When You’re Struggling to Declutter- Tips for Decluttering the Hard Stuff

When you’re struggling to declutter it’s easy to want to give up. This is especially true when it’s time to declutter the hard stuff. Procrastination sets in and before you know it, you’ve given up on your dreams of a clutter-free home.

Let’s change that because you deserve a home you love!

But, first, not all decluttering tasks are hard.

In fact, many areas of your home may even be easy to declutter and it feels great when you’re done with that area. I’ll even go so far as to say there are times when I find decluttering therapeutic.

For example, the medicine cabinet is not too hard to declutter. A junk drawer is not too hard to declutter. There are a lot of spaces like this in your home that are fairly easy to tackle.

9 things that are hard to declutter

Having said that there are without question, things that are hard to declutter. Those are the things that are so much easier to procrastinate and put off than to declutter.

These are things like:

• Stuff You Might Need One Day
• Something You Spent a Lot of Money On
• Gifts You Were Given
• Items You Plan On Selling One Day
• Projects You Hope To Finish
• Sentimental Items
• Current Trendy Items You Think You Should Hold On To
• Stuff That Feels Wasteful To Get Rid Of
• Things That Represent Who You Used To Be

So today I want to give you some solutions and ways to overcome the things you struggle to declutter. Remember hard does not equal impossible.

Solutions for when you’re struggling to declutter the hard stuff 

Before we get into the solutions I want to give you some encouragement. While yes, when you go to declutter the hard stuff it will be a struggle at first. But, I promise it does become easier as you continually work on decluttering your home.

This is in large part because eliminating all that clutter is very freeing! You’ll soon feel like a literal weight that’s been holding you down has been removed. I know because I’ve been there. I really struggled to declutter the hard stuff for a variety of reasons.

I’m certain you have experienced similar struggles. Whether it’s embarrassment or shame over how much money has been wasted, guilt, or strong sentimental emotions it can be hard to let go.

I want to help you stay strong so you can achieve what you truly long for — a home and life you love!

So let’s go through each of those items so that you can finally declutter the hard stuff.

You got this!

1. Stuff you might need one day

You might need it one day – that is true, but is that a good enough reason to hold on to it?

I may have told this story before, I had been given a pizza stone that I never used. After having it sit unused for a couple of years I decided to donate it. A while after that I got into making homemade pizzas. I went looking for the pizza stone and remembered donating it.

Do you know what I did? I went and purchased another one. Was that a waste of money, not really. Let me tell you why. Had I hung on to the original one I never used, it was costing me time and space to store it and maintain something I wasn’t using for years.

In the end, it was easier and cheaper to purchase a new one when I needed it. I get that this may be hard if you are on a low income. But here’s the truth, holding on to something because you might need it one day, is far more expensive in the end. Everything we own costs us in terms of time, storage, maintenance, etc.

If you ever do need to replace an item you decluttered, chances are you’ll be able to find it at a thrift store for a few dollars or even borrow one from a friend.

When you’re struggling to declutter things you might need one day, ask yourself if you’ve used it in the past year. If you haven’t is it really worth the cost of keeping? Do you have another item you could use instead? Could you make do without it?

If you have an alternative or it is a relatively inexpensive item you have not used in a year or more let it go.

I promise you a clutter-free home is far more valuable for your peace of mind than the unknown possibility of needing to replace an item.

2. Things you spent a lot of money on

Looking back on things I was struggling to declutter, this was a big one for me. I truly hate wasting money. If something is expensive it can be really hard for me to just give it away.

Honestly, I think we’ve all been in that place where we’ve spent too much money on a regrettable purchase. Despite the fact that the items provide no value to our life, we still struggle to let go simply because of the amount of money we spent.

However, let me ask you this — what happens every time you see that item? Do you suddenly feel justified in that purchase because it is shoved in the back of a closet somewhere? Do you feel that as long as you hold on to the item you didn’t really waste the money? If you hold on to something you neither use nor love how is that not a waste?

To be real, the money has already been spent, and holding on to the item is not going to bring that money back. On the other hand, holding on to that item is a continual waste of both your time and money invested in caring for, maintaining, and storing the item.

Of course, this does not take into consideration the mental and emotional cost you are continuing to endure. Every time you look at that item, that guilt comes back, and the stress level increases.

So when you have to declutter the hard stuff, remember in the long run what it is truly costing you to keep it.

3. Gifts you were given

When someone gives you a gift, you know it’s because they care about you. They took the time and thought to give you something they wanted you to enjoy. This makes us feel obligated to hold on to the item. You might even worry that somehow they will find out and you’ll appear unappreciative.

Getting rid of the gift somehow seems wrong.

While I believe it’s important to be gracious and appreciative in accepting gifts, you are in no way obligated to keep the gift forever! When you’re struggling to declutter gifts, remember if it is truly a gift it’s up to you what you do with it.

The reality is they gave you the gift in the first place because they thought you would enjoy it, it is highly unlikely they want you to be burdened by the gift. After the joy of the gift-giving moment has passed, you are free to do with the gift as you choose.

4. Items you plan on selling one day

When we talk about trying to declutter the hard stuff, this is a big one. After all, knowing that you own something with possible value that you could recoup some money on makes it very tempting to want to sell that item.

But what will it take to actually sell it?

How much time will it take you to clean the item up, take photographs, list it for sale, respond to the inquiries and then meet up with each person who expresses interest until it’s sold?

Is the amount of money you can sell this item for really worth the effort it will take you to sell it?

