Decluttering for move

[LlamaFluff]

Can anyone offer good advice where to start with decluttering with impending move please? I feel a bit overwhelmed!

I mean what would you start with first, and what would you leave last? If anyone done this recently I’d love to hear what worked well and what maybe wasn’t as important?

• [Note from MNHQ - we've edited the typo in the title]

My biggest bugbear are electrical items

-If they are broken, there are usually bins (like charity clothing bins) where you can put them in

-If working, advertise on nextdoor, marketplace or olio app.
-If its a sunny day, put a table out the front, plonk everything on there with a sign 'FREE- please take'

Books in the bin? Sacre Bleu!

You can scan them and you don’t get much but at least they are picked up and reused. Book magpie sonething like that my mum uses.

Have you actually tried listing something on EBay, Vinted , Gumtree? It’s so blooming easy these days and Royal Mail come to your house with already addressed labels for your purchasers, that you don’t actually leave the house.
if you have M&S jeans for example you can get £12 a pair.

But I digress.
What really makes the difference is binning what’s broken and definitely won’t be travelling.
And then consider large items which you have multiple versions. Suitcases, holdalls, pillows, duvets, sleeping bags, golf bags, bikes, lawn mowers.
Chucking out big stuff gets results fast and you feel you are achieving something.

Baby board books. Nobody wants them. I've tried

Our local church porch has a couple of shelves for donations of books and kids books are really popular.

Book a slot with this company - they collect, including small electronic items. A time limit may help! https://anglodoorstepcollections.co.uk/

I read something recently which suggested that you change your mindset.
Don't think "what shall I get rid of" but, instead, think "what do I want to keep".

My biggest bugbear are electrical items - charity shops don’t take those
Have you checked that recently? Some of ours do now, that didn't used to.

I've used Anglo Doorstep quite a few times now, they don't take everything but they do take loads including things that charity shops won't accept. There's lists on their website of items they'll take.

I've also got rid of things by putting them outside on the street with the Free To Take sign on them. They're never there long.

Anglo doorstep is a god send - you book a slot (they are every 2-3 weeks in my area) & just leave the stuff outside in boxes/bags

it gets taken to other countries and used so this gets over my guilt of discarding things that still have some life on them & saves the time to go to charity shop etc

Thanks. I’ve checked one of the charity shops today, they do take electrical items, so we’ve dropped off 2 boxes & 3 bags of stuff today (not just electrical items, an assortment of random stuff). It was very satisfying. Will do similar tomorrow.

We don’t have an exchange/completion date yet. but we’re pretty close. Thankfully we won’t be moving in straight away as there’s work to be done in the new house, so we still have a few months.

I just need to try and concentrate on one room at a time, as I keep starting somewhere (ie our bedroom), then move on somewhere else (DC bedroom) because I find an item that I don’t know what to do with it. I suppose any progress is still progress but it just feel like stuff is incomplete IYSWIM?

Use olio to give stuff away for free in London someone always comes the next day. Even a bag of bras and socks.

The loft first. If something isn't used at least once a year (Christmas decorations and suitcase s) then it goes out.

@LlamaFluff You say you are pretty close to getting an exchange/completion date but you won’t be moving in for a few months? How does that work? Are you moving into temporarily a corporation whilst you do the work?

The whole "it would be a shame to bin this" "where could I donate this?" "Should I sell this?" was holding me up because I was dithering over stuff. So I got a skip, picked a room to start with and was ruthless. Went systematically through every room/cupboard/drawer/wardrobe/toy box and filled the skip. Some clothes went to the clothes bank and some books went to charity, but other than that just letting go of the guilt I had over how wasteful it felt to bin stuff was the starting point. We're moving in the next few months and are trying to make sure we don't take anything we don't want or need. Odd bits of furniture etc we can't afford to immediately replace will be coming with us, but that's it.

@LlamaFluff I just need to try and concentrate on one room at a time, as I keep starting somewhere (ie our bedroom), then move on somewhere else (DC bedroom) because I find an item that I don’t know what to do with it.

I would try to reframe this; rather than trying one room at a time, pick a category of items and just focus on those. So, assess books, bric-a-brac, paperwork, clothes, toys, shoes, crockery, bedding, etc etc. Don't get derailed by anything else outside the selected category, even if you think "Oh that thing's an easy sort". Stay focused on your chosen theme. Keep a list and tick categories off as you've done them, so you'll see your progress even if the house still looks a bit cluttered. You'll get there...

Started with clothes. Then electronics and I was ruthless with both. Then towels and bedding. Didn't keep much. I still have too many books and paintings, and I'm debating whether one of the sofas should be binned. It's very old and worn but comfortable.

Good luck with it. Just start.

I’m in the middle of this as we speak. I started at the top, loft, then down through each floor.
As others have said, bin, charity and keep. I can’t be bothered with any on line selling as it takes too long, I’m ruthless and want the things that are going, gone immediately. No rethinking!
My biggest problem is DH and his useful bits of nails, electrical plugs and half used glues etc, so I’ve given him a large plastic box to put them all in together.
He also spends ages reading pamphlets, old instruction manuals etc before putting them in the bin. At least it distracts him from seeing what I’m binning.
We’re also going into storage, so everything got rid of is less money spent - very cathartic.

I started selling online @Beebumble2 , but really can't be bothered with it.

An example of an item I listed, that cost £200 new, listed for £15, worn three times, like new (have lost weight). Someone asked me for a photo of the care label, measurement across bust, waist, sleeve and garment length, it is a standard UK size item of clothing from Jaegar.

I decided that my time is worth more than that - flipping tedious. I'd rather the Blue Cross shop profit from my cast offs.

You could try donating to your local library if they are in good condition. I volunteer in a library and we take donations. Also maybe try a church mother and toddler group.