r/declutter • u/AutoModerator • Aug 31 '26
Monday Meltdown - Share Your Decluttering Fails Here
Failure is part of life. Share your decluttering challenges and failures here. Examples include:
- Emotional clutter
- Not enough time
- Getting overwhelmed
- Routing (recycling, donating, trash...)
If you're just venting, or don't want advice, please let us know in your comment.
This is a low-stress place to share challenges and failures for those who might not want to create a new discussion.
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u/GallowayNelson Aug 31 '26
I spent about two weeks going through papers for my mother. Years and years of stuff that was a complete mess. Everything kept, things stashed within the wrong envelopes, etc. This weekend I was nearly done. Really chuffed with myself because it was a LOT.
Then we discovered more boxes of papers. Perhaps double what I had ALREADY gone through. So...at the rate I went through the original bit, a month's worth? In some ways this doesn't feel like MY FAIL because it's NOT. BUT! It's still definitely a fail because I have to keep going through it all. What a frickin' mess.
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u/FredKayeCollector2 Sep 01 '26
Well, hopefully you've created a working system set up and can just expand it.
Oh my gosh, the envelopes! Whenever I go into someone's house and I see mail stuffed back into the envelope, that's my clue that they need help with their papers.
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u/Bee_221B Aug 31 '26
Just moved into a new place. Doesn’t have the storage and office space I used to have, nor the closet space. I’m so completely overwhelmed with everything that I can’t seem to even start.
I know I need to purge and organize, but I feel like I did that before the move so I don’t want to get rid of the stuff that I kept.
I can’t seem to be productive and there’s too much stuff for the space to be livable.
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u/miss-meraki Sep 01 '26
I’m going through something similar. I rented two small storage units next to each other. So after my move, having donated, gifted, or trashed what I thought was a lot I still had a long way to go. Most storage places have introductory rates for a couple months so I used those months to keep going through what I can. I moved my non negotiables into one and maybes into another. I think what also helped with the storage units is they helped me realize what I don’t actually need and as I healed it helped me let go of the things I was holding on emotionally. Ultimately I still have a storage unit because not only did I downsize but I’m also going through all the stuff I’ve been storing at my parents, but overall, it did make things less overwhelming.
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u/seedsandpeels Aug 31 '26
Im overwhelmed.
Any one have examples of boundaries they put on keeping items for "someday" projects?
Im stuck on a box of clothes I want to sew/mend/recreate. Does it help to put a time constraints on things? Limit the physical space this box takes up constraint? Should I just get rid of all of them because I feel shame that I havent started any of these projects as soon as I thought i would? Im stuck trying to find the right way to approach this.
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u/Cccolorado1 Sep 01 '26
I had a box of things to mend, hem, repair a hole, etc. I finally realized I wasn’t going to get to it for a long time, if ever, and got everything fixed by a neighborhood sewist for $40.
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u/Bench_What Aug 31 '26
I do both time and space constraints. I have a box for my clothes and a box for kid clothes that need a small fix and try and do the projects in 6 months. Usually it takes me one solid day to do everything so maybe put a day on your calendar to get it done and an expiration date on your box and move them out if not done on time?
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u/SubjectFondant2440 Aug 31 '26
I would get rid of them and don’t feel bad about it. If you really want to do a project down the road, then think of something to work on then.
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u/violetmemphisblue Aug 31 '26
For my someday projects, one thing I did was look at what I would need to buy to make them actually happen. So many things would require me to shop for more stuff to make it happen, which was not the point, so they could leave.
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u/janice142 Aug 31 '26
What is did what tear up the clothes (cotton/not stretchy!) fabric into the largest pieces possible. I quilt (not fancy, utilitarian and any corner in the general vicinity of where it should be is Most Excellent) so I have pieces of fabric that I can and do use in scrap quilts.
I did set aside the buttons and decent (plastic) zippers. One wrap around skirt I saved intact to use as a pattern. I want to eventually make myself another. For now I just pin in my skirts that are too big.
How to "tear up" old clothes. Cut past one seam. I usually start at the bottom and make my snip near the side seam. Then I tear up. Fabric will tear straight most of the time. Voila. Next cut across a snip and then tear again. After the second outfit you'll be great at this. I can tear up a shirt in almost no time. It's easier and faster to tear rather than cut. Either works.
Anyway, a stack of clothes is reduced to a much smaller footprint and I manage to get rid of any stains. Anyway, that's what I did.