If the answer is yes, why haven’t you sold it yet? If you’re procrastinating, you already know that it needs to stop. Give yourself a deadline for selling the item. If it is not sold within that time frame, agree to donate it to charity, a friend, or a family member.

Failing to adhere to this deadline is what causes you to struggle and makes it difficult to declutter the hard stuff. Yes, you might be losing some money if the item doesn’t sell, but in the long run, you will feel so much better letting go of the item. Of course, that peace of mind really is priceless.

5. Projects you hope to finish

I think we all have at least one or two DIY projects that we never quite finished but are still hoping we will. What makes this one a struggle to declutter, is acknowledging you’re likely never going to complete the project. Accepting that it’s time to move on is never easy.

This is often because unfinished projects tend to carry a lot of emotions. It may be guilt due to the money or time you spent on the project. It can also represent a part of your past, something we’ll talk about more below.

However, the last thing you want is to have a bunch of unfinished projects cluttering up your home and making you feel guilty.

So you have two choices here. Either you finish the project or put it behind you and move on.

If it’s something you really hope to finish make the time to do it. I love the take A Slob Comes Clean has on this. She talks about finishing the project as a form of decluttering! So basically you’re getting your project finished and decluttering at the same time!

6. Sentimental items

To be honest I am not a particularly sentimental person. I don’t have a ton of items that I have a sentimental attachment to. I have a few and have no intention of getting rid of them. This is because I firmly believe that there is nothing wrong with keeping a few sentimental items that have special meaning to you.

On the other hand, my husband is the exact opposite. He literally attaches sentimentality to nearly everything. If you fall more in line with my husband, I encourage you to let go of some of those items.

It really comes down to the truth that if everything is important then nothing is important. In other words, everything can’t be special.

I want to reiterate it is perfectly okay to keep things that are really special to you. I also want to acknowledge that when we talk about having to declutter the hard stuff, sentimental items are right at the top.

Yes, things can have memories, but those things can be lost. This is why it’s important to put memories into people, not things.

While it is true that as you’re decluttering you will likely encounter various items that bring up certain memories and events. But that does not mean that letting go of the items means letting go of the memories.

Those memories are within you and the people you shared them with. No one can ever take away those memories. You can also keep the memories alive by passing on stories to your family and friends.

Go ahead and keep those items that are really meaningful to you. Take photos of the remaining items and then consider passing the items on to another family member who may want them.

I promise your memories will not leave with the items. Yet, you will feel so much lighter when you do let go.

7. Current trendy items 

Struggling to declutter trendy or currently, popular items happens for a couple of reasons.

First, trendy items tend to be newer items that were recently purchased. For whatever reason, they just did not work in your home or for your lifestyle. But because they’re fairly new it’s hard to get rid of them.

The second reason you might be struggling to declutter these items is that they are popular right now. This creates a feeling that they somehow have more value than they do.

But here’s the thing, if you are not using the items now, you are never going to. Trendy and popular things change faster than they can collect dust. They will be out of style in a heartbeat.

You are much better off passing them on to someone who will use the items now. Keep those things you genuinely love and use and don’t be afraid to declutter those trendy items. I promise you will be happy you do.

Because you’re not using them, you won’t even miss them!

8. Stuff that feels wasteful go get rid of

This is possibly one of the most popular reasons people struggle to declutter. You want to get rid of the clutter, but there is this nagging feeling that you’re wasting money or throwing dollars down the garbage disposal.

I get it, I really do. I have felt this exact way before. But when you look at the truth of what holding on to the clutter is costing you, you’ll see it is far more wasteful by holding onto the clutter. We’ve already talked about how much holding onto clutter actually costs in terms of time, storage, maintenance costs, etc.

Holding on to clutter also has another cost in terms of preventing you from learning from your mistakes. It’s when we purchase on impulse or even for emotional reasons that we end up feeling wasteful in letting them go. Learning this lesson, in the long run, is worth far more than any money you’ve spent.

There is a quote I love that applies here: “When you keep something you’re not using, no one else can use it either”. You see it is far less wasteful to pass something on to someone who will use it than to keep it shoved in the back of a closet somewhere.

9. Things that represent who you used to be

At some level, we all have attached emotions to our stuff. These emotions can be really strong. And these emotions are particularly strong when it comes to stuff that represents who we used to be. It can feel like giving up a part of yourself.

Because the things we own tell a story about both who we are and the type of person we want to be, struggling to declutter these items is not surprising. 

The first time I came across the box of business suits I packed up after I stopped practicing law I couldn’t bring myself to declutter them. My career had been such a big part of my life.

It was only after I faced the reality that I had no desire to go back to that lifestyle that I was able to let them go.

You see, letting go of your stuff does not change who you are or erase your past. In fact, it is through letting go that you’ll be able to fully embrace the life you are creating now!

The more you understand who you really are, the less you’ll be tempted to hang on to things that are no longer serving your true self.

This is what decluttering the hard stuff is all about!

Decluttering Can Be Hard, But Always Worth It

Did you relate to any of this? Do you find yourself struggling to declutter these categories? 

I’m not going to lie to you, decluttering can be tough, especially when you’re decluttering the hard stuff. It might even feel impossible some days and that’s okay.

You don’t have to do it all at once. Little by little, step by step, soon you will begin to see positive changes in your life.

As you feel the stress from everything you’ve been holding on to decrease you will find that it was so worth the work and struggling to declutter will be a thing of the past!