to wonder what is a normal amount of clutter?

[halcyondays]

What do most people keep or not keep by way of sentimental clutter?

and for practical items such as clothes, paperwork, spare duvet sets etc.?

Has anyone manage to reform from being a bit of a hoarder and is so what helped?

thanks

For many years, my top Google searches all related to tidying clutter!

We have: files for each person's p/w and another one for bills.

A cleaner once a week (this makes things get put away)

Lowering of standards

Lots and lots of Lego storage

Watching with interest - I never know how to tidy up/get rid of random bits that I can’t find a home for. I also never get rid of newspapers I buy am having a massive clear-out today! Any tips on where to house random things? E.g. electrical wires, umbrellas, headphones... I’ve got quite a small room in a shared house, so never know where to store random things like that.

Read Marie Kondo. You need to get rid of everything unnecessary and not hang on to things “just in case”.

Switch to online billing for everything and only keep paper copies of essentials like birth certificates so you are not collecting bills that you will never need to look at.

Yes Marie Kondo The Magic of tidying-brilliant book.

@Snickerdoodles - how about a standalone set of drawers?

Any tips on where to house random things? E.g. electrical wires, umbrellas, headphones... I’ve got quite a small room in a shared house, so never know where to store random things like that.

Electrical cables can be wrapped around your fingers, then pushed inside an empty loo roll tube. Hang an umbrella with coats. In ear headphones can be stored like cables, over ear headphones can be hung on a hook (get some of those Command strip hooks).

If you have a drawer with a mish mash of miscellaneous items, get some small boxes that fit in the drawer, (Chinese takeaway boxes would be good) and sort through everything, storing like with like in the boxes, such as hair ties, grips and clips, in one box, stationary items in another, and so on.

Apartment Therapy has some good ideas on storage, so go and have a look.

Forgot to say, the loo roll tube stops the cables from getting tangled up, and you can write on it what the cable belongs to.

We have 2 sets of bedding for each bed in the house (one on the bed and one in the cupboard/wash).

For clothes I always have a charity bag on the go. As soon as I notice that something is too small for the kids it goes in the charity bag and I sort through my clothes probably about once every 3 months and try to encourage dh to do the same. When the charity bag is full I take it to the charity shop.

For paperwork we have a couple of stationary boxes in a kitchen cupboard and it goes in there. About once a month I sort through it and file away anything important in a filing box.

I have one large storage box in the wardrobe for our sentimental stuff, DH has his bedside table drawers crammed with old junk but thats his problem

There is quite a few various storage units in the house and then there are storage boxes and baskets in them to organise stuff.

To be honest I just hate clutter and am pretty ruthless with getting rid of things. Everything in my house has a place and is tidied away and if not then I find a place for it or chuck it.

I like my clutter.

The chuck things away philosophy only works for those with security of income.

I’m not throwing things away that I might not be able to afford to replace when I need them in the future.

My weakness is stuff to do with the kids, what do people do about that stuff?d - every outfit that especially reminded me of one of the kids, every tooth fairy letter, every picture I liked, I still have every single one of their birthday cards. And all the outgrown clothes from one ready for another. Plus the toys they played with the most, including ridiculous amounts of Brio (the Lego is still in use). I do have two large lofts and two large eaves cupboards so lots of storage. In one is the Christmas/Halloween/Easter decorations and in the other is all the kid related stuff. I have a rule that everything has to be in those big plastic boxes to keep them safe, and the sized clothing is boxed and everything is labelled. But despite that there is now still so much stuff that I am beginning to struggle to find room for it and I don't want it cluttering the main areas of the house.

Spare duvet sets go in big wooden treasure chest type boxes at the end of each bed, so they are always to hand. Paperwork is threatening to take over. Both myself and my husband have an office with a desk, shelving with lots of box files, but the desks are both cluttered at the moment. Not sure how people manage without an office, having to put it in the living room. Kids have a tea trolley for all their homework and tuition books in the dining room but I would love another room for them to use as a study area. Everything is doubling up as something else!

We have an ottoman bed that stores all spare bedding and towels which are all in boxes.

Paperwork is stored in a fireproof box.

I am ruthless when it comes to clearing things out, sometimes too ruthless but we have very little cupboard space and I hate stuff lying about.

kid souvenirs - teeth ( eewwwww...), clothes,awful artwork - photograph then get rid.

Your own.

I've had to learn to be ruthless. I live in a house with 2ad & 3 children and we accumulated alot of crap over the years. It was getting impossible to keep the house tidy.

So now I try to do regular clear outs. I get stressed out when there's too much clutter so I find it really therapeutic clearing out the junk.

I try to think of it this way, if the house burned down tomorrow would I really care if I lost that pile of magazines or those toys my dd hasn't played with in over a year? If the ans is no then it goes.

I have fifteen sets of bedding for each bed. They are folded in the airing cupboard with matching sheets and pillow cases. Spare duvets are kept in black bags just inside the attic.

Paperwork is all filed into a box file with inserts for categories.

I chuck anything I haven't used in the last six months.

fifteen sets of bedding for each bed?

I have fifteen sets of bedding for each bed

That's a little excessive.

Maybe she meant 15 all together?!

Let’s hope so.

We have three sets of bedding per bed - one on, one in the wash and one in the chest. Once washed the duvet cover folds inside a pillowcase, the sheet in the other and they go in a chest at the end of the bed. Shoes go under the bed of their owner.

Why do you hope so? How odd.

15 for the main bed, 15 for DS's. I like seasonal bedding so have spring, summer, autumn and winter sets with two Christmas sets too.

DS would have less but he has a kidney condition and bedwets, so I need plenty of spares.

It’s a bonkers number.

CHRISTMAS bedding too? You do surprise me...

I have two sets for each bed - one on the bed and one to go on when the other is washed. I also have two spare sets for guest linen. I'm not sure why I'd need more?