The 10 BIGGEST Decluttering Lies

For myself and maybe for a lot of people the reason why I tend to shop more than I should is because I’m trying to fill a void within myself. Shopping is a double edge sword, on one hand it feels euphoric. Therefore, retail therapy, as I call it, provides me with feelings of excitement, sometimes motivation, and sometimes importance. Afterwards, I feel disappointed because that euphoric feeling is temporary and I should be more disciplined. The lesson I’ve acknowledged is my problem lies within myself because I feel like something is missing in my life. I’m 52 and lost my husband to cancer in May 2023 but he had started getting sick in 2022. We should be looking forward to retirement together and marking things off our bucket list but instead he’s gone to his heavenly home. We were married for 31 years and things cannot fill the vacancy in my heart. Thank you for sharing these truths because I too struggle with excess clutter but I’m taking baby steps to create a peaceful environment for myself.

DON'T ORGANISE YOUR CLUTTER!! Best advice ever!

I started watching you last week. I’m a butterfly. In the last week I cleaned out my refrigerator, threw out old medicine and products, two bags of shoes I haven’t worn in 7 years, five bags of clothes that don’t fit, and reorganized my hall closet where meds, linens, and products are kept in the butterfly way. My dresser drawers close all the way. I still need to tackle the bedroom closet, guest/craft room, kitchen and living room. I’m not putting pressure on myself. Just doing it. Thanks for your work! (A to Zen recommended you).

The bonus lie ‘a messy home doesn’t really bother me’ was the one I used all the time. But when I knew I was going to have company, I raced around trying to find places to hide my mess. Kinda contradictory.

Again, I can't thank you enough for your encouragement. While decluttering, I was looking for more bins to put stuff in. Then I stopped myself, got rid of the bins AND the stuff. What an amazing feeling. xoxo

Hi Cass My 2 lies are I'm too overwhelmed and I'll do it later. In 2007 when both of our mothers died we took the things to keep and my husband said, "Just shove it, we'll deal with it later." Then 10 years later after unemployment and dialysis, he died. So, I had 2 Moms stuff and his stuff. Then my daughter got married, I had 2 bouts of cancer, a wildfire, and was diagnosed with blood clots. So, now I am overwhelmed. When I saw that someone could declutter and organize a room in 6 hours, I know I can, too. I'm sure that getting started is the hardest part.

Your clients are SO amazing and brave to let us see their struggles and successes! Thanks for sharing!❤❤❤

The lie that causes me (a ruthlessly unsentimental Cricket) to avoid cleaning is: "This is going to take FOREVER". Of course, in actuality, it takes ten minutes. Procrastination and perfectionism will keep you stuck for years if you let it.

I've been "cooking through" my freezer, fridge and pantry. I've just been buying more and more, and finally I just had to stop myself. I've gotten really creative with some of the dishes and they've tasted good, too!! Now I can see the light at the back of my freezer!!

My current challenge in my decluttering process is I think about my upcoming age! I will be 73 in two weeks! I keep thinking about how much time do I want to spend on doing when I have other things I could be doing instead. I am wishing I did this decades ago! The problem is YOU were a child back when I could have been decluttering to simplify life! But I am still going to press on and when I leave this world in twenty or so years my daughters won’t have a ton of stuff to deal with!! ❤❤

I had to stop the video in mid-stream and go declutter my spices in my pantry. I am still trying to combine my home with my parents and declutter 60 years of their stuff and 40 years of my stuff and make one home. I have thrown so much away and given away probably as much. And even sold a little. But it is taking me forever. Nothing I do is quick! And believe me, I don't waste time debating anything I'm going through. But I am NOT giving up! When I get finished, I will have room in every closet and every cabinet! The parts that I have done feels SO good. I find myself standing in the rooms I have already done, opening cabinets and closets and just admiring how good they look. I'm 64, sole caregiver for my aging father and mentally and partially disabled son, I have arthritis and a bad back, and I just retired from a full-time job. I worked from home for my son, but it was a full-time job! The first thing I did when I retired was take my desk apart and I took it to the dumpster!! 🤣 It felt great! Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement!!!

After clearing out my pantry and finding outdated food now as soon as I bring food home I mark the expiry date on the front with a Sharpie. (My vision isn't great.) Then put the newest food in the back. Much more organized, less wasted food and $. Love you Cas❣️

My woodworker husband passed 22 months ago. I am downsizing my house 48 years. Clearing out his workshop has been the most difficult. I did learn some things from your videos. Thanks bunches.

Just a brief word on excessive stockpiling of pantry items. Prior to the pandemic I was fortunate enough to have large amounts of dried beans, rice, pasta and several jars of peanut butter. These items helped stretch my meals during a very stressful time, no harm done there. On the other hand, I too have had expired items in my walk-in pantry. I now get in the habit of checking fresh dates prior to writing my food list for the grocery store.

The lie I tell myself: I will find a new owner for that thing. Uh...NO I won't!

I think I tell myself all these lies! The biggest one for me is that I am comfortable in my mess, when I actually dream of a nearly minimalist house!

Start decluttering where you are. Five minutes a day will make a huge impact on your home. After it starts looking better, you realize that those five minutes here and there are what maintains a home. When it is let go, that is when the huge projects come in. Life happens. Poor health, job, kids, elderly parents all take a toll. Small steps to a better space.

That beautiful blue dress looks so nice on you!

"Working so hard to get nowhere"...sums up my bee life! It's amazing how much relief and sense of accomplishment "good enough" brings🥰 🤦🏾‍♀️I've told every single lie but Cass, you're a miracle worker..keeping the world honest and tidy🤗❤🙏🏾

"I don't have a shopping problem" I realized that I still have a shopping problem when my minimalist home started to become not minimalist anymore :( Soooo, to "fix" this issue, whenever I shop on Amazon now (ESPECIALLY late at night...my most dangerous time of not necessary items!!!) I I decided that I can still add whatever I want to my Amazon "shopping cart", but I DON'T "check out" anymore!!!! Then, SEVERAL DAYS later, I go back in to edit my shopping cart and usually end up deleting either all or almost all of those impulse buys that I would have otherwise wasted my money and household space on!!! Works like a charm for me!!! :)