How much "stuff" do you have in your loft?

[7catsisnotenough]

Having sorted out DM's loft several times in the past few years and then again when she downsized I realised how much "stuff" we have in our own loft!

Do you actually know what's in your loft, do you need what's in your loft, or is it "out of sight, out of mind...OMG what have we kept that for?!"

Fascinated to hear your loft horror stories, whether it's your own loft, someone else's loft or bizarre things left behind by previous owners/tenants...

Please tell me that I'm not the only person with virtually a spare house full of "stuff"?!

It’s empty - council closed it off ages ago for safety as the hatch has a tendency to slam shut once you’re inside (as two council staff discovered whilst checking for insulation) .

So all it’s contents are now in a cupboard - cardboard box of kids clothes (eg communion dress, couple of baby dresses and stuff), my mum’s collections of ladybird books, postcard collection (5000+++), all my school paperwork (reports certificates and things), sisters school stuff, LOTS of guiding stuff eg handbooks and that going back to 1960s, an entire set of rainbow and brownie uniforms from 1995, girl guide camp blankets, cooler box from c1989 filled with picnic plates . DM always refused to keep our childhood toys etc - chucked a lot of them out when I turned 13 or so - so they’re all long gone .

My gran and Granda used to own a part mansion c1995 - huge, huge house with walk in attics . My uncle told me at the point of selling they had to go up try clear the attic - it was full to the brim with Edwardian/Victorian furniture and paperwork : Goodness only knows what they did with it all . Think majority was sold off . I have a couple of bits in my house now but think they’re from 1920s or newer . Not worth a penny to anyone except me !!

We've been in our house ten years this month and there's not one single item in the loft. I try to either sell, recycle or keep things in the garage

Have moved twice so quite a lot of the redundant hobby stuff did go - when you have to give things up due to age or injuries, you don't want reminders hanging about. Archive paperwork ( tax stuff needs to be kept for seven years, I believe), Christmas decs and quite a few toys for a visitor who I think has now outgrown them. Time for another clearout!

@TeamMummy you are a legend! I am inspired!!

I only have the Christmas decorations in ours as I hate going up there.

@Runwayqueen

Nothing currently. We purchased a new build and the developer told us it is part of the ventilation system for the house and not to put anything up there.

I am tempted to put the Christmas tree up there.

What they mean is don't fill it up. You can put some boards down (though there's not usually much space without things getting in the way). Christmas tree/decorations:suitcases/fan or heater etc all fine & a few boxes on planks.

As long as air can still circulate well it's not an issue.

@UnFringed

I daren’t actually look, house is a massive sprawling thing which my dad built from an old 200 year old cottage and each year he added a bit, it’s all got loft space plus some outbuilding and they are ALL full. I went in an outbuilding the other day and discovered by bike from when I was a toddler, I literally dare not explore the loft(s) yet because I don’t think they even cleared the old cottage ones.

For all I know there is someone living up there, there are certainly enough noises...

Maybe my brave investigation of said lofts could be a thread of its own where I mysteriously disappear...

I'd love it if you had a thread or blog on that!

But please don't disappear!

My loft is boarded. It has a proper loft ladder.
But my knees are screwed and I live alone, so it's more difficult to use well now.

I moved from a bigger house to a flat (joys of separation) but it was intended to be a flip, and gor me to move into a bigger house, but I became (long term) unwell & am physically not as able to do as much of the renovation as I had planned.

It's all a long boring story

Bottom line is, there's a lot of stuff up there but stuff I want for the bigger house. Plus I'm a sentimental hoarder - so loads of photos, things passed down, etc plus the 'usual' Christmas decorations, etc and now some stuff a friend has put up there as she's gone (due to Covid) back to her home country.

It has recently all been moved around for some electrical work so it's in a bit of a pickle and needs sorting out again, but it's agony getting in & out as my knees are really bad.

Thinking about it my mum’s mum is terrible for clutter in the loft; tried to tidy her house a while ago - forty rolls of wrapping paper, three Christmas trees one complete with musical lights ... she doesn’t put a tree up at all now) .... she’s also kept every single wage slip she’s ever received . Since 1958 . And every mileage report from 1975 or so onwards - and every calendar she’s had since 1986 .

I have managed to persuade her that the DWP will not ask her to prove what tax she paid in 1960 - and we won’t need to know how many GP appointments she had in 1987 ... kept a few of each thing as they’re interesting but she had boxes full .

We have nothing in our loft at all. I'm of the opinion that if you can put it in the loft, you can put it in the bin.

Christmas decs go under the stairs.

