"Decluttering" plan needed

[CatJosephine]

Our terraced house is full of clutter- mainly old clothes, toys, books and papers. There are also old family type heirlooms like china.

I have decided to bite the bullet and declutter in January. So far the plan involves me taking off every Wednesday afternoon in January and getting the lady who cleans for us to come in and help me.

The overall plan is to tackle the house room by room and throw out/ give away stuff that we no longer use.

Any advice/tips gratefully received.

Have to hand

3 boxes. Stuff to def keep
Stuff to charity
Stuff to chuck

Be brutal, if you dont; love it or use it, BIN IT.

Once you have sorted all your stuff in one room, start to put back what you need. try not to wander round the house putting other things back its too easy to get caught up doing stuff somewhere else.

Once you know what you are keeping and where you are keeping it, you can organise storage.

Get big boxes and label them ... charity, sell, give to specific friends. Put stuff in as you go. Buy hundreds of binbags. Phone a charity that will come and collect if you've got that much. Dont get sentimental.

Lol x post!

Oh I need help with this, am a terrible hoarder. Half the time it's just not knowing WHAT to do with stuff so end up putting it back where I picked it up from!

if you lived near me I'd come and do it...I love a good chuck out

Freecycle is good for giving things away.

Be very selective about what you keep. If you have not used the item in over a year, bin it.

Throw out as you go along, don't move stuff from room to room.

Keep only the stuff that you are really attached to - and only one of each thing. First or favourite teddy bear, not a sack full.

Don't think that your DC will someday want the stuff.

I think your plan sounds good. Hvae heard it makes it more managable to do it this way. Some one told me to set an alarm also, so that when your time is up, your not tempted to do 'just one more thing'. I am v. bad for that!
Also if you have the motivation, maybe taking some stuff to a car boot sale, if its in good enough nick. It might be junk to you, but someone might want it and you could maybe make a few quid into the bargain.

And if theres anything massive that has sentimental value but no use (or monetary value) take a picture of it before you get rid.

We did that with a huge wooden galleon from dh's grandmas's house. It took up so much room and was adusty old thing.

Remember the William Morris mantra:

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

Your plan sounds great. It might be an idea to set targets for much you want to get rid of, eg: 50% of what's in this cupboard, 30 items from this room, etc.

Get your partner to agree to you sorting stuff out yourself and judging what can be chucked. MrNC is always keeping widgets and bits of metal that might 'come in useful someday', and since the time when we saved ourselves the hassle and cost of an emergency plumber one Easter midnight by his having some plumbing olives to hand (priced in old money, inherited from his grandfather...) will not allow any such stuff to be binned. Nor all his disks or videos until he 'goes through them'...

Luckily he will agree to have me go through any papers and only keep what he needs. Anything relating to pre-2000 we almost certainly don't need.

Anything that wouldn't make at least a fiver on Ebay probably isn't worth the hassle unless you have more time than money. Carbooting a lot might be better but saving stuff to boot can lead to never getting round to it...

I try to figure how much it would cost to replace something if I really needed it, versus how much space it occupies. And how much MrNC would notice if it went... he's a right sentimental sausage...

I'm planning to get rid of stuff in Jan too. WE've been looking forward to moving into our loft conversion for ages so when that happens I want to be ruthless with what gets put in the loft spaces and rooms. Hopefully I can get rid of stuff faster than parents etc give it to us. [hmmm]

Taking fly lady's advice - helped me
Easy and quick

Every day put the timer on for 15 mins and cull 27 items - this adds up really quickly

For those items not thrown
put a bag in the boot of the car and everytime you go shopping drop off at charity shop or recycling at local supermarket

Take all old magasines to your doctors

Children's ward at our local hospital are really grateful for dvd and old computer games - especially for children confined to bed for long periods

Put all his old stuff in cardboard box and date mark
See if he will agree if not used in 6mths will be recycled/thrown
Good luck

Thanks girls (ladies?). That is really useful. and I love Cybil's idea of taking a photo of old stuff with massive sentimental value.

This is going to cost me but I feel it will be so worth it when it works out.

you're welcome. good luck with the clear out. 'Tis good for the soul.