Is anyone just starting to declutter? Or hasn't yet.

[LushLemonTart]

I know there's lots of decluttering threads but I'm just starting (again) but this time I mean business.
What's inspired you to declutter now? Mine is clearing out an elderly relative's home and realising I don't want dcs to ever have that much stuff to clear. Plus it's quite depressing having too much stuff.
Dh and I travel a lot,mainly uk, and you realise you need very little to get on in life.

I'm not going minimalist although can see the appeal.

Care to join? I won't be counting items but I will list as much as possible. I should really try and sell some stuff but cba.

Am still waiting for the library book Less.

Do any of you watch sort your life out? The latest one was mad. The amount of clothes the mother owned was immense. And the shoes!! Worth watching as it'll make you feel like a minimalistic 🤣

I love that show, Op! It gives me ideas and makes me feel better about my own house 😂 I was really impressed by how much the mum got rid of, and her honesty about where she was at and how the clutter and overbuying had happened. I really felt for her.

She'd really been through it with the awful ex.

I sorted out a load of DC old clothes and took them to an NCT sale, so that is something. Hopefully they’ll sell but even if I don’t get much money for them it is better to have them cleared.

I have also had a change of mindset about something. We have a spare room that is also my workspace and previously I have always been happy to accommodate anything that didn’t have a home elsewhere. So outgrown clothes, old toys, odd items, you name it (a lot of it my own fault as it’s stuff that I find difficult to part with) but the clutter is just getting on top of me now. I have decided to clear out the room and refuse for it to be anything other than a work space and guest bedroom. I will report back!

Well, unfortunately I only sold about a third of what I took to the sale, but again it was a ‘drawer’s worth’ (my unit of decluttering!). As I prepared for the sale it also made me sort some too-worn items out for textile collection, so as long as I am strong minded enough to actually put those items out this week then that is also progress. Obviously a lot came home again but, as I had spent all the time typing up the labels, I have immediately copied those descriptions across to draft Ebay listings. So still progress of a sort…

Mine is the same - don’t want to leave a load of useless items for them to sort, al sad o depressed at how much money I have wasted by s second item because I had forgotten I already had one etc.

@BadSkiingMum all things that go is progress and you sound organised and determined.

@ThymeScent I'm the same trying to get rid as one day dcs might have it all to get rid of.

I watch a youtuber who lives in a motorhome (By the Curb) and quite envy his lack of stuff. That seems to be a popular way of life. Only thing is one day you'll be unable to drive. But at least there won't be lots of stuff to shift.

How's everyone getting on?

Got rid of a black sack again this week. I gave them a jacket of my late mother's. I don't need a jacket to remember her and it's too small for me. She was petite. Also changed the living room around and got rid of stuff that we don't need/use.

I have a nice child's chair I'm putting on Facebook marketplace. Dh said put it in the charity shop but it's like new and could get a tenner for it. We'll see. It's a theme people like.

Still slogging on here @LushLemonTart this weekend saw us loose a load of DVDs sort though old kids coloring book and stationary, a few bits for charity and a whole load of old and i mean really old perfumes and lotions for the tip.

My Ebay listing progress has stalled, although I did sell two of my previously listed items (one of which was a small bundle of three tops) which is something.

I have sorted out a big pile of DC’s clothes, which is good for clearing space in their wardrobe but adds to the items in my workspace.

We have a nice cotton duvet cover that has worn through along the top seam and has several buttons missing. I do have the skills to repair this but rather than let it hang around for months or years, I decided that if I didn’t get it done last weekend then I probably wasn’t ever going to do it, so it should go out for textile recycling. It had a further week’s reprieve, when I still didn’t get out the sewing machine, so the time has come to say goodbye! In fairness, it is seventeen years old…

Edited to add: But I will be cutting off the remaining buttons for future duvet cover repairs!

Well done both of you.

Not much happening here. I might get some more done tomorrow?

I have managed to fill four bags to go to the charity shop! A friend will help me to get them there next week. I’m going to try to fill another bag this week. Am trying to find something on Vinted that my Dd needs, and keep being tempted by some lovely things, but have managed to resist temptation so far. Keep reminding myself that there’s no point having lovely things if they can’t be seen / found / used for all the clutter!

Well done @AllTheChaos . That's a fantastic achievement 👏
I'm taking the child's chair to the local charity shop tomorrow. Cba selling it. I have other stuff to get rid of too.

