16 Decluttering Mistakes to Avoid

Do you want to declutter your home this year? Here are 16 decluttering mistakes to avoid to help you be successful in clearing the clutter in your home.

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There is no doubt about it…decluttering your home is hard. As much as we would all love to have a home free of clutter, there are many reasons that may be stopping us from achieving that goal.

Over the last few years, I have been on a mission to completely declutter our home. We live in a smaller home and it became very evident that the clutter was getting out of control.

But, no matter how many times I tried to move things around to make more room, it didn’t work. It was just organized clutter and it left me feeling anxious and stressed. I knew the only way that I could finally get peace of mind was to be okay with letting things go.

This decluttering journey has definitely been a process and I will admit there were many mistakes made along the way. But, I’ve learned from them and I’m hoping that sharing some of these decluttering mistakes will help you be more successful in conquering the clutter in your home.

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16 Decluttering Mistakes to Avoid

Here are decluttering mistakes to avoid when trying to clear the clutter in your home.

Not having a plan

Just like with anything else in your life, when you are starting a big project, you must have a plan. Without having some preparation beforehand, you are just going to end up frustrated and overwhelmed.

When making a plan you need to decide on a realistic timeline and ask yourself some questions:

When do you want to complete your project?

If you are attempting to declutter your entire home, it’s probably unrealistic to expect to declutter in an entire weekend. Try a 30 Day Decluttering Challenge, which will help you focus on specific parts of your home to declutter instead.

Rather take it at your own pace? No problem, while 30-day challenges are a great kickstart, sometimes they are just not possible. So, instead, grab a sheet of paper and go from room to room and write down all the places you want to declutter.

This will give you a clear picture of what you want to declutter and help you set a timeline of when you would like it to be completed. By setting a goal it will help you stay focused and on task.

How much time do you have to work on decluttering your home every day?

It may be helpful to set aside a specific time every day so it becomes routine. Look over your schedule and pick a time that works for you. Try to find even 10 minutes every day to do something small, like cleaning out a cabinet.

You can start with these 10 Things in Your Home that You Can Declutter in 10 Minutes or Less.

Trying to do it all at once

One common mistake when people decide to declutter their home is to try and do it all at once. They pick a weekend and decide to go all in.

While this may work for some, for the rest of us. It’s can be a disaster waiting to happen. There is a very good chance by Sunday evening, you are left with a huge mess and no time to finish it.

Of course, this leads to frustration and overwhelm. You bit off more than you could chew and now you are left dealing with it.

This is why it’s important to remember that decluttering takes time. It’s better to work on it slowly and focus on small manageable tasks that can be completed over a longer time period of time.

Holding on to items and not following through

So, you’ve started to declutter your home and you’ve made some progress. You’ve gone through cabinets and drawers, pulled out things to get rid of, and boxed them up to donate.

But, now it’s a month later and it’s still sitting in your garage. You may even pass by them on the way to your car every morning before work, but they still sit there.

You finally, decide to haul them to goodwill one weekend and as you are loading them into your car, you notice that pink shirt you wore twice, 3 years ago and you think “maybe I will use that after all” and pull it out of the box. Soon, you are pulling other things out and questioning whether to get rid of them.

This is a very common scenario which is why it’s so important once you’ve made the decision to get rid of something that you immediately take care of it. Donate it or get rid of it the same day if possible to resist the temptation and avoid having it end up back in your home.

Losing focus

Does this sound familiar? You’ve jumped right into a decluttering project and soon you are finding stuff that you had thought had been lost forever. You decide to bring it to its proper home and while you are there realize that this drawer should be decluttered too so you begin pulling things out when you remember the task still waiting to be finished.

In order to avoid this, keep an extra basket in the area that you are decluttering for these items that you want to keep and already have a home. It’s easy to remember to bring in a garbage bag or basket for the items you want to donate or sell but many times we forget to grab one for things we want to keep.

