Decluttering is more of an art than it is a science. But mistakes can be made. We don’t have to be perfect, but these decluttering mistakes tend to waste time and ruin the process of creating a peaceful, organized, and welcoming home. I’ve made all these decluttering mistakes, and I learned how to avoid them, which is what I want to share with you in this article.
Scroll through my archives, and you’ll find many examples of how I used to live with clutter. My bedroom office desk was atrocious. All sorts of clutter decorated it from corner to corner, leaving very little room for me to work productively.
But I decluttered it, and now it never looks that way because I learned about myself while decluttering.
This is why I feel like cleaning a home can be a meaningful experience. Stop and look at your environment with observant or introspective eyes. You’ll often learn a lot about your habits, both good and bad.
I often attribute this activity to my adoption of minimalism in 2023.
My environment represented the chaos and need for validation within me. I was living beyond my means and accumulating possessions to boost my value. And yet, I was unhappy. Today, I own less and I live differently, but I’m happy.
This is your home, and it should be a reflection of the wonderful attributes within you. Don’t let clutter and disorganization distract you from the beauty of your home.
With that being said, let’s get into it, shall we? 😀
Related article: How to organize your bedroom for better sleep
The Most Common Decluttering Mistakes People Make
Mistake 1: Underestimating The Time Required
Don’t start a big undertaking with too little time. Decluttering can be a therapeutic experience as long as you’re not on the clock.
Trying to rush the process will only stress you out and drain your energy. Making changes and building new habits can stick if you make them easy, sustainable, and enjoyable.
You’re not going to declutter your home in a day without frustration and other problems, so don’t even attempt that.
Solution: Set time blocks and declutter room by room. Breaking down tasks into their simplest form tends to increase the probability of easier results and small victories. The momentum will help you declutter over a reasonable period of time without suffering from exhaustion, frustration, and stress.
Related article: How much time should you spend decluttering?
Mistake 2: Removing Too Much Too Quickly
I know the feeling of wanting to fully commit to minimalism, but it’s a mistake to declutter everything unessential too quickly.
It takes time to fully understand what you really need and sometimes want.
If you donate, sell, or trash them without giving yourself a transition phase to truly understand your needs, there’s a good chance you’ll lose items that actually deserve a place in your home.
Solution: Declutter your home in stages, beginning with the removal of all trash, dirt, and damaged items. Store unessential items, and after a month or two, start donating, selling, or trashing the unessential items that you didn’t need or want during that time.
Related article: The advantages of owning less
Mistake 3: Not Having A Plan
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I wish that this was something I understood before embarking on some of my journeys in life.
Without a plan, it’s really easy to get lost in the chaos of clutter. Unorganized decluttering often leads to the disposal of essential items.
Furthermore, it has the propensity to turn a therapeutic experience into one that is disorganized, stressful, and exhausting.
Solution: Draw up a plan that details which rooms to start with first, along with a breakdown of what categories you will declutter in order of importance or effort required.
Mistake 4: Attempting To Sell Clutter
I have many relatives, including my dad, who tend to hold onto old goods, damaged or not, in the expectation of selling them.
They’re not wrong.
Many damaged or old goods can be sold, but when you are trying to declutter a home, it just becomes another excuse to hold onto items that must be removed.
Solution: Set a minimum monetary target for clutter that should be sold. If it cannot touch that minimum target, it should be discarded immediately. I don’t try to sell items that can’t fetch me at least 200 bucks.
Related article: Declutter your garage with this guide
Mistake 5: Purchasing Storage Boxes First
I think it’s a waste of money and space to invest in storage boxes and containers before decluttering and figuring out what items need to be removed from your home or stored.
Some of us get dopamine from purchasing goods rather than doing what we need to do.
Solution: Declutter room by room, and whatever isn’t disposed of or essential for use can be stored away. Once you have an itinerary for these items, you can invest in storage boxes and containers according to your needs.
Mistake 6: Being Too Sentimental
I’m an incredibly sentimental person who still has gifts and letters from 20 years ago!
But oftentimes, we begin to hold onto anything that’s personalized or from someone we care about.
The items can add up over time until you’re stuck with an exorbitant amount of sentimental goods.
You’re not going to be rid of clutter when the majority of the items in your closet are attached to some person, memory, or experience.
Solution: Only keep sentimental items that are highly personalized, like letters, jewelry, photographs, and family heirlooms. Part with the rest of your items or store them somewhere else. If it feels too difficult to discard some sentimental items, consider gifting them so they live on.
Related article: 5 Things I regret decluttering from my home
Mistake 7: Finding Comfort In Shopping
I didn’t know of this term until a few years ago, but retail therapy is the practice of shopping or buying goods to feel better.
This was my coping mechanism for a long time, and it drained me of money.
Worst of all, it added to the clutter that I lived with because I accumulated stuff all the time. I hadn’t dealt with the issues inside of me, and the dopamine from retail therapy was great but short-lived.
So I always found a reason to buy more stuff, even at the expense of my wellbeing and financial status.
Solution: Live with a budget, adopt minimalism, and address the issues inside. There’s a healthier way to get dopamine. An activity like cleaning can trigger the release of feel-good hormones. Exercise, socializing, meditating, praying, walking outdoors, caring for someone, and fixing a small problem are other wonderful ways of feeling good and dealing with bad emotions without cluttering your home.
Related article: A simple guide to living below your means