Before delete: $VAR1 = { 'item1' => { 'key2' => '1', 'key1' => '1', 'key3' => '0' }, 'item2' => { 'key2' => '1', 'key1' => '0' } }; After delete: $VAR1 = { 'item1' => { 'key2' => '1', 'key1' => '1', 'key3' => '0' } }; item2 deleted!