Struggling to Declutter Your Home? You Might Be Making One of These 7 Mistakes.

Does anyone else struggle with getting their house decluttered or is it just me?

Honestly, it seems like the more I decluttered the more stuff I seem to find in the house.

It’s like the clutter grows legs and comes out of hiding whenever I finally get a space in the house cleared.

What was I doing wrong?

Decluttering should be a really simple process right?

Keep the stuff you want and toss the stuff you don’t want.

It’s not rocket science.

Seriously, is it just me or does anybody else find themselves battling the endless mounds of clutter in their home constantly?

You make a little progress only for it to be destroyed hours or days later.

What was I doing wrong in my journey to make my home clutter free?!

Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

That’s when I realized that every time I attempted to declutter I was making the same mistakes over and over again, which prevented me from getting the results I desired.

Are you making the same mistakes that I made?

Let’s find out!

Top 7 Decluttering Mistakes

Mistake # 1- Having Unrealistic Expectations

In order to successfully declutter your home you have to set realistic expectations about the following:

1.What your home will look like when your done.

I’m sure we’ve all seen those pictures floating around on the internet of those spotless homes.

A spotless living room with no toys in sight. A pristine kitchen counter with everything in its place.

If I’m being totally transparent the only time my house ever looked like that was when we brought it and we didn’t have kids.

Decluttering is not about having a picture perfect home.

It’s about getting rid of the excess stuff in your home that keeps you from having a sense of peace and joy in your home.

And maybe being able to walk down your hallway with spraining your ankle on some random toy that your kid never plays with.

Think about your family situation and what will realistically work for your family and your sanity.

2.How long it will take to get it looking that way.

I love watching Tidying up with Marie Kondo on Netflix. Her organization and decluttering tips are amazing.

Do you know what I hated most about that show?

How long it took for those people to declutter their homes.

It wasn’t done in a matter of days.

It was weeks! WEEKS!!

Who wants to declutter for 3 weeks?!

Well guess what if you really want to get your home decluttered it’s going to take some time.

Depending on the size of your home, how many people you have living in it, how much stuff you have and how motivated you are will ultimately determine how long it will take.

Mistake # 2: Trying to Declutter Multiple Areas of Your Home At Once

There have been many occasions when I’ve been really fired up about getting my home decluttered.

I tackle the problem head on believing that I’m going to be able to get the kitchen, living, and play room decluttered in a matter of hours. (See those unrealistic expectations showing up again.)

Instead of trying to tackle many rooms in your home start with one room or area of the house.

You can also choose to start with one type of item: papers, clothing, appliances, medication, make-up, etc.

This will keep you motivated and prevent you from becoming overwhelmed with the decluttering process.

I can only declutter for so long before I start getting frustrated.

I find that it helps to set a timer for a certain amount of time.

f I don’t get finished when the timer goes off I can take a mini break and start again or I can choose to stop and start in that same spot the next day.

Mistake # 3: Not Having a Decluttering Strategy

If you want to see any progress you need to come up with a plan to declutter your home.

As part of your plan you will need to decide the following:

• Your decluttering method
• What rooms/items will you declutter and in what order?
• When do you plan to finish decluttering?

My favorite decluttering method is to use 3 boxes or bins to sort everything into.

Keep, toss, donate. I intentionally make the keep box smaller than the other two boxes.

If it doesn’t fit into the box then I’ll have to either take something out of it or put it in the donate pile.

If your looking for a specific order to declutter your home you can use the KonMarie Method.

Which says that you should declutter in the following order: clothes, books, papers, konomo (miscellaneous items), sentimental items.

If you don’t want to use this method you can also use any of the free decluttering lists or calendars online.

Mistake #4: Not Having A Way to Organize What’s Left

Part of decluttering is being able to find a home for the items that you decide are worth keeping.

Decide on how you want to organize the remaining stuff in your home and if need be buy the necessary items.

Basic Organization Supplies

• Over the door hangers
• Decorative bins and baskets
• Command Strips
• shelving
• etc.

Now that you have a way to organize everything you can put everything in its proper place once you’ve figured out what to keep and what to let go.

Mistake #5: Not Asking for Help

Decluttering can be a time consuming and stressful process.

Enlist a trusted friend(s) to help you tackle your decluttering project.

They can help you decide which items are worth keeping and which you should let go of.

Better yet you can make decluttering a family affair and have everyone pitch in.

If they’re old enough let the kids declutter their own toys and clothes using the keep, trash, and donate method.

Mistake #6: Not Creating a Decluttering Routine

Once you’ve gotten each section of your home decluttered put a daily or weekly routine in place to intentionally declutter that space.

If you don’t declutter routinely the clutter will return, possibly worse than before.

Having a routine in place will help you maintain the areas you’ve already decluttered as your work your way through your list.

Mistake #7: Not Getting Rid of the Clutter

This is probably the worse mistake of all and one that I find myself making more often than I’d like to admit.

Not getting rid of the clutter immediately.

I still have a pile of toys that I’ve been meaning to take to Goodwill from my last decluttering session.

Don’t hold on to it.

Immediately toss it into the trash can or drop it off at your nearest donation center.

Whatever you do, get rid of it that day.

If you don’t it you will just slowly creep back into the house.

Bonus Mistake: Not Getting Everyone On The Same Page

Just like getting rid of the clutter is important.

Getting everyone in the household on the same page is also important.

Your family needs to understand why your decluttering, how it benefits them, and how important it is to follow the new routines.

In my experience it’s more difficult to get your spouse on board, then getting the kids on board with the new routine.

Adults tend to have a harder time letting go of old habits and routines.

Share with your spouse how important keeping the house clutter free is to you.

Talk to your friends and family about buying toys and clothing for your kids that they don’t need.

Maybe they can take that money and put it into their college fund, take them out to the movies, or the park.

Final Thoughts

Decluttering can be an overwhelming and challenging process.

But if you avoid the mistakes that I’ve shared with you today it doesn’t have to be.

You can get your home decluttered and spend more time doing the things that matter most to you.

Now it’s your turn.

Have you made any of the mistakes that I mentioned today in your attempts to declutter your home? Are there any other mistakes that should be added to the list?

Please share your thoughts with me in the comments section.

If you liked this post don’t forget to like and share it on social media.

Until Next Time,

EJ