If you had two days to declutter your house how would you go about it?

[Honey1975]

I’ve had enough of all the stuff! Toys not played with, random papers, clothes current and old, bits & bobs, toiletries, make up tupperware, photos, kids arts & craft, old school books and so on and so on.

It’s getting me down. I can’t function properly. I can’t get a thing done when my dc’s are home so I’ve booked Thursday & Friday off to tackle this mess.

Thing is I have trouble staying focussed & don’t know where to start. I don’t want to waste the time and achieve very little. I have to do this for my mental state!

Please can anyone give me some tips on how best to tackle this in the time I have?

Burn it. Burn it with fire!

(Sorry- my house is terrible ATM!)

I’d start in the children’s bedrooms and work through everything all charity bits into black sacks and into the car. As soon as it’s full take it.
Then all rubbish to the dump if your household waste bin won’t take it.

The trick is to get rid of stuff there and then don’t have it hanging around as it just moved.

2 black sacks. Go through everything and make a decision. Stay, Bin or charity shop. start in one room, play some pumping music and you’ll be amazed how quick you get through the room.

Be RUTHLESS. Don’t dither over everything. Ruthless.

In all honesty I would black bag everything I didn't need/like/want and aim for four runs to the tip. Lunchtime and after school both days.

Black bag it all and take it to the nearest tip. Not the most environmental way but may save your own mental health. As you go out what you want to keep away. Then once it's all clear vacuum and dust.

Thanks everyone. I just have such trouble throwing things out especially when I’ve paid good money for them. I looked on ebay and some of my daughters toys are selling for decent money so I feel I must sell them but of course that all adds to the time involved.

Roll of black bags, and roll of white bags.
1 hour (ish) in a room. Black bag stuff to bin.
White bag charity shop.
Anything you think you can sell for more than about £25 onto a selling page.

Have a break and cup of tea. Next room.
Tip and charity shop run in the way to school in the afternoon.

Ooh I love a good declutter! I'm naturally messy so if we don't keep our levels of stuff down things get out of hand - so now people who come in tend to think we're tidy, when in fact we're just minimalist.

1. If you are a fast reader, or have time to listen to audio books, get Marie Kondo's book. You don't have to follow it to the letter (folding up socks instead of rolling is lunacy), but she'll make you feel inspired.
2. Buy loads of bin bags and maybe some of those big bags made of tarpaulin type stuff for taking to donation places

3.. Work out your bogged down areas, with the most stuff. For me it was wardrobes, toys and the utility room

1. Start with the one that will be easiest - lots of big items , less emotional attachment. You need to get on a roll!
2. Empty the cupboards, sort into keep/bin/donate. REALLY IMPORTANT - only touch things once, no revisits, and don't bother with eBay and selling unless it's really valuable, or you have enough that you can give to someone else to do for you. Otherwise you'll never get around to it and it will be more stuff to clutter your home.

I'd leave paperwork for another day, as it can take a long time to sort through and you don't always get a load of space back.

1. Better to sort a few areas well than the whole house, it is tiring and full on, so don't feel bad if it's not perfect.
2. Make sure the other occupants of the house are appreciative and able to keep things in order. Stickers with labels help here. My DH was inspired enough to finally sort out his office and car stuff which helped too.
3. For things you haven't done, set a calendar slot. Even if it's a few hours a weekend for the next couple of months, you'll be done by Christmas. Plus there are good systems on line for keeping down clutter build up in future - like getting the DCs to help cut down toys before the Christmas onslaught (we emphasise donation and how other children might need it for gifts, it's a good message and easier for them to take than just chucking it all in the bin)

Good luck!

Forget EBay ! If EBay didn't exist you'd bin this stuff. So black bag it and take it to the tip. Then forget about it .

I black bag for rubbish, 1 big bag (maybe an Ikea blue bag or cardboard box) for charity shop.

Be ruthless, make decisions, go through methodically from one side of the door all the way round the room. One room at a time.

Dirty clothes into the wash.

Too small clothes into black sack or charity bag (once clean).

Anything broken, or plain rubbish - bin.
Stuff that is still in good condition but too young or small - charity.

