Running out of space...

We are complete clutter monsters here...i try and adopt the 12 month rule (if i haven't used something in 12 months then OUT it goes) - this works well for margarine tubs, old xmas cards, newspapers, jars, bottles and seasonal thingies, but less well for fabric, wool, craftie bits and bobs etc...
I keep lots of stuff in the spare bedroom, but with mowslet number 2 on the way that will all have to change....
Alot of my clutter also relates to unfinished projects - i have an old wardrobe full of half knitted jumpers, half quilted quilts, odd pieces of patchwork, half a rag rug etc..most shameful!!
I find it helpful to recycle but not hoard...i am very prone to hoarding, but do make a concerted effort to go through my hoardings every few months and get rid of what i'm not going to use...
That said, i love abit of clutter...i think it's lovely to see demi johns on the bubble, knitting on the go, plants on the grow...i come from a family of hoarders, make do and menders, clutter bugs and "keep it, it might come in usefullers", so the thought of minimalist surfaces not covered in jam jars full of bits of string or carefully folded pieces of used brown paper is very scarey....
Well done with being so organised for Xmas pressies etc...
all the best mows

Had to get OH to put additional shelves up in the kitchen to accommodate the OS cookware. Now the shelves are full ...

I think that to store stuff you have to get a little bit creative and not look for the obvious - like - the margerine tubs you have for frozen stuff, I would only keep ones that will stack inside each other and see if there is a way that this stack could be stored in the freezer, I have Clover tubs for my stuff, they all stack and will lay on their sides on a freezer shelf if need be, and also don't keep too many, work out what you are likely to use and bin the rest.

Same with the jam jars, if you fill them with jam they will have to go somewhere, so can they go to that place now? even if it means putting the stuff that was on the shelf into them, like putting all your OXO cubes in them.

Do you have space under beds? is there a loft, cellar or a cupboard under the stairs? I'm afraid that space is a luxury that we don't have but I have got rid of genuine clutter (stuff that we will never need again) and used the space for stuff that we will need one day like the stuff I have stocked up on from boot sales this year to save dashing out to buy full priced stuff in an emergency ( details in another thread!)

edit - I've just read how many times I have used the word 'stuff'!

Well I live in a studio flat so there's no hiding any mess! I'd like a breadmaker but there really is nowhere to put one. I had a huge declutter inspired by the feng shui thread and my cupboards are a bit better...not such an avalanche when you open them etc.

It's really hard though...decluttering to make space in cupboards is the only thing that has kind of worked for me...

It's very difficult! I seem to have bags of wrapping paper and ribbon etc all over the place. It needs streamlining and dedicated boxes!

I live in a one bedroomed place, but I have a huge kitchen and lounge and bedroom, and yet my boyfriend doesn't think there would be enough room for him to move in, "because you have so much stuff"!!!!! Oops! It's not really sluttered though, I HATE clutter! At the moment I'm having a streamlining season. Last night I was thrilled to find I was ruthless enough to lose around a shelf and a half of books! Some I read and didn't like, others I'd never fancied reading...five random veggie cookbooks with dodge photos (I can get all the recipes I need from here anyway, and of course the lovely Nigella, Mary Berry and Delia books that I will keep!). I'm usually terrible for getting rid of books, but was given 13 for my birthday, so thought I should make space.

So tonight it's the kitchen cupboards. Yep, the ones where you pull out a cooling tray and the whole lot falls on the floor!

I have utilised worktop space better by making a pan-stand. It's the width of a shallow bookcase, made of pine, a sort of H-shape. The pans sit on the top, just shy of the underneath of the cupboards, and I don't lose workspace. My boyfriend's going to put a shelf in abov my microwave, too, as I can't put things on their (health and safety...say my boyfriend, though at the moment there's tons on top!), so that will give me more space in the kitchen. A lot of the space in the kitchen is floor..not much use!

My breadmaker is on top the freezer.

I'm also going to invest in a sturdy plastic lockable garden chest type-thing. Then I can get the strimmer, all pots and gardening things, out of the house...

Fun though!