I'm going minimalist in a week

[BadgerFacedCoo]

Has anyone else done this?

I have disabilities, a large family, a part time job.

I need an easy to clean house. Today I did our bedroom and everyone's wardrobes and bedding. Everyone helped me by stripping back their wardrobes and bedding (two sets each) and honestly I don't think we're throwing out anything that will be missed.

I have a skip booked for next week. I am doing a room a day with a lot of family help.

I am aiming to have a house I can clean upstairs in an hour one day, downstairs in an hour the next and alternate. I do in an hour what an able bodied person could do in 30 mins. I am doing low spend budgeting so there is nothing new coming in.

Love to hear from anyone else who has done this or is thinking of doing it.

Yes I done it and we did it with my mum to move her into a studio flat from a 3 bed. It was completely freeing for her- meant she could buy a place for herself and retire early. For us it meant we could move to a smaller place in a really lovely town.

I'm due a massive Declutter over the summer holidays as you always need to regularly keep on top of it, but little and often will be ok. (I've just been very I'll the past 6 months hence it's a massive one)

Some bits that has certainly helped me:

• have a maybe box to put stuff in your not sure on. If it's not used within 2 months you can get rid.
• find your thing that helps keep you motivated. I will watch minimalism videos or the film
• help you family. It's a massive change for them and they will struggle to let go.

You can do this! Think of the end result and keep going. It's great you got a skip as it will mean you won't have stuff lying around.

Thank you, so much.

Great advice and good to hear that it worked for you and your Mum.

My motivation will hopefully be saved time and an easier to clean home.
It's not the "look" but the situation I'm hoping for.

I am shattered with work and clearing today, had a lot of help. Upstairs is pretty much done.

Sounds like you have made a great start! Yes I was surprised by how much less time it took cleaning and tidying after the decluttering!

I find it helped having the videos as it gave me more ideas on what I could declutter if that makes sense. Like instead of a crock pot and a steamer I brought an all in one that also cooks rice perfectly each time too so I saved on so much space having a multi- purpose item. Or I didn't need loads of towels I needed only four hand towels- two in use, two being cleaned and 8 bigger towels (3 family house plus dog and cat)

I need to do this!!

Me too!

which videos helped most?

Im v impressed by how much you’ve done!

Go for it! I ruthlessly decluttered my home last year. Nothing was safe. Planned on selling a lot of things but ended up with a massive amount of donations to charity/doing skip runs.

It has totally changed my home life for the better. I have two very young children and so of course mess happens but there is never a mess in my house that takes more than ten minutes to clear.

I don't have the dreaded feeling of impending chores anymore as I know they won't take long. Cutting down on my online shopping habit proved difficult at first but my rule was that any package that came into my home (cardboard box) would be filled with donations to leave. It made me think twice about ordering things because it was becoming difficult as we are at a stage where we use everything we have.

Best of luck. You'll feel free!

@hivetoo i LOVE this idea for cutting down on online shopping and decluttering! It’s brilliant!

On Instagram, minimalism(underscore)with(underscore)Mary is a good account to follow. She's from the states but downsized her home massively and kicked a shopping addiction.

@vevyter it's very efficient as it becomes a bit burdensome!

I have a clearance/declutter business before you book a skip reuse repurpose post on free/selling sites and it’s amazing what happens! My USP is that most of the time I cost my clients nothing which is fantastic for them and the planet. Remember there is always someone that can use your junk ♥️

Id recommend planning early nights and easy meals. Its a mentally exhausting process, but absolutely worth it.

I like Dana K White (a slob comes clean) method of asking " where would I look for this first?" And if they answer is you wouldn't look because you forgot it existed, then let it go. If you know where it should go, send a helper to put it away.

Also, on a practical level get a different colour bin bag for donations so they don't get mixed up with actual rubbish.
If the rooms are cluttered and messy, consider boxes for paperwork and sentimental Inc photos that you come across, to keep them safe to be looked at at a more relaxed pace when the main bulk of work is done.

I've been a hoarder in the past and slowly decluttering for years. I'm getting very close to the minimal time cleaning goal Ive set for myself. I'm finding I almost have time to get bored new 😁

I wish all the best of luck.

Wow so many people are going for it and doing really well. I find doing little goes easier than one big session on my own such as doing one draw. I can go for bigger areas when I get help from my husband and DD

The minimalists films are a good watch. The second one is on Netflix but the first one is really impactful. It talks about the benefits and I found myself watching it every year to give me a kick to declutter. They also have a podcast but it can get really repetitive. The first film was what also got my husband onto the band wagon with me.

