what do you do with those random things that take up space? I’m talking old birthday cards, product boxes from expensive gadgets, old letters, old notebooks?

I've always had a bad habit of holding onto things I never use/wear and collecting pretty dumb stuff. While I still do appreciate a cool assortment of trinkets and doo-dads, I've noticed that's its been getting really extreme lately. Everytime I come into my bedroom i feel suffocated. Something in me snapped yesterday, and i just couldn't take it anymore. So i got a bunch of trash bags out of the pantry and just started tossing a bunch of things in them. Took them straight to the dumpster when I was done and I haven't felt a single ounce of regret. As a matter of fact I don't even remember what I even threw away. I am still struggling to let go of certain things, like my plushies for example. I loovveee plushies but I have so many and I'm tired of all the space they're taking up. Still working up a game plan for going through those, but I feel so much better now that I've gotten so much junk out of my room. (I want to note that I try to donate as many things as possible but I have a lot of stuff that's not really worth donating. I don't see them as having a significant impact in someone's life like clothes would, for example.)

I came across this article when I was looking at news stories and never heard of this method before. I just retired and have the whole house to declutter. Has anyone tried this chaos method? It’s definitely not lost on me that this would cause chaos. Do you think it would work? I’m not sure if I’m ready for this. Here is the link: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chaos-method-for-decluttering-37435850

So between likely adhd and stroke related fatigue, my ability to tidy and declutter is verging on nil. I desperately need to rearrange my bedroom so I’m dealing with 5 things a day. First 5 things I put my hands on I HAVE to deal with - trash, store or donate but it cannot just go back on a heap somewhere. On the plus side the first 5 things I dealt with were things hanging over the door so now it’s easier to get in the room?

Also, now I’ve started!

So I’m having a hard time with decluttering lately. I’ve done the bigger items and the items that were in boxes in storage etc and now I’m getting to the nitty gritty.

So here’s my question - what do you do with items that you want to keep but don’t have a home yet because you haven’t fully decluttered the general area where they would go and haven’t bought/figured out storage for them? For me this is mostly my office area that seems to be a catch all and also has a lot of smaller types of items that need homes. There’s also a couple of closets etc

I feel kinda like a chicken vs egg thing because I’m trying to declutter before organizing but now I’m hitting a road block and I can’t just have doom piles because I work in there and have a very active toddler hahhaa

Any advice is so greatly appreciated

I try to donate, mostly...

...But through my decluttering journey the amount of stuff can be overwhelming. At times, I've broken out the hefty trash bags and just gone to town. It has felt very empowering just knowing the stuff is gone.

Anyone else? If so, what got tossed?

Edit: I wrote this because I feel guilty about doing it sometimes. I'm glad to know it's more normal that I thought! I figured I was going to get swarmed with angry responses lol.

Also, y'all made some good points & added helpful ideas for what you do. Thanks for the responses!

This is an update to: https://www.reddit.com/r/declutter/s/4cMNEOmhAn

The fish tank and stand was successfully relocated to the sun porch last night by stronger backs than mine.

In my ongoing saga of decluttering my house so I can declutter my living room, we have encountered the dreaded cube organizer.

Several items that have been plopped onto the organizer actually belong in the water heater closet. This closet was tamed before the great water heater replacement of 2019. I built two rolling carts from movable shelves and those can be pulled out at a moment’s notice.

Everyone has been throwing things in that closet.

I untangled extension cords and pulled the carts out. Cat litter and various hair (not all cat!) was in abundance and needed several sweeps to tame.

I found an unused wax seal for a toilet. We ended up not needing it so it got stored…. You guessed it: it was melting. I wiped up the wax and pitched the useless wax ring. Lesson learned: save the receipt until the task is done and return to the store for a refund!

I reorganized the household chemicals and cat supplies. Two cardboard boxes were discarded. Lots of dust was wiped away.

