Declutterring tips

[funnybones23]

I wonder if anyone could offer tips. My house is full of shit. Clothes bursting out of wardrobes that haven't been worn in years, kids toys and books they've grown out of, make up bags full of old cosmetics, drawers full of manuals and letters, sheds full of god knows what. It's utterly overwhelming. Everything is just a mess and I don't know where to begin. There's so much that needs throwing out but there's also a lot that could be donated or sold. It's just draining me to even think about tackling it all.
Equally I can't carry on living like this and accumulating more stuff. We moved into a much bigger house last year and I thought it would help things but if anything we now just seem to more stuff!

Thanks for starting this thread.

My house is the pits. Last night I emptied a kitchen draw into a cardboard box and went through it all, cleaned the draw and organised it. Felt great, now I need to carry this on, next stop cupboard under the sink. If anyone has storage tips for cleaning bottles that would be fab.

I would probably start with the bathroom, then move on to the kitchen if I were you. You are very unlikely to have any sentiment towards items in those rooms and there is always loads to get rid if. Half used bottles of shampoo that you didn’t like, face wash that gave you spots etc. Chuck everything you know you won’t use and promise yourself not to buy anything else until all the excess has been used up. Try and get everything put away so you have clear surfaces and then you’ll be able to clean really easily.

Then move on to the kitchen. Out of date food, Tupperware that doesn’t have a lid, all the calpol syringes! Keep only the best of everything. If you’ve got 3 wooden spoons, just keep 1. Group everything together. Plates next to the sink or dishwasher, food near the oven, glasses near the fridge. And again, put everything away so you’ve got clear sides for easy cleaning.

You’ll get huge benefits from those rooms and then you’ll have honed your decision making skills to move on to other areas.

The most important thing is stop bringing things in to the house. 1 in, 1 out. Experiences for presents rather than material things etc.

And remember, minimalism isn’t about having no stuff, it’s about having the right amount of stuff that you feel happy with.

Selling my house so have been decluttering for a while. It takes time. It’s up to you how you start but I found it very satisfying to sort stuff into charity bags and then get rid of them. (25 so far ) then i go back into the same room and bag your anything for recycling and the tip and get rid of that. By now you will have created areas where you are able to store the stuff you want to keep. I started with garage and created lots of atirage space by getting rid of so much stuff. You have to be ruthless though and not hang on to things

Bag stuff up and put it in the car. You cannot bring it back to the house, only pass it on. Adjust your route to pass your friend/ charity shop/ clothing bank/ recycling centre next time you go out.

I watch hoarder videos on YouTube before decluttering, it makes me far more ruthless in getting rid of stuff. I've found our local Sue Rider is great at accepting stuff, they always say yes and even take clothes that aren't useable to sell as rags. Other local charity shops can be very picky, but every time I've called Sue Rider to ask if they want... I can barely tell them what I have before they say yes, makes it super easy. Start with one grouping of items, kids toys for example, get the kids to say which their favourites are and then get rid of as much as possible as long as the kids aren't going to get upset.

It is. But I don’t have ADHD and find it helpful. I think it’s more that it’s a strategy suggested if you have ADHD as likely to be helpful, but clearly helpful for those without as well. I did it for ages before realising it was a thing and somehow labelling it helps me explain to my DH whilst I need him to be in the room. My DD also really benefits from it

My advice, don’t bother with eBay or vinted, if you were one of those types of people you wouldn’t have loads of stuff.

bin it or take it to a charity shop. Otherwise it will just sit there and you won’t feel like you have achieved anything.

I have halved my contents in the house, if in doubt throw it out.

Anglo doorsteps seems to be a scam company often put in here by people who seem to paid to remote it. It is NOT a charity and has a very dubious website. Maybe check it out on companies house before donating.

Also I don’t recommend small bits at a time, again if you could do this your house wouldn’t be full up, and you won’t get to the point where you get bored and fed up and throw it all out. If you do it in small section you don’t end up ruthless, which is him what you really need to be.

Read Marie Kondos book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
It really is a life changing read. It helps in such a clear way to identify the items you no longer need and helps with letting go of even sentimental items that are no longer serving you.

It’s not a charity but it does take away all sorts of stuff, avoiding landfill, and contributes some of its profits to charity. I have no association with it other than to have used it many times myself 🤷‍♀️ Just trying to help!

we did a yard sale of outgrown toys and DS used the money to fund one big item he really wanted

w

I too recommend reading Marie Kondo. She is a bit nuts, so take some parts with a grain of salt, and I also don't like tidying categories like she recommends, unless they are naturally in one single location.

