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She emptied and cleaned every kitchen cupboard, chucked everything out of date (2005!!!!), reorganised the cupboards, got my entire bench area cleared, and the entire place sparkles.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)

[BeCool]

iZombie - I had to occupy myself elsewhere. I did pace a little, but I did really very well.

I asked for all my out of date spices (which I agreed could go) be put in a separate bag so I would know what was going/needed replacing. They filled to the brim a large supermarket bag!! I started to go though them and then realised I'd be better looking at what I kept and start from there.

Out. They. Go!

[BeCool]

apologies I got confused re the sheets above! No one is leaving sheets for their GC are they?

[notcitrus]

Having inherited a bunch of sheets from my granny and MrNC's gran, admired the linen thread count and bits of handmade lace, and then realised they all had stains or holes and I didn't want flat sheets anyway, and given them to the charity shop (MrNC thinks for sale. I suspect the rag man may get them in his pile), no, not passing sheets to the kids.

We're about to knock the whole kitchen down, so am having to declutter it - lots of extra plates and glasses will go.

[BeCool]

big WHOOP for NotCitrus

[MinimalistMommi]

BeCool I know this sounds a little sad, but I get excited about decluttering and minimalism, I love the idea of having only what I use in my home and having space. It is lovely to read about your revelation.

Are you reading any minimalist blogs? Great for inspiration!

[Titsalinabumsquash]

I have to have my house deep cleaned by Monday, it is in no way a mess but there is some clutter that could go, sadly 2 kids on half term and 1 Velcro baby who sees no reason to sleep ever, it's proving impossible, where are all these de cluttering people?! I'm in West Sussex if anyone has a fairy to send my way!

[Titsalinabumsquash]

I have a few maybe 15-20 minute slots during the day where the baby will sleep or play, can I do anything useful in them?

[BeCool]

I find the word 'minimalist' rather terrifying WRT my life!! There are minimalist BLOGS??? I'll take a look - I can dip my toe.
I'm feeling more excited about this than I have for a long time about anything. Amazing!!!!

Titsa it's hard with young DC around I agree. Mine were with their F for the day on Sunday. I can't imagine doing what we did with a 5yo & 1yo in the house.

[BeCool]

Tits FlyLady is all about the power of the 15 minutes.
One shelf at a time?
One cupboard at a time?

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

Can only do short bursts here too . I'm going to aim for one shelf per day. If I've completed that by bedtime I shall consider the day a success. Will take longer but much better than to want to but thinking I have never got the time.

[Flisspaps]

Give us some links minimalistmommi

[Flisspaps]

Or is it your own blog that I've just found (IoW?)

[Titsalinabumsquash]

I think I'll have to do a shelf at a time too! Unless I hand DS3 over to DP when he gets in and go mad for an hour.
The dusting is a task in itself, but someone wanted shiny black cabinets. We're getting an air purifier which I hope will help with dust. I have Brian the Roomba on daily patrol upstairs and down so at least the hoovering is done.!

[magimedi]

I follow the mantra of:

"If in doubt, chuck it out".

(I have had 14 moves in 25 years.)

I had to get rid of everything from my parents' house after they died. They had lived there for 39 years & the amount of stuff that went was amazing. But in the end it was only things - not them, not the people I loved.

I know of an elderly lady who lived in her own flat, independently, until she went into hospital & died within a week at the age of 94.

When she reached her 80s she got rid of nearly everything she owned. She had 2 plates, 2 forks etc etc & a few spare glasses & mugs for visitors. She was certain that having less clutter helped her to be able to be independent for so long.

[BeCool]

I'm loving how this tread is evolving into a gentle toe-dipping intro into minimalism.

I'd always been to terrified of the minimalist threads to even take a peak at them, and LOOK, now I've started one of my very own!!

[MoreBeta]

People actually charge the rich and famous to do this and it took 9 hours?!!!

I could get a skip lorry round there and clear the whole lot in an hour.



That said, I am planning a totally minimalist kitchen. One flat wall solid wall of built in cupboards, freezers, fridges and ovens. The other a spartan granite surface with pull out drawers, larder shelves and cupboards underneath with nothing on it except an embedded induction hob and a one iconic beautiful tap over a hidden yet voluminous sink.

Everything will be white and sparkling except the granite which will be black and austere. It will be like the flight deck of the Starship Enterprise with computers screens embedded in walls for me to look up recipes.

There will be nothing and I mean NOTHING to blemish the beautiful minimalism of it. It will be my domain. No one will sully it with clutter.

Now I just have to actually finish buying the house it is going in.

[MoreBeta]

"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."

Agreed but these should be white - not decorative. Makes washing simple and aids speed of turn round in washer and dryer.

[BeCool]

MoreBeta there was a lot of cleaning involved too! It wasn't just throwing stuff out - rearranging, putting stuff back etc.

I could never have white towels! Ecover could never cope & I NEED colour

[Bonsoir]

I hate white linens! So boring!

[Bessie123]

becool I suppose I was thinking more of, eg glassware or furniture or kitchenware or maybe quilts/bedcovers handed down through the family. Or baby clothes. I couldn't throw away stuff people had kept and handed down to me because I would feel like it wasn't really mine to dispose of - like it would be a bit selfish to get rid of it when I should be keeping it for other family members or my children, or my siblings' (as yet not conceived) children That is probably why I have a very cluttered house though.

[HappyAsEyeAm]

How inspirational! I am going to do this very thing this Sunday. M really looking forward to it! My mm has a mantra 'buy once, buy well' so, in theory, she doesnt have a million baking trays, stainless steel dishes, glass ramekins etc. I am going to repeat this to myself ad nauseum on Sunday.

[TheRealFellatio]

I would love to do this for someone else, but I just don't understand why anyone would need or want someone else to do it for them! I do this to my own kitchen a couple of times a year, without fail. I'd go mad if it was constantly cluttered and disorganised, and I could not lay my hands to things I needed quickly and easily. Honestly it would do my head in. And I have a big kitchen with a ton of cupboards and a ton of stuff. But it HAS to be organized, and it HAS to be clean, with uncluttered surfaces.

[Bonsoir]

I de-clutter for my family a lot! I am one of life's great disposers of useless stuff and think most people have more things hanging around than they can actually manage. I like to be surrounded by clear thinkers and find that decluttering helps!

[Flisspaps]

I couldn't throw away stuff people had kept and handed down to me because I would feel like it wasn't really mine to dispose of - like it would be a bit selfish to get rid of it when I should be keeping it for other family members or my children, or my siblings' (as yet not conceived) children

Bessie You're not only passing on these 'treasures' though - you're also passing on the burden of that feeling - the people you give the stuff to are most likely going to feel the same way, despite never actually using or enjoying the stuff. Instead of being loved and used, it just becomes more clutter to feel guilty about.

[HumphreyCobbler]

I have a constant battle with DH about this. I ONCE threw something out and then had to buy a new one and he has never forgotten it. Obviously the years of clutter free existence is worth one slip up.

I can't think in a clutter. I am like this in the classroom too, my room is always empty looking compared to most teacher's rooms, but it works so well to only have out exactly what you need. When I teach in rooms other than my own and it is all messy I can't concentrate properly