Decluttering and reasons

[Thunderpants88]

Not sure where to have posted this one.

I’m struggling with the amount of “stuff” in our home. Like it’s got on top of me

just wondering if anyone has ever really focused on consistent decluttering and what are your thoughts?

we have three kids under 5 and I am worried about throwing stuff out we may need again but at the same time there is so much crap and toys that they rarely play with.

would really appreciate anyone who has done it commenting on was it worth it and how did you go about it? Any tips? Questions to ask when trying to decide?

I have literally just posted something very similar! 😂 for me it’s the toys taking over every room and the mountain of washing I can’t get through! I am also a mum of 3 and feeling pulled in every direction. I think I’m going to Declutter and organise one room each Sunday starting with the kitchen tomorrow.

I really like Stacey Solomon's sort your life out. We go through our house every few months and we sort things into piles: keep, donate/sell and throw away. I'm savage with things as well. You have to be savage with these things imo! We do a room at a time. Our next big task is to go through the loft 😳 my sil has given us tonnes of baby clothes which she has used from her friends etc so there is a lot to go through! X

I’ve got 3 kids but waited until they were a bit older to seriously declutter the playroom (think oldest was 9 and youngest 4… or thereabouts). However I could’ve done it earlier.
Basically everything that was part of a group (Lego, cars, magnatiles etc) was kept and put in its own box. Everything else was got rid of. I promise you none of the random bits and bobs from party bags etc have ever been missed. Their play quality has not declined in any way.

Love Stacey Solomon sort your life out!

Be brutal! I just did it recently. Kids are getting older and aren't playing with toys as much! Especially my boys aged 9 and 11. They are pretty into devices, reading and drawing and their bikes and football. So I just got rid of all their old toys and just kept anything sentimental they asked for.

The girls are heading in the same direction. 5 and 7. They are focused on their favourites and they let me get rid of a load.

Still have more to go but will wait another 6 months and re assess.

De cluttered the house about 4 months ago. Could do it again really!

Make a keepsake box with a few important toys, all the cute clothes and tiny shoes etc.

Then donate or sell the rest bit by bit, to fund the iPhones other stuff they'll be needing.

Has anyone noticed as a result of decluttering that they buy less stuff? Does it make you think more before you do it?

Yes, I’m halfway through a major declutter and it was my birthday recently. I have three kids and I had to be quite firm with them to say I don’t want any cuddly toys/candles/novelty socks/kitchen gadgets/recipe books/cute stationery etc.
It was quite hard to think of something they could get me!

The feeling you get when even as few as ten items leave the house via the bin / charity bag / being sold is priceless. It genuinely feels like a weight lifting when cupboards start to be clearer and everything is tidier.

Little and often is the best way. Just take one drawer or shelf of stuff to begin with. Bin all the tat and donate anything that’s not worth much - I really recommend joining your local free stuff page on Facebook - I’ve never advertised something that hasn’t been taken. Anything worth selling can be left for when you get time to sell it.

My front drive looks like a junkyard as I’m getting a tip run together. I’m trying to do the same OP - I find all the clutter very stressful

Yes I did it after reading Marie Kondo and with a house move on the horizon. I got rid of so much stuff!! It was great. Now we've moved.... five years and another baby later, the stuff is taking over again, I've had to tackle the loft and I don't want to even look in the garage 😂

It has made me less likely to buy things, especially toys - we have enough! I joined a toy library instead and try to rotate things more.

Do you have a loft? Or garage? We go with boxing stuff away and then leaving it a year or two and then decisions often feel much easier!

I think it's good to keep lots of the toys longer than you think though. Children often go back through phases.

My tips are to put anything you aren't sure about into a black bin liner and put it out of sight. If you haven't gone back for it in 3 months, get rid and do not open the bag.

I also love the 20 under 20 rule: can I replace it for under £20 in 20 minutes? Yes? Off it goes.

You'll be surprised how much you can get rid of and in 12 months time not be able to recall anything you actually got rid of.

Noine tells you that it's practically a full time job! People advocate stuff like just doing 20 mins every day, which would work, but it's like saying that anyone can learn loads of languages, it's just 20 mins per day!

My experience is that it's been months and months of slogging away at weekends. I could have been faster if I hadn't dithered on whether to save this item or that and has to resift it several times.

And if you have a partner, it helps to have one of you say get rid and the other to sort into charity/recycling/sell piles.

Swedish death cleaning really helps me focus when declutterring!

Yes. But I also have space for more useful stuff. Like I got rid of the utensils I never use and got more wooden spoons and whisks; the stuff i was sick of fishing out of the dishwasher!

I think of it as stuff I don’t want to look after any more. For the kids I used to rotate so there wasn’t so much in the house, and some rotations never returned!