Decluttering - HOW do you decide what to keep and what to chuck?????

[CocktailQueen]

We seem to be constantly decluttering. I get rid of loads of things then sometimes think, hmm, should I have kept that for my grandchildren?? (or whatever). How do you decide what to keep and chuck? The kids' shoes and clothes get ebayed, passed on or chucked out; but books and toys they've grown out of - I find them much harder to decide on! Help please! My spare room is constantly FULL of stuff!!!!

I tend to think - would I have appreciated my parents/grandparents/whoever saving that for me? If not, it's a definite candidate to be chucked out. Same if it would be cheap to replace. Life is too short to be managing mountains of stuff.

When DH complains at me clearing out the huge piles of kids' pictures etc. (I do get them involved, I don't just chuck stuff willy-nilly), I say, "How many pictures do you have from when you were little?" 0. "Do you miss them and wish you had them now?" No. "Well then..."

If you find out, please let me know. I hardly ever use my steamer. Do I bin it? I have 2 dds and may or may not have a 3rd. Do I throw away baby stuff, clothes etc or keep? Obviously I'm not going to be much help!

What would you do with your spare room if it was empty? Do you have a use for it that would outweigh your desire to keep stuff?

If it hasnt been played with or touched in 6 months, get rid. Keep only a handful of classic things. But to be honest your grandchildren wont care if you dont ahve toys at your house, they prefer wooden sppons and button tins

I get rid of anything we don't love! Every few months it all goes to friends ebay or charity. I am seriously considering culling my book as there are so many and moving and storing them is a nightmare but they are my one thing I find hard. It is great to just not feel over run with 'stuff' Be harsh

You can't magically predict what to keep and what to chuck, but you'll have a gut feeling about a tiny number of things. Keep them, ditch the rest. If it turns out you do miss the things, ah well, there are more things in the world.

Ask yourself does this item..

have a use and is it being used?
is it valuable (either in monetary terms or valuable to you)?
do I have a place to put it?

If it's no to those questions then chuck it/pass it on.