I can understand keeping some larger electronics boxes like for a tv, though I don’t keep them myself. But when you have a stack of boxes from four iterations of toasters, half a dozen kettles, a Betamax player you had three houses ago and the player got disposed of decades ago but the empty box kept moving with you into the early 2000s... you’re taking it too far. Boxes are not irreplaceable items. Mind you, that relative also kept every elastic band, padded envelope, pen, empty margarine tub or piece of string they’d ever come across, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Probably be quicker to list the stuff I don't have in my loft its full to the brim with crap. One thing I will get rid of are the dcs drawing etc as they probably won't want them anyway

Ridiculous amount of crap and the garage is even worse, we’d need two skips to clear it all out.

Loft is filled with clothes toddler DS outgrew that will fit baby DS one day plus clothes I have outgrown since having a toddler and baby . Also Christmas decorations, some books, single pram I will dig out again when toddler is more comfortable walking long distance, some old school books from older DC, photographs and I also stash upcoming birthday and Christmas presents up there.

We used to have loads but cleared it out and realised we would not have used most of it. Now there is
Christmas decorations
Spare wallpaper
Suitcases, as we won't be going abroad anytime soon and don't use them in the uk as we go in the caravan

I don't have a loft so nothing. My mother on the other hand has pictures from all 8 of us kids from the age of birth up, all paintings, a million craft items and just about anything possible such as VHS tapes, old food mixers etc. I dread having to sort it all out and tell her so regularly.

I help an elderly man out day to day and he asked me to help sort his loft. Jeez, what a nightmare. Tiny 2 bedroom house and it nearly filled it with 30 years of crap from the loft. We threw 95% of it away.

I also clear out my garage once a year without fail. The amount of crap that gets in there in a year is unreal. Not helped by DP saving the box from any purchase

Very little - just the Christmas stuff. ''Twas not always this way; I had a massive clear-out after clearing my mum and dad's house.

One of my husband's colleagues found a washing machine in the loft of a house he'd just moved into; I don't know whether it was an automatic or a twin tub, but it must have been one hell of a job to get it up there.

7 cats , I’ve only just reached that loft state of almost emptiness aged 64! Clearing my late parents attic 4 years ago made me do it!
Nothing goes up there now except suitcases that are definitely ones we use/will use.
It was full of children’s stuff, grandchildren stuff, paperwork, emergency chairs, and so on
None of my children are planning on any more children so once something here is finished with for this current baby eg stair gate, travel cot, high chair, baby toys, it’s off to the charity shop.
Paperwork, we had a sort out, shredding session and I’ve condensed it to one curver box under the stairs.
Christmas decorations are also under the stairs.
I think with families still living at home you just have to accept that the loft will be full!

Suitcases, Christmas tree and decorations. Not much else I don't think.

God knows, only the spider who know what's it there

@InnerDiscomfort

Not too much, camping equipment, Christmas decs, hand me downs etc.

Do any of you keep some baby clothes you can't bear to part with? I have a (thankfully) small box full. Mostly gorgeous gifted impractical dresses for DD that were worn once. Keeping them for future dolls or grandchildren but really will they be decent after 25+ years?

I could turn them into a keepsake teddy but that seems a real waste.

When I'm getting towards my dotage I will make it a mission to clear out stuff so DC don't have to do it on my death!

I have two of the tiny sleepsuits that each of my kids wore as a newborn but that's the only baby clothes I kept.

I pretty much know what's there, no surprises:

Christmas decorations/Halloween/Easter stuff
Suitcases
Lots and lots of baby stuff 🙈
Kids clothes they've grown out of
Bin bag full of DVDs
Toys (not necessarily that they've grown out of) we've already got a playroom but we can't fit all the toys in and my living room still littered with them too! Def need a clear out as I'm sure there must be some my little one doesn't look at now.

That's pretty much it and I need to start shifting that baby stuff. I was hoping to do a preloved baby sale but obvs with covid they are still closed.

@LindaEllen

We have nothing in our loft at all. I'm of the opinion that if you can put it in the loft, you can put it in the bin.

Christmas decs go under the stairs.

well I understand what you mean in principle, but that does assume that you have space under the stairs/elsewhere to store things.

Our under the stairs is the place for hoover/shoes etc, no room for Christmas decs.

While we have way to much in our loft, it seems to me that keeping stuff up there that you only use once a year (Christmas decs, camping stuff) is pretty sensible actually

Tonnes!!
At least a skips worth, probably more.
DH is like the male version of Monica from Friends.
Super clean and obsessive, bar the secret messy closet (loft) in our case...

“ Do any of you keep some baby clothes you can't bear to part with?”

Their first tiny sleep suit and their first shoes each, in their memory boxes. That’s it. I had lots of cute baby clothes, would have been a shame to let them moulder in my loft when someone else could be using them. They’ll be yellowed and hideously unfashionable by the time I have potential grandchildren! I keep a few unisex things from DC1 for DC2 but beyond that anything outgrown is quickly given away, charity shopped or recycled.