The Best Decluttering Tips: Keep It or Let It Go?

Not sure what to keep or donate when decluttering? Learn how I tackled this challenge—and what made the decision easier.

My Success and My Struggle While Decluttering

Do you find it hard to make decisions about your stuff? I started decluttering about eighteen months ago. I got rid of a lot of things. I don’t know how many times I went to the thrift store to donate items, but it was a lot. Sometimes I would go every week, sometimes every other week on the weekends—because I work full time.

At some point during my decluttering process, I started wondering how far I should go. My home felt so much easier to maintain, and I really enjoyed that. But I still had some things I wasn’t using—like a small table, two armchairs, and a bench outside. They were nice, but we hardly ever used them. So I struggled with the decision to donate them or keep them. I couldn’t make up my mind—it felt hard, and I started getting really anxious about it.

What to Consider? A Story that Helped Me to Make the Decision

Then I heard a story on a podcast I was listening to. A woman shared how she had a really nice antique table and chairs, but she couldn’t use them. She thought she might use them in her next house—not that she was planning to move or anything. But they were taking up space in her living room, and she didn’t like that. She started to realize that she couldn’t fully enjoy her life right now because those large pieces of furniture were interfering with how she used her space. What was once beautiful and potentially useful had become an obstacle for her family to enjoy their home. They took up too much space, and she wasn’t willing to rent a storage unit just to keep them.

So she went through the emotional struggle of letting them go. But eventually, when she removed them, she never regretted it. In fact, she regretted not doing it sooner—that’s how good the room felt without them. She also reminded herself that she would always have the opportunity to find a good deal on something similar in the future, and that the search could even be fun.

Learning to Trust the Process (and Keep the Chairs)

In my case, with the outdoor furniture, I decided to keep it because I actually had space for it, and it wasn’t interfering with how my family lived. I wanted to give it another chance and wait a little. And then I started using it. In the summer and fall, I began spending a lot of time outside, sitting there and enjoying the sunshine. Now I’m glad I kept it.

But the story of that woman—and the way she thought through her decision—really helped me make mine. I saw that my situation was different because I had the space. But I also experienced peace of mind and a sense of freedom when I allowed myself to consider letting go of perfectly good furniture. I realized that, if I ever needed something like that again, I’d most likely be able to come across it somehow.