Clutter! Where do I start?!

[Evvy543]

My house is full of clutter.
Random clutter like phone chargers, lighters, lots of boxes from watches and playstations etc.

I just need some tips on how to tackle it all, right now I just feel very overwhelmed with it all.

X

The trick is not to tackle it all at once, but to do it op in small stages. Divade your stuff into three. - keep, bin and charity shop. Anything broken or worn out automatically gets binned. New/good condition stuff that you haven't used for years or no,longer need put in the charity shop. Keep only stuff you need (plus family keepsakes etc).

Sometimes I set myself a limit. Ie. I'm going to do an hour's tidying until,Strictly (or Holvy city, Corrie etc) comes on. Somehow, by setting a limit, you get more done.

Charity stuff bag put in car once full so it's not laying around.

If you have duplicates, keep,the newest or best quality. Ask yourself, do you really need the watch box? What use have I got for it? Do,I still have the watch?!

Good luck!

Thank you so much!!
Xxx

Have you seen the Kondo threads?

Some of it is a bit woo, but the general principles are good. Instead of looking at your belongings from the perspective of 'what to chuck' choose the bits you want to keep and the rest goes to donate/bin.

Everything has a place, and all similar items are kept together. If there are too many, you just keep the best ones. I'm getting there slowly, and my house is so much tidier!

You could be me OP! How's decluttering going?

I don't think you can start until you have a plan. For example, you don't need the boxes but you might want to keep any receipts which are in there. I now have a zip up folder which all of mine go into. You need to get to a position where everything has a home. For some things, the home might be "on the mantelpiece" but that is fine as long as you don't start putting things there which don't live there. Our kitchen & study both have a "corner of doom" which is where stuff lives whilst it is waiting to be allocated a home.
It helps if your family buy into it. I don't think mine have realised!
Be ruthless about gifts. If you don't like it, don't display it!

I've got a bag of clothes for the charity shop so far.
Chucked allot of rubbish like broken pens/cds and whatnot.
Also made a file with labels for all the receipts and bank statements etc.

Got some vacuum bags and put summer clothes in them.
Also put some of my favourite clothes on a clothes rail where I can see what I've got, which has made a big difference.

Feel allot better about my house now.

I like to start small, with a cupboard or toy box and build up. Once you have one room done make sure to do a 5 min wizz around at the end of the day to keep on top of it 😊

I'd back up Captinmuma. Fly lady says 27 things. That was too much for me when I started but I did manage 3.
I'm still going and rely on these threads to keep motivated. I can finally see the light.

OP it sounds like you have made a great start. I am ruthless with stuff coming into the house i.e. circulars / post / newspapers are dealt with daily, so they don't build up.

Find homes for everything and use them.
Wipe around the sink and kitchen surfaces last thing, it really makes a difference in the morning
Keeping the hallway clear and uncluttered gives the impression of a tidy home even if it isn't

You should get me in there OP I love s good clear out! I moved house annually when I was renting & anything that had not been touched between moves was chucked. It is really annoying to heave boxes of crap from house to house that you don't use!

Make sure you've got good storage options, & maybe sort out the storage first so you can put things away that are currently out.