to wonder where the f* all the crap came from in our house?

[OrmRenewed]

Because I am sure we never acquired it? How many small super bouncy balls can one family need? How many tennis balls? How many dried up felt tips and unsharpened pencils? And why did FC insist of bringing them Christmas colouring books for years running when they clearly never opened the covers? And why does Playdo turn into small rock-hard multi-coloured turds? And single gloves? And old school books with "Very good try Alex but please remember your spellings!!" written in them.

And why does my dining room look like the aftermath of a jumble sale in aid of the homeless?

And what will I do if this move falls through? I feel like a refugee already and my cat is giving me reproachful glances and my children are acting more feral than usual? Do children up and leave if they feel uneasy like cats do?

I am going through the same thing. It is boggling.

At least you can throw it all in the bin and have a lovely summer without crap if things go tits up.

Can one do that nowadays or would you have to have a separate play do recycling bin and felt tip pen box I wonder.

Ohhh the recycling issue has got me quite vexed. I am normally quite green but this tsunami of crap has made me panic a bit and start throwing paper of all things in the bin Will try to get a grip...

And We've only tackled the 2 understairs cupboards and DD's room. DH spent a desultory hour in the garage and then went to the pub dump.

Orm, you need to get into the habit of ruthlessly de-cluttering every six months. It took two moves in two years for me to develop an almost phobic-like aversion to clutter. Honestly, the mere feeling of being bogged down in crap makes me feel claustrophobic. It might also be because my parents are 'cluttery' and I have a morbid fear of ever growing up and turning into my mum.

See this house move as an opportunity to de-clutter your life. Embrace the catharsis... and breathe....

Moving anywhere exciting?

ooh are you moving

Yus. But only up the road. Not exciting to anyone else but very exciting to us. To get more room so that my 7 and 13yr old no longer have to share a room and we can all stretch out a bit. And find space for more crap I suspect.

tb - I know you are right but although I can declutter my personal junk, my family are averse to the very idea. I can ruthlessly discard books I know I won't read again and clothes I know I hate, but lay one finger on anything belonging to anyone else and it's like the scene from the last book of LOTR when Sauron senses the threat to the ring from the fires of Mt Doom

Even now I have my entire family watching my every room with huge suspicion.

I hear your plight, I switched on the computer to escape from it,it is the tat and shite that makes my home look like a garage sale so annoying pure landfill.I am going around tommorrow with a big bin bag and 75% of it is going to the toybox in the alleyway aka wheelie bin.

Sounds just like my house Orm. I was only wondering yesterday why we have so many golf balls in a kitchen drawer - especially when none of us play golf .....

And why is it that something can be laying around for weeks/months but when I flip and decide enough is enough and it must go, DH erupts into "I NEED that!"

Oh, we've got a flower pot full of golf balls on the side in the kitchen . I'm so used to it, I hadn't really noticed until you said. The DC pick up the balls on the dog walk!

I am nesting like mad at the moment and seriously decluttering. Anything that doesnt move quick is at risk of being chucked and everything is questioned for need / use (I mean, do I really need a DH and 3 DC? )

The crap I find though - mobile phone statements from 10 years ago, endless pens (but where are they when you need one?), half crayons...

I moved in April and spent the previous six months chucking stuff out and single-handedly filling the local BHF charity shop.

When my parents visited my new house a few weeks ago for the first time, they said it looked like no-one lived here as the surfaces are so clear! Long may it continue

I am SO with you. Have goal at the moment to chuck/recycle/charity shop one bag ful lof stuff a week. There is tat everywhere!!!!

Same here. Every day I am taking something to the charity shop / Freecycle or Cheapcycling it.

The shed is next. It's all being emptied and going into my unsed garage down the road so I can sort through it bit by bit.

I dream of a minimalist John Pawson designed house.

I've just been wondering the same. We moved here in December with what I was sure was no excess. My dining room is under a mountain of artwork and bank statements etc. The living room is full of toys that mostly are from party bags (so we have a world supply of small bouncy balls as well!!).

I think the 6 monthly de-clutter is a good idea. I've started today on my dining room, I will get it sorted!

Freecycle and ebay are my friends at the moment.

I am in the middloe of declutter hell. I am planning on moving in the next couple of months so trying to reduce the clutter and the ufo pile. Unfortunately i am getting side tracked and the usp's are getting tackled its going to to take forever isnt it. And why does it seem to multiple when you stop for a comfort break?

Oh I dream of minimalistic - or at least seeing surfaces!

And how does a child who's only been to McDonalds once manage to acquire thousands of those toys you get with Happy Meals????????? And why are they all so special that they can't be chucked out?????

I'm in the process of decluttering too, and I couldn't agree more. Hundreds of pencils turning up everywhere. We've assembled about ten bags of donations for charity shops, puts loads of clothes and shoes in the Salvation Army clothing bin and my house still looks like a skip.

oh good luck Orm, what a difficult situation.

Congratulations on your new place though, hope you and your family have many happy years living there!

Thanks tb

I am so glad (but not that surprised) I am not the only one.

This thread struck a chord with me, my house was like this but when I moved in November I was determined that new house would be clutter free and I did it!!

Happy meal toys and party bag toys, toys that are rarely played with or eat batteries or make lots of noise , clothes that no longer fit but I might one day get round to ebaying, bills, dozens of medicine spoons, books, magazines, all got binned or charity shopped.

I also got rid of the ex this made a huge difference!

The trouble is it accumulates so quickly! I now am in the habit of regularly going round with a bag for the charity shop and slying it out while DS is at school. I had a comment similar to lilac's as my sister enviously commented on my clear surfaces - I nearly burst with pride!

Orm - take this as a prime opportunity to sling it all in the bin, say it will save on moving costs or something you will feel so much better for it.

Yes, for goodness sake don't be tempted to pack it and sort out after move. You will be left with boxes unopened for 2 years full of shite [bitter]. Use this opportunity to bin the tat. Don't feel bad about the amount that can't be recycled - it's all going in the bin one day. The only way to be 'greener' about it is not buying it in the first place!

I follow the one in- one out rule. If something comes into the house then something has to go to make room for it. EG new frock in means a charity shop will get the old. New crayons mean dump the old. Harsh but it works.
Oh and I am ruthless with books. Read and pass on.
Paperwork gets put into bulldog clip on a hook as it arrives and gets sorted once a week. I keep a file of the latest bills and a list of all the previous costs. ( Anybody want to know what my electricity bill for 2001 winter quarter was ?)
The rest of my family seems to thrive in their chaos but I like being organised.

Very inspiring everybody!

However, there haven't been many coping strategies suggested for the thing that I feel is the enemy of de-cluttering...the DC's "artwork".

I am so sentimental about it! I've kept every half decent drawing, object whatever they've produced so far. Ridiculous?