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?

Not rtft yet but I am a procrastinator too and find it helps if I set an alarm
Eg I set myself an hour to declutter kids room, set an alarm on my phone, blast some music and I don’t come out of the room or reply to any emails/messages etc until the hour alarm goes off

You’d be surprised how much you can get done when you’re not back and forth on your phone/making cups of tea/taking stuff to other rooms

Thanks so much for all the ideas, I’m going to write them down so I can remind myself of what I’m meant to be doing!

One thing that’s happened in the past is that I’ll be sorting out and I’ll find stuff that needs something doing with it eg paperwork, something needs fixing, dry cleaning, reading etc. So I put it in a pile which creates a mess and then I never get round to doing anything about it. Or I will collect things up that belong in another room, take them to that room and then never get round to sorting it out!

We have alot of baskets which I use to store things and lots of drawers. But because I can’t see clearly what’s in them i forget what’s in them and stuff just sits there. I may aswell not have the stuff! Same goes for the playroom where we have a kallax unit with toys in the baskets but my dd never remembers to play with anything in there because she can’t instantly see it.

I guess it boils down to just owning too much stuff. I wish I could be a minimalist!

I find it really hard to get rid of things because i place emotions on things. Now i've started working on the basis of 'if you haven't seen it in x amount of months & not missed it, it goes'

Slowly getting there haha

I also have a box of toys I'm not sure of and it goes to the attic. If kids look for the toys I retrieve them. If they don't ask within 6 months these go too.

I pass on good toys to friends and family.

You could also rotate toys so keep a box in the attic and every few months swap toys into it - this only works if you have lots of little toys like polly pocket etc but helps reduce day to day clutter

I vote for finding a charity shop that will collect or see if a charity has a warehouse nearby.

Here we can take stuff to a local charity distribution centre on an industrial estate. Saves having to find parking near a shop and they don't get funny about you taking a lot of stuff in one go (and help unload!).

Thanks so much for all the advice, I am looking forward to getting started tomorrow!

Can I ask abouy clothes? I have quite alot of clothes but nothing I really love. Most of it is fairly cheap stuff from supermarkets or things I have bought in high street sales only to find I have nothing to wear with it!
Some of it is old looking but I think still wearable. Really I would like somoene to give me £500 and tell me to stat again but that’s not going to happen.
I feel that when I’m not at work i look a bit if a mess but if I get rid if all my old tired clothes I won’t have a lot left!
What should I do?

I’m out op but will post advice in the morning. I posted it in someone’s thread in style a week ago.

I'd start with one room a day- or 2 rooms depending how much needs doing. I wouldn't clean at the same time- i always tidy first and then do a big clean up. Get some cardboard boxes from the supermarket and label with what needs to get where (charity/bin/sell) .. I always leave clothes until the end as I try everything on when I'm in the mood. I love the dividers you can get for drawers which could help organise your drawers so you can find whatever you need. Ikea do them cheap. I also do downstairs and then switch to upstairs or the other way round. Paperwork in a pile and then sort into a folder

If your a sentamentalist like me, I suggest doing phased decluttering.

Phase 1 is a general sweep, all the obvious broken/too small/worn out /useless shite - bin it.

That is easy but it gets the momentum going and you will already see some results which will spur you onto phase two.

Phase 2 - go through again, this time selecting stuff to recycle/donate/sell. Try and be as ruthless as possible but don’t take to much time or agonise because you’ve still got phase three to go. Get the stuff out of your house as quickly as possible, don’t let it sit in the house in boxes.

Phase 3 - go through one last time. Be really, really honest with yourself over items that you are keeping because of sentiment rather than usefulness and only keep that which you either love and/or will use.

I can’t get it to the place of being ruthless in one go. I need to have some momentum, to see some results and to work up the confidence that I can acheive my decluttering objective so breaking it up really helps me. If I don’t, the likelyhood is I get overwhelmed and give up.

Here is a repeat of what I said on the other thread plus a how to on culling your wardrobe.

Do the wardrobe cull as perfectly demonstrated by coconutamericano and yakari but first read Marie Kondo .... she is great at telling you how to find what you really love.

When you have read the chapter in Marie Kondo, set aside an afternoon to clear out your wardrobe as she outlines - be ruthless.

I ended up having one good dress, a couple of jackets, a couple of coats and three pairs of jeans. I lived with this for 6 months. Perhaps you could try this but also keep a back up rail with a few extra outfits that are there for emergencies. But you may not end up using them. I also add, I've lived with the one good dress for two years now - I realised I only ever need a dress once or twice a year, so there was no need for another. I need to look at replacing it sometime soon though as it is looking a bit dated, but it will be one dress for every occasion for the next three years - I spend the little money I have on the really nice things I love to wear all the time like a good jacket or a really nice pair of jeans.

After finding what you love in your wardrobe - and there might only be two things - then decide why you love these clothes and try to build from there. So if you always wear jeans but your wardrobe cull leaves you with only two dresses that you adore, ask yourself would you be happier wearing dresses than wearing jeans ? Sometimes we wear what we think we should but really we should wear what makes us feel good.

Then as time goes on, only add to your wardrobe things you love to wear, so don't add jeans if you love to wear dresses, don't add leggings on impulse if you know you hate to wear them. Do not shop on impulse.

My mum had a theory that you should look your best and wear your best every day - she always looked fab, even in her 70's - whereas her friend only ever wore leggings and saved her best clothes for going out . My mum laughed that her friend would never go out enough in her life to get enough wear out of those good clothes.

Hope this helps. Good luck today

Good work OP, I'm on the declutter as well.

