Do we all have too much stuff???

[Notcontent]

I moved house recently (had another thread about how stressful that was!). I moved to a house pretty much the same size as my old house but both houses are quite small. Anyway, as part of the moving process I had to obviously find new places to put everything etc and I felt really overwhelmed by how much stuff I have. It’s just me and a teen, and I did lots of decluttering before the move, but it still feels like we have a lot of stuff. But we don’t have a garage or a loft where we can just stuff random things out of sight, so I think we probably have fewer things than a lot of people.

If you have a small house or flat, are you constantly decluttering? Or if you have a large house, is it full of stuff and do you ever feel overwhelmed by it?

It's amazing how much crap you can accumulate. When we emigrated seven years ago we took very little with us, but when we moved recently we had a houseful of stuff and we had to get rid of so much again, it was incredible! I don't like clutter though, so I'm a bit of a chucker outer, it makes it so much easier to keep things clean and tidy.

I would love to be more minimalist. DP is minimalist, or he was until me and my DC moved in with him. He had a completely empty cupboard until I moved in, now it is filled with stuff, but it's all stuff that "could be useful at some point". What do minimalists do with this "could be useful" stuff? Things such as gift bags, jewellery polishing cloths, and craft supplies? Where does it go? Do you keep it?

Yes I run a decluttering business and I think people in general just have too much stuff. It's true it is like a burden, and most people feel better when they pare it down. I do think for some people it's kind of like a security blanket, but in fact there's a kind of freedom that comes from letting some of it go. To be honest I do sometimes find it a bit obscene just how much some people have.It's so wasteful.

@paintedpanda

If I don't use it, I throw it out. A jewellery polishing cloth? I never polish anything so it's worthless to me. Craft supplies? I have maybe one box worth. Gift bags, I have three or four, but I just buy as I need them.

I think the mental energy needed to "look after" stuff is draining. You need to clean/sort/store..it's freeing to just have less. I watched a video recently where someone had a little pencil case with 1 pen, 1 pencil and 1 rubber. She had had the same items for years. She made the point that you really look after things if you choose carefully, and possibly spent more - I love this approach. One carefully chosen item rather than a pot full of mediocre, broken ones. I also think the money is "wasted" when you buy something and like to pass on things, I find it easier to get rid of stuff if I think someone else will get use or enjoyment from it.

We have an average size 3 bed house with garage and largish outbuilding, there are two of us and they are all full, I have far to many clothes and kitchen stuff, DH has far too much DIY and sport/hobby stuff we still seem to buy more though. We sometimes buy storage to store excess stuff which we really should get rid of, Maybe when DH retires at the end of the year we can have a good go at it

Yes. We live in a 2 bedroom bungalow and only have 1 cupboard for storage. Its honestly a nightmare. No garage, no loft. I fund myself decluttering and taking bags fullness stuff to the dump and the charity shop maybe every 6 months.

We have too much stuff. Look at it as a whole, then no child needs this many toys. Not woman needs the sheer quantity of clothes I have. Obviously we don't need bookshelves full of books we arent reading when we have library membership and kindles...

Then I look at individual things. Do we want to throw out this particular board game? No we like that one. Each individual book we've kept is one we want to keep. All my clothes are ones that fit and I can see me wearing again. I like each handbag I have...

The only way I can declutter is to put all of a group together (so all the clutch bags) and decide which ones I'm keeping.

It’s even worse now as I have started prepping for a possible winter lockdown and Brexit so lots of disposables and tins have been gathered, 45 toilet rolls arriving today from Amazon

I have a big house but it just means I’ve had more space to fill with far too much stuff. It’s got a bit too much lately and I need a really ruthless cull. It didn’t previously bother me much as I was out of the house so much more, but now working from home surrounded by the clutter in the spare room brings it into focus and I have to pare things back as soon as I get a chance. I have no desire to be minimalist but I’m currently trying sitting next to a bag for life full of crap presents MIL gave us last Christmas that I never got around to donating to the charity shop or a church fair or something.

We only have a tiny loft space, no garage. Unfortunately we've been struggling with secondary infertility for a few years. This means there is baby/toddler/pre-school toys, cots, clothes crammed in every space available. If I'd known I wouldn't have a second dc by now I'd have thrown it away 4 years ago! It drives me mad.

I don’t get this at all. I keep things and they get reused. Or I pass them on. So yes, we have my childhood books but, guess what, DS1 is now forging his way into them. My teenage desk that sat in a corner as a table, well that’s seeing full time use now. Posh frocks that I bought 20 years ago...one came out last Xmas for a party. Things that are ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ I donate.

If it causes you upset and you can’t close the wardrobe doors then yes, declutter. But I think many people are quite happy with a fair bit of stuff.

Yes I agree. I stopped buying make up, new clothes, home decorations, books (use the library mainly) almost three years ago.

