Keeping stuff thats only beautiful or practical, is that possible?

[misdee]

is that how the saying goes?

my home has become a clutter site. ATM, i am sorting through clothes for storage (my pre-pregnancy clothes, clothes dd1+2+3 have outgrown to pass down to the next child), and am slowly getting there.

However my shelves are full of knick-knacks, gifts from people when they were on holidays, things the children have made, books etc.

I need to get the kids rooms sorted (have to order some new drawers next month for baby clothes/nappies), and get their books moved into their own rooms, rather than the living room shelves.

But i really need to sort out this clutter. There are boxes of stuff that have have just been sitting here for years, not beign use,db ut being kept, just in case.

I dont want to be a hoarder. I want a lovely home that feels nice to be in, but also feels homely and child friendly.

is that all possible?

[crokky]

Any knick-knacks that you need to get rid of to free up space etc, take photos of them (with a child in the photo with the knick-knack). Put photos in albums (or wherever you have photos) - then have memories of knick-knacks AND free space!

It is nice to get rid of boxed stuff so you can move around where the boxes used to be!

Get rid of stuff when no longer useful eg send maternity clothes to friend/eBay/charity when you've had your baby (that is if you're not planning more)

[misdee]

i'll be ebaying my maternity stuff.

dh has about 50 t-shirts. surely no-one needs 50 t-shirts?

[Onlyaphase]

For unwanted gifts and knick-knacks, I would donate to a charity shop. You will always be given more! Don't keep stuff just in case - ditch it. Do you need more storage? Get a skip if you have lots of junk or garden stuff to ditch, it helps you to throw things away if it is easy to do so.

I've just downsized from a 6 bed house to a 3 bed, and have had to declutter big time. I got some great advice on here at the time, and got rid of lots of stuff on freecycle and charity shops. But the thing that really worked for me was watching the removal men unpack the lorry - if I wasn't delighted to see an item of furniture (either for it's usefulness or beauty) then out it went! Same with unpacking boxes - if you aren't delighted to see something, or if you just think "where the hell am I going to put this" then you shouldn't keep it. If you wouldn't bother replacing an item if it were lost/burnt/stolen, then out it goes!

NB top tip for charity shop drop offs - phone first to check they have space, and then make sure you actually take the stuff, don't leave it in your hall for months.

[crokky]

DH does not need 50 tshirts - my DH had 50 and we did a major declutter - he now has 12 t shirts, they fit in a drawer so that is OK.

That was almost a year ago, he really has not missed any of them (all went to charity shop). We have moved 3 times in the past 2.5 years so had major opportunity to declutter!

[jackdaggerette]

I recently had a major declutter and got rid of about 20 boxes of stuff, maybe more. It was brilliant, we now both have just the clothes we actually wear and they fit comfortably in the wardrobes and drawers so don't get so creased.

The one thing I do still have loads of is random cables and leads - I know I should really get rid of them since I've no idea what they're for but know as soon as I do I'll realise why I need it... oh well!

My other declutter tip - if you don't ever watch videos (ie VHS) these days (we didn't even have a working video player but still had a bookshelf full of videos!), then get rid of them! Clears loads of space really quickly and they don't tend to have loads of sentimental value so you won't feel guilty.

[jackdaggerette]

Oh, and I don't know if you do this too, but I had so many "old clothes for gardening or DIY" that I could have kitted out the entire street! They took up tonnes of space and there's just no way I needed so many. Some of them were in really terrible condition as well - jeans with more hole than denim etc . I honed them down to just stuff I would be able to answer the door in if necessary and probably still have too many given how little gardening/DIY I actually do.

My mum recently purged hers too, to just stuff she wouldn't actually be mortified to be seen in if someone dropped in unexpectedly but kept enough that when doing a really messy job they can be binned rather than washed - probably not that eco-friendly but very practical for those really messy jobs.

[ManxMum]

If I were to do that in my house, my dh would have to go as he is neither beautiful or practical

[ManxMum]

When I de-cluttered and car booted the nick nacks, everyone thought my house looked bare and took pity on me and bought me ornaments for christmas AND b'day!!

And what do ou do about those hideous and impratical items that your DM/MIL/GM/DC bought you?

[Amphibimum]

when i moved into my dads house aged 20, i had boxes and boxes of stuff from all over london where id been living for a few months here and there. the room was filled top to bottom front to back. nightmare. dont think id thrown anything away in my whole life!

my dad taught me a mantra 'love it, use it, or get rid.' try it.

is it possible to store boxes of sentimental stuff somewhere out of the way? if you put stuff you dont think you can part with somewhere safe for a year, then go through it, its much easier to ditch lots.