I know I’m being unreasonable about tidying my clutter

[WorriedWarrier]

I’ve got one day to tidy my clutter in my bedroom.

its been like this all my life - I just can’t seem to get a grip on tidying my bedroom.

i can declutter and than I have an issue of disposing of items correctly - either try and give away on Olio etc. that produces extra stress as well as I lose track or no one collects.

ive put on weight and always had issue with clothes. It’s like I don’t want to get rid of things I don’t like but at the same time I have nothing to replace it with.

im currently crying as I thought I was getting help from my mum but she’s refused.

anyone else in the same boat?

i know it’s not a case of a little at a time….. I get so overwhelmed and have some bodily reaction… please be kind. The rest of my house is tidy.

You don’t need your mum or friends to help you tidy your bedroom-don’t feel that you can’t do it alone. Just take it one step at a time. I like the suggestion of setting a timer for x minutes and getting as much done as you can in that time. It breaks it up a bit.

Yes, very important point.

You do not need anyone to help you do this. You really don’t. You might not feel like you can cope, but you really truly actually can!

What’s the worst bit? What scares you the most? Tell us and we’ll help you tackle that.

I don’t know….. that’s what I can’t get to the bottom of.

for example I was putting away stuff in the kitchen and I like to have matching cups etc. i have a beer glass from a festival and I’m thinking how best to get rid… as it doesn’t match. Is that normal?

i dont know why I’m holding on to stuff in my bedroom that I don’t like…. Like clothing. I have a white and black skirt, once liked it, now I don’t, why don’t I get rid I don’t know :/ I’ve also got duplicate items of clothing.

For instance you say to that black and white skirt - thanks for your service, time for you to go to someone new. And put in charity bag.

Have you head of the Marie Kondo method? Only keep items if they still bring you joy.

Watch an episode of any home organisation show on Netflix or YouTube for Ideas.

Another idea as a starting point is to take everything all the clothes of your cupboards and put in a large pile. Go through them individually and only put back in the cupboard if it matches all 3 of the below criteria:
Does it fit?
Do I like it?
Have I worn it in the last 6 months?
Everything else goes in a bin bag for now. You can take your time going through that later (or decide that if you don’t go looking in the bin bag for something specific in the next 6 months, it all gets given away or dumped).

My clothes are on the floor now lol…

Ok.

yes I enjoyed it at the time, but not now.

i got a few nice items recently before they were sold out at the shop…. I should shop more often (yes I was going to buy double).

I have a clothes debobbler. Haven’t used in three years. Get rid?

Yup!

I have a reminder on my phone to declutter two things. You could set a reminder to declutter one thing every Monday/ Tuesday/ Wednesday etc, whatever suits. As time goes by, one item per week might not be enough. I started at one per week and I’m now up to two a day..

Look up the minimal mom on youtube. She mentions body doubling - how thinga are easier when working alongside someone else. So she does videos where she declutters or cleans a room and you can do it at the same time. Honestly I just usually play any of her videos to motivate me and declutter at the same time.

I find it easiest to do groups of clothes together. So I'll put all t-shirts onto the bed and then be ruthless around what to keep, what to charity shop and what to bin. Then look at the 'keep' pile and be more realistic about how many t-shirts one person really needs.

Then I'll do vest tops, then long sleeved t-shirts, then pants/bras then jumpers...

I’ve been ruthless the past few days with binning/olio. Now I just have my clothes and I appreciate having stuff I won’t wear in my life isn’t needed. I may have loved it but now I don’t.

That's fab! It definitely feels better once you have got rid of it, right? I'm rubbish at getting going but know it's better once I've started.

Well done!

I am a ruthless declutterer, here are the things that help me when I have clearing to do:

• if something hasn’t been worn in a year, get rid, unless it’s something like a ball gown that gets used very rarely. If it’s damaged/ ripped or doesn’t fit, get rid.

• as you look at each item, make a decision on it within 3 seconds. Don’t dilly dally- this gets easier with practise. If you hesitate, keep it. If it’s still there and unused next time you declutterer, it goes.

*set a timer for 15 minutes, and get moving! 15 minutes is 900 seconds, you can make a lot of 3 second decisions on 15 minutes!
once your 15 mins are up, have a cup or tea or a 5 minute rest, then set another 15 minute timer and get going again. Momentum soon takes over and you don’t want to stop when your timer is finished.

• don’t faff about with Olio, donate or tip the stuff that is leaving as soon as possible, get it out of your house asap.

Ah I see I was too late to the party with my advice! 😂

well done!

I absolutely second this. Her book “Decluttering at the Speed of Life” has completely changed the way I think about things. I’ve made great progress this Christmas on decluttering.
I haven’t even finished yet, but I can see big progress.

She uses a “no mess” declutter process, so even if you get interrupted half way through, you haven’t made it worse by having created piles of things to put away snd sort out. You’ve just made it better, even if it isn’t completely done. She also helps take the emotion out of most of the process which is a big plus.

The podcast as well as the audio book are great to listen to for inspiration as you do it. By contrast Marie Kondo method did not work for me. I know it works for some but everyone is different.

You've inspired me OP.
New Year and I'm going to hit those cupboards!

How is it going