Help me to declutter please!

[KnickersOnMaHead]

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I need to do this as well!
I am not sure where to start either.
I was thinking of going to Ikea and getting some more storage shelves/boxes for the toys though.
My friend sends some of her dc's toys to the charity shop every year, at around this time. I don't think she asks them which ones to get rid of either - they would just say keep everything, even those they no longer play with!
With clothes I think you have to be ruthless - get rid of anything that hasn't been worn for a couple of years. I'm no good at this btw!

I think the thing to remember is that it came into the house carrier bag by carrier bag, and that's the way it's got to leave.

Every evening, do a drawer or a table/surface. Buy a shredder and deal with all bills that are more than a year old. Always have a box for the charity shop on the go, another for eBay for anything particularly valuable. Freecycle bigger stuff immediately, stating that you'll give first preference to the earliest collection.

Actually from recent experience, my biggest anti-clutter tip would be buy one (or more) of those big flip pocket folders for CDs. Put all your CDs and DVDs in them and Freecycle the jewel cases. It's amazing how you can make six feet of shelving fit into a folder about the size of a laptop bag.

I am generally very organised but DD1 is obsessional over teddy bears and I am not exaggerating when I say she must have over 200. She would never let me bin them but today (she is in school) I have filled 2 HUGE bin bags full of ones that I know she won't miss. I will have to sneek to the tip with them later as DH won't let me get rid of any either.

I am definitely nesting, I am about to go into the playroom and sort some games etc out which have pieces missing.

Just do one room at a time otherwise it will end up even more of a mess.

oh yes, nine dragons, I have done that, we got rid of all the plastic folders much to DH's dismay!

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Re-offer, then bin.

Do you live in a city? It's always worth reminding yourself how much storage costs per square foot if you live somewhere that space is expensive. In our area, a small extra bedroom would cost about 70-100,000 quid. No way am I going to pay that to store a load of stuff I'll never use.

I'm trying to think of how much something would cost to re-buy, compared to the 'rent' it ought to pay for the space it takes up for each year of not being used.

The colouring books and crayons saved from my childhood because they used to cost a lot have gone to Freecycle, given you can now get the same things at Poundland...

I declutter childrens rooms and clotip hes regularly and just give away, freecycle, charity shop or bin stuff. They hardly ever notice.

However I'm so poor at decluttering my little home/office and filing, it always looks like a junk bomb has just exploded on my desk.

Anyone going to tell me their paperwork secrets whilst we are talking declutter....