Decluttering is NOT always easy! We get started with really good intentions but then quickly get side-lined by our possessions.
What if I paid “good money” for the item or if I’m just not sure if I’ll need it in the future? These are valid questions and where we quickly get hung up in the decluttering process. So today let’s talk about how we can truly evaluate whether an item is worth keeping or if it’s time to let it go!
Overview: If we have the right questions to ask ourselves while decluttering, it can make the entire process easier! Below you’ll find guided decluttering worksheets for general items, kitchens and sentimental items.
GENERAL DECLUTTERING QUESTIONS
You can find a FREE PRINTABLE of these questions right here! It may be helpful to keep it in front of you when you’re decluttering.
Here are a handful of questions you can ask yourself when decluttering:
- Have I used or admired this in the last year? This is the oldest one in the book…but it works! Chances are if you haven’t used it in the past year you will have no use for it in the coming year. This can be especially useful when going through things like clothing, sporting equipment and kitchen gadgets.
- Can it be replaced for $20 or less? Or can it be borrowed? The number one reason we hang on to things is because we just don’t know if we’ll need it again in the future. But, this causes our homes to function more like storage units than peaceful havens for our families to recharge in. If the item could be replaced for $20 or less it may be time to cut your losses and take the chance that you may decide to replace it again in the future!
- Would I purchase this again? SO often we purchase items hoping they’ll meet a need and we either never get around to using them or they simply don’t meet the need as we had hoped. Kitchen appliances, electronics and specialized clothing and footwear can often fall into this category. If when you hold up an item you know you regret buying it and would never purchase it again, let it go! Keeping it will not cause it to suddenly start meeting your needs!
- Is it living out the purpose it was created for? If you have 20 coffee mugs, I can almost guarantee that they aren’t fulfilling the purpose they were created for. Unless you have a careful system to rotate your mugs and appreciate a new one each day, why not pass them on to someone who could actually use them? In a way, it is selfish of us to hold on to items “just in case” when there are other people in the world who could actually use them.
- Am I keeping this out of guilt? We keep SO many things because we feel guilty over purchasing them and just hope someday we will find a use for them. But, unfortunately, that day rarely comes and the item taunts us every time we look at it!! We don’t deserve to be ridiculed in our own house! So get rid of the item so that you no longer have to feel guilty about it. After all, we all make mistakes!
- If someone gave me $ would I part with it? This question is a GREAT litmus test for an item you just can’t decide what to do with. If we ask ourselves if we’d part with it if we were paid, and the answer is YES, then we need to let it go (whether someone actually gives us money in exchange for it or not!)
- Could someone else use or love it more? How many items waste away in storage when someone else could have made really good use out of them? Water or pest damage, and just the passage of time, things are not meant to be stored, they’re meant to be USED! So if someone else could actually make use of an item, why not let them have it?
- Do I want to have to handle this item again? This is also known as “deferred decision making”…we can’t decide what to do so we put the item back and put off the decision for another day. But how many times do we want to have to handle the same item!?! It’s best to make the decision now, even if it’s difficult, than to have to look at the same item and re-contemplate the decision a year from now.
KITCHEN DECLUTTERING QUESTIONS
There are several things that often hold us up in the kitchen like expensive appliances and gadgets and the fear of not knowing if we’ll need them in the future! Here are questions that you can ask yourself while decluttering your kitchen:
- How do I NEED my kitchen to FUNCTION?
- Am I keeping this just in case?
- Could we completely clear the counters?
- Am I OVER VALUING appliances & gadgets?
- Is it taking up valuable space?
- Could I put this in storage to see if I miss it?
- Could I borrow or replace this inexpensively?
- Would our WHOLE HOUSE feel more peaceful and enjoyable to live in if the kitchen were simplified?
You can find the free printable with kitchen decluttering questions here!
SENTIMENTAL DECLUTTERING QUESTIONS
Sentimental items are the HARDEST to declutter because often, they are irreplaceable. But don’t worry! We can help you through these items, too, by focusing on the absolute most important things and letting the rest go.
Here are questions to ask yourself when decluttering sentimental items:
- How do I want my house to FEEL?
- Why did I invite this into my home?
- Am I keeping it out of guilt?
- Does it bring up HAPPY MEMORIES?
- Is it deteriorating in storage?
- If someone gave me $ would I part with it?
- Could someone else use or love it more?
- Do I want to have to handle this item again?
You can print the decluttering sentimental items worksheet HERE!
YOU CAN DO IT!
The good news, friend? IT GETS EASIER!! Every time you part with an item you’re flexing your decluttering muscles and you reinforce the fact that very few physical items actually bring us happiness or joy, but they do cause us STRESS. And by decluttering and simplifying, we’re able to focus on the things that truly matter most.
We hope you find these questions helpful! We know it isn’t always easy to declutter, but for our own family, it has been INCREDIBLY worthwhile!
All our best to you as you simplify your home!!
If you’re on Pinterest or other social media, we’d love it if you shared this! THANK YOU, thank you, thank you!!!! :)
I need to de-clutter my closet and donate 80% of my things. I have WAY too many clothes, shoes, scarves, purses, jewelry…
Someone recommended I watch your videos.
I downloaded your questions, and that already has me inspired! Maybe I CAN do this after all!
Thank you!