I've donated lots of things already gradually . I will be moving soon- not looking forward to all the packing.

I don’t have a lot of thing. I hate shit and clutter. DH though is a nightmare. I rend to throw something of his everyday and he’s none the wiser.

Yes I feel I definitely do as I don’t use a lot of it. Including things such as clothing and books.

I have slot of crockery and stuff.dm has just bought me mugs for my wedding anniversary that are small and I won't use greatly but still nice of her, more to store.

I do try to de litter and minimise but not easy for me

Decluttering I mean

There is usually a jumble sale which makes this easier but not this year

Yes I definitely do. Some of it is stuff I never use but feels like you're still meant to keep around (for example books - I so rarely re-read anything but grew up in a home with huge bookshelves full and it just feels like the done thing). Then there's the pointless stuff I could and should just get rid of but feel bad about it (old paperwork that may come in handy one day, unwanted gifts that still hold sentimental value etc.). Lots of it I also keep because no one seems to want it and I would feel bad about binning it too... I don't have a car and sometimes don't even know how to get rid of something as I can't just carry it to the tip, like an old hoover.

I really envy people who have super tidy houses with no clutter around.

I decluttered a couple of years ago and genuinely found it life changing. I know where everything is. It’s easier to keep the house clean and tidy. I spend less on shit I don’t need and tend to think more carefully about what I do buy. I declutter DD’s clothes and outgrown toys regularly - I keep favourite bits in case of future DC and anything else is donated.

I don’t think it’s about guilt. If you’re happy having lots of stuff then that’s fine. However, if the house is untidy and disorganised, it’s difficult (for some people) to relax and enjoy your home. Cleaning takes far more effort, and there’s too much time wasted finding things among the clutter. Once everything has a home life is easier.

Also, while it’s all well and good being happy to store lots and lots of stuff, the buying of lots and lots of stuff unnecessarily is an issue. It all ends up in landfill eventually, even if it’s not until we pop our clogs and our DC have stored it out of guilt for a bit.

A PP asked about where certain things are stored - jewellery goes in my jewellery box. It all fits in fine now I’ve got rid of the cheap bulky costume stuff from years ago that I never wore. I keep a polishing cloth in there too, although given I’ve never ever polished jewellery in my life it’ll be the first thing to go if I start running out of space. Gift bags are flattened and stood up in a box on the floor of a cupboard, sorted into birthday, Christmas etc, and with wrapping paper, tape and gift tags in too. I don’t buy anything until I’ve checked the box for something suitable. It’s ok to keep things you don’t use often, but I find it better to have them where you can use them rather than tightly packed into a box of other random crap and chucked in the garage.

I’m far from perfect and I don’t think you’d walk into my house and think ‘minimalist’, but I’d say we’ve found our own balance as a family. ‘Too much stuff’ is different for everyone but to me it’s where the amount of stuff you’re storing is detrimental to every day life and your enjoyment of your home.

Interesting thread. We live in a small place and I'm constantly clearing up as everything has to have a place. I love my books though and do love nice things.

DH comes from a country in Africa and in his family home there is nothing that is not needed. Here, he barely has anything, some clothes, a few books and a box of bits and pieces, wires and crap

we have a huge house but it is overflowing with stuff. It makes me feel stressed out.. I'm not materialistic and only replace stuff when needed, but with 4 Children it is hard to stem the flow of random crap especially at birthdays etc. And then my dad gives us whole boxes of books every Christmas and we have tried asking him not to but he just doesn't get it (he lives in a house so big the children call it a mansion ). So we are drowning in books. And I love books but there is nowhere to put them but I find it hard to get rid of them when they were gifts. Especially as they are beautiful hardbacks that will have cost a lot to purchase.

I am struggling with this at the moment.
We too have realised that bulk buying is a much better economy for our family of 6 partic over lockdown but that needs storage. We are struggling for room as it is.

The key is not to try not to buy on a whim. When I buy something, I’ve ysually considered the purchase for a while before. It’s kind of getting to the point that my trousers are legitimately breaking and I need new ones. We try and buy furniture, clothes (certainly for the kids) and toys second hand. I like the idea of keeping stuff in circulation and I am a bit sentimental about the idea of our things having had a previous life somewhere else.

So I a nutshell: no need to be a minimalist or throw it all away in one go. Be mindful when you buy it in the first place. That and make sure people don’t see your empty spaces and then try to offload their crap on you!

I've been an aspiring minimalist for years. Clutter makes such a huge difference to my mood, it's definitely not a trend for people who are affected by it.

Yes, i know we do and we just grew into the next size, then the next and so on.

My mum always used to say, you dont need a bigger house again you need less stuff. And she was right.

I need to completely declutter but it just grows again.

I need that wardrobe with about 7 items in it, buf its just not me.