Ditto the bookshelves and toyshelves.
Don't forget to check under the beds.

Dust from ceiling down to skirting. Hoover to skirting pulling out furniture. Clean mirrors and windows.

Change sheets.

Black sacks straight into the bin.
Boxed items - quick check on anything that is suitable for extended family etc - for IMMEDIATE delivery (or collection by others) (ie over the weekend) - and rest bring to a charity shop on Friday or Saturday.

Do 1 room at a time. Aim for DC bedrooms first, or else a playroom. Then move on to other rooms that are problematic. But start with the worst.
Take a 10 minute break every hour, and drink a full glass of water on that break.
Play upbeat music as you go.
Plan an easy dinner - takeaway or something already made (freezer, make it tonight/tomorrow).

We've just started decluttering. Again. One room at a time, you don't stop until its done. Allocate things places as you go - DD for example has drawers dedicated to different things, so as i sweep through, stuff goes into drawers, into a bin bag or into a box.

Re the charity shop comments that's all well & good IF your charity shop takes stuff. Both of ours are currently not taking stock because they have nowhere to store excess, similarly with the three in the next village over. And lately it seems you can't give stuff away even on selling sites!

And charity shop bags should go into the boot of the car when you leave the house for school run or whatever - you've made the decision so get them out, and all you are doing then is finding an opportunity to drop them off when in the car. You may not get that chance on the actual tidying days - but get them out of the actual house on those days.

When I declutter I don't clean as I go along. It's side tracks me. Through the lot away. Stuff saved for ebaying won't get done. Anything in really good nick save in an separate bag and give to a charity shop.

Throw *

nuke it from orbit.

haba has the best suggestion, it’s what I’d like to do with my place 🤣

I’d start with the smallest and easiest space possible to build momentum, and give you the fastest results to really inspire yourself. Bin bags are a must, one for the dump, one for charity shop, and if you’re wanting to sell any, one for things to sell. Play music loudly!

Anything you want to eBay, do bundles for clothes/toys - saves time and is easier to sell and get rid of. Don’t hold out for top prices, sell cheap or auction start at 99p. Maybe buy postage bags between now and your days off so you can list and shove in a bag straight away afterwards. Just make sure you list it as you go, otherwise it’ll be there for months.

Be ruthless, and good luck! I’m off to try to practice what I preach whilst the kids are napping.

The money is gone when you buy the thing, not when you get rid of it.

BE RUTHLESS.

I’m about half way through - loving have space for the things I do want, loving how much easier it is to keep tidy/clean.

It’s also making me so much more aware of/thoughtful about what I buy.

Womanhuman sounds good how long has it taken you so far?

Agree with others who say donate don't bin. If that's hard, try Freecycle - much quicker than gumtree even for free things, and often people will come and take other things too. If you have child or baby stuff in good nick try homestart or local salvation army, they are more likely to take than many charity shops.

Forget eBay. Too distracting.

Have boxes ready and made up for taking stuff to the charity shop. Do not use any of your two days to go to the charity shop. Put boxes in car/shed ready to go.

Have ready made or very quick to make food (pizza sandwiches etc) because you do not want to stop - you need to hit your stride and keep going.

Do not do paperwork. Paperwork takes a lot of time and may require emotional decision making or telephone calls etc. Put old envelopes and numbers etc into a prep related box(es) and do them slower another day.

Book in a cleaner. De cluttering is a messy job. Ideally someone who ca come both days and clean behind you as you go.

Get a skip! Chuck everything in. It will all be sorted when the skip is taken away.

Thank you for this thread! So much wonderful inspiration.

Just to say I have no problem taking things to charity shop and do so on a regular basis. I would feel bad just binning it.

GameOldBirdz I am all for recycling and do so assiduously. Our local charity shops get a lot from us. I disagree though that all those who don't recycle or give to charity shops are 'cunts of the highest order'.

In the OPs case it is clear she is struggling with the mess and trying to sort things properly can add to the distress. If she needs to focus then it is possible that for her it would be better just to bin what she does not need. If she can sort some stuff for the charity shops then that is excellent.