Anybody want to join me in a mega, whole house declutter?

[LilllyLovesLife]

I am desperate to have a clean and tidy home. It's always ruined my life and I always feel very lonely, partly because I can never have anybody over without a week or so notice to clean up! I am fed up of being like this and want to make a change for good. I know that the biggest step is to declutter, as it will make it so much easier to keep tidy.

I have delcuttered lots of times before, and I then end up filling it up again! I don't want to do this again! I want this to be the last time!!

Anybody up for joining me?

I have already done my girls room (They share a small double and it was always so full that they couldn't ever have space to play in it!). It is so much easier now, I finished it about a week ago but have actually kept it tidy!

I am now moving onto my Son's room. It's a TEENY box room with just a cotbed and one chest of drawers in, no spare space and I have an extra baby to fit in their soon as we are expecting again. Baby will sleep in our room for as long as possible but no idea where the baby's clothes etc will go! So iv culled his clothes and now have 2 spare drawers, and got an under bed drawer now which I can use although not really space to pull it out!

Anyway, would anybody like to join me in my mission? We could support each other and keep each other going? I have also strarted looking into flylady and hope to use some bits from there, but not follow it fully as I like to do my own thing a bit.

[LilllyLovesLife]

what flylady suggests is spending 15 mins per day decluttering. do you think that would work for you? I don't do flylady as such but liked the group on Facebook and see some of her updates.

right my house is a tip where iv been spending the time on other things. so I'm going to allow today to catch up and then go from there if there's time spare at the end of the day. I don't seem to be able to sit still lately as I am just determined to get it down! I wonder if I'm nesting? wrong time of pregnancy I think but wondering if it's still the same instinct, to get everything sorted and ready for baby?
My list for today is:

• do several loads of washing and get out on the line if nice enough.
• load the already filled boxes and bags of NCT sale stuff into car so they are out of the way
• Tidy and hoover living room
• clean and tidy kitchen.
• bring down stuff to sell from bedroom, clearing much needed space in there!
• get something sorted for dinner

get more of the nct stuff sorted if any spare time!

[petalsandstars]

I feel your pain doing nct sale myself. Toddler and baby make decluttering a very slow process.

[LilllyLovesLife]

Petalsandstars - Yes I have 3 children, youngest being 13 months and I am 23 weeks pregnant. So NCT sale is a pain in the arse! And iv got heavy bags and boxes to load/unload too.

I can't be arsed to get going today

[warmleatherette]

After you've done all the washing, sorting and pricing up, plus doing the sale itself, plus what the NCT takes, how much money do you make on average per sale? I've always felt like it just wouldn't be worth it - I'm not rich btw, just lazy - but maybe I'm wrong?

Today as well as a general tidy to right the place after the children trashed it last night I must go through all the stuff that hasn't made its way back to the kitchen. Also the workmen left loads of tiles on the balcony so i need to carry them downstairs, even though they are so heavy I will only be able to do about three at a time - thanks workmen! That's probably all I will have time for decluttering-wise as then I will have to bake cakes with a tiny person and take her to the park.

[Longtalljosie]

Can I join? I've done a few flylady threads but always come acropper as other people stop decluttering and start off on their missions, while I'm still surrounded by clutter mostly DH's.

Actually that's my real problem. He can't throw anything away and just sees every decluttered drawer as virgin territory...

[warmleatherette]

Also OP, I was thinking about what you said about how having such a messy house makes you feel stupid / lonely. I feel the same, I feel terribly judged (I'm a single mother which apparently means people feel entitled to comment upon your parenting skills) and feel sure that having an immaculate house might be a good way to pass at least one of the numerous tests we as women / mothers have to pass.

I am also terribly conscious of not wanting to be like my mother (dirty house, piles of stuff everywhere waiting to be tidied) and wish that the drive not to be like her had made me super-tidy and OCD, but it hasn't. Sometimes I feel that I lack a certain knowledge of how to tidy and clean that other people have inherently. That's daft isn't it?