I've been watching this thread from the start, just hopping on if that's OK.
My main issue is too many clothes!
I started a clear out before Christmas and then got unwell.
My bedroom looked like a squat, clothes everywhere.
My spare room is full of coats and clothes.
My plan is to turn my spare room into my study/ music room.
Today I've cracked on, 4 charity bags which I'll put in the Sally Army bin tomorrow, 3 boxes of clothes that I've "grown out of" lol, under my bed, 2 boxes to sell and I've still got too many clothes although they are all put away.
I've bought a clothes rail so I can hang my huge coat collection up just to get them out of the spare room.
It's just so overwhelming!

Wow @CherryogDog that's fab. Bet you feel much better.

That’s a great start Cherry and I agree with the feeling that it’s overwhelming. If it’s any consolation I’m on my third pass through my clothes since autumn and still finding plenty of things to get rid of. Some I couldn’t part with the first or second go around but have filled another charity bag today and listed the saleable stuff on Vinted.

I think it just gets easier each time you go through things. If an item really doesn’t fit me or my lifestyle then giving myself a few months to think about it seems to do the trick.

It was a great start, you're right @LushLemonTart , and hi @IDareSay and everyone else here!
I watch loads of those "organise your clothes" videos and nothing seems to click with me.
I don't have separate seasons, I just layer up.
I've got two big wardrobes with two deep drawers underneath, a 5 + 2 chest of drawers, two 3 drawer bedside tables, a dressing table with 2 shallow drawers and they're mostly full.
Plus three boxes of clothes too small under my bed, and a pile of coats on the spare bed.
The stupid thing is I'm in the habit of wearing clothes straight off the rack (because I'm too lazy to put them away) and cycle through about three outfits a week, so it's not like I need this many clothes.
Today is towels and linen day. They're in a wardrobe that is shelved out, and there's also a pile on the spare bed. FFS.
I need hoarders anonymous 😆

I do the same, wear and wash the same 3 tops and black trousers for work. So why are lots of areas of my house filled with clothes!!

I have the week off work and have a few appointments but want to use the inbetween time to get rid of a large amount of stuff.

I really need to detach from this stuff and let it go. I have toys still from DD who is now in her twenties. I say I will keep them for the grandchildren but what's the point. We have a two up two down house and we need to free up some space as it's getting me down.

Please send me motivation. 🙂

Good luck @Sunshineandrainbow
You can do it. Let go.

@Sunshineandrainbow sending you some motivation. Prioritize, do you want clothes you don't wear taking up space, or your DDs toys saved for grandchildren. Or neither, would space for a new hobby, make you feel better, how do you want to use the space, what is needed to make that happen.

I was determined to do lots of decluttering this weekend....then DH talked me into helping him paint a room and go on a shopping trip for something he wanted.

So my decluttering has moved no further. I have the living room, kitchen and utility left. But it looks like a bomb has gone off i our house as all the stuff from the room DH wanted to paint, is now spread around the rest of the house.

@Sunshineandrainbow I hear you re the toys. So many memories!
My children are in their 30s, with children of their own. We live 200 miles apart.
When they were little they loved all things train and played for hours with Brio.
Before we had Internet or mobile phones, my husband used to get up early on a Friday, get the local paper, looking for ads for used Brio. Then head to the phone box hoping to be the first person to ring.
My husband's been dead for 23 years, and the box of Brio under my stairs is more than some old toys, it's a memory of a great husband and Dad.
One day they'll find their way to my grandchildren...
Anyway, my linen cupboard is very tidy, my large suitcase is packed with curtains and towels (some of them are brand new) that I'll take down for the children.
Two towels and a thin cheap duvet in the dog pile.
I've got three spare duvets, I'm thinking of getting some of those vacuum bags to store them for now.
My new clothes rail is full of coats which I'm struggling to whittle down.
Today will probably be a series of 5/10 minute jobs.
Marie Kondo says that hanging on to stuff is either a fear of letting go of the past, or a fear of the future.

Got rid of an old laptop ( took out hard drive and smashed it) a large picture and a tv stand. The laptop was recycled at an electrical recycling place near us.

Progress is very slow here!

I’ve done that with cards too . I’ve kept the mile stone cards and the rest such as leaving cards,Thank you cards , meaningful Christmas cards etc have been photographed then recycled .

Well any progress is good. Are you too busy or tired to be able to do any? It'll happen.