Help, tell me to start de-cluttering. I have black bags, I have a cloth skip

[NearlyAHoarder]

I can't face it. I've been watching videos about hoarders all morning and I need to tackle this. The floor all around my wardrobe is just covered up with boxes and bags and other things that won't fit in the wardrobe. I'm a single parent, work ft, I would like to have this tackled before I go back to work or it will hang over me for another year getting worse.

My kitchen is tidy. But for some reason my room is a mess. Part of the problem is that there's not enough space for my things. But then, some people would manage to fit a man and his stuff in to a room this big and have it be tidy??!!!!
It's such a big job. I don't dislike any of my clothes. I do have more than I need though. I feel a bit cross that my house is so small and I'm forced in to the position of having to throw out things that other people with a bigger house and bedroom could keep.
My friend told me to do 90 minutes everyday for 3 days, starting today, and then when I go in to tackle it on 3rd Jan, it'll be a less daunting task.
I'm sorry if it seems like this is a pointless thread. I just have tried all my usual methods of motivation and I'm still in bed thinking about it.
Right, I need to get dressed so that I can run in and out to the skip.

Do you wear them all?

Are the things which are inside the wardrobe hung properly? Do you have shoes in there too? And coats?

I'm just trying to get a picture.

My friend had the same problem
I told her to do 15 minutes a day-that’s an hour after 4 days
Really blitz stuff-if you haven’t looked at it for a month,it goes
I put my clothes in the wardrobe with the hangers facing one way,if I wear them I put them in with the hanger facing the other-what’s not worn after 3 months goes
I’ve been there in a small house and kids-it’s crap,you buy something because you love it but have nowhere to put it so you end up getting rid

Does everything fit perfectly and make you feel fabulous when you wear it? I bet you love some items more than others.
Sometimes a clothes tournament can work, this t-shirt Vs that t-shirt only one winner.

I do sort of wear them all. I'm size 12 at the moment but I've also been size 14 and size 10. My size ten jeans are sort of aspirational and then, I do need to keep size 14 clothes for when I put on a few pounds (ten!).
I don't have a car so I need a lot of warm coats and jumpers in the winter, and yet, I'm 51 so the last summer Passed, I needed a lot of cooler summer tops too. The ''furniture'' in the room is a rail, an ikea chest of drawers and one good old wardrobe that came from my mum and dad's house. It's a good size.

I would love to get the whole house done up and get fitted wardrobes but that won't be happening in the next year or five years even. Just don't have the spare cash.

I am making it all sound very bleak. Things aren't so bad. I have my house. I have my job. It's secure. I just need to tidy the f* up and yet here I am in bed.

I want to go in to work on the 4th with it DONE

i'M NOT KIDDING, I PLANNED TO DO THIS THIS TIME LAST YEAR.

I'm not quite in the hoarder league (I don't mean disrespect to hoarders, I can see I'm teetering on the brink of not being able to tackle this) as my bathroom and my kitchen are both clear (ish) well in a normal way.

But I think my bedroom is a metaphor for everything that I keep meaning to deal with LATER.

I'll get the promotion later. I'll become braver LATER. I'll tidy up later. I know they say it's a sign of depression but I don't feel depressed. I do feel like this procrastination is not normal though.

OK. Thank you for your reply!

I must must must be accountable to myself now and get out of bed and start.

Stop watching videos on how to do it and just get on with it!!!

Start by putting everything you own on your bed. Then put your clothes into seasons.

Then you HAVE to try on all of your clothes/shoes/scarves etc. you have to. Not all will fit, not all will look nice, and be honest with yourself about sizes. Are you aiming to get back in the 10s or are you keeping them just in case?

If yes then keep one bag/box of the sizes you don't fit in.

It is daunting but honestly you don't need everything in the room and so you have to get rid of stuff!

That is a good tip!

Get all the clothes out and then put most into bags and give away. You don’t need lots of coats. Just one or two max. If you need new jeans in the future you can buy them. That’s what I think good luck.

@Buytoomuchonebay

My friend had the same problem I told her to do 15 minutes a day-that’s an hour after 4 days Really blitz stuff-if you haven’t looked at it for a month,it goes I put my clothes in the wardrobe with the hangers facing one way,if I wear them I put them in with the hanger facing the other-what’s not worn after 3 months goes I’ve been there in a small house and kids-it’s crap,you buy something because you love it but have nowhere to put it so you end up getting rid

I am going to make myself do 90 minutes now. With a timer. I just cannot face putting everything on my bed. I wouldn't get through it in time for bed time.

But going forward, 15 minutes every day or every second day is the way I'll have to go.

It sounds like you have a storage problem. Can you put the summer clothes in black bags/air tight bags and deal with those at a later date?
Can you fit anymore storage in your bedroom? Perhaps someone is giving away some local to you that would work?

Can you break it down by category, so get out all the jumpers for example, then you will see how many you have got. Only keep those you absolutely love (or ‘spark joy’ - I like the Marie Kondo method) or absolutely need. It can be eye opening seeing everything in one pile and can help with the decision making.

