Advice and moral support for a first time decluttering that really struggles to get rid of anything…

[IndigoNZ1]

I came back from my summer holiday desperate to sort my house out, but am really struggling on how to get started.

A year ago we moved to a new country ans, due to the very limited shopping options were, were advised to bring everything we could reasonably expect to need for our 3-year stay. A year on, we have massive stores of things that we will need or may need (and probably many that we will never need). They are taking over our house and my life and causing a lot of stress. However, I’m struggling to throw anything out because it is very difficult to replace things (so the $20, 20 minute replacement rule just doesn’t work).

My youngest starts school tomorrow and I don’t have much work on at the moment, so now would be an ideal time to

I'm sentimental about stuff so watching with interest.

Sorry, got cut off half way through. Now is an ideal time to declutter but I just don’t know where to start! It was the rainy season while we were away, and now most of our basement is covered in mould, which will have to be dealt with before I can declutter. But there is no space to move the things to. I already still have unpacked boxes and suitcases from the move that are still in my bedroom! And my Mum is selling her house so we have just had to take back all my things that were stored there (about 4 suitcases of toys and books for my kids, plus many sentimental items). How can I make a plan to sort everything out in a logical way?!

That sounds like a stressful situation!

I would try to create a space for things to be stored in, do you have a spare room or a garage where you are at now? If not, is it possible to rent a storage unit or pod for a few months or until you have more space? I would have plastic totes to store things in, as they can be easily stacked.

After that, I would work in your bedroom, it is your sanctuary, somewhere to relax. You want it to be as clear and cosy as you can make it. Make sure to not add anything to this space!

You say that you have many things you haven't pulled out yet, but if you haven't used them in the past year, do you need them?
I find sentimental things hard as well, so wait until you have decluttered everything else before tackling those items.

Unsure if this will work for you but I make a list of everything first but break it down in bitesize chunks each room. It might be time consuming doing the list but it is motivating for me.

My list will for example say for our bedroom:
• one bedside drawer
• other bedside drawer
• Dressing Room drawer
• drawers in my wardrobe
• wardrobe
• under the bed

I then work on 15 to 30 minutes for one thing and when the time is up I will have a break or either be on a roll to finish it so I can cross it off the list.

So depends for you what annoys you the most, upstairs or downstairs. What stresses you out each day?

Sometimes I will start in the bathroom first and sort out the drawers because then when I open it every morning it makes me happy it's sorted and motivates me to start another area of the house.

If downstairs annoys you more then start on the shared areas first like the kitchen, lounge and dining room.

Have a place for everything and move everything else out of the space if it does not have a space.

Thanks for the suggestions! I am planning to start tomorrow with a list and then have a go at my bedroom!

I know lists are more time consuming as we could have organized a few drawers by the time the list is done. But lists are good because they motivate me especially when I cross them out and see so much accomplished.

I then use the same list again when I want to restart it all again and cover the whole house to try and keep on top of it.

I find that when you do it again for second time it is very quick indeed because already organised so not much to do but perhaps start decluttering further and getting rid of stuff if not used.

How are you getting on @IndigoNZ1?

Thanks fir checking in. I haven’t managed to get much stuff out of the house yet, except some rubbish, but have done a lot of sorting and moving things around so I can now start to sell and give away…

That's definitely progress! It sounds like you're heading in the right direction 😊

I don't know if you were aware, but there is a long running decluttering thread, it might be worth a read at least, everyone has a different system they use and it can actually help you when they list what they have decluttered, it might give you some ideas on what to get rid of and ways to do it. Also, if you have any questions on certain items they are all helpful and friendly.