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.

Hello! I haven't been able to do much since the playroom Expedit decluttering due to extended child illness. Such a bore. But today I have managed to palm them both off on the childminder so I have to tidy the entire house, which they have destroyed, apply for jobs, list things in my Etsy and Ebay shops and freecycle some white tiles which are on the front balcony. It never ends, never ever! I just want to get rid of literally everything in my house so that there is nothing to make a mess with!

Warm - you sound so much like me.

Glad you haven't all gone!

I am having a shit day and have achieved nothing!

Can I join too please? There is not a single clean and tidy area in my house. We have an entire small bedroom just filled, hoarder style, with bin bags and boxes that we put there when we moved here three years ago and stuff has been added since in the name of 'Just get it out of the way for now', but we never sort it. That's not even bothering me right now, it's the rest of the house.

I've been trying to use Unfuck My Habitat and I have the app. I know it's all about small stages and doing a little bit at a time, but I feel so overwhelmed that I can't even start. When I do start, I feel like I'm uncovering more problems.

As an example, we have piles of stuff in front of the wardrobe in our room, which means we can't get to the wardrobe and use it. I decided I was going to tackle it, so we had somewhere to put our clothes instead of having massive piles of them everywhere. When I cleared a path to the wardrobe, I realised there was mould that had come through from the wall, through the back of the wardrobe and it was all over the shoes in the bottom. I've abandoned the attempt to sort it because it's now become a 'big' thing and I can't cope.

TalkieToaster - Yes you are more than welcome. Sounds like you need to take action! Can you afford any help with it at all?
If not, I think you need to start with one room at a time. What's your kitchen like? As that's the most important room to be clean and tidy and functional. So would be a good place to start.

What part of the UK are you in?

talkietoaster i love the UFYH app! i find it very helpful, and love the random shouty motivations too. in a way the mould has made it easy for you to get rid of the shoes and anything mouldy in the wardrobe, right? so at least that's one decision made for you.

i had a very nothingy day yesterday too lilly. just tidied up and that was it. bit depressed about money situation (that'll teach me to give all my stuff away instead of selling it!). trying to figure out how single mums are meant to work and do all the kid stuff too. it seems impossible.

today i've finally put down the new rug from ikea which my children have been using as a slide, and now i'm off to the sylvia pankhurst exhibition at tate britain with a friend, because i lack adult conversation so much that i talk the poor childminder's ear off when i collect the children. i'm sure cultural stimulation will allow me to declutter with renewed vigour tomorrow morning!

That's a very good point! It will be easy to get rid of the shoes now. I hadn't thought of it that way. I'm in the north west.

Our kitchen is messy, but mainly ok. We have dishes that need doing, but my cupboards are organised. Far too many clothes piled on top of our dryer but they'll have to stay there until the wardrobe gets sorted.

We can't afford help at the moment, but we might be able to in the near future. We had a cleaner once who was amazing and helped us to organise the kitchen and we've built on the foundation she laid. She left cleaning altogether for another job and we miss her.

Today, my aim is to clear the sink of dishes, put the ones in the drainer away and clear and clean the worktops. Experience tells me that it will take half an hour at most to do that, but it makes me feel so much better and spurs me on to do other things.

Talkie - your house sounds -a lot- like mine used to

We had the spare room problem, but when the DSs decided they nolonger wanted to share a room, I had to sort it!

Like the mould in you wardrobe, it was a blessing in disguise.

Good luck to all, it's tough!! But worth it

Can I join too please?

I have been working on various bits over the last few years, randomly, as I felt our house was just filling up with stuff (all sorts, baby, toys, clothes, furniture) as when we moved in we had nothing so accepted every freebie going.

We decided no more DC (have 3) so that's been a prompt to start clearing out seriously.

Luckily my MIL works at a women's refuge and they'll take all kids clothes, some toys, other baby bits for the women to turn up with nothing.
Knowing it's all going to good homes makes it much easier to just give away rather than try and sell small stuff for pennies - with all the associated work involved.

Think I've got rid of all maternity stuff now, and nearly all the baby stuff.
The cot top changer got forgotten last weekend by PIL so that's in the hallway waiting for when we visit them in 2 weeks. Annoying but still on its way out.
I've also got a box full of reusable nappies - some of which I never used - that I'm determined to try on eBay.

We've got an ancient sofa in the car ready for the tip tomorrow.
And I've got a couple of boxes ready for DS2's school PTA fair supplies - prob not until after the holidays now.
And sorted through DD's clothes, again, have some for textile recycling tomorrow & some for friend for her DD.

I need to sort out lots more 'stuff' and make sure from now on we only acquire what we want or need. No more freebies/handmedowns that aren't necessary.
And sort boys clothes.
This is the year of Get Rid :)

JKS - that is exactly how I started getting so much stuff. Had nothing when the girls were tiny so took any freebie I could, got obsessed with free-cycle and hand me downs and ended up with more than needed. If I were buying it all brand new from a shop I never would of ended up with so much stuff!

Sold LOADS yesterday and one woman is interested in taking a load more as she was really happy with her bargains. So that's one of my jobs for today to sort out. As well as a general tidy up before kids come home for the Easter holidays!

Talkie My house was like that at one point too. It def gets better! THe more you can clear out, the easier it is to keep clean and tidy too.

I visited my Mum last night, just for half an hour on the way home from visiting my sister in Hospital. Her house gets worse and worse everytime I go there. It's my inspiration and motivation to keep going. Her house is too full, it's not functional! It's clean but massively cluttered with stuff that hasn't been touched for 15 years or so!

