Anyone successfully decluttered and stayed that way?

[SorryNotConvenient]

Am in the midst of my annual new year declutter. We don’t have excessive amounts of stuff but things seem to multiply or creep back in over the year.

Has anyone got any tips for keeping things out of the house and keeping my currently lovely spacious cupboards and drawers in order?

Placemark

Don't buy anything! And don't let grandparents buy/bring without first talking to you. We are trying to implement this as we have just been utterly swamped in recent years with kids stuff, but a one in one out rule is also helping - same with your clothes, kids beakers/water bottles/uniforms/etc etc....

I'm also trying a no spend Jan (that's no spending on anything unless it's actually really needed). So while I'd like to look in the sales for work clothes, I actually have plenty. I'm also goi g through my beauty/toiletries hoard and using up all the old bits of travel stuff, lotions etc. Use or ditch the bits that are filling your life!

I run a declutter service as a hobby and I think the way you have to do it is to keep on top every single day and put in an infrastructure to ensure it stays that way.
So for my clients I will start from top to bottom every drawer every cupboard under beds etc finding a home for everything and then removing the excess then and there into the car. When I’ve finished I recommend and if desired organise a cleaner for them

Thanks goldpendant. I’m pretty good with not buying anything. It’s the others! For example, DH enter lots of races etc and they often give you a free water bottle. We’ve got more plastic water bottles than anyone could ever need but he won’t chuck any because they remind him of the race.

DC’s are teens so we are past the stage of toys and artwork which does make it better, but they go out shopping on their own and exchange presents etc with friends which just adds to the clutter. They’re are also both sporty so we have loads of kit bags, different boots/trainers and other bits of sports kit.

Parsley, I beginning to think the only way is to do it every day. The thought of which I find exhausting.

Gold, I’m trying to do spend less (saving up for a decent quality designer handbag so I can ditch the rest of my bags) and I spent most of last year using up beauty products. Word of warning. Lipsticks take forever to use up. I’ve still got a whole bag full to get through!

Anyone successfully decluttered and stayed that way?

Psssshhh, of course not. Is that even a thing??

Yes I did konmarie about 4 years ago and I have kept that way ever since!! There is a place for everything,I don’t buy anything unnecessarily and even when I built my new home I konmari’d everything going in again to be sure!! It saves money, time and energy every day!!

That’s not very encouraging StegasaurusRex 😂 I’m hoping there’s a magic secret I don’t know about that someone will share.

Do you have a DP or DCs Lipper? I’m sure I’d be ok if I lived on my own.

I have managed to do small areas and the odd cupboard/wardrobe.
But we have a large house and our kids are nearly all gone.
We know we want to downsize but waiting for another to go then we can swop rooms and start to clear up. Child taking quite a lot of old bulky furniture. It will make their house look tiny but they wanted it, and we don't.

On a similar note, how do tidy people keep surfaces clutter free and tidy? Every available surface in my house is covered in clutter. After a major tidy up it only takes a few days before we are back to clutter everywhere, no worktop space in kitchen, coffee table covered in stuff, tops of chests of drawers, desks all covered. I have got rid of some furniture so reducing the number of available surfaces, but the veg rack and fruit bowl now acquire clutter. Obviously this is down to our lazy habits of putting stuff down anywhere that comes to hand and never putting it away, but I'm fascinated to know how tidy people do it.

I'm presently at my mum's. She has lived in this house for 34 years and has so much stuff. I have to give her every box to look in. She has notebooks going back years with her weight loss recorded and won't part with them.
I could scream!

One in,.one out. Works pretty good.

Take a photo of his water bottles OP and get rid of them.

He can keep the photos in a mini album with the date of the race!

How many are we talking?

Seltaeb I’ve had success with keeping some surfaces clutter free. I have a good paperwork/filing system and every bit of paper gets put on the desk, whether it’s school stuff, post, receipts, etc. I spend 5 minutes every morning either filing, shredding or putting in the to do box. As long as I stay on top of it, we stay random piles of paper free.

SayitBeit I think about 15/20 water bottles. He likes to take them to the gym to show off I think!

Yes!! And I was the messiest person ever.

Marie Kondo. But you need to actually read the book, not just go by hearsay.

Me and DH have our own WhatsApp group for paper admin. Things that we may need to refer to at some point. So if we get a letter from school, we take a picture and then add reminders in the diary which is shared and then we instantly chuck the piece of paper. This has helped so much. Also taking the time to opt out of postal stuff and moving everything to online.

Also agree, 1 in 1 out policy. Clothes, shoes, toys anything.

I realised I was buying a lot of things in sales and holding on to things “in case it’s useful” things like wrapping paper, Christmas cards, gift bags, biscuit tins etc and it was all taking up space, gathering dust but rarely got used, and actually if I ever needed any of those things they cost pennies to buy.

So I chucked them out, and when I get a gift bag now it just goes straight in the charity bag and donated ASAP, and if I see things in sales I look at the price and think is the money I’m saving worth the space it will take up?

A home for everything is the most crucial point I think. That stops surfaces getting cluttered as it’s easy to put everything away.

You can’t leave stuff either, it has to be put away ASAP.

I’m much happier when the house is clear so find it pretty easy to keep on top of.

I dread the day we need to clear out my in laws’ house. Huge with loads of outbuildings and the absolute definition of cluttered.

Still fighting that battle, but the key points seem to me to be:

A place for everything. If there isn't room for something, something else has to go.

Down and away are different things!. This is absolutely critical, but the most difficult part when you have small / many children and keep getting distracted by someone needing your attention.

Every available surface in my house is covered in clutter. After a major tidy up it only takes a few days before we are back to clutter everywhere, no worktop space in kitchen, coffee table covered in stuff, tops of chests of drawers, desks all covered.

When you truly declutter and put everything in its place (everything must always have a place) you then need a bit of discipline as such to always put things back NOW not in two minutes or later...NOW and back exactly where they belong. That’s what creates the tidiness and that is what makes you efficient...it saves time because you know where things are, there are never in one or two places, they are always in the same place. It took me MONTHS to get my family to “get it”!! But now if my dh takes the scissors out of the bathroom drawer, he uses it and puts it back in the bathroom drawer...not on the bedside table or beside the sink. It is a game changer!! And yes as a pp said you must read the books first. Don’t do a thing until you have read the books!!

I’m hoping there’s a magic secret I don’t know about that someone will share.

There isn't! I decluttered. I don't really own excessive amounts of stuff, it's just that as a family we aren't that good at putting things away!