I love your videos and your amazing ideas! We are paying off our crazy massive student loans and so we’ve had to simplify our finances and spending. So, going more minimalist in my home makes so much sense. I have 6 kids and so I definitely need less stuff to manage. Thank you for sharing your journey. If you want to follow our debt free journey here’s my blog.
http://www.poordrwife.com
I absolutely love all your suggestions and videos. I have been simplifying for about three months now. I recently had several family emergencies in a three week period. Normally I would have been frazzled and really stressed out but because my house was simplified and free of clutter, I was able to handle those situations much better! Thank you!!
Thank you for the printable lists. They are so helpful. I’m 65 yrs. old and you have taught me so much about decluttering. Goes to show you are never too old to learn new things. I enjoy your YouTube videos and I love your laugh! It makes my day. Thank you again.
Girl! You are SO AWESOME!🤗🤗
I am very frugal too growing up in a 3rd world country (I moved here for college 18 years ago), but having 5 kids you have to be frugal in one income. 🤔
I found your videos about a month ago. I moved into my very own 1st house back at the end of June this year. ☺️
We had lived with my in-laws”temporarily” for 11 years 😳while my husband went through a lot of school and worked nights too. We have been married for 15 years and moved 10 times our first 2 years of marriage. Can you imagine my surprise when I unpacked all our “college kitchen ware boxed a decade before? 🤪Great memories but obviously life is much different now! I also made the mistake to buy on many black Fridays different nice sets of knives, etc thinking of my future house. Well since I had our stuff packed in so many diverse places in my in-laws, I lost track of how much more I was buying until we moved here to WI. I grew up with the idea that EVERYTHING can be used and REUSED, so all this simplyfing idea is a HUGE game changer for me! I have really enjoyed all your videos and can’t imagine the time it has taken you to do them all. I’m also Christian, (from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and enjoy listening to Diana and her love for sharing the gospel.
THANK YOU! For teaching to so many to truly simplify and enjoy what is important in everyone’s life.. Family. 😊
Sorry for the length, but I’m not known to be a woman of a few words!😉
(Btw, we tried your ginger bread houses ideas and it was such a fun, cheap and easy clean up! My kids loved it🥰.
And to answer your blog, YES! I think we can be friends! 😂
We were both disappointed and relieved when buyers backed out 2 weeks before closing the sale of our house. We had decluttered and packed and were ready to go. Lived for a week like we were in a vacation cabin. One cup, spoon, fork, plate each. All surfaces cleared and down to bare essentials. After the sale fell through we decided not to sell and moved only the most essential items back into the house. Lovin’ it.
I was sad to see you had comments inactivated on YouTube. So decided to come here to leave a message. This past weekend I really went through to clean up and declutter our kitchen. I even found some cans that had expired in 2009!!! Yuck!!
Anyway, after two days worth of work I was feeling pretty good. My 10 year old came up to me and said “Wow mom, I never thought we had a messy house before but seeing it now, it was horrible!” Thank you for helping inspire me to really get stuff cleaned up and cleared out. My kitchen no longer gives me anxiety. It’s still small but soooo much better!!
Now to tackle the rest the of the house…
IWe are definitely heading towards hoarding with all the collections of clutter overwhelming our home.
When we hit 60’s & started thinking about downsizing-the purge began. That was a few years ago. I got stuck in the middle and stopped.
Thanks for the insight on why and how to move forward. Realizing the generational issue was a game changer!
After raising our children and being married 50 years have accumulated so much.
Don’t want to leave this burden for our children to deal with. Appreciate the encouragement.
Yes! Whenever I ask myself whether I should keep or give away or discard an item I ask myself what would my daughter-in-law do with it as she and my son will have to deal with whatever I leave behind when I am gone. Easy peasy! Most items get discarded.
Thanks Dawn for all your tips & videos! I happened upon your YouTube channel Dec of 2019 & I’m so glad I did! After my Bible reading time w/Jesus I watch your videos getting ready for work! & any free moments I have! You & your husband & your sister inspire me. I’m a parent of two girls & a boy but unlike most of your followers I’m through my child rearing days! Or so I thought! I’m a pastor’s wife of 35 years, full time public school tech teacher, and full time caregiver to my 89 YO mother who has mid stage Alzheimer’s. Life definitely challenges me from every turn! I’ve been trying to simplify my home for several years but this past year when my mom had to come live with my husband & myself, it’s kind of taken a back seat. I only wish I could have had your resources when my children lived at home! I’m doing whatever I can when I can! Thanks for all the laughs & encouragement & please keep adding your spiritual side to your video’s! It’s a blessing!
Patty, Bless your heart!! I’m saying a prayer of blessing for you right now. My husband and I have also been in ministry for 50 years. We were caregivers for my father until he passed away in 2017.
Dawn’s videos are such an inspiration to me too anc I love that she shares her spiritual life with us.
Blessings
Connie
Your decluttering videos where you provide a list of questions to ask yourself are especially helpful. I also appreciate that you keep religion out of your minimalist videos. Thank you for providing practical, relevant decluttering advice.
You have such great tips. I have to say I also love the Sunday clips with your twin. It’s not just encouraging me to decluter more,but to keep my faith even in tough times
Thank you for your videos! You have such a gift of encouragement. I’m not a minimalist or a mom, and I’ve still learned so much from you and have been inspired to make changes. Please continue to share with us, you have so much to offer!
I have enjoyed watching your videos and after watching them, I have started to decluttering and feel like I can do it! Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge!