I've just had the kitchen professionally decluttered & cleaned.

[BeCool]

Well semi-professionally. A friend came to help me. She has been paid lots of money to do this for the rich & famous & she offered to help me.

I took a big breath, stepped back and let her go for it.

She emptied and cleaned every kitchen cupboard, chucked everything out of date (2005!!!!), reorganised the cupboards, got my entire bench area cleared, and the entire place sparkles. She worked for 9 hours full on, like a dynamo.

I am in awe & I could not have done this on my own. I needed help esp after breaking up with exP at Xmas - I was feeling swamped and stressed (work FT, 2 young DC, overcluttered messy small flat).

I gave the bathroom the same treatment so now 2 rooms are declutterd, deep cleaned and lovely.

Over the weekend I took out 7 large bin bags of rubbish, 2 of recycling, and 1 for charity shop.

I clucked and fretted over throwing away some items - which was ridiculous as I'd forgotten they every existed and haven't used them for years. I guess it's to be expected - after all my very DNA was under attack. I'm relearning retraining reprogramming my thought processes re buying stuff and keeping stuff and giving emotional meaning to stuff. I'm getting emancipated and it's wonderful.

I'm at work today but I want to be at home going through the other rooms :)
I'm finally feeling like stuff can just go.

I feel like life is changing for the better - all because a wonderful kind very energetic dynamic slightly OCD person stepped in & threw stuff out for me! WOW! She want's to take on the rest of the flat with me now.

(so happy I just had to share - the DC's stuff and our clothes are next to be done)

When I wrote creations I meant their drawings. Junk modelling stuff doesn't last long around here

Oh and BeCool I also think 'Stuff The EBay' I learnt the hard way a few years ago, building up an entire massive cupboard with good intentions to eBay, never did, so wasted all that space for about three years which all ended up finally going to charity. It should have gone on day one when I realised we no longer used said stuff!

BeCool thanks

It was nice to all sit together in his house and not worry about piles of stuff falling on the kids, or them rooting through a bin bag.

I'm desperate to get going on my house now; I keep all sorts of rubbish and I think it's a learnt behaviour - KEEP ALL THE THINGS!

Yeah I have all this rubbish thinking still in my head - "ooooh I'll ebay this & ebay that", but I've not got around to it.

There are 3 items I will ebay - they should get about £100 between them so worthwhile. But all the box & large bag of naice clothes etc will go to the charity shop tomorrow, along with all the kitchen stuff.

Thanks for the tips re artwork etc. I am down to one tub of colouring stuff plus one pencil case (for on the move) - this is a vast improvement from exP's system which involved around 7 different containers of colours.

ExP has just moved into a flat so I can get rid of some toys etc to his place - just thought of that! Hooray!

Love the children's experiences as birthday gifts etc - oldest is 5 so that is really becoming relevant now. Not so much for DD2 who is 2 next month, but she has inherited toys etc anyway.

I think it's a learnt behaviour - KEEP ALL THE THINGS!
Oh for sure it is learnt behaviour. My Mum has moved 10 times in last 20 years and still has random shite in boxes from 40 years ago.

One of the reasons I really want to tackle this in myself is I'm aware of passing on the traits to my young DC.

I walked around the flat on Sunday holding onto something I've owned for 20 years, forgot existed, and haven't used for over 7 years. It is no longer relevant to my life - though it will be great if I had a garden. I DO NOT HAVE A GARDEN!!

I'm looking at this item as symbolic - it's got to go I know. Why am I clucking over it and holding on??????

Minimalist loving your advice.

When you have a moment could you please talk to me about towels:
Bathroom
Swimming
handtowels
Spares/Guest
facecloths

How many per person is enough? I've got rid of all old towels - think I could go further though.

Towels:
Bathroom:
No more than two towels per person (One being used, one in the wash is the way I see it. (In my minimalist mind, I have been thinking about one bath towel per person as I can easily turn washing/drying around in one day bc of tumble dryer but I haven't done it yet!) Less towels you have, less space they take up storing them and it means they won't simply mount up in your laundry baskets)

Swimming:
We simply take towel DC is currently using at bathtime and then it gets flung in washing basket when we get in and the clean one gets out out for bath time. If you want separate swimming towels though you could look at a large one of these: www.lifeventure.co.uk/products/washgear/compact-trek-towels.html
We have them for camping and they fold up super small and dry very quickly, ideal if DC go swimming a lot in summer for example. Don't wash them with fabric conditioner as it spoils absorbency.

Hand Towels:
We have four hand towels, we only have one bathroom though. They get changed over regularly.

Guest Towels:
We have no guest towels. When my DP come and stay, I tell them to bring there own towels

Face Cloths:
I gave up on face cloths along time ago as I didn't like them looking messy in the bathroom (Yes, I know I'm mad) The DC use their hands to wash their faces, arms etc and they're sitting in a bubble bath so I figure they're getting pretty clean splashing about without the need for face cloths
My mother swears by those puff ball things you can buy in the body shop, they're small and wash very well apparently and dry quickly left hanging on a tap. You cold get a different colour per DC.

I may as well mention sheets while I'm at it. We quite minimalist 'extreme' in that there is only one set of bedding per person as I can get it in the machine and through the dryer in a day. Maybe not wise as our DC's are 5 and 7 but bed wetting has not been an issue here. I don't think most parents would consider that though! So, one set of bedding on the bed, and one as back up and no more!

I can do that & I'm not toooo far off actually (after previous edits).
Great point re swimming towels.
I can't lose the facecloths just yet as I have a very messy toddler - but over the weekend I got them all edited and into drawer in bathroom so they are under control.

I've done the different colour puff balls, but the DD's don't really use them. I use exP's one to clean the bathroom with - great for cleaning they are!

MN216 I'm in Eastcote and have a 4 bedroom house full of shite if you are looking for Guinea pigs.

If you're drowning under junk mail, by the by, the people to register with (for free, no ads, and they've never contacted me since) are the Mailing Preference Service:

www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

You register, tell them your address, and they stop most of the 'to the owner' stuff, though it can take a couple of weeks to filter through.

The quote from the website, though: hilarious.

"UK consumers generate millions of pounds of postal sales per year, the
majority welcome the information and special offers they receive by post.

However, some people might take a different view.
The MPS is here to make your choice known

• so you get the mail you want and need." (emphasis mine)

Yes, I'm sure there are many people who LOVE receiving 5 credit card offers a day. Suuuuure.

Anything with your name on it probably requires a call/email to the company to get it to stop.

Sigh. Links. Oops. Here:

www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

One set of bed linen and one set of towels per person living in the home is the way to go - zero storage. The only bed linen and towels that need to be stored are for visitors.

Bed linen and towels refresh the decorative scheme anyway, so it is great to change them regularly - I reckon one set of bed linen and towels used intensively/exclusively lasts for two years. Which is great, because then you can have new ones that make your room look fresh and new.

Ooh. I want a friend like this
I watch the OCD programme and think I would LOVE to have someone like that come and help me tackle my house - just without the TV cameras showing the world my house as it is now

Bonsoir totally agree!

I don't like having lots of out-of-date decorative consumables in my home: plates, glasses, tablecloths etc all need to be used constantly and replaced (with entirely new ranges) when tired. It is so much nicer to have a few pretty things that you actually use and then replace them when they are tired than to have loads of sets of stuff that you rarely use and that are out of date sitting around in cupboards.

Oh wow BeCool that is truly fabulous. I would have to leave the house to have that done. I love the idea of just ordering a skip place to come and then throwing pretty much everything away and starting fresh.

I think I am also going to adopt GwendolineMary's 'one decent thing' mantra.

But what if you are cooking for a few people and need more than one roasting tray? What if your grandmother handed stuff down for you to keep for your children? What if you want to hand things down to your grandchildren?

...and what do you do when they have norovirus and are sick on more than one sheet?

This thread is a revelation, especially regarding bed linen and towels. I am not organised enough to turn around bed linen in the same day, and also not keen on using the tumble dryer - i have one in the garage for emergencies, only gets used about 5 times a year.

I did however clear out my parents garage for them - my mum is the hoarder queen supreme and i filled a skip with all the junk they had managed to accumulate.

I am now going to try and summon up the courage to apply the same ruthlessness to my own house!!

This thread is inspiring me, though how I can persuade my
Mother that no she doesn't need 20 towels for 4 people and 20 duvet covers is baffling me at the moment. She insists she needs them and the thought of getting rid doesn't go down well when I suggest it to her!!

I can't wait to get home and do mine now. But how do I get rid of bedding that I have from when I was a child? I have the cover from my first ever 'continental quilt' fgs.

The MPS won't stop all junk mail - Royal Mail have a separate service you need to opt out of every 2 years or so

I have a sign on my door so get very little junk mail, charity bags etc.

I don't like having lots of out-of-date decorative consumables in my home: plates, glasses, tablecloths etc all need to be used constantly and replaced (with entirely new ranges) when tired. It is so much nicer to have a few pretty things that you actually use and then replace them when they are tired than to have loads of sets of stuff that you rarely use and that are out of date sitting around in cupboards.

Bonsoir ^^ is how my thinking is changing. I totally agree. You make perfect sense.

I channel you and MinnimilistMommie now :)

What if your grandmother handed stuff down for you to keep for your children? What if you want to hand things down to your grandchildren?

See I think that ^ this is simply a way of handing down clutter. Hand down one or two precious items yes. Handing down bed linen?? Surely it's a burden rather than a gift? If you are going to use it, great, if you are just going to have to find a permanent place to store the 'precious old bedlinen from GM' then it's a burden of clutter handed down from one generation to the next.

As for handing down stuff to GC, will they really want your sheets? How about giving them your (small) jewellery or some other tiny, easy to keep memento?

Gwen maybe think about it like this - are you going to keep all you bedding all your life? Or make some space to actually enjoy your life more? Getting rid of your first quilt cover might feel difficult, but weigh it up against the alternative (keeping it forever) then it has to go if you have no use for it!! Take a photo, file it digitally!!

I spent most of last night in the kitchen, sighing and opening cupboards to admire how much space there is in between stuff. This is a revelation to me. I'm not thinking - oooh I've got room to put more stuff in (old me), I'm thinking, I can see all my lovely things & I can use them with ease and put them away easily too.

I imagine some people might read this and thing I am bonkers cherishing the space between my cups - but this is a huge, fundamental and important change for me!!!