[Longtalljosie]

I don't know if it is daft, warmleatherette. I think if your parent has difficulty throwing things away it's hard for you to do it...

[LilllyLovesLife]

NCT wise I tend to make around £200. Obviously it depends on what stuff you have and how much of it actually sells. If I make less than £200 this time I will be disapointed if I am honest. I have mixed feelings on if it's worth it or not.

Longtail - of course you can join us! The more the merrier!

I agree with Parents being Hoarers make it harder. Although I guess it depends on the person. My parents are mega Hoarders. They have a large 5 bedroom house - all kids have grown up and left home. They can't have their Grandchildren round as there is no space They just have so much stuff that it's taken over their lives/house and is certainly effecting their relationships with their Children and Grandchildren. This is my main motivation to get sorted before we end up like them!!

However my sister, seems to be the opposite. The way our parents were has made he really minimal - Although she doesn't have children of her own yet. But their house is always clean and tidy, and everything has it's place. She has always had enough money though not to worry about chucking stuff out as much - if she realises she needs it one day, she can just buy another. We are much more financially stable now, however have been very poor at times, especially when my youngest 2 were babies (Their Dad was an arse who spent all our money, separated now though and have lovely hard working partner who supports us). So I think part of it was money that got me keeping stuff that I may need. I couldn't afford to buy stuff, so made use of what I had, and took anything that was offered to me. And if I did get rid of something, I would always make sure I sold it for maximum profit.

I am trying to change though. I don't ever want to be wasteful though - I hate wasteful people, regardless of their financial situation. So if I am not going to bother selling it, it will go to charity/given away etc.

[AllFurCoat]

Crap, I forgot about this thread! I'm trying so hard to be organised, but I've just gone back to work and even though I'm only doing 2 days, it's making a big impact on house work, I didnt realise how much the little things I do on a day add up!

eBay/fb selling I've been doing a while and have made a few hundred in the last 6m - even a broken tv made £20 on ebay! Will try and get more on fb today!

Have binned some kids toys this morning, sick of bloody beads being thrown around the living room! Just got to find time to keep up with everything, I feel like I've got a million plates spinning!

[Loveyouthree]

Hey guys, can I join? :) I love decluttering, but have a dilemma:

We have three young DC, and while we were pitifully poor when we had our first two, we finally had a bit of money with the 3rd. So she got all the baby stuff I'd always wanted to buy e.g. Expensive high chair, nice cot wi matching bedding, tonnes of beautiful clothes, maxi cosi car seat and base, jumperoo, matching bouncer chair, etc etc...

I'm pretty sure I don't want any more babies, but Im only 24, and don't know whether to keep all of the above?! I sold everything from the first two, but for some reason I'm holding onto all of this. It's taking up our huge boiler cupboard and the girls' bedroom cupboard.

What to do?!

Ps logg1e I'm I'm lincolnshire ;)

[warmleatherette]

That's what my parents' house is like, Lilly. Four bedrooms and a massive garden all stuffed full of junk. A double garage full of junk. An attic full of junk. Not even groovy antique junk, just rubbish. Mum has to buy every gadget going for example - there's not a clear surface in her kitchen because there's a slow cooker / electric frying pan / fancy juicer / remoska / soupmaker in every single place.

Loveyouthree, why not wait until all the stuff is driving you mad, then take it all to the charity shop and lose out on all the money you could have made Ebaying it like a sensible person? That's what I'd do.

Today: declutter the playroom until it is of a standard that a friend can stay there next week. Also: apply for jobs. While I'm enjoying being a full-time declutterer my bank account is starving to death.

[Loveyouthree]

Haha! That's what I did with all the stuff I decluttered at our old house. Put it in a "car boot sale/ebay" box then got fed up tripping over it and gave it all to charity

[Mygoldfishrocks]

I recently did this...

I'll start by saying that I believed my house to be relatively clutter free. It's always clean and tidy but I decided to rid each room of 'stuff' and my god!!!!