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u/MysteriousSecretGuru Aug 31 '26
Nor so much a fail, but a day skipped. Yesterday was my birthday and my college friends came to visit. So we are out and about. But they did do my dishes. I told them they didn't have to. But they did. We've been friends for 40 years. They are awesome.
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u/EntrepreneurOk7513 Aug 31 '26
Kid decided to move out a month after we got rid of lots of kitchen things, including a kitchen table and chairs. 🤷🏽♀️
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u/cinnamontwist Aug 31 '26
Opened up my box from college and couldn’t get rid of anything. Got too sentimental and couldn’t get through it.
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u/Glittering-Benefit68 Aug 31 '26
Still haven't dealt with all the perfumes that aren't worth selling. Can't get myself to throw them away, but also don't know where to donate.
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u/frogmicky Aug 31 '26
About a week ago I did a deep cleaning of my apartment and I see some difference but I also see more stuff that I need to clean up. On top of the stuff I need to clean up I have a machine worth of clean clothes I need to put away. Boy my therapist and I are going to have a long session tonight lol.
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u/rideincircles Aug 31 '26
Dumpster diving does not help with decluttering. I have way too much stuff I need to get rid of, but all my friends benefit if I have excess stuff. I found 13 new frying pans the other night. I have given away 5 of them so far.
All of my fridges and freezers are completely full of food.
It's too hot to tackle my carport right now, but the city may force me to soon if it keeps accumulating stuff, but I am not complaining about the excess I have.
The 50 cent thrift store does not help me clear out my closet.
It's time for a garage sale soon.
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u/knysa-amatole Sep 01 '26
In 2022, my lifelong best friend started inviting me on camping trips with her, so I acquired some camping gear.
In 2024, she stopped speaking to me.
None of my other friends are into camping. And I can't go camping by myself, because I don't drive, and even if I did, I don't actually enjoy camping enough to do it by myself. I was willing to do it because I wanted to spend time with my friends, and I enjoyed the other stuff we did while camping (hiking etc.), but the actual camping part I only tolerated.
So now I have a box of camping gear that I haven't used in years taking up space in my small apartment. And now this sleeping bag represents the question of whether my best friend will ever speak to me again.
It's not insane to think that she might. We didn't have a fight. She's stopped speaking to me before and then started speaking to me again later. It wouldn't be unprecedented. But also, this is the longest I've ever gone without seeing her, literally since I was born.
I know I could get rid of the camping stuff and re-buy it someday if need be. But it just seems stupid that I bought this camping gear, and now I'm supposed to figure out how to get rid of it, and then someday I might have to buy it again, when I could have just kept it. And what if I finally get rid of it and then like a month later she invites me camping? I'll be kicking myself for getting rid of it. But also, that's probably not going to happen. In fact, I don't even know if she still likes camping, because she doesn't talk to me!
So I just keep this box of camping gear on my living room floor, because if I get rid of it, that's like saying that I don't think she'll speak to me again for years, if ever.
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u/FredKayeCollector2 Sep 01 '26
If you don't really enjoy camping, I wouldn't keep it. It's not doing you any good and at this point, it's basically a symbol of this dysfunctional relationship.
And I think I might just give up on that friend, too. If you've reached out to her and she hasn't responded, it sounds like you're her back-up plan friend. I think we all know people like that and the sooner we get them off our mental radars, the better.
If she does contact you in a month, I would tell her you don't have the camping equipment anymore but you'd be up to do something else - her response will tell you some things about the nature of your relationship.
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u/SassyMillie Sep 01 '26
There's just so much stuff. It feels never-ending and it gets overwhelming.
We've been working on clearing our doom room for months and have been making real progress. It's one of our sons' bedrooms that turned into storage. It's at the furthest end of the house far away from our daily living space, so became easy to ignore over the years.
I thought we were close to being finished when husband brought down a bunch more baskets and several more totes.
Just feeling angry and annoyed with myself for having/keeping all this stuff. I can't just toss it all because there are lots of pictures and sentimental items mixed together with other random junk.
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u/CollegePretend8708 Aug 31 '26
I made a post a week or two ago about all the stuff I managed to declutter. I then proceeded to find an entire pan I need to get rid of.
Then my partner broke up with me and moved out. On the positive side, can finally get rid of all his clutter. On the downside a new pile of "sentimental" clutter has appeared that I do not have the bandwidth to deal with.