AIBU to think decluttering is fucking hard?

[messopotamia]

Trying to declutter the house. It’s a shit tip. A large shit tip. There is no room which could be described as presentable right now, and we’re in the middle of the world’s slowest renovation to boot.

I need a decent chunk of time to be motivated. But between everyday life commitments I seldom get the chance, or when I do I have to catch up on the everyday
chores so have zero motivation by the time they’re done.

If I do get the chance to do something, I find the mental load of making endless decisions exhausting. Then I have to figure out how best to store things. Our house is large but most of the storage is impractical. I do have diagnosed anxiety and depression which I know doesn’t help, but it would be nice to not be constantly tripping over things all the time.

I’ve tried Marie Kondo, Flylady, TOMM. Nothing seems to work as there’s just not enough time.

AIBU?

Today I cleared a dresser and under the stairs. I'm exhausted. Both wheelie bins are overflowing. I'm not vague done though!

What Charlottebjt said. The rubiks cube analogy is perfect.

There's an amazing ongoing decluttering thread on Housekeeping, I've found it very inspiring to read:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3799710-The-decluttering-on-thing-a-day-thread-part-11

Decluttering is hard, I enjoy it but it's neverending, especially if there's a lot to do.

A Slob Comes Clean has lots of decluttering podcasts/blog posts for inspiration.

Failing that, watch The Hoarder Next Door or How Clean is Your House? That always gets me started.

I would definitely recommend watching the Minimalists on Netflix - that documentary and their podcasts have changed my entire mindset.

You wouldn't come to my house and think I was a minimalist BUT the amount of stuff bought into the house since watching the documentary two years ago is significantly less than before.
Everything bought in is considered.
My only issue is that i'm also quite frugal and don't like the thought of throwing away things that I might need to re buy another day... All those items though are packed away in labelled boxes...

I'd start with your bedroom. Perhaps before bed each night you can spend half an hour doing your drawers, wardrobe, under the bed etc. When you have one lovely room its easier to find motivation to do the rest.

I am going for spending one day each weekend working on sorting stuff. I can never do "little and often", I only ever manage it for 3 days then stop. I doubt I am remotely efficient but hopefully by the end of the year I'll have made significant progress.

I feel you, OP. My difficulties are keeping the amount of stuff going out greater than the amount of crap coming in (because of small DC 🙄), and actually finding somewhere to dispose of the stuff that isn’t landfill.

I went through our soft toys the other day and filled an entire bin bag with soft toys the kids never play with (most were presents and some even have the tags still on). And now I have no idea what to do with them. No interest on local FB page. So they’re just sitting there.

And faff with taking things to charity shop etc...

Not rtft so expect someone else has already mentioned, but just start with creating sections, like one area for charity shop, another to give to people you know who you think might like certain things. Anything you could sell if you want to sell things, and last resort for things the tip. It is daunting as after some small sort outs, last year I had to have a massive sort out for downsizing, and just didn't know where to start, but once you do start it will get easier.