Organising a Monica Bing Type Store All Cupboard

[monicabling]

I have this huge cupboard in my bedroom that over the years has ended up absolutely door bustingly full of everything. Think baby photos, old work, bills, unwanted gifts, DS's school work and art etc... I also keep my xmas decos in there, so will be very soon putting the boxes back in the cupboard. My idea is to declutter and organise it when I do so.

I have this inspired idea to go to IKEA and buy a bunch of lovely storage boxes to fill with the crap in my cupboard. All labelled and symmetrically stacked. Am I just procrastinating and fantasising here?

Any tips on how to sort this rancid cupboard out once and for all? 'd hate to just shoehorn the deco's back in for another year and cry anytime I have to go in there for anything :/

Instead of buying yet more stuff just to store this stuff you need to decide if you actually want the stuff that's in it. Unwanted gifts? If they're unwanted then get rid. Baby photos deserve a nice book/box. Do you need the bills or can you get them electronically? When you put the decorations away they need to go at the back cos you won't need them for another 11 months.

lol Dancing House you're right... re: buying more stuff to store this stuff. I think I'm also scared of having to get rid of things. Not sentimentally but the actual practical element of it. Taking them to the charity shop/or the skip (I don't even know where our skip is!) I have been decluttering the rest of the house a little bit and already overwhelmed waiting for the next bin day to get some of it in.

If it's an unwanted gift, take it to the charity shop. Don't wait until you have a pile of stuff, take it in a tote bag when you pop to the shops.
Somebody gets a bargain, charity shop makes some money, you gain some space.

Unwanted gifts- regift or charity shop.
School work- scan/take a photo/ chuck.
Bills- shred- new ones can be issued or downloaded if you have an online account with the companies.
Miscellaneous- if it hasn't been used in a year- charity or bin.

Dump as much as you can. I am doing that for the next two hours. Then sort into categories. Have you a photo so we can help with ideas ?

Yes, you've got to strip it to the bare bones before you even think about what you are going to store the remainder in!
I downsized earlier in the year and found that you just get ruthless with practice.
I started with the obvious crap and then did it in stages until I've only got what I want or need.
Also, don't buy storage because it matches and is all the same. Buy the storage to match the items you want to store.
I hate photos and putting them in any sort of album so I bought photo boxes to put them in. No particular order either and I threw all the rubbish ones away!

Break it down into chunks so you're not overwhelmed & give up quickly.

1- fill a few boxes/binbags with things that can be donated to charity (old clothes, shoes, unwanted gifts, books, jewellery, trinkets)

2 - fill another bag/box with recyclable waste making sure each waste group has it's own (bag/bin) for eg. For Paper, plastics.

1. Can you scan the kids artwork, bills, important paperwork and throw the rest? You don't need to keep bills & statements from 10 years ago.

1. Fill another bin/box with rubbish that's not recyclable. This box should be the smallest out of the three.