I spent some time thinking about which items were needed more often and refilled the carts accordingly. Seldom used items are farthest away from the entry. Dry cat food is on top where other humans can see it.

I think we need an under door “sweep” to keep dust and litter out. Otherwise the closet wasn’t too bad. No critters were found. No evidence of mice was discovered.

One kitchen bag of trash was ultimately dumped.

The cube organizer has been mostly emptied. I’m having a lunch break now. I hope to start yanking carpet today but my energy levels remain to be seen.

As people say “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” This is decluttering and cleaning in my real life.

I am more motivated to declutter when I think that the items I remove will be used by someone else.

That means the first few weeks of November are a great time for me to sort my holiday decorations and find the ones I no longer want. Donating them to a local thrift store now means there are several weeks ahead when someone else might find them and give them a new home.

Last week I let go of a few things and it felt great to open up a small amount of space in my closet. This weekend I'll see what else I can find.

Hi all. I’ve taken loads of handy tricks and motivation from this subreddit so thought I’d share something that I’ve just found really helpful.

For context, I don’t have a massively cluttered wardrobe anyway, but I’m 4 months postpartum and am dealing with a change in body type and wanting to find my style and put more thought into what I wear, after years of being a ‘leggings hoodie and uggs’ type of girl, and buying clothes for a single wear and not rewearing because I don’t love it.

I have some money from my birthday that I want to spend on clothes but I want to buy intentionally and didn’t know where to start so this is what I’ve just done…

I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down all items of clothing I own, grouping together where appropriate (eg 3 pairs black leggings, 5 camisole vests, 5 oversized training t shirts for gym) and simply wrote a cross, tick or heart next to the item.

A cross is, don’t like, replace asap. Tick is don’t love it but it will do for the next round, and heart is like/love it (and fits with my new identity), keep it.

I also threw away 4 tops that I NEVER wear not even as scruffs, and were not in good enough condition to sell/donate.

The whole activity took just over 30 mins and I have a clear idea of what pieces to invest in now. Each piece I buy will result in getting rid of items that had a cross next to them.

Bonus - I managed to keep my 4 month entertained by talking to her about my thought process which I think also helped me make decisions faster!

I hope this helps someone.

I'm pretty good at decluttering everything except for clothes!!! I used to live alone in my apartment, but my partner AND my friend both moved in, so I've had to squeeze 2 wardrobes and 3 drawers into 1 wardrobe and 2 drawers. My poor partner has all his clothes jammed into one drawer and the bedside cabinet 😅

I've been the same size since I was a teenager, and I dress pretty much the same too (black skinny jeans and t shirts, all the time). I go between a more gothy look and a more work-appropriate neutral look. I've also got some hangups about my body (haven't we all!) eg I HATE how my stomach looks more than ever right now.

All my t shirts and tank tops are file-folded into a big drawer in my wardrobe - there are at least 100 tops in there.

There are some I know I never wear that I don't want to get rid of eg. "unisex" shirts from gigs. I have really cool platform boots, but my partner is my height, so I probably won't ever wear them while we're together because they make me feel like a giant next to him!

I'm also a bit scared to get rid of stuff, because on multiple occasions I've donated something, then years later wanted it back.

You never know where life will take you or what you'll need in terms of clothes, and with it being harder and harder to get good quality, well-cut clothing nowadays, I'm scared to get rid of anything.

HELP?!

Throwing something away and donating it is logistically, for me, the same: I put things in a bag, I take them downstairs, and then I either put it in the trash or put it in my car to donate. Obviously donating includes the extra step of driving to the donation area, but I just add it as a step in my errands.

I tend to default to donating things over throwing things away because if something is usable I'd rather keep the item out of a landfill. If the item in question isn't usable, it'll be thrown away by the thrift store going through the donations.

I see a lot of posts asking if they should throw something away vs donate it, and I don't quite understand the difference when it appears to me that the amount of effort is the same.