I just found out how tidy people keep tidy!!!!!

[MrsBobDylan]

I have not felt this excited since I discovered sanitary towels can prevent new boot blisters.

You had better sit down.

Tidy people have less stuff. That's how they stay tidy.

No one bothered to tell me this life changing information. Bastards.

We are downsizing to a flat from a four bed house with a garage. I reckon I have donated/taken to the tip, at least half of the contents of our house.

We didn't need all that shit. I don't think I liked most of it.

Turns out, two mixing bowls is fine, 3 pans, 10 mugs, one duvet cover/pillowcase for each bed, no spare bedding for guests since they can bring their own, 6 bath towels, one coat each, three pairs of shoes each...I could go on.

Since decanting half of my house, it is lovely and tidy. I move a few things from room to room each day and clear the kitchen at the end of day. All manageable. I even have time for a nap on the sofa fgs.

Now my cupboards are not filled to the brim, I can PUT THINGS IN THEM.

The easiest and most satisfying clear out, was the knick knack cull. Photo frame we got for our wedding? Gone. Glass vase from my Uncle Harry? Gone. Mini collection of ornamental owls? Get in there!

It is easier to clean a house with less stuff in it. Surfaces get a quick wipe, floors are mopped without have to slalom round tables, chairs and plant stands.

If you have a friend who feels overwhelmed by keeping house, please pass this on.

You're welcome

@Sleepinghyena

No spare bedding???

If there's one set of bedding for each bed, then the spare bed is already taken care of?

@LuluJakey1 sticky side on heel (that's where the magic happens because it doesn't slip down your heel as you walk). Wrap it horizontally round your heel, no need to trim it but probably better to go sanitary old skool without wings.

Meant to quite the one below sorry that guests don't need to bring their own

@MrsBobDylan

Just as an aside, I thought your sanitary towel and new boot tip was great, so I began to tell my DH. I got as far as the words "sanitary towel" and he shouted "I DON'T NEED TO KNOW", and hastily left the room.

His loss

@Monsterpumpkins

Dc moving out =less stuff.. Ds moved out 3 years ago this week ().. Took an assortment of biker clothing +helmets. About 10 coats.. 20 pairs of shoes. Assortment of pans and boxes of knives (chef not a cannibal serial killer).. A dozen sets of chef whites. And a push bike... I acquired a huge cupboard... So I filled it. With Christmas decoration storage boxes FULL ONES!!

This will be my downfall. I already have 5 drawers of decorations...

These will go long after other things have been recycled, given away or dumped to clear space.

I do not care.

@Clariana my dh refused sanitary support when he was wearing in his DM's. He wouldn't let me see his feet but we both knew.

@dancemom

A wise woman once told me

Don't put it down, put it away.

Stood me in great stead when it comes to a tidy home.

Yes this. I had this realisation rather recently. Instead of putting the sticky tape down on the kitchen bench when I finished with it (making another thing to pack away later) why not just put it back where it belongs immediately. So simple but makes such a difference!

@MrsBobDylan

I hope the downsizing is through choice, not necessity & that you're doing ok 💐

My 'problem' is two fold, sentimental attachment & parents who grew up post war with a strong 'this might come in useful' (and often did) mentality that's ingrained in me.

It's wasteful to throw out things you'll
Probably need to buy again later
or buy some kind of replacement for.

Ok so threefold I suppose as practically I don't want to have 'one towel each' or 'one set of bedding per bed'

But I would like a bigger house 🤣

@DuvetDayIsEveryDay

Once every 2 years I get a skip and fill it.

It's fab.

You must be buying way way too much crap each year which in these award days is far from a good look.

Don’t skip, donate to charity or sell.
I love a good clear out, but have to be in the right mood. I have little clutter as each school holiday I pick a room. The attic is another matter….