Thanks Lilly.
My parents aren't too bad as theyvemoved lots so have had to clear out lots too.
My pil though - I look around their house knowing it'll be me sorting it all one day (dh has one brother in Oz)...
Fil was an only and kept pretty much everything of his parents. Mil is one of 2 and has lots of sentimental crap from her parents.

Dh took old sofa to the tip along with a pile of garden rubbish too big for the green bin.
Textile recycling went this morning.

Then ds2came home with the raffle prize - a giant rabbit!

Baby steps here! I've gone through all my bras today and taken some to the bra bank at Debenhams and listed a couple on eBay. The ones I've kept are now all sorted by colour in my drawer.

That's great Stuck - the smaller places really help when you catch sight of them again and see organisation where there used to be chaos.

Just to clarify - DS2 came home with a giant cuddly rabbit! which ds1 has promptly adopted and taken to bed!

A list I started recently keeps me going:

GONE:
ebay; all 5 items gone (some were big too)
ink cartridges from old printer freecycled
charity shop box to charity shop
more toys in 'halfway out' box
spices/sauces/pasta/etc cupboard cleared out & lots composted
toy cars mountain reduced
cot (last baby thing apart from nappies)
last maternity bits (I think)
other random knackered sofa
pile of garden bits too big for bin
old keyboard
unwanted freebie coffee table

Still to go:
more toys given away
eBay; reusable nappies to photograph & list
sort through boys clothes
box for school fair stuff - added to
baby swing seat
potties/toilet seats (as DD doesn't need them anymore, keeping steps for now)
box of girls clothes for friend
balance bike that my kids don't like
try and have a cuddly toy cull

Well done! Sounds like we are all making good progress!
I got rid of about 5 bin bags of kids clothes this week, and made around £100 from it. All in big bundles. I seem to have "regular" buyers now who look for when I put more on!

I still have 2 bin bags of 2-4 years girls clothes though, I have listed it but need to sort through and work out whats still there as I am in a bit of a muddle with it

Listed the about half of the many many books to go. Did it in big cheap bundles so hoping it won't take too long to sell.

I also have several boxes of washable nappies that will eventually need to go - they are all on top of my wardrobes so not top priority. I am dreading it though. I haven't use them since my girls were in nappies and the younger one is about to turn 5 we use disposable now that we have a bigger family and less money problems.

My DD is having her 5th birthday party here at the end of the month, and starting to feel very overwelmed with how much there still is to do.

Well, thanks for your inspiration, Lilly! I've just picked my unsold stuff up from the NCT sale and seem to have sold almost everything!! (I'm a little sceptical, though, as I took a mountain of toys and they have all sold. I wonder whether half of them have made their way home with somebody else by mistake?!) I did find a couple of items that weren't mine and returned them before coming home.

All the big stuff (moses basket, baby walker, bath seats) etc seems to have gone and all I've really returned with were clothes - it doesn't look as though any of those have sold- bedding and a few books (which have gone back on the book shelf, never mind.) The unsold clothes I'll add to the bag I keep for the 'clothes for cash' shop. I managed to sell a couple of pairs of outgrown shoes too which surprised me.

My oldest son's bedroom has been jam-packed with all of the old baby stuff from out of the loft so it has made a big difference. If the money tallys up when it eventually gets paid, I'd certainly consider doing another sale next time. I got bored with the pricing and still have plenty of outgrown stuff and equipment in the loft.

Argh, friend just dropped back a pile of slings & a baby swing I'd leant her - i'd forgotten about them and wasn't expecting them back again!
Anyway, DH can take the slings to a colleague who's expecting.
Not sure if they'll want the swing, so may freecycle it seeing as I wasn't expecting to sell it ever.

Sorted lots of paperwork today, lots in the recycling. Not much else in terms of decluttering.

For anyone who is interested, the cloth nappy tree site is quite a good place to sell on nappies.

Does anyone use a national Facebook children's buy/sell group that they could recommend?

FFS. Our washing machine has broken. We have a repair plan on it, but the place we need to call is closed over the weekend so we'll likely be without a washing machine for a week.

On the plus side: I have had to quickly get a few wash loads together to do at my mum's. It's inspired me to sort through the rest of the clothes later on when I have time. I know I should ideally wash everything and take what we don't want to a charity shop, but to be honest, I'm past that point and I think it will be good for my mental health if I sort through and just bag and bin.

And, so it's an achievable thing: When I get home this evening, I will sort through the pile of washing downstairs. I will set aside clothes we want to keep and throw the rest away. (We have more than one washing pile and lots of too small stuff is mixed in with them.)

Talkie toaster I will be sorting out my ironing basket, full of outgrown and not needed things I think. I have just had a baby and mum was desperate to take my ironing home to catch up for me, but would be a complete waste of her time until its sorted out!

I feel like I'm loosing the energy to do all this. entering 3rd trimester and think all the energy I had before is just fading!
I still really want it done though. I just ache constantly and feel exhausted. I can't sleep at night a lot of the time but don't have the energy to get up and get on either

Oh can I come help, I loved decluttering/organizing/sorting other peoples homesI debated starting a business

I am ruthless tho

Good luck

Coffetofunction - you would be welcome in this house! I feel totally stuck with it all

Just seen your expecting, I'd be happy to help if I was near by, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think, hormones won't help x

Managed to clear 5 black sacks of crap from the loft which DH has taken to the tip have started to sort DC's room today which I'm starting to regret