Anyone decluttered their whole house & when did you find time to do it?

[Littlemiss74]

House is chaotic which makes my mind feel chaotic. So much stuff but alot of it needed. Probably too many clothes for us all. Kitchen cupboards never been properly organised since moving in a year ago. So much stuff received by dc’s for Christmas.
I’ve spent the last few days off work tidying, sorting and washing. And then I go back to the room I started in and it’s a shit heap again!

Has anyone managed to declutter and organise their house and keep it that way? If so, please tell me how and when you did it around working and dc’s. TIA

No help here, but watching for inspiration.

I'm trying to at the minute. I try and do a drawer a day since the new year. Finding somewhere to put all the new toys is the hardest part.

Do you have adequate storage in all your rooms? I try to fit in the largest capacity furniture I can without it looking taking over the space - I have a small house!

Think about what essentials you need to store and whether the furniture can accommodate it.

I've had to be fairly ruthless but I don't have kids and all their stuff to think about! Things the IKEA Malm drawers (4 or 6!) and Pax wardrobe ranges are a godsend (and Kallax too) - remember to fix to the wall to avoid tipping.

I try to make things decorative as well as functional e.g. a long midcentury sideboard from eBay is lovely to look at and has plenty of secret storage! Cost massively less than new furniture would have, even flatpack and looks infinitely better. I can display lamps and plants on top and art above while all the things I don't want out are store neatly and accessibly inside in a variety of baskets and drawers.

A coffee table that doubles as storage is very handy to sweep stuff into!

If you envisage walkways through your rooms door to door/window it helps with layouts.

Vacuum storage bags are useful too. I'm a huge fan of underbed storage.

I have a small 2 bed terrace with limited storage. I have spent every day since New Year decluttering.

I started in the kitchen, went through every tin, jar, bag of flour, lentils etc and chucked out every item out of date. Then I sorted the shelves and cupboards so that every item has a place. After that a deep clean.

Since then I’ve done a room at a time and I’ve been ruthless. I’ve got rid (charity) of things I’ve had for years and never touched. I’ve also got rid of 2 bin bags of clothes/toys/household stuff/books.

I am shattered and have one room to go (dd’s bedroom). Then I’ll go back over every room and cull again. Anything I’m in 2 minds about I’ve shoved in the attic. If I miss it it’ll come back out, if I don’t then when I clear the attic in 6 months it can go.

I haven’t bothered eBaying stuff as it takes too much time and I need it gone for my sanity! My under stairs cupboard is basically full of ironing so that my next project.

I have procrastinated for years and all I can advise is to make a start! I put Alexa on music with an hour timer and got stuck in. I was amazed how much you can clear in an hour. I’m now loving waking up to a clean house and it’s very motivating to keep it that way.

I’ve got rid of far more than 2 bin bags 😂 typo

Done it this week... ordered a skip for delivery on Monday, have been at it every day as have been off.

No way I’d have had time otherwise.

I have but I would say it's been an ongoing process for the last two years and I've probably sold or sent to charity about 60% of everything I ever owned. That's not to say I haven't bought new things but generally I only replace what I need and give much more consideration to purchases. I never browse in shops anymore (in fact loathe shopping at all). It's an ongoing process though especially if you have a family so now I make a point of each school holiday of going through their clothes/toys/books etc and doing a charity run.

I know you will get a lot of suggestions about getting more storage but honestly you probably just have more stuff than you need. I ended up charity shopping dozens of plastic storage boxes as I don't have anything to store anymore.

It's taken a while to get here but the advantages are huge. Cleaning is so much quicker and easier, the house is calmer, I have more time and more money as I'm now much more particular about what I buy.

I did Marie Kondo to the letter, took 6 months but I had toddler and newborn. It's a lot of effort but very simple, and 3 years on it's stuck x

I'm watching with interest. We're moving house in six weeks, and I want to have a massive declutter before we go. I want the new house to be all clean lines and minimalist
Where is the best place to donate unwanted stuff, like clothes, toys etc? I'd like to donate to a women's charity, but an online search hasn't pointed me in the right direction to do that. Maybe just take them to a high st charity shop?

@PeakingDuck I love getting a skip

I did.
My dc has autism and added extras plus I have physical and mental health issues. I also work and I’m a single parent.
I had years of hoarding and one day just had a lightbulb moment. I was planning to sell it one day but that day came.
The first thing I did was to organise 2 charity shop collections at a month apart. I then cleared my shed so I could take stuff I didn’t want straight out of the house. I asked a close friend to give me a hand carrying stuff out but I did all the sorting.
I did part Marie kondo and part just clearing room by room. Ie I sorted all the clothes in that room only then moved on. The biggest thing that helped was getting it immediately out of the house. Clearing space then came addictive.
It’s crept back a little as I’ve not been so well but I know I’ll get it back again with much less effort. Plus I’ve stopped bringing so much in the house.
Overall it took 3-4 months to finish.

You just need to do it. I don't mean that flippantly, but reading about / thinking about it etc won't get it done.
Get 3 big crates, one for the tip, one for charity, one for selling if you need to generate income - if not put everything in the charity crate. Go through room by room, set a 30 minute timer and aim to full each crate.
If you love somewhere central leave everything you don't want on your front wall and let people rummage, if not straight into car boot to take to the charity shop.
If you have a lead or wire and you're not sure what it's for bin it. If you need it again you can buy it in Wilkos for a quid.
A clear, ordered home is worth so much more physically and emotionally than a few quid for potentially having to buy something again down the line.
Good luck OP!