Agreed. We have very few ornaments. Silver photo frames, odd bit of crystal and the Murano Cockerels that seem to be breeding. They were a 60s thing. I now have my grandparents' one, my mother's, steps mother's, great auntie Joan's, and steps late sil's. They're quite pretty really

@MargotEmin

Err your guests need bedding, bringing your own is not a thing!

Otherwise though, I'm delighted for you

It totally is a thing!

I provide bedding for guests but I have also been asked to bring bedding when being a guest and it didn’t put me out in any way.

There’s a difference between welcoming Auntie Em From Abroad who’s flying in for a 3-week stay and putting up Cousin X and their 6 kids as they pass by for a weekend in their car.

You can be totally welcoming even if you’re not gold-standard hosting.

[quote MrsBobDylan]@Clariana my dh refused sanitary support when he was wearing in his DM's. He wouldn't let me see his feet but we both knew.[/quote]

Ive been on a minimalist drive for 6 months now. Very satisfying especially as I was thinking we needed more storage but actually we can get rid of furnitire instead!

However DH has said several times that he needs to watch out otherwise he'll be decluttered too...

Re the sanitary towel thing. I find I get on better with a very slim pantie liner. Even though I find typing the word 'pantie' distasteful.

I am tidy and I have a lot of stuff - but only stuff I like, need or would potentially need to buy again (which is wasteful - throwing away just to replace later).
I have enough change of everything to not need to run washing machine or dishwasher half empty.

The secret is - I (we) put things back where they belong after use.

Say it sista!!!

I say to you Marie Kondo changed my life. I’m still messy but with less stuff to messify and a system to declutter.

I've always been tidy but since decluttering it is even easier.

@minniemoll

You want your guests to bring their own bedding????

I can't see you having many guests, somehow....

Bonus

I just can seem to cope with anything above the bare minimum!

I love the A Slob Comes Clean podcast - she is a Texan Christian mom and SO far removed from my life but she has some brilliant ‘housekeeping’ ideas born of her own struggle with ‘slob brain’ and the ‘personal Clutter Threshold’ is one i.e. the amount of stuff you can manage without losing your mind. My aesthetic self loves rooms full of things. My realistic self knows you will never,ever, not never dust that shit. So it has to go…

@thenightsky I agree. Pantie

@SpookyPumpkinPants thank you, you are lovely. It is a 'necessity' downsize because I became a full time carer for the Lego maniac dc two years ago and our lives were set up for two wages.

But I'm not sad about it because it will being long-term security in a nicer town with better schools.

I don't find less stuff makes any difference but then I don't have way too much stuff or nowhere to put the stuff I do have iyswim.

What does make a difference:

Never leave a room empty handed.
If you see a job that needs doing, if you can just do it straight away.
Don't put it down, put it away.
Clean/tidy before you need to (then it's never a huge job, always just a quick one and always clean).

I also clean/tidy whilst doing other stuff. So if I want to watch Strictly, I fold laundry or sweep/mop or dust while it's on. If it's a programme I really want to watch or a podcast I'm following, I barely notice I'm cleaning or tidying.

Marie Kondo, is that you? 🤣
Seriously OP, you would love her book - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. She has made her millions on this very principle and so many follow her.
You are spot on - it does work.

We're planning a big move soon and I'm trying very hard to look at things from a "would I be happy to pay money to transport and potentially store this thing?". I think we're going to be getting rid of a LOT more stuff. Some of it might even be cheaper to replace than move.

I would love to be a minimalist type but I do get attached to stuff.

@olivehater

We have no spare bedding. We bimble along just fine. Only occasionally end up sleeping in a sleeping bag because the sheets aren’t dry!

Total clothes hoarder though. But I still wear things from ten years ago happily so don’t think I can change that.

I'm similar in that I personally dont have much stuff, everything I own could fit in a triple wardrobe. DP on the other hand has taken over the whole rest of the house with all his crap. And it's a big house for two people AND he has sheds and garages also full of shite. Maybe my patio needs relaying.