Decluttering with small children - is this actually possible?!

[Jemster]

I'm getting myself in a right state. At the start of the year I thought I would have a decluttering mission as my house is just not big enough for all this stuff and I need to make some extra cash.
And so I started... but never seem to finish...anything!!

I get small snippets of time to myself when I think it would be a good idea to empty that wardrobe or that cupboard and then I am needed again and have to leave it all half sorted.

I feel like despite my best efforts, my house is in a constant chaos and it is becoming stressful. This morning my very tired dh and I had a massive row about where I'd put the new bar if soap. Couldn't find it anywhere.

My youngest is 18 months and extremely demanding. All this is getting on top of me and I wish I'd never started this.

Am I mad/stupid/unrealistic? Advice appreciated please. Am so fed up living in this state.

Is there any way you can get the children and DH out of the house for an hour?

Even if you just tackle one drawer or cupboard in that time, you'll feel like you got somewhere.

Can you find 15 minutes a day? Then tackle one small area at a time. I agree it is ovewhelming, I go through cycles of it and it takes ages.

Make a place in your house (mine is a couple of crates under the stairs) for stuff that needs to go to charity shop / tip. Then take a box and set a timer for 15 mins, tackle one drawer, shelf, toybox, whatever. Take out anything that doesn't belong there put it in your box, then sort it into charity shop pile, bin and recycling. Also move anything that is just in the wrong place back to the right place. You need to get one place really sorted, so you can use it to tidy stuff into from other places, again, mine is the understairs cupboard. 15 mins a day, every day and you will soon see a difference.

I have 3 small dc's, I have time to de-clutter, but tbh I find that it's the selling part that takes the time. I have a small pile of things that have been sitting in the 'to sell' pile for ages.

Most of the stuff that I de-clutter goes to the charity shop, mainly because I need the space and it's east to chuck stuff in the boot and go to a charity shop that has space to park right outside. If I waited to sell or car boot everything it would all still be sitting here. I only really sell the things that will get me a bigger amount tbh.

I had a really big clear out a year or so ago and the house was completely clutter free except for a big pile in the corner of the dining room, I did nothing else for one week until the pile was cleared, it was like a shop one Saturday morning, I'd put loads of big stuff on gumtree and had people coming to buy stuff. It was definitely worth the hassle.

Not unrealistic or mad at all, but good on you for wanting to push forward. I know how horrible it can be trying to declutter with a lot of other demands making it difficult.

Certainly see the achievements, regardless of their size. If you throw out a small bag of stuff, recognise that it's one less bag in the house. If a drawer is half sorted, it's halfway to being finished and that's a lot further along than it was in the beginning. Also appreciate all of the demands on you - you have a family, and whatever other things you may do, plus you need some 'me time', so fitting in the declutter as well will be a process rather than an overnight miracle. But you can do it and it will be worth it as you go along.

Try to find relatively easy tasks that have a big impact - eg organising a shelf or cupboard in the living room that you always see. That serves as motivation when you feel like everything else is chaotic.

And you're always welcome to join us!