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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel I am constantly fighting a battle against "stuff"

224 replies

Notcontent · 26/12/2013 23:39

I should preface this by saying that i don't have a big house. Just a standard 3 bedroom.

But I feel like I am constantly putting things away, rearranging stuff to find new inventive ways to fit things in and in general trying to keep clutter to a minimum. Of course my dd is a huge contributor to the problem. I sometimes feel like things breed and multiply in her room!! Grin

I did a quick post Christmas Day tidy up today and already have a bag of stuff to take to the charity shop (to make room for new things).

If you don't have a huge house with masses of storage, how do you cope?

OP posts:
TheDoctrineOfSanta · 26/12/2013 23:40

You Are Not Alone.

I Have No Ideas.

TheNightIsDark · 26/12/2013 23:42

Watching with hope Confused

theeternalstudent · 26/12/2013 23:43

same, same. My bedroom is a dumping ground yet again for the over spill from DD's room. I'll wait until she's back at school and take it all to a charity shop.

My house is just full of junk. Pisses me right off.

AnythingNotEverything · 26/12/2013 23:43

If you look at the issue from the other side, maybe you have too much stuff? Would a big declutter make it easier?

BananaNotPeelingWell · 26/12/2013 23:44

Vacuum storage bags are very good. I've even put soft toys in them.

MellowMarshmallow · 26/12/2013 23:45

some days I seem to spend hours just shuttling between rooms (only a 3bed house) moving stuff back to the appropriate rooms.

WorraLiberty · 26/12/2013 23:46

My house is fairly big...as in it's bigger than the house I grew up in and bigger than the first property I bought.

But I've come to realise that the more storage space we have, the more shit we store so it's a never ending battle Confused

Having 3 kids and a DH who wants to keep everything 'just in case' doesn't help either Xmas Angry

pixiepotter · 26/12/2013 23:48

It is a relentless wat against clutter.I always think I should only bring something new into the house if I am going to throw something else out.

Ruprekt · 26/12/2013 23:49

Buy less stuff? Am about to cull the boys books but keep special ones in the loft.

Magazines need to go.

Ornaments and tat need to go.

Only ornaments I possess are photos and candles....less dusting. Pile all papers up and sit and sort it.

Set a challenge that in January you will only buy food. SmileSmileBrew

tethersend · 26/12/2013 23:49

My house is like one of those slidy square puzzles where you just move the space around. If I tidy one room, the others are trashed Grin

I've given up.

PosyNarker · 26/12/2013 23:53

Nope, I have a 4 bed detached. There are two of us. We are still constantly fighting the war against stuff. It doesn't help that DP has an almost genetic predisposition to hoard, along with a bunch of rich ancestors who have passed on lots of useless shit stuff that's not worth as much as it once was and is therefore worth holding on to. I reckon this stuff takes up 6ft by 8ft and 4ft high and won't earn what I take home tax free in a month btw...

Catrin · 26/12/2013 23:56

At the risk of stating the obvious…you have too much stuff!

Everyone's 'stuff' limit is variable, but if it affects your quality of living and winds you up, it is too much.
I found this out the hard way, by moving somewhere with no loft or garage, despite having 5 bedrooms. So no matter how big the house, 'stuff' cannot be hidden. I decluttered - a lot - and it made my life SO much easier. Other than Dc room, I rarely need to tidy, as I just don;t have things to tidy. I do not live in a minimalist house by any stretch, but I don;t have excess things. It is a Good Feeling.

Original poster
Notcontent · 26/12/2013 23:57

Glad it's not just me!
I started thinking that perhaps there is something wrong with me - because surely spending so much time trying to keep control of it all is not normal!! Grin

I think my dd got very few Xmas presents compared to many children (going by some of the threads in mumsnet!!) but it's still too much stuff.

OP posts:
sykadelic15 · 26/12/2013 23:58

I know some people who do that rule "If I haven't used/thought about it in X months I don't need it". Of course there are some exceptions (christmas/seasonal decorations etc).

My husband does the "just in case we need it" thing and i've found in many cases we can't find it/forgot we had it and ended up buying another one anyway.

I say go through one of the worst rooms soon to get an idea of what your situation really is. Kids clothes and toy's is a good example. Kitchenware is another great one (my mum has SO much cutlery it's insane really. You don't need that much, it just becomes habit). It's great to HAVE so many toys but some may be too old and selling some of the better items could be a nice little earner.

Caitlin17 · 26/12/2013 23:58

Why are you buying presents for the nieces ?

Seabright · 26/12/2013 23:58

Oh yes, me too. I have decided my New Year Challenge (don't like resolutions) is to use stuff up & not replace it & generally have less stuff.

I will try not to buy more wool, fabric or buttons. I will try not to buy more stationery. I will try not to pinch any more post-it's from work.

Caitlin17 · 26/12/2013 23:58

Sorry wrong thread.

AHardDaysWrite · 26/12/2013 23:58

Two words: ikea expedit. I would like a whole wall made of it...

ARealPickle · 27/12/2013 00:01

Much much less stuff. We've gone through puzzles and given perfectly good puzzles away in order to make a bit more space in the cupboard (and just kept a few). We've put out a brio set, made a circuit that fits well in our sitting room (small) and given away the other box full, similar with books. Far too many books so halved them. Cut down the plastic cars/pull along toys to just a few rather than lots.

It "hurt" to give away perfectly good, useful, useable toys/things but honestly each time, each bit of shelf space or cupboard space was worth it as it created so much space and order.

It needs doing again though.

I've done similar with clothes - they have lots of lovely clothes (hand me downs mainly) but as there was so much choice they weren't wearing half of them, so again we've given away perfectly lovely clothes in the name of decluttering.

It's hard. I have had periods of not much at all and the instinct is to keep "just in case",and if we had a larger house I definitely would keep some more toys/books/clothes, but being that we are in a tiny house, I don't like feeling cramped, we have had to ruthlessly cull toys/things.

It's worth it though. When we chose Christmas presents we also limited with space in mind...

ARealPickle · 27/12/2013 00:02

We did nearly a whole wall of "billy". We did the thinner bookcases (rather than the "double" ones) so we could put lots of shelves in, some cupboard fronts, vary it a bit. But yes. Storage.

ARealPickle · 27/12/2013 00:02

Oh and the other wall has the trofast trays on it with labels...

Longdistance · 27/12/2013 00:05

I feel your pain.

We have a 4 bed detached, and we're constantly tripping over stuff.

Our loft has been fully boarded, so we can keep crap stuff up there. It still looks a mess. My dd's are 2.6 and 4, and are always making such a mess.

I think a trip to the tip/charity shop is required. Had enough if this mess.

FreakinScaryCaaw · 27/12/2013 00:06

I'm forever de-cluttering. Luckily there's a charity shop just around the corner.

I have friends who live in a mansion but even they get bogged down with 'stuff'. The DW is on decluttering at the moment so it's not just us in normal size houses.

I'm finding as dss are getting older their 'stuff' is getting smaller. I'm forever handing down their clothes too.

Original poster
Notcontent · 27/12/2013 00:08

I agree that good storage from ikea and decluttering helps.

OP posts:
ARealPickle · 27/12/2013 00:18

I think its a mindset thing with me that had to change too. There's "decluttering" in terms of getting rid of things that are out of date/not used much/ rubbish, but in order for us to fit in my (very tiny) house we actually needed to move onto reducing the good stuff too.

That wouldn't quite be the case if we were in a normal/bigger sized house I don't htink.