7 Mistakes New Minimalists Make When Decluttering | Decluttering Mistakes

Have you made these decluttering mistakes? In the past 6 years of my personal decluttering journey and helping others simplify their lives, I've noticed a pattern of decluttering mistakes and minimalist misconceptions that people often make when starting their decluttering journey. In today's video, I'll be covering those common mistakes and how to fix them with different minimalist mindset shifts.

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[CAKINEmine]

I get sad when I remember the pile of books and clothes in my childhood house, the pile of clothes in my cousin's house. I thought we were like this because my mom and aunt were working, but maybe it was a sign of depression. You seem to be advising to be kind to yourself. I am very impressed by your compassionate and decisive display of your method.

[elstal]

My new motto as I declutter is “I am not a storage facility.” Now I’m working on extending that motto to encompass old resentments as well. “I am not a storage facility” seems to be helping me clear my mind as much as my physical surroundings.

[CadetRedShirt]

#7 Comparing oneself
Remember dear reader: these videos arent made to make you feel bad, theyre meant to inspire you and give you better ideas about things you might not have thought about!

[sweetheartcarebear]

Paper clutter, digital photo clutter and email clutter is my worst. Thank you for the good tips!

[InvestgoldUK]

I had a gigantic decluttering lasting a few months on my house. Lots of old relationship items, even my stamp collection of many years (10 removals boxes!) all went. Even my job, I just quit. It hasn’t served me for some years. Interesting thing is, during this process I met someone new, got offered a better role within walking distance and am generally now a much happier person. It makes a huge difference so thanks for the videos here

[cheerful]

These are all good points which I will think about as I plan my decluttering. I helped a good friend downsize into a senior living apartment to pack up and declutter even as she recovered from a (thankfully somewhat minor) car accident, and I VOWED silently "you are NOT going to have this problem, you will finish the task of 20 years and you will NOT take any more castoffs." I find I can make 2% better efforts to move stuff on, donating, recycling and throwing out, by just thinking of her friend sitting in her kitchen so overwhelmed by picking, packing, discarding 20 years of "I never threw anything out, not even the size 6 clothes of 50 years ago." (A few years ago I moved into a studio apartment for a year, and I realized I could let go of 90% of the stuff I had with no pain. Unfortunately I did not act on this.)

[in_light.]

3:30 mark or thereabouts, lol thank you: "succeeded in making a bunch of piles". I have totally been there. In too many places at once, not focused, just made a big mess! Now I am pretty good and if, on any given day, stuff (that has made the cut/keeping) starts to "set up camp" (even books that are reference or cooking, baking), I return them to their home/tidy up sooner I have been on a minimizing journey for a while. Currently dealing with the paper tiger, it is the hardest for me but getting better and going to master it. 8:40 excellent advice. I'm doing some scanning but you are correct, only scan/save what is truly needed. Don't become a digital hoarder. And yes, it's work to label and describe all the digital versions, and save, so you have to make time for that. Otherwise, what's the point? And chipping away at things and certain segments/areas is definitely less daunting. One literally feels lighter when space is made and/or an area is clearer and stuff has moved on/out.

I really enjoyed your video and tips, including your fluid and articulate delivery.

[geraldmcmullon]

I started transferring my collection of records, compact cassettes and Video tapes. Most of this is in real time and as collections grow the time to get back to an album or re-watch a film or television series expands. The result is an organised set of files (with metatags) in a small array of hard drives that was transported in thirty 50 litre storage boxes. Sorting out what is really wanted to keep can take longer than just transferring the lot. Over 15 years more than half of tape transfers have been replaced with higher quality digital versions. If I could sign up to a streaming service and pay per view/review of all the films, television and released music, books and magazines I would delete the lot. But we have seen artists leave certain platforms and series or feature films removed from the play list.

Documents can often be converted to a machine readable file, taking longer and even if you are searching spreadsheets and word processor documents that could still fail to find the item that you know is there. It is still more likely to find something than wading through several large boxes of documents. If you don't have them you can not refresh your memory and get the "facts" straight. It depends on you whether you can let it go and not need to set events (usually finance) straight.

[thebarky]

I decluttered many items through the years and the one thing I regret are some of the books I gave away. I am now purchasing them again but they are more money than anticipated. I encourage people to think through items your passionate about. In my case it was Stephen King books.

[glee_again]

Great speaking through taking things for your path that may look different than others.

[cathylynnpietranton]

Thanks Sarah I've been a minimalist for 5 years now and have things mostly under control but I find your videos still very helpful and inspirational. Sending hugs ❤

[richardhasler]

So clearly explained. I am not about to declutter but when I decide to, I will keep all your advice in mind.

[MelindaPlainandSimple]

Hi, Sarah! Good to see you! Always good advice!

[StitchinGranny]

I just found your channel. Thank you for the very helpful videos ! I am recently widowed and retired and slowly decluttering fourty plus years of belongings to prepare for a downsize move within the next couple of years. I’ll be watching more of your content!

[IrisYogini]

One of your best videos for me! So helpful! Thank you, Sarah 🙏🏽

[AnimalFarm]

Been at #1 for years 😂. Thankfully I finally got a clue!

[sdophoto]

Great video I find that I either rush or I move from project to project. I recently have started to change this approach and I have been working through my guest bedroom and it is working. I am going slow and steady and not jumping to other places. If there is something that I decide I want to keep but it does not belong there or I don't want it there I have a box that I put it in. It is making a difference in my progress

[ladylongford]

Mistake #3 jumping from one area to another and achieving a big 🙋‍♀️🙈😅

[bhsprinkle]

Thank you for another important video! It's important to let go every once in a while! I am in a phase where I feel like I'm getting anxiety by clutter but reluctant to let certain things go because I know that I only have what I actually use. It's a lot.
Think another issue is I don't have anyplace that I can put anything besides my bedroom. People get things and can put them in their living room but I share a living room with seven other people. I don't have my own bathroom either so I find my shampoo and face cleaning stuff must be in my room, other people will use it. Children will squirt stuff everywhere. I found toothpaste on the mop handle before and in the bucket. It's a disaster. Basically everything I own must be in my bedroom and I don't have my own space outside of it. My room is smaller too. I think that condition matters so I'm glad you brought that up.

[JudelovesRiver]

One of your videos was the first I found on my recent journey to declutter my home, and I’ve since watched so many other videos on the topic! I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the past 2 weeks and would like to thank you for helping give me the motivation to tackle this all ☺️