I'm a professional organizer. I see clients make these 6 decluttering mistakes again and again.

• I often see clients keeping too many sentimental souvenirs, which hinders a successful organization.
• Plus, I always see people trying to tackle their entire home at once.

Storing unrelated items together can create chaos.

Secretly getting rid of a partner’s things isn’t worth the fight.

Pack-rats and minimalists don’t mix well, but I’ve noticed many spouses have conflicting views on organization.

When one person in the home wants to declutter, I’ve noticed it sometimes causes the other to address their own fear of scarcity and overwhelm.

When this problem occurs, I like to encourage compromise and patience. Everyone will have to make concessions, and there’s no rush to go through the clutter.

Having partners edit their own spaces first, then tackling common areas together, allows both to feel comfortable during this process. And I always emphasize not to secretly get rid of a partner’s item — it’s not worth the argument.