When you are finished you can distribute the items where they need to go so you don’t lose focus on the task at hand.

Feeling too guilty to let go

Maybe you’ve received a sweater from a close aunt ages ago that still sits in the back of your closet. You haven’t worn it in years but you feel too guilty to let it go.

This may be perfectly fine to keep but what happens if half of your closet is filled with these items that you never wear and are taking up valuable space but you can’t part with them because of the guilt you feel.

Sentimental items can be one of the hardest things to get rid of and one of the most common things people skip over when decluttering their home. But, if the reason you are decluttering is to achieve more space or if you are moving then you may want to look again and try to be selective.

Remind yourself that most people don’t remember every single gift they give you and that it’s okay to let things go, especially if they are going somewhere they will be used.

“Remember: you are not what you own. Storing all those books doesn’t make you any smarter; it just makes your life more cluttered.” Francine Jay

Letting overwhelm stop you

I think it’s always important to remember when decluttering your home that it can be a huge task. It’s not something that can usually be completed all at once.

Being realistic about our expectations can help us avoid overwhelm. Decluttering takes time and in order to be successful, you need to find ways to fit it into your schedule.

Even if that means devoting 10 minutes a few times a week, it’s still progress and every small step still adds up to big results. Remember decluttering doesn’t have to be a race. Just keep going.

Organizing your clutter

Another big mistake that people make is to completely skip the decluttering part. They are so anxious to start organizing, that they go out and buy cute baskets and bins, hoping to recreate that beautiful and efficient pantry organization they saw online.

By doing this, all you are really doing is organizing your clutter which is getting you nowhere. You are still left with all the stuff that you are not using. So, make sure and declutter first, then you can go out and get some inexpensive Dollar Tree storage bins and get that pantry exactly as you want it.

Keeping maybe someday stuff

A common excuse that many people use to avoid decluttering is “I might use it someday”. When I first started decluttering my home this was something that I did often.

I would attempt to clean out my closet and stop myself from getting rid of numerous items in case I might need them in the future. I still had work attire in the back of my closet even though I had been working from home for over 10 years just in case I decided to start working outside the home again. Even though it didn’t fit, I was convinced that I couldn’t get rid of it because maybe someday I would need it again.

Although it took some time, I kept reminding myself that “someday” wasn’t now and if I didn’t have the room for it now then I needed to let it go. I could always borrow or purchase new items at a later time.

“It’s better to have extra time on your hands and extra money in your pocket than extra stuff in your closet.” Joshua Becker

Making excuses

When anything in life seems challenging, it’s common to find excuses not to do it. Although we might want to have a clutter-free home, we will procrastinate because it seems too hard.

So, we tell ourselves that we can’t find the time, don’t know where to begin, or even what to start decluttering.

You may like: 106 Easy Things to Declutter in Your Home Today

Honestly, the secret to finding the motivation to start and stop putting things off is to just do it. You need to keep reminding yourself of all the reasons that you decided to declutter in the first place.

Focus on all the positives that can come from decluttering your home instead such as:

It can save you money because you start paying attention to what is being brought into your home.
You will be able to get your home organized because there is less stuff to deal with.
It saves you time since you will know where everything is.
And it will keep your home cleaner since there isn’t so much stuff lying around, you can start building habits to keep your home consistently tidy and clean.

Are you looking for ways to keep your home clean?

Being indecisive

There is nothing that can hold up decluttering more than be indecisive about what you want to get rid of. Letting go of stuff is definitely a challenge which is why you need to completely change your mindset.

Instead of thinking about all the things you are getting rid of, focus instead on all the extra space you are going to have. Think about the cleaner and tidier home without the mess. Envision how much better you will feel physically and emotionally because you have rid yourself and your home of the clutter.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to make decluttering easier for you.