YouTube I watch A to Zen life, the minimal mom, Joshua Becker and Scandish home- not that I will ever get that minimal like a to zen life but it just helps keep me moving forward with it.

I’ve watched a slob comes clean and I find her v. soothing.

ive watched the Stacey Solomon declutter prog and feel motivated after that.

@emmama2 @Rummikub thank you, it's not been just me. I've had a lot of help. For most of it I was sat on the bed / floor sorting and directing. 18 bags are out the door.

I feel free already @hivetoo just from starting. I'm so glad it helped you too. I have a big family and small children come with so much stuff - your box method is genius. I'll team it up with low spend.

@Parsley1234 i never knew this was a service I could hire for. I'm not selling I'm just binning which is awfully wasteful of me but I'm going to do it then never buy crap again.

@NewLeafAgain thank you for the recommendations. I was in bed at 7pm last night. DH did the kids dinner, bath and bed. Then fed me. I've woke up at 5 in a lot of pain. Going to do the bathroom today which should be easy and less physical. DH is onbaord and he's happy to pick up my slack.

Sorry if I've tagged anyone wrong.

I have the bathroom, kitchen and living room to do. I'll sort them then DH will move everything into the for the skip pile in the carport when he comes home.

Then 3 cupboards. The cupboards will be done at the weekend when DH is home for lifting.

Thank you all for the recommendations and the podcast/programme suggestions. Looking forward to watching some to keep me motivated.

TLDR - thank you everyone.

@BadgerFacedCoo yes a lot of people do do that just throw it but in my experience they never really get the connection between buying and not buying when they look at what they’ve bought and see how much they can get for it it’s very sobering and then when they realise it’s going to landfill even more so. Hence a declutter service done well helps the client by making them money out of their items helps the planet by reusing and helps people who can’t afford what they want by offering lesser amounts. Clients I’ve worked with need an ongoing infrastructure otherwise they just slip back into their status quo

You’ve inspired me OP. I have a day off over summer when the kids are away and I’m determined to declutter hugely and reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ in our house. I’ll sell a lot of it especially old toys but at the moment we are just drowning in things 99% of which we don’t need. @Parsley1234 im now considering getting professional help in…would one day be enough?

I was amazed at how much we got done in a day, especially the kids bedroom and wardrobes.

With a professional like @Parsley1234 I bet it would be even better. I really see the value in having it done properly, must be a lot more effective.

I think the problem I see with clients is not having an on going infrastructure after all that work it goes back to ground zero so fast. I was at a clients for 1 week that turned into 3 months which was challenging and it went back immediately almost to the start point. I love my work it’s so rewarding and fun

Also I love the thought of not costing a client anything as you generally get enough from a house to turn into cash which pays for the service it is so so great !!!

Bathroom was done yesterday. Nothing on counters or sills. All in drawers or bin. I can wipe and mop the whole thing without having to move a thing.

Did some of living room today. Tired and in pain. Don't think I'll manage this in a week and I'm at work tomorrow and Saturday but I think I've enough to justify my skip.

I've started the process. Doing it slowly though not all at once. I'm finding the more I do the more I want to do. Tackling what comes in is going to be my main issue and I'm working on that. I've seen a change in my spending habits already due to decluttering.

I just wanted to say thank you @BadgerFacedCoo for giving me the boost I needed to declutter! I followed my own advice as I realised it's been a while since I watched the minimalism documentary (now on YouTube for free- Minimalism official Netflix Documentary)

over a couple of days I helped DH Declutter (as much as you can without going into- "hey your chucking good stuff" territory) and take a car load to the tip.
Filled two charity bags worth of clothes/ fabrics.
Filled almost three bags going through the bathrooms, my bedroom and making a start with the kitchen!

I'm really pleased with myself and it's looking so much better. We try to keep it fairly low stuff due to having three people, a dog and a cat in a two up two down with DH mostly working from home but the stuff has creeped back in due to me being unwell.

Thank you again for the kick. I need to get on top of it so I can focus on other things we have been struggling with- the dreaded what to eat. Now have more space so ordered a HelloFresh to get me started for Friday!

I would love to do this. But I need someone on hand to motivate me and keep me on task. There's someone in my area who supposedly does this, but her charges are eye watering.

@saraclara what does she charge and what area ? It’s very interesting the different areas charge and for what level of service