Watching with interest as I'm intending to do this soon. I'm starting maternity leave next month and as soon as I'm able I want to clear out as much as possible.
My house is cluttered and I have way too much furniture but my DP is moving in soon and we have to fit in all of his furniture and stuff too .

Aiming to move house within a couple of years so really must clear out so the house doesn't look crowded for selling.

I've done it but it's taken me at least 5 years. It was a case of just having too much stuff, and accepting how un-necessary that is. (grown up) DCs are very good at de-cluttering their stuff, so I was motivated to join them as excess clutter makes me depressed.

Although I'm ruthless with the chucking out, I won't get rid of things I really love as I have been known to dig through and wear an outfit I've not worn for 5 years.

I don't have set times to de-clutter, just as & when mood takes me (which isn't often tbh). Anything from 15 minutes to 1 hour. But the getting rid of stuff is the answer. Not more storage.

This morning I quickly cleared out kitchen cupboard. There was a load of baking utensils in good condition that I don't need. Put them straight into a black bag, DP can drop them off at charity shop on his way to work tomorrow. So thats reclaimed space.

Get rid of stuff, it's the only way.

Like a previous poster said do the Marie Kondo way.
You need to be strict - posh skirt 2 sizes too small - EBay. Baby clothes - charity shop, just get it done!

Yes. Single mum of 3 very young ones.

It is a hard, but very satisfying slog. Worth all the effort and makes day to day housework a billion times easier.

I started a couple of years ago, with my husband!

Work then on 2 plans. Areas that are overwhelming and you have time to commit a morning or afternoon to sorting.

Smaller areas that you can spend 15 minutes on.

I think Marie Kondo says, 'does this spark joy'? My mantra is more like 'is this annoying?'

Bin it and sort out everything to its end point immediately. Don't have a new pile of shit needing dealt with.

I reckon I'm on the third lap of my house now and it is phenomenonal how quick the top up clear outs are.

I love this stuff so please ask if you have any other questions.

I have just started (beginning of Dec) and seeing the benefit of clearing space has motivated me to continue. I also bought nothing in the sales (which I would have done normally) and I don’t buy ‘stuff’ for the house either. I put a film on and sat with my DH and scanned all my unwanted DVDs and books in to a 2nd hand sale company. Boxed up that night and sent two days later.
Bagged up all my ill fitting clothes and took to a second hand place. Look at all your ornaments and pictures. If you don’t love it throw it out or charity shop it.
Overall I think you have to be harsh with yourself. Don’t hang on to clothes, ornaments. You will feel so much better if you clear out properly.

Total envy over your skip @pekingduck!!

Don't keep stuff.

I have only what I need and use. Simplicity is sanity for me. I don't keep stuff " just in case".

Yes, you need to be quite minimal and have a home for everything. Twice a year I diary in a couple of days during annual leave and have a clear out, sort wardrobes, buy next sizes etc.

The kitchen cupboards I do monthly whilst cooking a roast or something so they stay tidy and don’t take long.

I got a skip delivered and took a week to scale back everything. Chucked out loads of crap ( not literally !! We aren't THAT bad !) donated loads too and re positioned a load of furniture and donated some old furniture too. I had ordered some new furniture, and had new carpets being fitted before the furniture came - so had a deadline I couldn't miss. Probably wouldn't have been as diligent without this extra pressure .
Also had MIL visit scheduled after all that ( another incentive ! )

I'm in the process of doing this but taking it slowly has really helped. I pick one small area each week to completely declutter and sort and over the last year have probably worked my way round once.
Now I'm on the second round I'm getting rid of a lot more because I know I haven't used it or wanted it and I'm much more ruthless this time.
I follow a few minimalism pages on fb which help with the mindset.

I’ve been doing over the past two weeks. Started with selling big toys on Facebook marketplace and then getting DH to clean out office (this is an ongoing nightmare) and over past few days have cleaned out drawers and cupboards. It still quite high level but the amount of stuff we have brought to the tip/charity shops makes me feel better. It’s only the beginning and I am realising how much money I waste buying unnecessary tat! I echo the above comment about not buying more storage; if you have it, you’ll fill it.

I moved right before Christmas and was amazed at how much crap we had in a tiny flat. The clutter was making me very depressed to the point I was staying late at work just to avoid the clutter! Having the incentive of moving really helped and I just had to be ruthless and bin/send stuff to charity. Try and do sections of a room at a time as this felt less overwhelming

I did it because I was moving from a 4-bedroom house with an office /den, sitting room, dining room, kitchen that accommodated a big table for six, 2 bathrooms, plus a large basement, to a 2-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen, a sitting room, dining room, one bathroom and two bedrooms, with five DCs in tow.

It nearly killed me. I was moving because the home had to be sold due to divorce and even now I dream of one day buying it back

Despite the massive effort I brought far too much with us when we moved, and as we settled in we did another cull. A year later one DD left for university and I cleared again. I now do it annually. It takes a weekend. The trick is to do it all from start to finish in the allotted time including donating or disposal, and not to leave bags or piles waiting til you have time to deal with them.