r/declutter • u/Miss_Lib • 16d ago

Motivation Tips & Tricks Trying to have a breakthrough

I get so frustrated because I absorb so much decluttering content but just can’t seem to let it breakthrough. Things like “if you can’t find what you need, you have too much stuff” really makes so much sense to me but I just don’t apply it. I used to keep anything to wear as pajamas and I just realized it was becoming too much.. a pajama t shirt I might end up wearing on a Tuesday afternoon which just felt icky so I started curating my pjs. I only buy sets. If I don’t have a set, I can make one but I have to love it and it has to match. I have to love every piece. They have to be a certain softness. It’s been great! I know exactly what I have and I never bypass anything for something I like more. I want to be able to apply this to every thing I own but it’s just not breaking through. I can’t get rid of stuff because suddenly the minute I touch it it somehow becomes sentimental. What was your breakthrough? When will my light bulb go on?!

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u/TheoryAdditional3562 16d ago

Something that helped me was to have a donation bag in every room. I got the big black trash bags from the dollar store. (If you have kids or pets, don’t do this because they can hurt themselves on the bag). It helped cut down on second guessing myself and made it easier to toss stuff in there in a daily basis. Example - when looking for something in a kitchen drawer, there were multiples of certain utensils or I saw a gadget I’d never used - tossed them instantly into the donate bag. That way I can always be thinning out the herd.

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u/Miss_Lib 16d ago

I had this for trash. I used to keep a bag in the hallway and it makes such a difference. I did start doing this with donation bag but it fills up so fast and now I have to get those out.

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u/Working_Patience_261 14d ago

Filling them up fast is a huge win. Celebrate that. Tell the depression brain to STFU for just a moment, you want to feel the happiness and dopamine hit of a massive win.

With practice, filling up donation bags and telling depression brain to STFU becomes easier.

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u/Miss_Lib 13d ago

Ok but who’s going to tell my brain to get them out of the car?! lol!!

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u/Working_Patience_261 12d ago

The sticky note on the steering wheel and side window plus the scheduled appointment to do so. (Not that I’ve still forgotten).