My House is a Pig Sty, Too Much Stuff, Where do I Start??

jojo3_2

try flylady.com for inspiration!

kscour

I've had to be quite brutal lately, I couldn't justify a car boot sale or even ebay - being self employed and trying to put the house back together I didn't have time and also when I weighed up the time/cost element I realised that I'ld have to make quite a bit to justify the loss of income from the time it would take (including preperation time) to do the car boot/ebay.
The solution was easy - MIL helps with local cancer fundraising and they sold my junk for me FOC and I felt pretty good about them getting the cash as well. The best bit though was getting rid of the stuff guilt free!!!
Yep I've kept it for the youngest but guess what the youngest didn't always want it! And the youngest still gets some new stuff cos it's what suits her etc. And at the end of the day the youngest doesn't need 30 odd t-shirts!:eek:
My advice (for what it's worth) do it one room at a time - any room first, doesn't really matter, put the stuff you can live without in black bags then deep breath! and either commit yourself to a car boot sale and price it all up, go to ebay and put it straight on or admit defeat and give it to a local charity that'll give you a feel good factor - then enjoy the nice space it's left!
I feel good about the profit MIL & Co. made but I feel alot better being able to move in my house!!:D
Good Luck!

crawley_girl

If you haven't used it within the last 6 months - get rid! I had a massive blitz in my bedroom about 4 months ago as I was going to redecorate. Very cathartic indeed and my local charity shop loved me!

M advice is to get stuck in and don't stop until it is all done!!! Nah - whack on music that is uplifting and upbeat and do it in small manageable chunks.

Good luck

:heartpuls CG :heartpuls

broomstick27

jojo3 wrote:

try flylady.com for inspiration!

yup I second this. Start with a shiny sink and before long your home wil be spotless!

cabbageboy

OK.. Here's what you've got to do - I know EXACTLY where you're coming from!!!:rotfl:

Start with one room - perhaps a spare room if you have one, or one that you don't use too often......

Clear a space, and make 4 separate areas...

Go through every item, and think: Do I REALLY want this item??
If YES - put it in pile No 1
If NO - put it in pile No 2

Now go through pile 2 - think - Is this item in good order / working?
If YES - put it in pile No 3
If NO - put it in pile No 4

Now go through pile No 3 - think - Is this item actually WORTH any money?
If YES - put it back in pile No 2
If NO - leave it in pile No 3

Now,
Pile No 1 - Keep and find a home for it somewhere - cupboard, etc
Pile No 2 - This is your e-bay / car boot pile
Pile No 3 - This is your freecycle / charity pile
Pile No 4 - Take it to the tip / recycling centre.

Make sense? - you NEED to think hard on each item, and be totally honest with yourself - you don't want to take up space with items that you'll never use again. You don't want to waste your time trying to sell things on e-bay that might actually cost you more in fees than you get!
You can make a nice donation to a charity shop

bobsa1

Why is it that everyone on this site is so sensible! Thanks all for your suggestions. Dh off to the tip with the rubbish first thing (with all 3 DD's) whilst I tackle another room and prepare charity shop and tip stuff, turbolister a great idea, any other suggestions?

Agutka

I know where you're coming from as I have a housefull of stuff to ebay/carboot. Because even if I don't want it, I cannot bring myself to throw anything away. :rolleyes:
So many excellent suggestions. I've been meaning to go carbooting/charity shop for ages!

nearlyrich

We ended up taking a decent suite to the tip after 2 people on Freecycle didn't bother to collect it after saying they wanted it.

alikat_3

I agree with starting with childrens clothes & I'd then also look at toys. Ebay takes time up, so if you are more interested in ridding yourself of junk than making a few £££, I'd forget ebay & use charity shops, tip or bin.

My advice would be,

1. write a list of what needs doing & prioritise.
2.Do an hour a day (or what you prefer) rather than trying to do everything at once, it's amazing how much you can do in an hour.
3. Do one task at a time.

hex2

For ongoing moral support come and join us on http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=261468&page=36

Lynzpower and I have both decluttered, tidied and fixed to sell so we know what you are going through.

Great advice by Cabbageboy.

Good louck with it.