Decluttering is not a one and done process. It seems that you get an area decluttered and before long, it's cluttered again. That's okay! The way to keep moving forward is to accept that this is part of life. If we go out into the world, we will have opportunities to bring things with us - thank you gifts, left overs from the restaurant, freebies from our favorite shop, mail, buy one - get one free offers, etc. We just need to remember that anything we bring into our homes, needs to have a place and a purpose. If we can justify it's place in our home, then we can bring it with us. If not, then we can either leave it behind (as in the left overs, or freebies) or find a new home for it (donate the gift that was gracious, but unneeded). This one is hard for me, but I am beginning to realize that the person giving the gift wanted to let me know they cared. Their gift achieved their purpose. They wouldn't want me to be overwhelmed by their gesture, but by refusing a gift, it's being unkind to them. The kindest thing is to graciously accept the gift and let them know how valued they have made you feel from their gesture. What you do with it later is no one's business. I once had a family member leave the gift behind stating it's lack of value to them - not in so many words, but the disregard for my time, energy, and money invested in them, was unkind. I didn't expect them to jump up and down and cheer, but graciousness is free. Strive to be gracious without being bound to the idea that you have to keep every gift ever given to you. One way to limit these 'not useful' gifts is to let friends and family know - when asked or in conversation - that you prefer consumable gifts. I have done this and have received gifts that are always welcome since. Especially with the holidays coming up, now would be a good time to begin this practice. If people ask you for gift ideas, just mention your plan to reduce the amount of items in your home and closet, so you would love anything that is 'consumable' - then offer ideas - like teas, coffee, snacks, supplies you use regularly, gas cards, grocery gift cards, donations to your favorite charity in your name, etc.

When we get overwhelmed, we often feel like it isn't possible to move forward. Honestly, I have been there fo the past two months. I have a YouTube channel I started before all of the overwhelm started and I can honestly say, that the past couple of months have given me a new perspective. I basically had to look at my life and my choices and make some hard choices. But along the way, I discovered the 'game' of decluttering, I started this Skool community and I am looking forward to making the shift on YT to sharing the same concepts I share here in the free communtiy, but will continue to talk about my faith over there because without my relationship with Jesus Christ, I wouldn't be who I am. The free community won't cover a lot of the faith aspect, as I understand people of all faiths and walks of life are seeking a way to get free from their disorganization and overwhelm. I can't promise that there will be none, because it is part of me. We will have weekly tasks and conversation that help us deal with the symptoms of our clutter. However, my tier called 'The DBD Files' will dive deeper - deeper solutions, deeper into biblical concepts, and deeper faith-based relationships, because I found that the root of my disorganization problem had a lot to do with not fully understanding that my relationship with Jesus is more than just prayer or reading the Bible. It's a decision to fully give my life to Him and allow His call on my life to be the motivating factor for WHY I do what I do, keep what I keep, and pursue what I pursue. I'm glad you're here! I'd love to here your story. Feel free to DM me if you don't want to share with all, but obviously, you're welcome to share here too.