Need a decluttering plan - please help!

26 replies

mindandsensespurified · 04/02/2024 19:29

Every room of my house has clutter. Some rooms are worse than others - eg the garage and box room (aka junk room). But honestly it feels as though every shelf/drawer/cupboard is bursting at the seams and needs sorting through. From bent cutlery, to old toys, to unpaired socks, to old make up etc etc. I feel totally overwhelmed and don't know where to start.

I've been waiting for that mythical free block of time to blitz it but I've realised that - with limited annual leave and 2 young DC - that's basically never going to happen. I have 1 day a week off work with no kids and, amongst other commitments, I think I could do a 3h block of decluttering each week. Is that long enough to make a dent and if so where on earth should I start? I'm a huge procrastinator so could very easily waste the time if I'm not disciplined!

Thanks for any advice

OP posts:

Whataretalkingabout · 11/06/2025 08:11

YireosDodeAver · 05/02/2024 07:25

As a physicist, I approach this from the point of view of the 2nd law of thermodynamics - any system or process will descend towards chaos unless work is done to counter it.

IIt's not just about a finishable task of decluttering. A decluttered house rapidly becomes cluttered again if the family living there isn't working against that decay. Remember it's not your job to do this work, it needs to be ingrained in the default behaviour for every member of the family. You aren't their servant.

Thank you for providing the rule! This is so true and can be seen daily in life, whether in the house or garden. A never ending process , so the less stuff the better.

And yes, everyone must be on board .

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