When was the last time I used the item? If it’s been over a year, it’s likely you won’t use it again.
Do I have the space to store it? If your home is small then it’s likely that you don’t. But, even if you have a larger home, things can accumulate very quickly and get out of control.
Are there duplicates? Many people keep extra items “just in case”. But, do you really need multiple can openers or two different types of blenders? Probably not. Take some time to evaluate how necessary the items are and how frequently they are being used.
Would I buy the item again? If you find yourself using the items daily or even weekly, then keep it. But, if you have to dust it off because it’s been so long since you picked up and used it then maybe it’s time to let it go.

Holding onto stuff to sell later

In theory, this seems like a great idea. You’ve decided what you can give up and put it in a box to sell later. Your intentions are good. But, then a month or two goes by and that box is still sitting in the corner of your bedroom exactly where you left it.

I’m not saying that you can’t make a little money from your things but if you decide to sell, list them immediately. Put them on Facebook marketplace that day, if they don’t sell within a week or so. Then, you might want to think about donating them.

Honestly, the longer it sits around, the more likely you will talk yourself into keeping it. Trust me, I’ve been there many, many times.

Not being prepared ahead of time

When starting a decluttering project, one of the first things that you should do besides make a plan is to figure out how you want to deal with the items that you are getting rid of.

The process that I use is a 4 bin, bag, or basket system. One for donating, one for selling, one for keeping, and one for throwing away. What I decide to use depends on if I am going to be able to complete the task. If it’s that day, then I will just grab a garbage bag.

However, if it’s going to be an ongoing project I will grab a basket or bin and place them in an area of my house that is not able to be seen but I know is there so I can easily pull them out when I start working on a decluttering task. This works really well in the kitchen because there are so many places there that can be decluttered.

Starting with the hard stuff first

There are many people that may tell you to be successful at something you need to “eat the frog first.” And while I agree with this theory when it comes to a daily t0-do list, when it comes to decluttering I think it’s better to start small.

Since decluttering is a huge endeavor, when you start with the easier tasks, they feel like small wins that encourage you and give you the motivation to keep going.

You keep getting sidetracked

This is certainly easy enough to do when you start a big decluttering project. You open a box and start going through your stuff only to be sidetracked by old photographs and memories. Although it’s nice to reminisce, try not to get too wrapped up in going through sentimental items.

As I mentioned earlier, sentimental items can bring on decluttering guilt which is one of the hardest things to work through when it comes to decluttering. So, if you know that can get easily sidetracked by walking down memory lane then save these items until last.

Underestimating how long it will take

When I first started my decluttering journey, I made many mistakes along the way but one of the biggest was underestimating how long it would take. I remember one day, deciding to set aside 2 hours to completely declutter our spare bedroom.

Now, if this bedroom was already relatively tidy and clutter-free this might have been doable. However, it had become a dumping ground for anything and everything that didn’t have a home. There were boxes…so many boxes to go through and a large amount of paper clutter.

I had set a lofty goal and needless to say I didn’t accomplish my task in that 2 hours. I just ended up frustrated, overwhelmed, and in tears.

It was from that point forward that I made the decision to start decluttering slowly. Sometimes, I would schedule in one hour to work on a decluttering project and other times I would set aside 10 minutes. But, after the time was up, I would walk away to help avoid getting overwhelmed.

Not maintaining

Many people think that once they get everything decluttered, they are done. But, unfortunately, clutter has a way of creeping back into our homes. So, we need to be vigilant about what we are bringing in so that the clutter doesn’t get out of control again.

Read more: 9 Easy Ways to Keep Clutter Out of Your Home

The best way to accomplish this is to start creating better habits so you don’t find yourself in the same situation again and again. You can do this by being intentional about your purchases and stop buying things you don’t need.

It may also help to add small decluttering tasks into your weekly cleaning routine or even just making a list every month of places you know can get out of hand so you can stay on top of those areas.

I hope these decluttering tips have been helpful to you as you begin to declutter your home. Ultimately, as long as you are taking it slow and making it work for you, you should be on your way to a more peaceful and clutter-free home.