Over the course of about 6 weeks I took in excess of 40 bin bags to the charity shop. I binned the same again, easily. And I paid a man with a van £80 to take away and tip the contents of my shed PLUS another 20 odd bin bags.

I gave away lots of stuff via FB sites such as a table, chairs, clothes etc....

And then ... I was done.

To say my house is minimalist is an understatement and yes I'd LOVE to come to someone's house and help them do the same

[warmleatherette]

Yes please! Anywhere near East London?

[SugarMiceInTheRain]

Lilllly - sounds like you're doing really well. I find that depression can make me so overwhelmed I can't see the wood for the trees. I don't know where to start and end up just getting nothing done. I definitely need to do an NCT sale, but not for a while, as I have just had DC3 (hopefully our last - she's gorgeous, but I had a uterine rupture so am thinking DC4 would be a baaaaad idea!) Still using the baby stuff so can't get rid just yet. NCT sales can be a bit hit and miss with what you sell - last one I did, a bunch of my stuff ended up not even being displayed and was hidden away under a table. I was especially after all the time spent pricing, labelling etc. Mind you, it's still a lot less time than you'd spend writing ads, taking photos etc for Ebay, and after you take into account Ebay final sale price fees, Paypal fees and listing fees, you probably end up with more money from selling through the NCT.

Also, today I stumbled across a 2nd hand baby clothes/ equipment shop, they buy stuff in good condition and sell it on - probably wouldn't get much for things, certainly less than I'd get at an NCT sale, but might be worth a look as it's probably easier than the faff of an NCT sale. Anyway - sorry for going off track. I'm going to start by trying to get rid of a few things of mine each day. For a while I did Flylady, but find it too prescriptive, however some of her decluttering and 'crisis cleaning' tips are good.

Ok - my plan is to sort out clothes my DSs have finished with, as well as their old toys, take them down with me next time I visit my family and see if my stepsister wants any of them for her DSs (who are a couple of years younger than DS2) and if not, charity shop them. This means I have a few weeks to specifically sort boys clothes and toys out, as I will go down to visit at Easter. My boys do tend to hoard stuff and get really attached to toys they don't even play with any more so I may have to come up with an incentive (preferably one which doesn't end up with them getting more stuff), maybe I will bribe them with a trip to Legoland or something if they can each get rid of one black bag full of toys...

Mygoldfishrocks if you are in the Midlands and fancy helping me, I will gladly pay your petrol etc (and make yummy cakes!) House is feeling too crowded with the arrival of DC3, but moving is not an option so I need to create more space by getting rid of tons of stuff!

[Mygoldfishrocks]

oh I'm not. I'm Oxfordshire. but Hmmm - not a million miles away! and I'm a super good de clutterer

[LilllyLovesLife]

hi. Sorry I don't think I came on yesterday. Got all the baby clothes out the loft? and sorted all into sizes and what to keep. can get rid of all girls stuff for a start. its great and needs to be done BUT has totally trashed my living room in the process and and made me feel a bit overwhelmed. Iv also been ill and hurt my knee so it's been a little slower.

Iv done all my labels for nct except the stuff I have in the loft which was left from last time so already labelled up but I need to sort through and reduce stuff so I don't get it back again. plus there is probably some newborn boys stuff in there which I will want to keep now I'm expecting another boy! then I will reuse the labels as I still have huge piles of stuff to sell.

I'm in 2 minds weather to purchase more labels from the NCT so I can get more stuff there but I dunno if it's worth it or if it is easier just to sell the rest on Facebook.

Job for today is to finish sorting baby stuff so it can go back in the loft out the way. then to general tidy up and get shopping put away from delivery today.

[warmleatherette]

I am so happy to have decluttering the playroom. I mean, it needs lots more work but at least it looks....sane, y'know? Before, it was like the lair of the Hackney mole man.

