How do you cope with gifts for house when kondo-info??

[teacher1984]

DH are buying our first home together & it's due to complete shortly. We've rented together for years so can't wait to decorate room by room and buy furniture and furnishings etc that all match.

Trouble is the gifts from his family have already started - cushions for kids rooms (they've already been given cushions as gifts before - surely a child only needs one token cushion on the bed not several?) and I just don't know how to cope with it.

I've been at the charity shop, tip, ebaying and freecycling for the past 3 months in preparation for our fresh start but am struggling with what to do with all the mountains of stuff that's sent our way for our new home.

Do you store it and bring it out when they visit?

This is a genuine problem (I'm not an ungrateful person before anyone wants to take a dig at me for that). I would love some advice.

Oops - thread title should have said kondo-ing !!

New stuff or stuff they're offloading?! I ask because I'd answer differently I think. New stuff, I might ask if they would mind waiting six months (by which time hopefully they'll forget) because you'd like to see how your existing stuff fits in your new place before adding more (and if they really want to give a gift, DIY store vouchers maybe?!) Offloaded stuff I would be firmer "That's so kind but actually I was hoping to give YOU x,y and z already as I'm trying have a sort out. Would you like them?" And when they say no, they don't have room, then you can smile and agree that you have no room at all either, isn't it hard to have to be ruthless about space?

It's both really. The new stuff feels really wasteful when the same person is now on the 3rd cushion for DS. I just don't get it. I try to say no thank you about old stuff and keep talking about decluttering in conversation. I can't say No thank you about new stuff, please hold off 6 months, as they don't talk about it prior, they just show up with new things as and when they feel like it

urgh yeah so annoying. no advice but I hate it too. we were bought something huge - every time I see it it annoys me!!!

unless you just explain that you're kondoing? didn't help me though!

Yeah I have been trying to drop it into conversation whenever relevant but it does fall on deaf ears. I think people are so sucked into consumerism that the pull to constantly buy stuff is too strong! Seems to be the way in my family anyway.

Think I'll just have to store in the loft & bring out when necessary