Really struggling to declutter

[cocamoca]

I have 4 children, me and dh in a 3 bed house.
We recently moved from a 2 bed flat and before we moved we decluttered 100 black bags ( not an exaggeration. We were ruthless) it was about a year before we moved out.

We moved into this house with an extra 2 rooms and 2 cupboards which were empty.
We have now added a porch and shed and managed to fill every nook and cranny.

A main problem was having childrens parties, they got lots of gifts whereas we usually give 1 or go out for the day.
We had a bad year and everyone in the family went overboard for Xmas as a result.

I have 3 boys and one girl, girls clothes are purged regularly but the boys are kept for hand me downs, so there's a couple of bags worth always.

I don't know what to do with it all. I am absolutely stuck, I'm getting rid of broken toys and bits of crap but it's hard, it's so fucking hard and we have 2 more birthdays coming up and I've even not done a party to curb the gifts but family is generous and I'm out of space.

I've done kon Marie, I've watched all the videos and I'm even nailing big toys to the wall (sword, masks) but there's too much still.

Anyone else having a hard time? I am so shocked we could fill this house. our last home was HALF the size, the cupboards were bare when we moved in but I've managed to fill them.

We are eco friendly, second hand household, I'm not buying shit, it's mostly gifts and clothes. I'm so cross with myself for letting it pule up but we've been doing the house up and I can't be bothered to do it anymore! it's just a mess

Im in almost the exact situation. 4 kids, three bed house. But we have been here for 20 years! So a slow burn fill.

Same but with two children 😱😱
How did you bring about the mojo to do your first big declutter? Can you channel that thought process?

As you've identified what the bulk of it is, which is half the battle, is there a clothing bank anywhere near you. Or charity shops. A bi weekly drop off of clothes & toys for 6months or however long it takes shouldn't be too hard to build into your routine for a while. It will make you feel in control too. There are clothing bank bins at my Asda, my Tesco & near the train station. People in my area used to be able to put really decent stuff on the pavement & it'd be gone in under an hour ( some total bargains as people seem to chuck out never worn or never used decor & books) but some plonker has decided to fine people £400 now.

I had this with a steady stream of gifts and little bits from my generous family. I found as my children got a bit older, I was able to suggest experiences for presents from them (eg a horse riding lesson or clip n climb etc) just an idea going forwards to avoid too much more new stuff arriving!

Can you not sort the clothes into smaller bits? I saved everything from ds1 for ds2 then it occurred to me ds2 doesn't like certain clothes "rustling" joggers jumpers jeans all no (tbh ds1 wasn't wearing jeans and jumpers either its why they were in fantastic condition) anything marked small stains gone and so on I went from two big boxes to one small bag

Same with books they don't have the same taste films toys etc all curated down