You could reward yourself with a tea break after each category.

Ideas:
Jumpers
Cardigans
T-shirts/tops
Dresses
Skirts
Trousers
Jeans
Shorts
Coats
Shoes
Socks/underwear

I'm the same @NearlyAHoarder

I have a house full of stuff, there's me, a partner, 2 kids and we are overrun especially after Christmas

I feel like ordering a skip and just getting rid of everything but I should really sort thru it all and try to sell some of it and make some cash but in reality I just want it gone!

going forward, 15 minutes every day or every second day is the way I'll have to go.

Classic procrastination right there.

You’ve already talked yourself down from 15 minutes every day to every two days… then three… etc.

It’s 15 minutes!

You DO NOT NEED lots of coats because you don’t drive.

You need a few lovely winter coats in different practical categories: fully waterproof, light showers, winter warm, formal, spring/autumn casual. One of each.

If you have less clothes you just wash them more. You really don’t need to keep everything.

About to start the clock. Some pictures for "before". It is embarrassing.

But i can try and make it look a bit more ordered even with shabby mismatched furniture and paint jobs i started but didnt finish.

After pictures will be a few days

Any under bed storage? Put summer things under the bed and sort and rotating each season helps to see what's not getting worn

Look at unfuck your habitat

I know you’ve said cash is a problem but I’d look at getting a large wardrobe. The rail is just wasted space. You don’t have as much stuff as you’ve made out, just inadequate storage systems. Do you have any charity shops nearby that sell furniture? I bought out solid wood triple wardrobe for £100 and it’s fine for me and DH. You need to look at height, get things as tall as will fit in your room to really maximise the space that you can use. Even ikea wardrobes might be worth a look. Facebook marketplace might be worth a look too, I’ve happily delivered stuff to people who don’t drive, if they ask nicely! Good luck x getting started is the hardest part

Start off with clothes you avoid wearing - needs ironing every time you wear it, keeps slipping down, keeps untying, has never looked right - all this can go.

Next start on the clothes you like, but need tweaking - need shortening, need buttons, needs dry cleaning, needs mending - and honestly ask yourself, can you afford the time, energy and money to make them wearable.

If you can, put them to one side, those that you can't, send them away.

Clothes you like - how many black t-shirts do you need? How many white blouses do you need?

Go through them critically and ask yourself if you're cycling older garments and keeping some stuff for 'best'. If 'best' is never coming, get rid of the older garments and make yourself wear the good stuff.

Shoes - pair them up and put them on. Do they rub? Are they painful? Do you have to cover your feet in padding and plasters to stop you limping before midday?

Get rid of any you can't fit all your toes into, any shoes that still have blood stains from when you last wore them and any that you ended up taking off in the taxi home. Life's too short to cripple yourself.

The shoes that are left - do they need mending, polishing or cleaning? Is it worth the time and effort to do this? If not, get rid, if it is, keep them and put a definite plan in place to get at least one pair a week to the menders or plan time to clean and polish them yourself.

Bathroom. Fewer emotional attachments.

Look at all that wasted height above the clothes rail. You just need more storage. Why throw away decent clothes?

You don’t have as much stuff as you’ve made out, just inadequate storage systems.

Now you’ve posted the photos I agree with this.

You can still pare back - the questions above from Gingernaut are excellent. But your wardrobe and rail look like they’re annoying to use and therefore your stuff is ending up elsewhere.

Right, I did 90 minutes. I will honestly find it easier to do 90 minutes tomorrow. I tidied around the wardrobe today. I did put about 8 bags in a cloth skip outside. I threw out things that other more productive car-driving people would donate or sell but without a car I'm just going to put them in the skip. Tomorrow I will do 90 minutes on my the chest of drawers. I was more ruthless throwing stuff out than I thought I'd be. So tomorrow I will keep going. I'll post after pictures and a picture of my skip when I'm done!
I'm holding myself accountable here! I know this thread is not really very interesting!

That's a good start, well done!

Do you have any FB reuse sites or Gumtree or anything? A decent wardrobe will sort half your problem, keep an eye out and something is bound to come up. Or if it doesn't, can you stash a few pounds a week to save up for one of those canvas wardrobes? They come in a lot cheaper.

That's an amazing start.

I've diagnosed myself with stress related hoarding. I'm not normally an anxious person but the thought of getting rid of something that turns out to have been the wrong thing to get rid of freezes me. I have years now of being pulled between my very thrifty canny mother who lived on nothing for years, she didn't hoard but she didn't chuck stuff lightly, and my sister who also operated on nothing for years but did so by being ruthlessly minimalist in small flats. They always clash about this and I try to keep the peace. Then there's my dead dh's stuff, I got rid of a lot but it's difficult with anything even vaguely personal.

And I totally sympathise re the bedroom. It feels like a space where nobody can tell me off for keeping stuff or make me chuck stuff. But it silts up as a result and that's actually not relaxing.

Anyway, I have similarly poor storage and am watching with interest. It's a beautiful room.