de-cluttering - what do I keep?

[titferbrains]

I have resolved to declutter this year.

I am a real hoarder and in particular I love magazines. I have piles of them everywhere.
For example, I have a heap of The Face magazines that I loved and I want some collector to have - I can't bring myself to recycle them....

I used to be a PA so I tend to file everything or create "filing" piles with bits of info waiting to be transferred to filofax, laptop, address book etc. plus receipts and guarantees waiting to go into ring binders. What paper work is it essential to file??

Also I need to get rid of some clothes and accept that I'm not going to ever lose THAT much weight...

Do you have that problem when you tend to keep things for your daughter? What should I actually keep? I'm about to get rid of old receipts and some old school exam papers - am never going to read them again.

Have been repeating "is it beautiful or useful?" as a mantra... wish me luck...

somethinganything - For your childfree hours. How many hours is it exactly? And what time of day? Just thinking maybe we could all help you work out a plan as to what to spend that time on? Sometimes it is easier for somebody from the outside?

I'm constantly on a mission to declutter and organise my house. I'm almost inclined to think that I'm pathologically unable to keep my house tidy - both my mum and my grandad have/had very messy houses and hoard(ed) everything.. maybe it's genetic!! I find doing it in concentrated bursts and then rewarding myself helps eg. set alarm for 15 minutes, frantically tidy then put stuff away. Repeat 3 times then have a 15 minute break, have a drink, fritter away some time on the internet, then back to work. Could you Freecycle the magazines or take them to doctor's surgery for others to use? Good luck.

twolittlemonkeys - I could have written that myself! My mum has a messy house, but still lectures me about mine. I do think, although I wouldn't blame her for my house, as its still me who doesn't tidy it. If you arn't brought up doing things as you go along, it is really hard to get into the good habits yourself. Got a big shock housework wise when I first moved in with DH.

DHs Mum is extremly clean and tidy BUT she did EVERYTHING for DH, even as a young adult. Litterally even ran him baths, ran round after him all the time. So neither of us really knew how to keep a house tidy.

Jenny v sweet of you to offer to try and help shake me out of my lethargy! Feeling a bit more positive today. Put a few more bits on ebay and have had a bid of 40 quid for one item so feeling like it might actually be worth it! Took a bag of stuff to the charity shop but am still a couple of days behind.

The mornings are when I supposedly do my decluttering but there's a lot of other stuff going on at the same time, we're doing a loft conversion and trying to get it finished before DC2 arrives next month, which means that I spend a lot of time online trying to find the right size/price/style bath/blinds/patio doors etc plus various other bits like filling in a 39-page form for maternity allowance, rather late thank-yous for xmas presents, keeping up to date with a local campaign I'm involved in, fielding queries from the builders, grocery shopping - what with all that and my budding ebay business, decluttering just seems to come last on the agenda. Hence not making it onto Mumsnet yesterday!

Have broken today's "free" hours into one-hour slots but have all manner of materials to source for the building project so will prob not get onto decluttering again today. Have not completely given up hope though, will start again with renewed vigour next week and try to do an hour or two at the weekend if there's time when DH is around. Anyway, must get on.

Do keep posting about what you're all up to, it's v motivating...

monkeys love the putting on music and doing short bursts idea

Hey just to say I have also been trying to get "jobs" done which will make the house feel nicer and encourage me to make it look nice. So have got a handyman coming in for 2 hrs this week to do the jobs my DH can't hasn't managed to do HURRAH! Pictures up, things repaired etc. Also have been to get brochures to get a shower put in and me and DH have actually chosen some things! Also, have contacted a gardener to help tidy our garden which will be lovely when the snow melts...

Having people come to the house means I make myself finish all the washing up, clear all surfaces etc.

I have been trying to do little things whenever I can, eg just binning a couple of magazines upstairs makes me feel better.

I am SOOO ADD when it comes to doing anything so I do a bit in one room then a bit in another, then I empty the bin, then I do some laundry etc etc so it will be a slow process but I tend to get bored if I try to do it one go.

HAve to fess up to massive pile of filing I created still being on the floor in the living room. I hate filing. Job for tmw is getting bills put online I think!!

Hope everyone keeps going. I think good dance tunes or an interesting radio show are really helpful when trying to stay motivated!! keep it up girls this thread ROCKS!

How's everyone getting on?

I'm planning another big sesh in the garage this afternoon with help of BIL. We've had ILs visiting for the past couple of days and the trouble is every time anyone comes to the house it takes me bloody hours to clear up afterwards (spent 2 hrs clearing all beds, putting everything back in its place etc this morning) and then they always leave things for us to 'keep hold of' until next time or xmas presents for other relatives to pick up when they come to visit the new baby. Plus our rubbish collection was cancelled last week due to weather so the place is overrun with bags of uncollected recycling - feel I'm constantly battling an ever-increasing mountain of stuff. It's just relentless.

Anyway, on a brighter note, have made my first 80quid on ebay and have two more auctions finishing today, which I hope will make a bit of dosh. Am determined to get rid of more stuff today (with the help of a hefty dose of caffeine). Will let you know how I get on.

Titfer sounds like you're making great progress - keep us posted and v good idea re the handyman and gardener