Decluttering 2012, this year, definitely ...

mineallmine

dragonlily wrote: »

LOL, that has made my day. Wowsers :eek: At least you must always look very well groomed

I think hair brushes must breed .... I am now seriously wondering how many I have .... x

When I laid them out I thought wt..
Couldn't believe it. I still think there are some left in the rooms I've yet to declutter. It just shows how you get into a habit of oooh I can't find that so I'll buy another one. x 15

That sounds like good progress motherhen2234 - keep going! :T

I suggest a simple but flexible plan Making my house a home. So out of all the rooms which are the most important to get sorted? It no doubt feels like they all need to but there will be a top 1 or 2 that need your full attention to begin with. For me the kitchen is still a bugg*r! It has no storage space and the surfaces always seem cluttered. Once you've decided on the priority areas, go there as soon as you can and try and clear 5 things. Anything. Give it a go. Small steps lead to bigger goals :A

silvermist05

dragonlily wrote: »

I have been lurking recently but working hard on decluttering and def making in-roads. Just wondering though, what is an ideal amount of clothes / bag shoes etc to have.

I have finally hit the point of doing all our laundry every weekend in its entirety and have started to realise I have a tendency just to wear the same things.

How much space do you have for your clothes and to what extent are you decluttering them? ......

H x

I was wondering the same thing I have set myself a challenge to not buy any new clothes bags etc for a whole year but as I don't have much to start with I'm wondering if it's possible. I've already had to throw a pair of work jeans and now I've got a hole in my only long black leggings.

fpcat

Hiya all, I've been reading this thread on and off for months, and finally I'm joining in. I've moaned about my OH being a packrat for ages, but was shocked when my son came to help in July and told me I was also hoarding, and cluttering the house.:eek: I guess it needs new eyes to see the obvious. He took decisive action, and contacted the junk/antique shop, who actually paid for some of my old furniture, and also fabric and clothes. I don't know what was in the bags but I haven't missed it. He worked like a Trojan and filled a very large skip of my husbands junk and my DIL helped me clear the kitchen. Since then I've taken about eight large loads to charity shops, I'm talking full to the roof carloads, and I currently have about 22 bags waiting to go - Monday I hope.
My problem now is maintaining the tidiness in the rooms I've done, and facing the horrors of the main bedroom and basement still to do. A skip for the basement stuff probably, but it still needs to be sorted before chucking in the skip. I'm keeping on, and actually enjoying the space we have, I hope to finish the main part by New Year, but I've realised that there is still lots to declutter even in rooms I've already done.
Thanks for helping me with all your posts, it's good to know I'm not alone, and perhaps not even the worst clutterer. I'll let you know how many bags I get rid of tomorrow, and how many are still hanging around. FPCat

suzeesu2000

Making_my_house_a_home wrote: »

Where do I start? I have clutter everywhere. I don't throw anything away as I am trying to get myself out of debt and I might be able to sell it. The debt is going down but the clutter is not. I would like to sell as much as possible and put the money I make into home improvements as I have so many things that need to be fixed. Really would like to sort my house out by May as my daughter is expecting and would like her to come to mine as much as possible, please help

Hello and welcome to us!

Have a look here http://www.mysimplerlife.com/calendar2011/2011.pdf
Will give you some idea of how you COULD declutter and still live :rotfl:

I mention the "4 boxes" principle again:
1. Throw away
2. Put away
3. Give away
4. eBay

I work on clearing an area and adding items to each box. When one is full, it is dealt with. I currently have a full eBay box which I shall list shortly and another full for charity. But do remember, what works for me might not work so well for you so adapt as you need to.

I found having a target to work towards gave me a sense of purpose, almost like having someone standing over me ensuring the job got done.

Also can understand your ebaying to raise money, I went through a "keep it, it might sell on eBay" phase too. Try to be honest though, I sent a huge amount to charity shop as, when I was honest, there is no way what I had would sell and give me a profit after packaging and fees- and the fees can stack up so quickly. Last eBay I did cost me £72 in fees.:eek:

ostrichnomore_2

boy oh boy do I need to do this, so can I join too?

Lifelong packrat and messy person, i'm drowning in stuff here. Had a massive clear out a couple of months ago when I moved into basically one room, but even that is still a problem (what is supposed to be my wardrobe is just full of boxes of papers and books and goodness knows what). I've got cupboards and drawers full of old papers. I've got a cupboard full of piled up clothes that I haven't worn for years probably...although now I've lost some weight it's nice to go through and find some old favourites I can wear again. But I need to start chucking out anything that is now too big.

