Decluttering tips

[reachforthestars7]

Any decluttering tips welcome please! I have a 3 bed house. Just me and DP living there and it seems we have no room, every drawer and cupboard is packed full. TIA

Choose an area/room, put some music on and attack! I pick things up and if I haven't used them in 6months/can't remember when I used them or I don't even know what they are - BIN.
I'm quite brutal and have been banned from helping DM tidy her house

When faced with The Drawer of Crap or The Cupboard of Who Knows what..
Don't pick through, trying to find things to throw out.
Empty the contents on to floor or table.
Start from the assumption that EVERYTHING is going in the bin, and pick out the stuff to keep. A much more positive experience.

This is a useful way at looking at a very cluttered home...

The truth is, if you don’t know where it is, can’t get to it because it’s buried somewhere, or have forgotten it altogether, it functionally doesn’t exist anymore. You’ve lost it. You lost it long ago. All you’re holding onto is a spatial and psychic burden.

Thanks all! Will keep all this in mind

Also in the midst of a huge, whole house declutter; youngest dc left for uni last autumn, and I dream of (relative) calm minimalism instead of detritus of many years of teenagers.

Particularly love the advice to take everything out of the drawer /cupboard, and only return what you really want.

Reminded me of a prog from years ago called Life Laundry where the contents of entire rooms were removed onto tarpaulins outside, and only small amounts allowed back in. I knew a participant on this prog whose house was transformed from narrow corridors between piles of Stuff into a lovely, spacious home. Transformed her life!

I also like the mantra, do I use it? do I love it? - every item has to fulfill one or both of these criteria or it goes.

God I love a sort out and absolutely hate clutter.

I have a sort out every year. That includes the loft, shed, all kitchen cupboards, rooms, draws etc.

Do 1 room at a time. I sort into bin, charity shop, eBay.

It’s amazing how much stuff we accumulate that we don’t need. Thanks f it hasn’t been used, worn in a year it goes.

Your mind feels so much clearer!

I'm not that good at this, and I think it's best if someone does it for me. I'm far better sorting someone's else's clutter. Obviously has to be someone you trust!

In the past, I have put stuff I don't use into bin bags and taken them to a charity shop six months later. It's important that you don't open the bag ...

Oh lordy. Do I need a clear out.
What I find is that if I do something like tidy the garden, I come in and do a bit of tidying inside.
I find putting similar things together helps.
I might try the binning everything then pick out the things I truly want or need to keep.
Most of the 'might come in handy' things don't.

I find reading the various threads here extremely helpful, encouraging and supportive even if I don't add to the thread. A lot of clutter here but for the last 18 months we've been putting 2 items out daily - bucket - charity - recycling etc. When life is busy this might mean only 2 envelopes but we have both stuck to it. I find some of it is overwhelming at times so a time limit (usually go over because once started it's not that bad) and one task ie a drawer - a box ...
Things are much better but much, much more needs to go. Daughter has returned home with the bulk of her belongings but will be moving out again in October. This has added to the clutter in the house; A bit of an understatement. I've started decluttering the garden instead.