What are the Biggest Decluttering Mistakes?

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April 2026 - Organization Pending's Newsroom - Upper Arlington, Ohio

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Organization Pending is a home organizing company offering in-person and virtual services from Upper Arlington, Ohio. Welcome to the Newsroom, offering monthly decluttering and organizing tips and discussions, interviews with Community Recommendations, Columbus recycling and donation news and resources, and more!

Don't miss this month's discussion on the biggest decluttering mistakes, and Upper Arlington Updates with Company News for Earth Day and local sustainability efforts.

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What are the Biggest Decluttering Mistakes?

If you’re finding yourself in a cycle of looking and rebuying, frustrated by the clutter keeping you from really living in your home - you’re not alone. Americans spend 2½ days each year looking for lost items in their home, causing 60% of us to be late or miss appointments, spending $2.7 billion to replace items already in the home. (PR Newswire. Lost and Found.) 48% of Americans consider their home at least somewhat cluttered, and 72% believe they would gain more space through decluttering - but 41% haven’t decluttered in over a year. (PR Newswire. Americans Have Too Many Things and Not Enough Money, Study Finds.)

Decluttering Mistake #1: We don't have enough time or energy.

Walking into a cluttered room can be overstimulating, and pulling everything out of everywhere can be visually overwhelming and increase decision fatigue. 36% of respondents reported a lack of motivation to declutter and organize, with 29% too tired from their busy lives and juggling multiple responsibilities. (Woodruff, Lisa K, Research Studies, Organize 365®.) Tabi's Tip: If this sounds familiar, schedule 15 minutes with yourself four days a week - make sure you put it in your calendar! Take before and after pictures of each session, putting them in an album on your phone so you can easily see your progress. Make sure to have a bag for trash, a box for donates, and a box for items that belong elsewhere in the home. Set a timer for 15 minutes, and start with one drawer or one cabinet - the rest of the room doesn’t exist right now! Look only for items that are trash, donation, or that would be looked for elsewhere in the home first. Piece by piece, you’ll be able to declutter the entire room, allowing you to establish purposeful organized zones with the items that remain.  How does Organization Pending support your decluttering and home organizing goals? Whole home services, one-on-one training sessions, kid organization sessions, and focused decluttering sessions for moving.

Decluttering Mistake #2: Seasonal and ongoing decluttering cycles fall behind. Decluttering is part of every home’s regular maintenance schedule, from deep seasonal decluttering sessions to intermittent donation and recycling needs. And so often clients know items shouldn't go in the landfill, but they're not sure exactly where they should go, leading to well-intentioned clutter building up in the garage or basement. Tabi's Tip: Establish a single zone in the home to collect ongoing donation and recycling items, and commit to keeping this zone from overflowing - when it’s full, it’s got to go. How does Organization Pending support your decluttering and home organizing goals? Individual space services, Upper Arlington porch pick up, and Community Recommendations.

Decluttering Mistake #3: I can't find what's for dinner.

The most important ongoing decluttering cycle is your family's food supply, from weekly refrigerator checks, to seasonal pantry decluttering for expired and stale items.

Tabi's Tips: Start with decluttering expired foods shelf by shelf, and establish a system for backstock. For bulk buying, one cabinet for all pantry backstock with one representative in the pantry helps keep this space from becoming overloaded.

Have kids? Creating organized kid zones with easy-to-reach snacks and easy-to-prepare foods for older kids helps foster independence and decision making, while allowing you to easily see when favorite foods are running low. Establishing a leftovers zone in the fridge makes sure they get used first, lowering household food waste.

How does Organization Pending support your decluttering and home organizing goals?

Individual space services and Community Recommendations.

Decluttering Mistake #4: Clothing with ill intentions.

So often we keep clothing with good intentions - it has a memory attached to it, it was a gift from someone special, or there's nothing quite wrong with it...you just always bypass it and it's been in the closet for awhile. Tabi's Tips: Declutter the items that no longer fit and those “just in case” items you never reach for - "shop" your closet to see what items you would still pull off the rack today.

After decluttering, place an ongoing donation basket in the closet to keep up your hard work - this is especially useful for kids’ closets.

Have a few items you weren’t sure about keeping? Put their hangers backwards - if you haven’t used them and turned the hangers around after a year, you can let it go.

How does Organization Pending support your decluttering and home organizing goals?

Individual space services, Upper Arlington porch pick up, and Community Recommendations.

Decluttering Mistake #5: I've Never Decluttered Before (or at least it looks that way).

Remember all those statistics at the beginning? The struggle is real! Tabi's Tips: Tip #1 is useful, as well as focusing on easy decision areas first. This helps build momentum and decluttering "muscle", as well as helping to reduce decision fatigue. Start with the medicine cabinet, refrigerator/freezer, pantry, art supplies or any space in your home that has items with expiration dates.

Working on a whole-home declutter? Create a zone in the home for sentimental items, and work on those last. These items can come with many emotions, and this stage of decluttering requires the most skill and time to complete.

How does Organization Pending support your decluttering and home organizing goals?

Whole home services, Nostalgia Navigator, and Upper Arlington porch pick up.

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Upper Arlington Updates and Company News

(Left to right.) Brie Benadum of the Benadum & Bumpus Group, Deborah Bosner of The Be Sanctuary, and Tabi Berkey of Organization Pending at 2025's Earth Day Donation & Recycling Event at The Be Sanctuary.

Organization Pending will be at The Be Sanctuary's Spring Cleaning Donation and Recycling Event and Open Sanctuary Hours with the Benadum & Bumpus Group on Sunday, April 19, from 1-4pm as part of the donation and recycling drive!

Owner/Operator Tabi will be there collecting items to support Rainbow UA's Teen Closet for Rainbow UA Pride 2026: Rooted in Pride, and you'll have a chance to donate and recycle items supporting a variety of other Columbus and Upper Arlington organizations, discover more organizations and companies supporting sustainable efforts in our community, and gather with community while you explore The Be Sanctuary's many offerings.

Nostalgia Navigator services are now available!

Contact Tabi Berkey of Organization Pending and Jaycee Knox of Vintage Solutions for step-by-step guidance through the gathering, decluttering, organizing, and digitizing process for your family's precious memories.

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Thank you for reading! Subscribe to receive the Newsroom in your email each month, and follow Organization Pending on Facebook and Instagram for local decluttering opportunities and home organizing tips!

If you have an upcoming event, resource, or professional the community should know about, contact Organization Pending.

Organization Pending's Newsroom is written by Organization Pending's Owner/Operator Tabi Berkey.