Help how do you declutter.......

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

I am fed up of moving junk and clutter from once place to another.
But what do we do with...

Kids work old school books
kids paintings?
all the paperwork from the last ten years in no discernible order
toys that they all want to keep and shit loads of them
clothes everywhere, dont even know what I have and its not all clean
dvdsbooks
things
stuff
bit and pieces like pens, batteries

theres just stuff everywhere how do I get rid of any of it?

we all seem to want all of it
how do we choose?
where do you start
its all a mess

[abbsismyhero]

haven't rtfl sorry but i take the photos out of the primary school workbooks and chuck the rest it means i have a record of what they did at school but not the major clutter that comes with it im organising a scrapbook of it

[WorkAccount]

I haven't seen the photo suggested yet, if you are keeping something bulky for "memories" then find a photo with it in, or take a photo, print that photo and keep that instead.

[BoffinMum]

I mean, storage is exciting but surely not that exciting?????

[BoffinMum]

But if this rocks your boat, what can I say?? I do not judge you

[BoffinMum]

It's a page with tips for kids' art and a picture of MS with her clothes on. What has your computer been looking at recently?!!

[BernardsarenotalwaysSaints]

Thank you Bimbo but I can't take any credit a friend with 7 dc gave me the tip I like Boffin's link too (it's not porn when i click it).

[Leeloo2]

Argh, porn, not port!

[Leeloo2]

Omg, the Martha Stewart link linked to port!

[BoffinMum]

Martha Stewart's website has very good sections on how to archive kids' art and so on. One post, but there are lots She suggest keeping the best bits in poster tubes with the ends labelled with their school year, for example

[bimbobaggins]

That's a great idea bernard, I wish I'd thought of doing it at the time but now it's too late. I'm so ruthless with everything else too.

[LadyCatherinesshades]

My mother kept school books and artwork etc for us, we flew everytime we visited for years because if we had taken the car she would have filled it with stuff.
Your children probably won't be interested in filling their own lofts with this stuff.
We are back in flight mode since my father passed away as she has caught the decluttering bug. DH has hording tendencies and is too scared to say no to her

[littleblackdress26]

nothing to add but some good tips here !

[cheekyfunkymonkey]

You need loud music, several different colour bin bags ( black for bin, white for charity shop etc), timer (to stop you taking trips down memory lane) lots of tea and an 'if in doubt chuck it out' attitude. Good luck

[BernardsarenotalwaysSaints]

Bimbo that's the one area I'm very strict with. We have 4 dc. 2 in KS1, 1 in nursery & 1 who's still a baby, if I were to keep it the house would burst at the seams. I take a photo as soon as it comes in then it's in the bin by the end of the week for the most part. Models are put on display for 1 month before leaving. I've got their first artworks from nursery & that's it. I have backed up the pictures though so they'll hopefully never be lost.

[DoorsAndWater]

Place marking as I have very similar issues

[bimbobaggins]

I'm usually quite good at keeping organised but the one thing I can't do is get rid of any of my ds school work, paintings birthday cards he's been given etc. So now my loft is full. I'm quite ruthless with everything else

[flirtygirl]

With unused toiletries and makeup take them to a shelter (homeless, womens, mother and baby) or send them to one, addresses for central collection points are online.
Ive spent the year decluttering and cleaning is getting easier, have a one in one out policy for clothing and toys.
Tackled paperwork again this weekend and really need to go through everything and be ruthless, just doing half, took 5 hours over 2 days and id had enough. Its mostly filed but i need to chuck the old stuff now (if get bothered enough to get it out from the deepest darkest cupboard).
Ive got my children to be ruthless but having a monthly outgoing bag has helped and the maybes get a reprieve but if still unworn, unused, unloved at end of the month, they can go or be sold.
Ive always sold on ebay but now selling things i was keeping before.
Still got to get better on cleaning products but i do use them all up but dont need to stockpile in the first place.
Unless you want to constantly declutter you need to spend less in the first place and make it an ongoing thing.
Clothes are my hardest as need to lose weight (can wear 4 different sizes in any given year) and have already gotten rid of my maybes, so a strict one in, one out policy means that i have to really love the new item as keeping it means something has to go.
Also kept my smaller stuff that is loved as will wear it when it fits. But ive reminded myself that if and when they fit and i discover i no longer love them, then they definitely go.
The tip above of getting rid of the worst one is great, im going to use that in my kitchen and junk drawer.
Also start a present drawer or cupboard with new items, outgrown but unused clothes, mulitiples, etc and shop your house, youll be amazed at what you find and will save money not having to go out and buy some presents.
My next hurdle is craft stuff and baby items.

[Katietwinmum]

Myself and my mum have both started a one thing a day approach. Have a charity box or bag sitting and pick 1 thing a day to go. It feels quite good to go 'you're today's thing - bye!' Like a mini achievement. Agree with the worst of items idea - make up getting the treatment this weekend.

Going to try and do the wearing of things I'm unsure about- a good way to decide !

[paxillin]

Declutter your kitchen, bathroom, office and household supplies by actually using the stuff.

Make a stew with the weird purple lentils you've bought ages ago. And make it using ingredients you have, don't buy more stuff! That carpet shampoo you've bought 12 bottles of in a fit of madness- it will clean loos and wash towels perfectly well. Wrap your sandwiches in Christmas paper for a month if you have 4 rolls with Winnie the Poo Santa and your youngest is 12.

[RosieThorn]

Totally misread Want2bsupermum's post and for a secons thought she meant she planned to hide the kids in the car for a month before getting rid
Sorry I have no useful decluttering tips, am in need of some myself!

[MikeUnicornMike]

Go through cupboards (e.g. cupboard under the sink) and sort things into groups. Buy only things that you use and need. Don't stockpile. Don't buy special products like different cleaning stuff if there's a decent multipurpose one.
Don't buy things just because it is cheap/a bargain unless you can return it.

[MikeUnicornMike]

Kids paintings, letter, cards, photos etc can be scanned and stored digitally. Toys and clothes - cull and donate, car boot or recycle.
Stuff - cull and donate, recycle or sell.
Books, cds and dvds - cull and donate, car boot or sell.

Focus on what you want to keep is the way to go. It doesn't really matter if you paid good money for something if you never use it or it just pisses you off, pass it on to someone who'll use it.

[JosephineMaynard]

I've been finding the kondo approach helpful too - the focus is on deciding what you love and want to keep rather than what you want to get rid of. So basically, keep things that bring you joy, and get rid of the rest. That shift in focus has been working well for me.

Still far to go though, as I got a bit stalled on paperwork, and trying to figure out how long I need to keep things like bank statements, payslips, utility bills and so on.

[BernardsarenotalwaysSaints]

flopsy Shpock or however you spell it is good for getting things gone quickly too!

I've sorted & rearranged the lounge. 2 full bags of rubbish! Most of it was in the bloody toy boxes! Next up is our bedroom

[flopsypopsymopsy]

I'm having a declutter (slowly!).

I have a total spending ban at the moment. I've stopped going shopping unless it is something I need. I'm even doing this with food. I look in the cupboard and cook something based around what we already have. I only buy ingredients if they're needed for that recipe.

As I see things I no longer use or like I stick them on eBay. It's amazing how the pennies add up. I only list items as buy it now though.