I Made a Costly Decluttering Mistake

🖤 I N T H I S V I D E O

I accidentally got rid of something I needed! How do I move past the guilt and regret of decluttering something I needed? Or letting of a sentimental item I can't replace? Today we'll talk about moving past the guilt and regret that sometimes comes with decluttering your home!

🖤 L E T ' S S P E N D M O R E T I M E T O G E T H E R :

🖤 T I M E S T A M P S

00:00 How do I move past a decluttering mistake?
01:15 Reframing Regret
03:50 Stop Glamorizing Life with the Item
06:37 Negativity Bias (why it's sticky)
08:46 The Replacement Budget
12:54 The Most Powerful Tool
15:17 The Power of Community
18:26 Getting through the Messy Middle

🖤 R E C E N T L Y M E N T I O N E D

🖤 LOOKING FOR MORE SUPPORT?

Here is the best way that I can help you!

Private Decluttering Mentorship Group:

This takes place in a private Facebook group. Here's what you can expect:
- 5-10 minute videos each weekday with guided decluttering tasks
- monthly themes, weekly challenges
- 1 hour live guided decluttering sessions twice a month for accountability
- encouragement & support from other members
- cost is $15/month

This is ideal if you're looking for more motivation & accountability.

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🖤 DECLUTTERING PLAYLISTS

Thank you for your support!

:: C U R R E N T L Y R E A D I N G ::

:: M O S T P O P U L A R O N O U R B L O G R I G H T N O W ::

#minimalism #familyminimalism #minimalist

:: M O S T P O P U L A R V I D E O S R I G H T N O W ::

**AFFILIATE LINKS! THANK YOU!!!**

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[debbiericker]

I donated a decorative souvenir to our community thrift store about 3 years ago and sort of regretted it thereafter. I liked the item, and it didn't take up much space at all, but it was gone forever... until I was at an estate sale last month. There was my souvenir (complete with my hand written note on the bottom stating where I had originally bought it)! I bought it back for only $1. I may eventually be ready to donate it again, but for now I'm enjoying having it back.

[JamieM]

Tonight someone called and said they were going to pop over to visit and they would be here in 5 minutes.
Before I simplified my home, I would have been in panic mode, rushing around trying to pick up and clean up. A few times I wound up in tears because it was so embarrassing and just awful.
Tonight, I looked around, smiled, and started some coffee.
A simplified home is SO worth it. Even when family members are not on board. And I truly cannot think of a single thing I regret getting rid of.

[lrhudy]

For my 10th wedding anniversary, my husband and I celebrated by wearing our wedding attire and "running" (and walking) a 10K for 10 years. I knew I didn't want my wedding gown in my closet anymore, and my daughter didn't want it, she wants to get her own, and I bought it used anyway so there were no resale shops that would want it either. By doing this for our anniversary, I now have more pictures of me in my wedding gown, with my husband in his suit. Afterwards I felt confident in tossing it because it was used for its purpose - twice - and the memories are amazing to have forever and I don't need the dress for those memories because I have the photos. Also, if I wanted to keep the wedding gown after the 10K race, I could get it cleaned because after my wedding reception it was full of sweat and dirt from the floor anyway, just like after a 10K race. The race watchers were all cheering for my husband and I as well, while we ran together through the race of our marriage. It was a very symbolic celebration! And 10 years was the right race for us because I'm not sure I'd be able to run a marathon in my wedding gown (or even in workout gear!) - but feel free to modify this idea for your marriage memories! 👰🤵‍♂️💒❤

[ANDIBO]

If you only knew how much you have changed my life, you’d be SHOCKED. It’s been years simplifying my home. I’m still on it but I’m wiser and I do things with confidence thanks to you and your wonderful content. I’m a 36 year old man who is slowly but surely building a life around life and not things. Thank you from the bottom of my heart

[eileenlass]

I've often said "For every hundred things I've gotten rid of, there's usually one thing that shouldn't have gone. But the VALUE of the 99% of the things that NEEDED to go FAR OUTWEIGHS the one thing that I shouldn't have let go!"

[jeanetteburt]

My piano teacher in college would write “Forgive” on my music if she saw me spending my mental energy on kicking myself over a mistake while I was still playing the piece rather than immersing myself in the music. Another music professor would say to us “you’re worried about the 2 or 3 notes you just played wrong. What about the 4, 000 notes you played correctly?”

[beat]

I don't mean to be too parasocial, but the "you're doing a great job" at the end made my postpartum, tired self burst into tears (in a good way). Thanks for the light you shine, Dawn!