[phantomnamechanger]

Today the sun is shining and DH and the DC are all out all day and so far I have -

1. washed up from breakfast and tidied the inside of the fridge and food cupboards
   
2. done 4 loads of washing
   
3. got together one large carrier of clothes etc for charity shop
   
4. got one small bag of textiles for recycling
   
5. swept & tidied the utility room
   
6. tidied the pile of school letters/receipts/vouchers etc off the kitchen dresser
   
7. tidied the cupboard under the kitchen sink which really was an absolute eyesore and you could not see or reach anything in there
   
   Most of that will not even be noticed when the rest of the family get home (that's a whole other thread!) but I know and it feels good. I am now having 30mins for a coffee and MNing and then back to it!

[Loveyouthree]

Sugar mice - where in the midlands are you? anywhere near lincolnshire?! :)

[Loveyouthree]

Warm leatherette - we've got a playroom too, what have you done to yours? :) tbf ours isn't that cluttered, but Im always looking for ways to improve ...

[warmleatherette]

Oh it's not actually a playroom, it's the children's bedroom. But they mainly just end up co-sleeping in my room (I have a super-kingside bed) so we call it the playroom. That's why decluttering is needed so desperately: the three of us (me and two DC) live in a 2-bed flat so we need it to feel as spacious as possible.

[Loveyouthree]

Oohh I see! That's really sweet, I feel all cosy reading that :)

I

[SugarMiceInTheRain]

Loveyouthree I'm just on the edge of Leicester.

Had a fairly productive morning/ early afternoon thanks to DD napping a lot! With DH's help (and input from DSs) we sorted the boys' bookshelf, which was bursting at the seams - we've ditched a bag of really tatty books/ used sticker books & colouring books they've outgrown, got a bag to hand on to someone with younger children and a bag of books they've outgrown which I want to keep for DD when she's a bit bigger. The slightly depressing thing is that the bookshelf is still full to bursting, so DH is going to try to build an extra shelf for it, though when is another question entirely!

Also sorted my underwear and sock drawers out, ditched quite a few things that had seen better days - unfortunately, I'm at a slightly depressing in-between stage with clothes, and breastfeeding so have a load of bras I can't currently wear but should be able to some time next year - they are now in a box along with my non-BF friendly clothes to go in the loft. Have also got all my maternity clothes which have been sat in a pile in the corner of the room now in a big holdall ready for the loft. Can't quite bring myself to charity shop/ ebay them, just in case I have another This is wear I need someone to give me a massive kick up the backside and persuade me to get rid!! Haha. As DH has taken DS1 & DS2 out to the park, I have cleared out a few of their toys which they have outgrown from the living room toybox, which is now going to be filled with blankets and baby changing paraphernalia which is cluttering up the room! The living room toybox has been reduced to a tub of toys belonging to each of the boys, which they can sort through and find a home for when they get in.

[LilllyLovesLife]

Hi all! Hope your all having a good weekend! I managed to get all the baby clothes organised into size and sorted lots out to sell. Now got loads of stuff waiting to go back in the loft till we need it. Feel one step closer to being prepared for this baby!

Iv also thoughly cleaned the kitchen and emptied the fridge and scrubbed it out. We have a bigger fridge in the utility though which still needs doing. Might get it done today, might leave for another day. Want to organise the 2 fridges properly, label stuff up, use containers for certain things like sandwich bits, another for teethers and cold packs etc to keep everything clear, clean and organised.

I am starting to seriously consider a cleaner. BUT a) can't really afford it, but would just about manage. We are saving so it's less money we can save towards home improvements and B) I am not sure how much it would actually help, as we tried it a few years ago and it was more stress than it was worth. But I am fed up of my entire life being based around housework and cleaning. SOOOO hoping this mega de clutter helps make life easier.

Iv also got a HUGE load of clothes to sell, run out of NCT labels so will be facebook selling. Unsure weather to list tonight, or wait till after the NCT sale next weekend so I am on less of a deadline for other stuff? But want it out the way so tempted to just do it tonight? There are about 2-3 bin bags worth just of clothes, 2 boxes of books plus other stuff.

Spending the day at the in laws tomorrow. They are doing us Lunch and dinner so that's one less job to worry about! So tomorrow will be mainly a day off, spending time with the family.