Is my house total chaos because I grew up in the austere decades then didn't cope in the deluge of consumer goods available in recent decades?

[notknowledgeable]

So I grew up in a very make-do-and-mend culture, in the austere 70s, in a not very well off family. We saved up for good quality clothing and possessions, then they lasted and lasted, many decades, and we mended them if need be. If we saw a good quality bargain, we would take swift advantage, but these were few and far between.

These days there are bargains everywhere, and I still feel like I should be snapping them up when I see them - so I buy more than I need, regularly, books, tee-shirts, stationary, kitchenware....

By the same token, I don't get rid of things either. Because that would be a waste. And I might need it one day in 30 years time. And I was brought up to mend broken stuff.

Is this why my house is in a permanent state of looking like a jumble sale? Anyone else in their 60s-ish identify with this?

If not - how did you escape this house-jumble sale fate?

That Mario kato programme on Netflix has an episode on this.

Anyone else in their 60s-ish identify with this?

No.
Both my parents were of the make do and mend generation, and so am I to a certain extent. They both kept stuff "just in case" and it was a nightmare clearing the house after they both died.

As a result pf this and having moved house 4 times since I married I prefer to travel light.

I can't bear dust gathering clutter and I only keep things that are useful to me or that I can realistically see a future use for.

I’m the opposite. I have chucked everything ( we moved in our early 50’s and everything went). Started again with only things I love ( lots of it second hand) ) and I love it. My only problem is I have a 20 year old dd who appears regularly with a photo of me wearing something from the 80’s/90’s and she is practically crying.
I also mourn the cast away real wool sweaters and gorgeous coats more than I should. That sort of quality is never coming back. Wish I had kept a special box somewhere.

I’m in my 70s. Never had a problem with buying too much, but it really hurts to get rid of stuff if it still has use in it. I could have a clear out now (how much of my stuff am I really going to use in my remaining 15 years?), but why should I if my DH isn’t? He has three times the stuff that I have.

You could be describing my mother, she can’t not buy something if it’s reduced price. I think it’s an illness like hoarding.

She was telling me recently she’d bought a new coat for £100 reduced from £200, except she has a lot of coats already and she’d never pay £100 for a piece of clothing full price under any circumstances.

She’ll regularly send bag fulls of unworn or barely used ‘bargains’ to charity shops only to replace them almost straightaway and she never gets exactly what she wants because she only gets stuff in outlets so it’s usually a weird colour or not quite the right size, or it’s just like a full price top she wanted except with frilly sleeves, but it had £4 off.

My DP is nearly 60 and VERY much like this. It drives me insane. I think I've thrown things out, then I find them in the bloody garage! He doesn't do the buying though - quite the opposite. That's me😁I'm promising myself not to hit the sales this year. I have lots of clothes and footwear/bags, and in reality could likely go 5 years witbout buying much more than knickers!

I kept all my 90s stuff and wore much of it until fairly recently. Now my DD raids my wardrobe and uses it, which makes me happy. I kept a lot of stuff for her, some of it designer, other just funky, so I’m glad she’s making good use. Not least because I’ve gone up a size and have trouble squishing myself into some of the smaller stuff and it would have been a shame to have them gather dust.

I also kept my shoes, but unluckily for her she has a different shoe size. I may end up selling on Vinted, if I can get around to taking the photos.

I can so relate to this. Such a crime to throw away perfectly usable things!

The basic principle for me is don't throw stuff in the bin if it could be sold in a charity shop, or if you know someone who would genuinely be glad to receive it.

Do the pencils look good enough to sell, e.g. in a bundle?

Also, how many of the items will I need in the next 5 /10 years, or for life? Any surplus over this estimate should go.
How many pencils will you get through in the rest of your life?

Have you got lots of pens or pencils?

if you have a small bundle please donate them to PENS FOR KIDS UK charity. Really worthwhile and they get a second life!