Thankfully I don't live in one of these mythical places where apparently charity shops or Facebook sites don't want toys etc so it has to get chucked into landfill. Cause it's all about meeee and my space, innit.

Thanks Annasgirl thats very helpful, I will have a go. I am having a little coffee break. So far I’ve cleared mostly unneeded paperwork, one rubbish bag full, a few bits in charity bag. I hope I can get through a fajr but by school pick up.

One area I’m stuck on already is adminy stuff. So where do people keep things like envelopes, pens, sellotape, scissors notebooks (seem to have loads!), and paperwork that need actioning? So far I’ve identified these sorts of items in about 5 different places in our house! The ironic thing is that me & dh can still never find scissors or sellotape when need it! I need one central place but where?

I am decluttering at the moment , waiting in for repairer so I'm keeping busy .
My DMum is a phenomenal hoarder , she puts things in boxes and tubs. I empty things and then I throw out the container otherwise she'll bloody fill it again.

Bag for Charity - I get her to okay it then put it straight in the car otherwise she'll want to "just have a quick look through it"

Anything for the bin, I physically break (otherwise she'l want to keep it)

Shredding scissors otherwise she'll keep every scrap of paper that has her address on it

Recycle

And the Golden Rule - put it away , don't just move it from A to B

Another vote for the Konmari effort. It can be an emotionally draining process, but it's such a relief when it's done and you'll love how much space you'll suddenly have at your disposal.

One area I’m stuck on already is adminy stuff. So where do people keep things like envelopes, pens, sellotape, scissors notebooks (seem to have loads!

Envelopes of all sizes are kept in a box file on the computer shelf. Next to the computer paper. I've culled notebooks to their specific uses, one by my bedside (bullet journal) and another separate smaller inspirational diary close by.

Pens are in an open plastic container inside the 2nd kitchen drawer alongside pizza cutters and bottle openers (but kept separate in drawer divider plastic containers). A few pens are by the computer in a pen holder, and there is a pencil case by my bed upstairs (for the bullet journal).

Scissors live in a scissor block in the kitchen, sellotape lives in the kitchen drawer in front of a big plastic container with flour and cake decoration stuff. Sometimes the sellotape gets misfiled in front of the cereals, but it's spitting distance so easy to find.

It's really worth finding places for things and doesn't take long to get accustomed to it.

The ironic thing is that me & dh can still never find scissors or sellotape when need it!

Op, it feels amazing when you’ve done it. You will want to do it again in a few months.
I found a local charity (ptsd) that was fundraising and arranged a day for them to do a pick up. It gave me a deadline. I gave them 6 bags of clothes, toys, kitchen bits. The lady doing pick up was delighted which of course spurred me on.

My stationary lives in my desk. All together and ready when I need it.

I always start decluttering in the bathroom. It's the smallest room and has the least storage space. The bathroom cabinet I'd emptied and I remove all out of date medicines (some chemists will take them back for safe disposal). Bathroom then gets a deep clean. Results are quickest.
On to the bedrooms and I go through the clothes. Everything we're not keeping get puts in black sacks and is taken to a cash for clothes place and weighed in. Our local one also takes shoes, belts and bags as well as books . It's also easier to park there than outside the nearest charity shop. Anything not accepted by cash for clothes is taken as rag by the recycling. I've made £20 for less hassle than advertising on selling sites.
The other thing I do is take toys out of circulation once they haven't been played with for a long time and sell them on. DS is now reaching the age where he is quite keen to earn pocket money so will take the photos so I can place the ad
Stop the clutter coming into the house.
I have stopped buying books. I belong to a library because I like my books in paper form but hate dusting books and bookshelves.
When I open the post I put the flyers and envelopes straight into the recycling. I have a set of trays on my desk one for items to be filed, one for items to be actioned and one as as pending tray.
You don't need to hold onto physical objects to remind you of someone or something. That's what your brain is for!
One thing I have noticed in the hoarder programmes is that the hoarder says that they love an item. How can you cherish and item if it's at the bottom of heap of other random items?
My next thing to do is to sell some jewellery which I inherited and has sat in a drawer for 20 years as it's not my style and buy some I will wear.

I have one cupboard in the kitchen for medicine and stationary. I keep it high up away from DC. So sellotape, glue, pins, cards, etc.

I keep all of our admin letters etc in clear (but coloured) plastic A4 folders in a basket on a shelf on my very small IKEA kitchen island. I have three baskets, one for admin; one for kids art stuff, one for newspapers and magazines. Then I have one more file on the counter top for the day to day letters which arrive - once a week or sometimes once per fortnight I sort them into the admin files - and obviously I deal with any important issues first.

All warranties, insurance docs etc all go into the admin files. Every DC and DH and I have a personal file for own documents (school reports etc)

Finally, any really important stuff for the DC such as schedules of sport fixtures and big events for the next month are stuck to the blackboard which I painted onto the door of the utility cupboard in the kitchen.

So I have all files easy to access but nothing is left out and nothing looks like an office file in the kitchen.

Good luck to-day.

Good Luck today.

Don’t stress and panic chuck would be my advice. DH and I needed to do this so we agreed to go through one drawer/cupboard an evening. It takes 10 mins and we’ve noticed a huge difference in just a couple of weeks.

Place mark!

Thanks everyone. I got off to a good start yesterday and cleared out 2 bags for rubbish and 1 bag for charity shop. Was shattered last night though!

Struggling today as have some other stuff going on that couldn’t wait so haven’t managed to do anything yet today but am about to get started. Only an hour and a half to school pick up so better get cracking!