What are the decluttering rules? Remind me....is it useful?, is it beautiful?......etc

[nevergoogledragonbutter]

I've forgotten the rules and am about to tackle the second lot of crap that DH has brought down from the loft.

I want to be completely ruthless.

How do the rules go?

USeful, beautiful, or, err, sentimental?

you don't sound too sure TA?

?Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful?
-- William Morris

was that it? i'm sure there was a 3rd option.

I always use:

do you need it (useful)
do you love it (sentimental)
does it make you money (Kaching )

that's the one!
i knew there was a 3rd.

thankyou.

bit disappointed that nothing in my loft is going to make any money. even the things i though ebay-worthy are turning out to be broken/mouldy etc.

i can't wait to be uncluttered though. will feel like a holiday.

how many of them do you already have?

how many what?

i told DH the rules, he's getting nervous now that i might take him down the dump

i realise i'm talking to myself now, but have to say how brilliant it feels to be getting rid of all the baby stuff and general crap that hangs around my house.

very liberating.

Aww at your DH.

He said, 'it's not looking good for me then'.

keep them on their toes i say.

What stopped me from getting rid of crap was the waste of potentially useful things. I didnt want to just tip the lot myself. Charity shops don't accept everything and often skip a lot of good stuff due to lack of space.
So I was stuck with it ....until I discovered FREECYCLE!!!
Changed my life and I am now happily crap free.And I have met all sorts of lovely people.

Try it -you might like it.

erm-Im not connected to Freecycle organisation by the way -just a happy user

I am going to declutter some stuff today, its a good feeling isnt it!

My decluttering rule is if you haven't used it or admired it in the last six months, chuck it.

i have freecycled in the past, and joined again recently in my hunt for cardboard boxes for the move. But I am not convinced a lot of freecyclers are in genuine need.

the charity shops here seem to have a central storage area where winter stuff can be stored until then. they also service all electrical items.

I think i'd rather my things helped the local charities.

Saying that i do have double bed frame which has a couple of broken slats. I'm not sure the charity shop has time to repair it but a freecyler easily could. I'll bear it in mind, thanks.

but the whole point of freecycle isnt about genuine need- its about stopping stuff ending up in landfill.

I furnished my entire living room via freecycle- could i have afforded to furnish it myself- absolutely- but I didn't want my carbon footprint to grown much bigger- secondhand all the way!

there's nothing going in landfill that is of any worth at all. really, you're preaching to the converted if you're on a recycling mission.

Oh I HATE freecycle with a passion. It's overrun by beaurocrats here. And eejits. (sorry for rant)

Charity shops are a better bet and there are still those who buy from them as well...I tend not to as the prices have gone up round here.

Generally for decluttering I think it's useful to be aware that it's mainly a mental process. If you try and force it on a day when you can't think clearly, or feel clearly, you are likely to follow some top-down rule and regret it once your feelings about the stuff catch up with you later.

If you actually wait until you really FEEL quite decisive and claer about what you want to go, then you'll have a much better chance of chucking the right things and keeping the important ones.

I always bear in mind there'll be a next time, next week or whatever if I am unsure and then it goes back in the 'not really sure' pile for then. In the meantime I usually come to a decision.

good advice BionicleBill.
Yesterday i was decisive.
Today i'm just not in the mood.

Can't have to many not in the mood days though, as we're moving house in 4 weeks and am determined to only take the stuff we need or love. (including DH )

Sorry nevergoogled my post was in response to "I am not convinced a lot of freecyclers are in genuine need."

I was just pointing out that's not what freecycle is supposed to be about although many people do prefer to give to more "deserving" freecyclers. But it's your stuff and you are entirely allowed to give it away to the people you decide.

Good luck with your decluttering.

Haven't read whole thread, but if you ring charity shops, some will pickup from your home if you have a lot of stuff - ring them and see.

I also have another decluttering rule:

if you are unsure about needing an item, think could I borrow it from friends/family if it turned out to be needed or could I rebuy it cheaply from Asda or something like that.

Thandeka, i think the topic is worthy of a whole thread to itself really.
I even wonder how you decide which charity shop to take stuff to .
How do you decided then who is in more need?

It's too hard.

Well done for furnishing your living room.
I did our spare room entirely via ebay and it's lovely.

Any idea how to tell if something is useful enough to keep?
Cost of replacement versus space taken up works quite well, but then there's those odd things that might be vital some day.

I was hoping to convince MrNC to chuck some of his boxes of metal wotsits, but then there was a plumbing emergency (return home 2am on Easter Sunday to find hall under 4 inches of black water) and he found the exact widgets to fix it in his special box (priced in old currency!), saving us about £400 in plumber fees...

And anyone know anywhere that will recycle floppy disks or recorded-on VHS videotapes?

we have a place locally notcitrus who will take all sorts of stuff for art projects.
sparc scrapstore

there might be something similar near you.

Sorry nevergoogle I went to sleep.

Say you find a lemon squeezer in the attic - if you have one already you don't really need another one so get rid of one of them.