I'm sure your local primary school. would be very pleased to make use of your spare pencils!

wow! That looks amazing, I am going to empty a couple of stationary drawers tomorrow

I’m a similar if slightly younger vintage and I hate, hate ,hate anything broken or malfunctioning. I was brought up with stuff that didn’t work properly or needed fixing and I can’t stand it as a result.

I actually live in a house which is very similar in style and size as my childhood home and that is where the similarities end.

I guess we are all influenced differently.

I think the part about space being cheaper is really important.

My late mother in law (died two years ago at 83) was the opposite and threw out everything she wasn't currently using. Her flat was very soulless and she had nothing old to attach memories to. I think my husband has just two photos and his old teddy from his entire childhood. I think you can go too far.

I grew up in the probably even more austere 50s/60s, but the older I get, the less I want more ‘stuff’.

Unless you’ve got some sort of compulsive-shopper disorder*, OP, can’t you just stop buying stuff you don’t need? And get rid of the excess bit by bit - one bag to a charity shop at a time. I dare say the task of getting-rid will seem far too much, or impossible, unless you break it into small, un-daunting portions.

*I do know someone who has - mostly for seriously cheap clothes in sales. It once got to the point where her dh took some of the piles of them (almost all new and unworn) lying around the house, to the tip! Not even to a charity shop - I was 🤬when I heard.

I'm the same sort of age as you and I don't think it's an age thing. I think it's an attitude/habit/personality thing (or, in some extreme cases, a mental health thing). Plus children do bring a lot of "stuff" with them.

If you want a less cluttered house then you can work on changing your habits and attitude. There is plenty of advice out there.

I do think that time and energy can be a factor, too, though. It takes time and effort to sort through stuff and get rid of it. Some people are just very busy and tired, and it's not on their priorities list right now. My house is fairly uncluttered because I'm lucky enough to have the time to make that happen.

ive also absorbed the message that space is expensive and stuff is cheap. Has taken me a lot to get to a place where I can throw stuff away. I have three young adults at home who are starting to get their first salaries and started to shop for STUFF. I have tried to teach them what I have learned.

I have a sister who is ruthless with clutter. It’s fascinating. I was visiting once and she took a pile of stuff and PUT IT IN THE BIN. The general bin. It included for example a nearly new heavy towelling bathrobe and an unused tea tray. She just didn’t want them as she was changing her decor colours and said it was too much faff to take them to a charity shop. I now have both those things in my house!

I now walk around Next and Dunelm when the new season stuff comes out and wonder who is just replacing their household grey stuff for this year’s sage green stuff. Ridiculous. There are people in the world without shoes.

In the last couple of years I moved house, after the death of my OH. I did a massive declutter - absolutely massive. At the time it was a bit heartrending form obvious reasons, but it was necessary - the accumulated clutter of decades.

I felt quite cleansed afterwards and now enjoy a more minimalist life.

As to acquiring new things - I have absolutely completely and utterly gone off shopping - going round the shops is like a nightmare to me, because the desire to accumulate stuff has dwindled. I do get tempted by things online a bit and probably have some things I do not really need, but on the whole this absence of stuff is really positive.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I cannot bear clutter. My parents have clutter and my mum cannot be wasting anything.

I do like stuff, but I only buy stuff I like. And if I buy something then I have to donate something else to charity, so the house is never overloaded. I don’t like minimalism but I do like tidy.

Last year I did a 'spring clean and declutter'. It took me until September 😂but I got rid of so much stuff.

There is now a 'but where will it go' policy for new stuff coming in to the house.

Started the spring clean again this year, it is going to take less than half the time and the house looks so much better for it.

It's not a bargain if you don't need it.

My mother is a bit like this, as was her mother. Stuff everywhere, and there never was spare money, but a lifetime of getting a bargain and keeping things "just in case" really piles up.
I have gone the other way, I'm not minimalist but I regularly audit what we have and refuse buy more storage for new things. DH finds this very challenging.

@turkeyboots DH is the weakest link in my house too. However his parents are hoarders so he was set up badly.