5 Decluttering Trends YOU SHOULD DITCH Before 2025 For A Clutter Free Home (*I'm doing this instead)

I am a fan of the trash can method, if you are feeling overwhelmed. During the pandemic time, when there were no places to recycled or donate, I disposed of thousands of dollars, maybe tens of thousands. I refused to be a slave of the Environment god. No guilt.

I was a big fan of Marie Kondo and understood the concept of sparking joy. The problem with joy is it defaults to sentiment. To be brutal about disposing of clutter, I now ask myself “would I clean poop off an item?” (I think it was the A to Zen gal who suggested this.) I find it easier to ditch stuff taking up space, especially in the basement, if we think of disgust rather than joy.

I disagree with the “don’t trash the items”. If your home has become a landfill and the thing that is stopping you from decluttering is trying to do the perfect thing in donating, then it is important not to worry about it at this time. When you have gotten things under control in the future then you may have more bandwidth to take new decluttered items to a donation center. But first you need to do what is easiest to get your home back.

I agree with not just throwing things away that could go to the Goodwill except in the case of the elderly, the otherwise mobility-limited, or those with limited transportation resources. In those cases, caring for your own health and sanity would come first over concerns about waste or landfill usage.

You are such a helper in real life...not a weirdo at all! I get that deeper joy must be the goal. THANK YOU!!! 🥰

I just decluttered shoes and it was very helpful to gather them all together - I had some in the kitchen, some in a spare closet upstairs, and the rest in the primary closet. I was able to see everything I had and pick my shoe wardrobe for every occasion and season. There were so many I decided I didn’t need, and now all of my shoes fit on the shoe shelves in my closet, except a pair of hiking boots I don’t use regularly. Those are on the shelf overhead in the same closet. For a lot of things, it’s helpful to see the totality of what you have, to realize how many duplicates or just excess you have.

I have used the category method and the room method-they both work. It depends on your need and what you can get done. I just saw a video that said there are no rules, do what works for you.

A friend told me she has a couple of friends who love to dumpster dive at Goodwill. They have found brand new clothes with tags, brand new furniture, antique furniture, full sets of dishes, kid clothes and toys, etc. Goodwill throws away really nice things because they are overwhelmed with all our stuff. Sad but true. I still bring them my nice things because they are close to my house, but who knows where my stuff will ultimately end up? I do throw a lot more away now than I used to.

I think focusing on how to declutter misses the whole point. It doesn't really matter how you declutter. What matters is figuring out where all that stuff came from in the first place.

The ‘everything sparks joy’ comment was so cute :D such a lovely piece of your mind to have. Challenging, but lovely. Will be micro decluttering soon. 🌻

Let's not fool ourselves about "eco-friendly ways" of disposing of things. There's hardly such a thing, especially with clothes. Most of them end up in Africa, and then in landfills. As for objects, anything not bought in charity shops ends up... most likely not recycled. So in a way, honestly, I think disposing of things by sorting them before throwing them away, is not something to feel guilty about.
Donating is good, but I wouldn't count on it when buying something and thinking it's sustainable "because I can donate".
We should honestly feel guilty when buying something new.

I have cats. Do you mind my asking what flea product you used in your home?

Get bedbugs. You’ll declutter fast, and everything you can’t properly de-bug has to be trashed. Which is a LOT.

My hubbys stuff never sparks joy 🤣😂
But I have containers it all has to fit in 😌

Fellow flea fighter here ✊🏻😭 I trashed (or boiled) SO much following that episode.

I have made peace with the fact that I don't have the mental bandwidth to deal with the usable items. I need a comfy, organized home & all my mental energy has gone to that. I will not declutter if I have to think of 300 hundred steps after I make a simple choice between keep, trash & usable (not every usable item can be donated to a donation centre). I can't think about selling or donating. I put all the usable items from a decluttering session in a big grocery plastic tote bags that my food delivery comes in (that way, it's an open bag, anyone can reach for an item easily, it has good handles & resistance, so they can carry the bag away & reuse it) & leave the bag in front of the building. I live in a big, walkable city, so the bag is gone in 20 min tops.

I’ve watched a lot of decluttering videos and it makes mental watching when they go all out buying all these baskets and canisters to transfer cereals and what not. It looks pretty but it’s not decluttering to me, it’s decorating.

I declutter by very small spaces with 5 kids I have 15-30 minutes so a cupboard a day right now

I have even sold kids clothes that pure play quality

I love all of your points! I would add, if something is showing, you can make it look better and still function in easy ways. I took a box and painted it with my kids. Acrylic paint. It now looks like a nice wooden box.

