How would you clear this room?

[Filthyslattern]

Test

Ok, just testing my name change as i am really embarrassed to be posting this.

My bedroom is awash with clothes and books. Like horrendously bad . Like no spare floorspace.

I wear about 10% of them.

The whole thing is stressing me out so much. If there is a fire, i have no chance.
If a paramedic had to come in an emergency, it would be mortifying.
I keep thinking about what happens if i die and my family see it.
Apart from all that, it is unpleasant and makes life really difficult . I can't find things without huge effort.

But it so overwhelming a job i never get it done .
I can spend literally all day on it and it is never finished and because if that i leave it and it gets bad again and NOTHING EVER CHANGES!

What do i do? Seriously? How can i have a normal room?
The rest of my house is fine.....not immaculate but tidy and liveable and functional.

I’d sort out the 10% that you wear and put it to one side. Get a bin liner for charity and a bin liner for bin and set a timer for 30 minutes. Blitz what’s left and go with your gut. When the time is up, take the bags and put them in your car. Have a cup of tea. Repeat another two or three times.

Then take what you’ve sorted to charity shops / recycling. Should make a dent then when you’re ready - do it all again. You don’t need to do it all in one go. Good luck!

And don’t buy anything new until you’ve finished! Bet you find some great clothes you’ve forgotten about!

Bag up any clothes you aren't currently wearing. If you don't miss them in the next two months, charity shop. Ditto any books you've read and won't read again. Even if you just do a bag of each a week, you'll make a fair dent.

For the next two weeks, whatever you wear, wash dry and put somewhere other than your room. Never put anything you wear in the next fortnight back into your room.

At the end of the fortnight, bag up every single bit of clothing/shoes etc into bin bags.

If you have the patience, bag in categories - shoes, underwear&socks, tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear.

If you have a loft, shove all these bags in the loft.

Clean the wardrobe/drawers and put the stuff you always wear (which wasn't in the bedroom) away.

Enjoy the space.

In time, grab a binbag from the loft - just one at a time - and sort through it. Do it with a movie on or a box set. Be ruthless and ask yourself - will I need this in the next couple of months? If yes - keep; if not, bin.

Have you got space in your wardrobes and drawers for all your clothes? How many of them do you wear?
Will you ever read the books again?

I wish I could help you,

Nothing to feel bad about, could you afford to pay someone to come and help you? A professional decluttterer would be able to sort this quickly.

I'd take a different approach.

I'd gather things together in types. So gather all your t-shirts together, then go through them, sorting into keep and ditch, anything, holey, worn, no longer fitting, dated.
Do the same with skirts, trousers, dresses, underwear, socks.

Books I'd only keep stuff I'll read again.

Do a small area at a time

@user94747295

I wish I could help you,

I would be too ashamed for you to see it. If i ever get it sorted i am going to get a cleaner. But this has been life for so long now i can't imagine it ever changing. It is really getting me down. I have tried to do the bags thing before but i never get through them all and they just make another room untidy and then get shoved back in my room. I have been sorting for about two hours this afternoon and have cleared a small square which is some progress i guess.

Can i ask a question?
How many pairs of socks is it reasonable for two adults to own? How many do you all own?

Mine is not quite as bad as yours but I am making a concerted effort to chip away at it until it's done. I think the key is to make sure that the charity bag goes into your car immediately and then onto the donation point.

If you have a preferred shop, ask if they take rags for recycling if the bag is labelled (mine does) then you only have one place to go and can still feel you have wasted nothing /done some good.

I agree with the "don't buy any more" advice. I'm , only allowing myself to buy necessities until it's done.

Start small focus on space around the end and work out. Move bag bin put away whatever is on the floor until
You can see carpet on one side of the bed. It makes a difference if you can see progress straight away. If you tend to try empty the wardrobe then get fed up when it looks worse and throw It back that’s been holding you back.

Keeping everything you wear in different room or bag will help to see what can really go. Even 10min a day with bin bag will make a dent, take picture as you go.

@Filthyslattern

Can i ask a question? How many pairs of socks is it reasonable for two adults to own? How many do you all own?

Sooooo many because I can never find an actual pair so buy some more 🤦🏻‍♀️

You need an honest friend to help you. You’re snowed under by the ‘stuff’ and can’t see beyond it.
Do one type of item at a time. Eg, day 1, find all the footwear, remove it from the room and sort - keep, charity, tip. Repeat as and when you feel able, always by category. Dresses+skirts, trousers + jeans, t shirts, jumpers etc.

Make sure you put the charity / tip bags into your car immediately to stop them migrating back into your bedroom!
One thing I’ve read to do if you’re a procrastinator and can’t decide whether to keep or not is to put those items in a black bin bag, tie it up, date it then put it in the loft / garage / somewhere out of sight. Go back to it in 6 months and if you’ve not missed anything that’s in it, send it to charity.

I think you need to look at this another way.
It is only your bedroom that needs serious work. So not all a problem by a long way.

Tidying up takes longer than we think it will. So if you are serious about tidying up, be prepared to put some serious work into it. It will get done, but bit by bit.

I am suer there are some poetic words somewhere about 1 step leads to another step leads on to another. Something like that!

@Filthyslattern

Can i ask a question? How many pairs of socks is it reasonable for two adults to own? How many do you all own?

I’ve got 5 pairs of white trainer socks and 5 pairs of black ankle socks. All the same type so they don’t need pairing up. I also have 10 pairs of black, 5 white and 5 nude knickers. Again, all the same style. Plus 3 black, 3 white and 3 nude bras. My underwear drawer looks a bit like this.

I am a creature of habit!!!

Socks. 25 pairs each? Dont know exactly.
But if they are anything like mine, they do go into holes quicker than I would like.

Are are your cupboards/wardrobes/drawers full of stuff, or are they empty and just waiting for everything to be put away? Does everything have "a home" it just needs to go back too, or do you need to find space for everything?

Books. That is a tricky one. I need to sort out my own at some point. They do date. Well I think they do.

I would tackle the job in 15 min bursts. It stops you getting overwhelmed and becoming indecisive. This is the way I've been tackling my book and clothes clear out. For the first 15 session I expect you can already think of some clothes that you know you don't want. Pack them in a carrier bag to take to the charity shop or put in the bin as appreciate. Just one bag is not to much to carry. Put it somewhere handy and take it to the charity shop next time you go to the shops. I've been doing this for a few months now and the place is looking better. I can get most of my clothes in the wardrobe and it's so nice to see them looking all tidy that it gives me a boost. I hope you find a method that works for you OP.

Socks I don't actually know but I'd guess 10 pairs of everyday socks, same with trainer socks and a couple of thicker pairs for wearing with boots. I have some sports socks too. Knickers probably about 20 everyday pairs.

There is a website called "A Slob Comes Clean." You can listen to her podcasts (start from the beginning) to guide you through the process. The website is designed for people who are absolutely over-whelmed.

A key concept to help you is the container concept. Take, for example, the number of socks. First, decide where you keep socks. Where would you look for them first? That's their home. Do you have one drawer? Half a drawer? Now, you can keep only the number of socks that fit in that drawer. Put the ones you like in first. Get rid of those that don't fit.

Good luck. And please don't be ashamed. It is very easy for things to get out of control.