No space, need help

[CraftyGirly90]

I've recently had a sort out and got rid of 3 bin bags of stuff (either rubbish or charity) and I still have far too much stuff and no where near enough storage space for it all. I have a sort out every couple of months or so but it never seems to make a difference. How do others store your things? Do you have any special tricks or ideas? All tips gratefully accepted. TIA

[theXfactor]

Sadly I'm finding the only way is to be utter ruthless. This morning I went through everything that had survived the last bin bag cull and filled another two bags!

Also sounds silly but just not buying so much. I am at the total value of things I have binned recently.

[CraftyGirly90]

I've tried being ruthless but no matter what it never seems to make a dent in it all. I've had to stop myself buying things like pens, paper, wool, books etc just cause I have no space to put it all

[Letmesleepalready]

I end up buying pens etc when I'm out because I forgot them. So now I keep a pen in my bag. But I'm thinking of maybe having a pencil case with the essentials.
For wool and crafts, could you organise things by project, and if you haven't got a project for that specific ball, could you donate it? I'd also make a list of all projects you've started and need to finish. I did that and ended up giving away most of my unfinished projects to the charity shop, as I wasn't enjoying making it, and it had taken me so long, I'd already bought an alternative. I also went through my fabric stash and was honest about what type of fabric I actually like sewing with and only kept those.
Books - could you go to the library ? I have just gone through my bookcases and decided that whichever books I kept had to fit in them, and to donate the rest. I've never been so ruthless!

[SvartePetter]

Stop buying things. Look at yourself honestly, how much is coming in the house on a monthly basis?

[CraftyGirly90]

I've not been buying wool specifically so I can concentrate and finish one project at a time. As for pens, I penpal a lot so if I see a really nice pen that I want to use for my letters I'll get it but for any other reason I wont, like you letmesleepalready I always have a pen in my bag for when I'm out. SvartePetter, the only things that have been coming into the household the last month or so, apart from groceries etc, are things my other half pre ordered months ago so that isn't the problem

[Letmesleepalready]

I ended up buying the Marie kondo book, and that helped with the mindset, but we have got rid of so many bags and you could hardly tell! (Well it's starting to show, but it's taken quite a few car loads !)
I do think stuff expands to fit in the space!

[Optimist1]

I have a friend who observes the "one in, one out" rule with her belongings. So if she buys a new pair of jeans she has to get rid of an old pair, same with books, etc. Probably not a helpful rule to follow if you're a reckless shopper, but it works for her in terms of space available and putting a kerb on the amount of stuff she buys.

[SpookyMooky]

The Kondo idea of grouping everything similar together is helpful. I haven't followed the whole process but I've used the principle to organise drawers and cupboards. Eg I thought we had no paper but we had 3 different pads! Now all the paper, envelopes, stamps and cards are in the same drawer.

Just using storage you have around is also helpful. I did the bathroom cabinets, chucked out a lot of gunk I never used, and organised the medicines by type (with labels) into a few random strawberry punnets and old ice cream tubs. They've stayed organised for months on end. Ditto the tupperware cupboard. Organised into a system and on labelled shelves, it's finally maintainable. I think being prepared to chuck the stuff that didn't fit in nicely was key. There's an argument for buying new storage if you are truly short of it though.