down sizing where do I start???

p_joker

Hi all just looking for a bit of advice, we live in quite a large rented house at the mo its 2 bed plus attic room, we sleep in attic room kids have what was our large bed room and smaller room is used for computer and most of my husbands books and other rubbish hes collected over the years, thing is a chance for a cheap rental has come up, at the moment we pay £595 a month and this one will be £440, we were hoping to get a part buy part rent house but got turned down for mortgage surprise surprise lol and they asked if we would like this house, if we say no their going to sell it as they said after this one their not doing rentals any more and I understand we are only aloud to live in there for a few years? The thins is its 2 bed quite small new build house Im not worried at all about moving into a smaller house easier to clean and heat and all that but where do u start when getting rid of stuff? I have 2 boys age 4 and soon to be 2 im 99% sure I don't want any more children but I still have moses basket, baby clothes, cot sheets, and Im having trouble if I should part with it or not my head says yes but then I think oh what if i want it later? I look at stuff and think I will bag it all up and give it away then I think I would like to sell it at car boot but then I think its to much trouble lol, how do u let go of stuff?

themull1

Im really ruthless, and just take any good stuff to the charity shop, and any rubbish to the tip, if you wanted to keep some baby stuff just in case, put it in the loft.

p_joker

i saw a prog the other week where and elderly couple moved form a 3 bed house to a 1 bed flat and had to chuck half their stuff away well I say half prob more so I should think of them really and look on it as a new chapter

rachbc

charity shop, freecycle, ebay if I can be bothered. Have done well at car boots with cds and dvd but not with other stuff

shelley_crow

i have the opposite problem, really need more space but can't afford it at the moment.

Go through all of your stuff and see what you need to get rid of/declutter. That's always a good starting point before getting rid of things you actually want.

I live in a small 2 bed house with only one downstairs rooms plus the kitchen. Think really hard about making the switch, I have a six year old and a six months old baby and we are cramped. It's silly things like not being able to fit a table in to eat from, we've got a crappy folding one but it's not the same.

January20

My rule is is I haven't worn it/ used it for a couple of years, or if it has been at the back of a cupboard and I've forgotten about it really, it goes.

I don't bother with car boot sales as last time people wanted stuff to be practically given away to them, or Ebay etc, I just freecycle it or give it to a charity shop.

pigpen

IF you've not used it in 6 months FLING IT.. apart from DS1's clothes that you save for DS2.. once they get to about 3-5 you can offload outgrown clothes to nursery.

I bag everthing and drop it off at charity shop.. we are quite lucky that we have several (9) charity shops in walking distance and some will even collect.. I am actually surprised we still have stuff in the house the amount I have disposed of the last 10 years. I love to fling!

I started getting rid of the 'clutter' .. ornaments, pictures, unused bedding, then started on toys and books and then I go through clothes as I wash them.. It seems to work quite well.. when the house is fully tidied which takes 3 full days it looks fabulous.. this happens maybe once a year.. lol

There is a declutter thread over on OS.. one sec...link added.

That is really useful.

delain

Leave the husband behind!

caelshorn

getting rid of stuff is HARD. Our clutter is all mine, and I'm just starting to go through it to make room for baby.
Clothes - if I didn't wear it last summer I won't wear it this summer (with a big belly? no chance) and likely not the summer after either. Same with other seasons.
Hobbies - does any of it go off (e.g. paints)? Keep the expensive stuff, and give away the rest, it's easy to replace, and you will save loads of money on the lower rent
I always do the three way test: time, cost and emotion. When is the last time I used it? How much would it cost to replace? How attached am I to it? I had a lot of things that reminded me of my dad. I've kept three so far. One I can wear (like a big hug ), one I can carry around with me and one I can look at. The rest I offered to the rest of the family and if they didn't want it, it went. I know he wouldn't want me to live under a mountain of clutter.

And re possibility of another baby - it's AMAZING what you can get for free/cheap when you're expecting. And what goes around comes around. If you pass on your baby clothes and equipment, someone will do the same for you if you decide to have another child.

Good luck!

mummyplus3

I'm about to start on this!

We have got a local charity shop that only sells baby and childrens bit and if you take in baby equipment they spilt it 50/50 with you. So were going to take everything there as I cba to list it all on ebay etc... plus the charity makes a decent amount from it too. Do you have anything like that near you?