Feeling low with clutter

*Louise*

Brighton_belle wrote: »

I've just paid for a professional declutter and it's the best £200 for 5 hrs I've spent,.

Really??

I honestly never knew you could get people to do it for you...how does it work, do they consult you on what is and isnt clutter then 'have words' if you don't want rid?

Sounds interesting.

Gabyjane, after reading your post, it sounds like a company you should work with lol :rotfl:

Mme.Hibou

Brighton_belle wrote: »

I've just paid for a professional declutter and it's the best £200 for 5 hrs I've spent, especially as I have already made back £105 on ebay through selling what was decluttered.(I am not well off, but decided this was worth more than a holiday to me)

And the experience was so inspiring and helpful it has left me with clear goals on how to tackle the rest and how to prevent more in the future.

I want to live as simply as possible and for everything I own to have a home or a use or it goes.

Have you got any details for this please, or who you used?

Brighton_belle

yes there is very much such a job - the people I used were lovely and it is very client led. They are very respectful of the fact that what may look like rubbish to them, might be the last thing your mother held so they do not dictate what should be chucked. They ask what you want the outcome of your session to be and help you work towards that. They help you be as ruthless as you can cope with, so every client will be different.

Crucialy, it isn't just about getting rid of stuff, but about leaving behind a system that works for you. They are not into you buying lots of new storage, but help you make better use of what you already own.

I'm very happy to post the website - do you think it is ok to do that (or should I PM individuals) - I have no connection what so ever with the company other than being a very happy client.

*Louise*

If you have no afiliation with them you should be fine to post their details. After all there is a vent/praise section of the forum for naming companies, so it must be allowed.

I'm not looking to hire them, I just wondered how they worked, and they sound like they would be a sensible solution for some.....mind you, I might recommend them (or someone like them) to my mum, she is terrible for keeping clutter :rotfl:

tandraig

I gave seven black bin bags full of books to the charity shop a couple of weeks ago - and yet my house is still full of them! my OH complains constantly about the books - yet the house is clean, ornaments etc kept to a minimum, no unnecessary furniture - its just i like to be surrounded by my books!
I think i need bookshelves - but OH refuses to get some on the grounds that i would only fill them with books! oh and my craft room - my room - also has various craft projects all over the place - but that doesnt matter as OH only goes in there to borrow one of my tools or my glue gun!
the compromise is - the living and dining room and the kitchen are book free zones and the books are confined to my computer area and my craft room.
er - except i have some cookery books stashed in the kitchen cupboard and have a stash of the books i could never bear to part with hidden in the wardrobe in the spare bedroom.

Brighton_belle

this is the company I used. Their website really explains how they work and what they offer:
http://www.cluttergone.co.uk/

Very friendly and helpful.

tantraig - my OH loves 2nd hand books and our front room walls are one vast bookshelf, but I really like them as they are part of who he is.

kingfisherblue

Tandraig, I know what you mean about books. I am guilty of buying far too many, but I do read them all and I go back to them in a year or two as well. I have complete sets of Enid Blytons that I had as a child, but every now and then I will read them again. Sort of like comfort eating without the calories....

But I must admit to being guilty of too much clutter. I have three kids and before Christmas, I sent eight binbags to charity (I'm learning to love all those charity bags that come through the door, but I only use those that I know, such as Age Concern and NSPCC). I currently have a black binbag in the downstairs bathroom - it has a few things in, waiting for the next charity bag.

I have also just bought six tall bookcases for the lounge. They will line one wall, with the last bookcase going next to the chimney. Things that don't get used very often will be put on the lower shelves that will be covered by the settee . DVDs and regularly used books, plus all new, unread books will go on other shelves. My two sons will have a few shelves each for their books as well. I just need to put them together

As well as the kids' stuff and the books, I'm a Brownie and Rainbow guider, so I have lots of resources for my units. I've managed to get most of them onto a bookcase in my bedroom and a unit on the landing, but you can still find tubes of maps in the hall, a couple of bags of craft stuff on the kitchen table, and my accounts books on the dining room table! Then there is my badge record file and notes on who needs to finish clauses to complete an interest badge......

Then of course, there is the ever increasing pile of paperwork. There's my 'to do' pile, which stays about the same. As I sort something out, more seems to be added. The other pile is the 'completed and ready for filing' pile, which just grows to mountainous proportions until I chuck it all in a carrier bag for the loft, marked 'Paperwork' followed by the year concerned.

But I am improving - very slowly! I'm tackling a bit at a time, when I'm in the mood. I have an end vision, where my home is tidy and clutter free :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Oh well, I can dream

tandraig

I soooo envy you your bookcases!!! I am thinking I am a bit sad - some of my books are nearly as precious as my kids! I just thirst for knowledge - I LOVE learning about something.
my light reading i am prepared to pass on - a bit reluctantly - but i will do it if forced to.
my special books i wont - and they must number in the hundreds!
I drive my OH insane - I think he owns one book....and thats the Haynes manual on his current car!

cranezoe

I spent yesterday sorting out the toy mess. myhusband is forever moaning (rightly so) that our 3 year old has so many toys she doesnt play with and that still look so new. I worked out that she only really plays with whats readily available to her and I keep forgetting to get other things out. with a 3month old now too the living/dining/relaxing/play room was just a state. anyway, I moved furniture around so I dont have to look at the play kitchen all evening and I converted the understairs cupboard into a toy room, shelved it and stacked all the games, arts and craft and puzzles and then put the happyland, dolls house, doll bits, lego etc all under the shelves. now that there is nothing in the living room I have to make an effort to get it out of the cupboard for her or she can go and look herself.

and I did a freecycle bag too. and binned broken/spoilt things.

phew! I hate clutter!

pukkamum

The key do decluuttering is not to see it as a once a year/month job but an everyday thing.
Take ten mins every day to clear a bit of clutter and it will soon be gone!!!!
BUT you still need to keep on decluttering as clutter doesn't happen over night it takes weeks and months and years.
My pantry is a clutter hot spot as soon as i 'put' someting in there that doesn't have a home everyone else and me throws more stuff on top, clutter attracts clutter, so if everyday i spend ten mins clearing it it doesn't turn clutter filled!!!