What is the site for people to come get your stuff for free?

I have a 90 yr old neighbor that moved out of state with family, and another family member came for a few weekends to clean out her small condo. I had seen a muffin tin in her oven, and asked if I could take or buy her muffin tin, but it had just had been tossed in the dumpster. Sad.

Ok, so in regard to donating, if a person lives out in the country and they have to drive 45 minutes or more to donate their stuff and they are drowning in stuff they can throw it away. It’s their stuff. Also, some people may not own a vehicle so in the trash it goes. When people choose to throw away rather than donate there is usually a good reason.

What works for one person does not necessarily work for someone else. Everyone should use whatever method works for them!

I disagree with all of these. All of these worked for me and my home has minimal stuff and I trash stuff that I feel embarrassed donating if it's too worn out or damaged etc

11.02.2024
My adult children, especially dil will throw things perfectly good items in the trash instead of taking to a donation place.
There ya go, some peeps have different ways of thinking .... 😏

I couldn't do Kon Mari. Almost none of my clothes spark joy.

I disagree that we need to find the perfect donation site for every thing we declutter. For many, it is essential for their mental health to get things out of their house. If things get donated, great. If not, that is ok too. Worrying about donating everything is also mental clutter.

I hear you on how to 'get rid' without dumping stuff... the upshot was, I started a 'car boot sale' (swap meet) locally. It not only got rid of stuff to people who wanted it, but raised money for community groups... it's still going, it's run by a local committee, it clears peoples houses, they get a financial reward for de-cluttering, folk get stuff affordably, it's eco shopping aaaaand it raises over €6k per annum for the local community.

Definitely functionality!! & sustainable! I set a timer & go! I have 2 areas to complete …. 🎉🎉 bit by bit 😎

I really think you should differentiate between people who are drowning in stuff and stressed and someone with bandwidth to get things out of home in a more sustainable way. Recommending that everybody dispose of things in a sustainable way is detrimental to those actually struggling with stuff.

I NEVER understood the "decluttering by category"!

Definitely agree! Give things a second life, for the environment and for people who might need it 🙂

My neighborhood has an annual yard sale. I put up a big “free” sign and fill up tarps with all my decluttered items. At the end of the day whatever is left then gets donated or tossed. It’s kind of fun to bless people with good items at no cost.

The konmari method worked wonders for me. Seeing all items of lets say clothing i own (per sub category) really made me realize that I had too much. And lots of the items didn't spark joy or did so when looking at it but not while using it. I now use this method while shopping. Does it really spark joy/does it make my life easier or does the on sale price spark joy. If i wouldn't buy it for the full price, then it doesn't really spark joy or improve my life.

I decided i made a list in a notebook i have for one room, Bedroom on 1st page took dresser (for instance), listed drawer by drawer the categories to go through. When i was done, i checked ✅️ it off. Same w my vanity, closet, etc. Then each room and closet has their own page. Each shelf too. Breaking it down has been so much easier and less overwhelming. I have made significant progress and still a long way to go in my apartment. I know i can do a small area after work, feel accomplished, not overwhelmed.

As I declutter, I work hard to re-home whatever I can. So many people are horrid stewards of the planet.

Sparkling joy is a dopamine trap.

I agree with all your points bar the first. Decluttering by category is the only efficient way, in my humble opinion. Your example of shoes is a case in point. That's not to say you have to declutter the entire family's shoes at once, but certainly each members' shoes at a time. As others have pointed out, if items are not consolidated you'll never be able to identify excess.

There are definite benefits to not having children. Parents (especially mothers) seem so trapped by the past and their nostalgia that they get buried in the stuff they associate with their children. A friend of mine has hauled all her daughter's baby clothes to four houses now, in dozens of huge garbage bags, because she can't bear to accept that her daughter is no longer a child. The past has no hold on me and my life is so much freer because of it.

The idea of a “declutterring burst” is appealing to me, because I can give it a burst, not a marathon on a daily basis! Thank you!

Yes, I feel that way, too!

I donate to the local Mission.

At last a video that is honest and sensible about decluttering. Some videoes put you under such pressure and the suggestions are just not sustainable in the real world. Also you are not mad to say thank you to unwanted items - I do too. Its good to be grateful. One thing on your videos, I wish you would actually show yourself doing these things rather than just sitting talking. Than you

There are some people who would rather bin items as they are almost resentful of someone else getting their 'stuff' that they paid for.

Sparks joy

Ty😊

One year for my New Years Resolution I decluttered a room once a month. Helped tremendously! I have just moved and am in the right moment to get rid of more stuff before unpacking