However, like you, I dont like waste, and used to hold onto things because "they will be useful one day", "but this box is so pretty, it might come in handy", or "oh but ive paid so much money for this, i cant just give it away".

She has completely changed the way I think about these things now, but it's hard to explain here, you need to read the book!

You need to start valuing space that the clutter takes up - physical, as well as mental - more than the clutter itself. The money's already spent, they've served their purpose - it's time to let go.

I also really rate Dana K White and her no mess decluttering method. It's life changing, especially if you get easily overwhelmed/distracted or are time poor. It's slower than pulling everything out, but you don't have to deal with "It will get worse before it gets better" part. Look it up on YouTube, she's got loads of videos.

So start with easy things - bin stuff that's clearly rubbish, put things in charity box that you clearly don't need AND plan that charity shop trip. You need build some momentum so start doing SOMETHING, even if it's trivial. Good luck!

Buy the Marie Kondo book.

I keep a bin bag in the bottom of ny wardrobe for clothes. I go through it in Autumn and spring and declutter the summer and winter clothes that are no longer for me. The bin bag is handy if I notice something damaged. When I buy new stuff I have to throw out old stuff. When the bag is full it goes to the clothing recycling bins.

All other storage I go through once a year and clear out. The DC clothing is done in autumn and spring too.

DH is quite brutal with decluttering, my Mum is an organised hoarder, she keeps everything just in case so I am a bit of balance between the 2. I have one organised DC with no emotional attachments to things, the other DC cannot throw out anything. I've found with the attached DC, if she knows it's going to a good home, she can let it go. So books to school library, toys to cousins etc.

One draw at a time

i have a good tidy up every month, i put stuff in a box and it goes in the garage, its its not wanted or used within 6 months then i sell/give away/dump...

the only downside is i've not quite got to the sell/give/dump stage and now my garage is too full

Don’t be sentimental about items be brutal and just throw them away/charity shop

Big tip. If you are clearing out clothes from an over stuffed wardrobe (or two) then take a trip to somewhere like TKMAxx first and treat yourself to a heap of those skinny hangers. Then bin all the metal hangers, put any decent hangers in the charity shop bag and rehang the clothes you are keeping on the new skinny hangers. They take up much less space, and your clothes will look so much better, it will really encourage you to keep the wardrobe tidy and organised.

They is a thread i was reading called (ive had a masive declutter)
The poster got brutal with decluttering.

Get a skip. Leave anything vaguely salvageable next to the skip and it’ll be gone within hours.
You don’t need to be stuck to a time frame, just explain you need it for a longer amount of time. A friend of mine has had one for months. People take stuff out quicker then she manages to put stuff in.

And a note about charity shops. Please, be selective when you send stuff to them.

Look at it honestly, and. If it isn’t something you would buy then put it in a separate bag and label it clearly RAG ONLY. Most charity shops send unsold stuff to rag merchants, and they get some money for it, this way you are making their lives easier by identifying it first. But please don’t send dirty stuff, odd socks, or soiled underwear ( yes honestly!) to a charity shop, someone has to sort through it and it isn’t the most pleasant of jobs at the best of times. Oh, and please don’t cut the buttons off!

Ditto household items, check first to see if your local shop accepts electrical items because some don’t, also videos, surprise surprise most don’t. Don’t send really tatty childrens books, cracked cups, chipped plates, broken items, jigsaws with missing pieces, boxed games with missing pieces and the boxes falling apart, toys that have been scribbled on, dolls with cut hair, cars with missing wheels….….. you get the picture. If you wouldn’t buy it, why would someone else?

YouTube cleaning channels I highly recommend:

Midwest Magic Cleaning
Remi Clog
Clean With Barbie
A Beautiful Mess
Aurikatariina

They really get me motivated.

Get big blue ikea bags and label them bin sell donate. Tell all the kids you're spending the day filling these up and go go go - prize for whoever gets the most in.

Will you actually sell? Do you have the time to deal with fb messenger? Or can you do a family car boot sale?

Yes I like her YouTube stuff

And key is to ask yourself (if not rubbish or in wrong place) if u was looking for this item where is the first place I'd look.
And that's its home. Go and put it there.

(Also Marie kondo would say ensure all similar stuff is together)

I did buy some cheap Argos crates to help declutter -stuff for clothes bank /chariry /to sell. As I wanted to make progress but not have that stuff sat around in bags. Will aim to go to cex and charity shop soon.