[nanchesca]

I really like the idea of letting the thrift stores 'hold' my stuff for me, and if I need it again, I pay a little 'rent' and buy it again. For instance, I threw my daughter a baby shower this past weekend, and I had to buy a few platters. A couple at the thrift store, a few at the dollar store. Cost maybe 20 bucks total, and I didn't have that clutter in my house for the past 9 years since I had my last need for such things

[jxtx]

I decluttered an ice cube tray after we moved to a new house with an ice maker in the freezer. Then my wife wanted to make frozen coffee ice cube. Lo and behold, she used the gingerbread man silicone molds we still have (I make them every Christmas and love them!) to freeze coffee so then we had adorable gingerbread man shaped coffee ice cubes for our summer ice coffee. It reminded me of the snowman in Frozen singing about summer!

[beep-beepwatermelon]

Hey, I’ve decluttered at least 80% in the past three years. Funny, I was on a mission a few months ago to try to think of ANYTHING I could regret decluttering, and the only thing I could think of was that it would have been handy to have the baby activity center back because one of my twins was starting to put weight on her legs. The following weekend, I went to our local free store… and there it was!
IT CAME BACK TO US ❤🎉
Just when we needed it.
God is great! He always makes sure we have what we need when we need it. Now I just trust in God that if I make a mistake decluttering, he will provide an answer.

[cornwallsharon]

I decluttered all my wedding cards - no regrets there, they were all just “congratulations! Love x and y”. But I realised the card from my gran was in there and that was the last time I saw her before she passed. And yes, when I realised, I was really sad. BUT I reframed it in my mind. If she’d left the card at home and I’d never even received it, would I have loved her any less? Would I have fewer memories of her? Would I remember her less vividly or less fondly? The answer to all those questions is of course no. And that let me come to peace with not having the card. (I would have been sadder had it had a long message of love and advice but luckily it didn’t).

[megana]

The amount of mistakes I’ve made decluttering is still less than the amount of times I would’ve double purchased something because I can’t find it

I have regretted a couple of things but eventually forgot about them. I did re-buy something once, then never used it, and ended up decluttering it again 🤦🏻‍♀️

[cindyachterhoff]

Love the replacement budget. Here's an idea... everytime you stop your self from doing an impulse purchase, put half of that amount into a replacement budget and the other half into a vacation budget. Tripple bonus... you did not add clutter to the house, you can declutter knowing you have what if funds, and money for someing fun.

[exploringnewhites]

I have another suggestion for a place to donate wedding dresses (or any formal
Gown)…local community theater. They can remake them into period dresses, and local theater groups are often on a tight budget. I used to do musical theater and it was really helpful 🥰

[sqkkwtp]

As a newly wed couple, my husband's grandmother gave us her old waffle iron. You need to know I love waffles, but this was so dirty and grimy (just from 50 years of regular use), that I donated it (because I didn't have the energy or heart to clean it). That was 40 years ago and it's the only thing I've ever regretted giving away and it haunted me ... until now. Your comment that we sometimes glorify the item as time passes is certainly true of this item. If I really focus on the reason I gave it away, I would probably do the same thing today. Regret gone. Thank you for this reality check perspective !!

[kristalnoel]

Just realized, I remember the regret, but I don't remember the item. That speaks volumes.

[michellefox]

Last weekend I recruited by husband to " hold my donation bag " while I decluttered by closet. If I ask him, "should I get rid of...?" He will always say "Yes" (doesn't matter what it is!) and if I have to ask then I probably can let go of it, I just need the reinforcement. I started to say, "If I need it again, I will just have to buy it" and in the bag it goes. I can now see the floor of my walk in closet and I think I am ready for a second pass. I can't see myself repurchasing anything, and I have already has some regrets in the past, but I never had to "go naked" because I purged a piece of clothing. I appreciate your posts, they really keep me motivated. I need it for my sanity! I notice when I don't watch consistently, I fall into a rut. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[karenrich]

I've made mistakes by accepting things. When my mother and mother-in-law died 3 months apart, we brought home things and my husband said, "Just shove it somewhere. We'll deal with it later." Then there were all his hobbies, work, and assorted stuff that filled the garage, storage building and basement. We quietly left it alone. Now he has passed on 6 years ago. So, there's all this stuff that I have to declutter, I'm by myself, and I'm battling cancer (along with insurance issues). I know what to do with the paper stuff because I'm a history person, so that's easy. The getting started is the hardest.

[jillholmberg]

When my children were young and I was trying to minimize my inventory I was decluttering my sewing room and got rid of old patterns my mom had given to me. Now that my kids are adults and my mom has passed away I wish I would have kept the vintage patterns for sentimental reasons. However one of the most important things my mom gave me was her patience, time and her talent teaching me how to love sewing. That’s when I feel closest to her - and I’m pretty good at it😉. Thank you for always encouraging people to focus on the importance of moments.