It's so daunting, that's the problem. It's easier just to open the door and chuck a few more bits on top. Oh, and carrier bags full of paperwork too everywhere....I guess paper is my big problem! I just feel I should keep everything 'in case', but I don't need to really. And I've got bags of stuff sorted to go to the charity shop but never make time to take them in.

Thanks for this thread and challenge. The whole '10 things a day for 10 days' is a brilliant idea, makes it painless but quickly gets shot of junk. the weird thing is I actually love having a big clear out, it feels great, but I'm put off as I always make a massive job of it. So it only happens every five years or so, I get halfway through, and give up. This thread has helped me realise that little and often is better.

OK, so ten things a day from now to Christmas :-)

Gers

Morning - was really good to read all the stories from over the weekend.

Bedroom is almost clear of stuff :j and my ruthless streak is keeping me going. Now I am going to (again) tackle the three chest of drawers in there before moving them into the living room. Yes, I did a clothes cull the other week but more have to go.

I found the 20/80 theory very interesting and am sure I fall into that too as the majority of the clothes in the three chests are mostly no longer worn.

Had a sudden panic on Friday when I couldn't find the stash of clothes which I had moved out of the wardrobes. Much later I remembered that I had put them into the large suitcase that I moved out of the way to search for them.

Now got a list of the order of work and the decorator is coming tonight to give his quote and date for the work. Once he's done his work it's the wardrobe fitter, carpet fitter and then bed etc.

Anyone want 24 Ikea glasses?? :rotfl::rotfl: They will be going out today... sheer madness.

Happy decluttering everyone.

Lilyplonk

Good morning :hello: everybody and a big welcome to our newcomers .

Never too late to jump on board the 'Clutter Express' - we're already experts at making room for everything/everybody on this thread :rotfl: . After all, that's why we're here .

I'm heading off for my 'coach pick up' for my trip to Blackpool in a few minutes - so I'll have to make this a very quick post.

My Recycling Wheelie Bin is on the pavement - filled to the brim with all kinds of recycling stuff :j - lost track of counting properly .

The Rubbish Bin is almost full with bits of packaging that won't recycle as well as the usual household rubbish.

The Food Waste Bin is also practically full - lots of veg peelings from soup making for OH - Spicy Parsnip / Carrot & Butterbean. Also from prepping/freezing parsnips towards Christmas Lunch .

Hope that OH remembers to bring the bins back into the rear garden and locks up later. Better speak to him later to make sure :rotfl:.

Good Luck with your Decluttering during the next five days - hope it goes well for you all - I'm really going to miss this thread .

Keep Calm and Carry On Decluttering!

Lilyplonk xxx

ostrichnomore_2

starting small for my first day :T

handbag and purse
1- parking pay and display from last week - put in expenses claim at work
2-5 - random receipts - binned
6 - dried up mascara - binned.
7-9 - 3 pens returned to office drawer
10 - 1 loose chewing gum (unused!) - eaten

short_bird

There you go, Ost, money coming in already:D

museumworker

Hello all - welcome newbies, and well done everyone else, some great decluttering going on here!

Chat about ebay is interesting, I have lots of things I should ebay, but haven't listed for quite some time. I have an empty box under the stairs with lid, so might go on hunt and put them all in there til it is full, then can start listing. Will free up space in cupboards and drawers. My main problem is I think I should 'blitz' ebay listings and do a massive amount on a FLW, but in reality my weekends are really busy and I get overwhelmed. Perhaps I will just aim in December to do a listing a day. Anyone else in?

Was away for weekend, but did 3 outs before I went, and 3 more now am back home:
172 - 173. Opened baby formula milk. Was given by a friend, but never needed to use it and advice is to chuck it after 4 weeks. DS is 5 months old now , so have binned the powder, and recycled the tins.
174. birthday present I hate from loved family member - charity shop
175. greetings cards with accidental christian message inside - gave to mum, she likes that sort of thing
176. ood surgical spirit - to chemist
177. fridge thermometer - our fridge has built in thermometer and doesn't seem to work as room thermometer - charity.

Let's see if can get to 200 by end of week!

Project 333 going well, it only took me 25 mins to pack to go away which is a record!