How to Declutter When You Can’t Let Go

Aug 20

A Starting Point.

I have been working through decluttering my stuff for several years now. It’s been a struggle and I tend to hold on to things much longer than I should. Sentimental items are what I struggle with the most. And I can make ANYTHING sentimental.

My family leans on the hoarder side of clutter. Never letting go of things (good or broken) and collecting items that are useful and that we may need one day. Over the years I have found this adds to my anxiety, how I feel about myself, and gets in the way of how I want to live my life.

With the recent passing of my dad, we’ve become the caretakers of my grandparent’s and dad’s estates. Having to go through 2 generations of stuff is daunting and overwhelming to say the least. I have to get in the right frame of mind each time I head over to the property. Good thing it’s 7 hours away and I have time to think and plan my strategy.

There are several resources, challenges and mindsets I’ve used to help declutter when you can’t let go. *I am in no way affiliated with any of the resources given.

YouTube - There are SO many channels devoted to minimalism, decluttering, organizing and so much more. My go-tos are The Minimalists, ClutterBug, and The Minimal Mom. These are just a few to get you started.
Challenges - I’ve completed a few monthly challenges that really help get lots of things out of the house. My favorite is one where you get rid of a certain number of items depending on the day of the month. So on the 1st of the month you get rid of 1 item; 2nd day 2 items; 3rd day 3 items and so on till the end of the month. Depending on the month, you can get rid of over 465 items!! Now, I had to tailor this one a little differently because I felt a lot of anxiety trying to find things everyday to declutter. And let’s face it, we’re decluttering to ease anxiety, not add to it. So instead I figured up how many items that the specific month totaled to - example - September’s total would be 465 items, so I would just keep track of how many items I was getting rid of on any given day. Some days I could wipe out 50+ items and others I barely had time to brush my hair. This worked well for me and I’ve completed it several times.
Organizing - Once I’ve seen a little light at the end of the tunnel, (mind you I don’t think I’ll ever be done decluttering) I’ve found that beginning to organize what you have helps pare down a little further. Putting like things together and giving them a home helps you realize what you have a glance and makes you realize that you don’t need to purchase it again or add to what you have.
Mindsets - This one can be difficult. Changing your mindset on how you view your things can be hard. Knowing what you actually need to live everyday and living within your means can really open your eyes to how you view your stuff. I know this can be generational - older generations (our parents/grandparents) didn’t have much growing up and therefore tend to hold on to things as they go through life. I can respect that. It’s a safety/comfort thing. But seeing them stash plastic bags to reuse in every nook in their pantry can give me chest pains these days! Changing your mindset to know you’ll only need enough plastic bags to get you through the month and that they all fit in your plastic bag holder - and no where else - can ease your mind of the visual mess you’ve been hiding behind closed doors.

I hope these avenues are a good starting point to help you declutter when you’re having a hard time letting go. Do you have any decluttering tips and tricks that have helped you? I know we can all benefit, so please share. 💕