Enough is enough - the great declutter

lessonlearned

Hi everyone - nice to see this thread up again.

Still decluttering - where does it come from? Took some old chairs and a load of cardboard to the tip/recycle plant today. LP's that wouldn't sell went to the charity shp. Need to do another charity shop trip tomorrow cos car was full - again stuff that I didn't sell at last car boot.

My golden rule is if it's not sold by the end of the summer (for me the end of the car boot season cos I don't like cold weather) then it get's chucked out.

By the way - totaL money raised this year - a whopping £1150. Will start again after Christmas.

Keep up the good work everyone.

nodwah

You're an inspiration LL! I've gone really off track with ebay lately so I'll really need to get the proverbial out. I have been doing a lot of freecycling tho, but unfortuneatley I've been getting things as well as giving away!

charlies_mum

Well, as I've just said in the daily, we go away in a few weeks, and I want to put the case on the spare bed so I can start packing, but I can't even get into the spare bedroom :eek:

The problem is that I have a small business, and when I see a bargain, I just have to buy it. The latest purchase has been about 20,000 greetings cards - they were so cheap, I got them and I will make loads of money, but it will probably take me about 3 years to shift them all :eek: :eek: :eek:

Still, the declutter still goes on, I find the best way is to wait until DH goes to work, and then take loads of stuff to the tip before he can rescue it

Hope everyone is doing better than me :rolleyes:

passion8

Hello all declutterers I hope it's ok to just jump in?

For the last few days I've been reading this section of the site, and in particular the flylady topics - and I managed to clean the sink lol. It wasn't dirty as such, but it looked like new when I'd finished lol. It doesn't this morning though .....

Last night, because of being in some discomfort due to back and leg problems, and preparing for my husband having surgery next week, (minor I should add, but it might put him out of action for a few days), I burst into tears!

This is just not like me, and I realised that not only was my home cluttered, so was my mind. (I'd even considered having the loft converted to accomodate this clutter!)

So, whilst reading this, and having a few laugh out loud moments at some posts (like how we tend to move clutter around - guilty of ), I've decided to cut any losses and give everything away, barring decent books, cd's, personal stuff etc. I won't be doing the 27 items a day Flylady recommendation, more like 270 LOL. Including some of the size 8 - 18 clothes that have been languishing in the wardrobes for god knows how long. I know how you feel charlies_mum. I've bought lots from ebay in the hope that they'll make a profit too lol.

Not all's lost though, as I know a couple of adult teens that will carboot a lot of our things, and might treat us. They'd better

But I still need help, and hopefully this is the place to ask? If not can anyone direct me to the right section please?

We're empty-nesters and very rarely, if ever, entertain people.

Our galley type kitchen has only a minimal amount of storage space and is bursting at the seams. After 30 plus years of marriage it's probably understandable that we've bought a lot of cutlery, crockery, pans, etc - and even some of that is in storage ...... eek, so a question to anyone in the same position.

How many plates, pots, pans, gadgets etc do you own and use? I don't think I need six pans, two steamers, and at least three cutlery sets for example, so how do people work out exactly what they need? Is six of everything a good rule of thumb?

Thanks for reading, and if no-one can help with the above, can some kind soul direct me to a freecycle site please?

*Wanders away muttering how embarrassing it is to ask these questions at 50+*

System

I am battling with things at the moment. I am a great thrower out and my family are great horders. I can usually deal with my husbands rubbish by throwing it down the shed for him to look at and my boys dont usually notice whats gone missing (or if they do they never say) but I am having problems with my daughter. She is 22 and still lives at home. In fairness she does have the tiniest bedroom in the house but she has a good job and knows how to spend. I have been telling her for months that she is outgrowing her bedroom and needs to find a place of her own but she says she cant afford it. Meanwhile, each payday she comes home from shopping with bags and bags of clothes/dvds/cds etc and most of the time, I only see/hear it once or twice before she gets paid again and the cycle continues. All her stuff that she leaves lying around gets chucked on her bed. I dont see why she has to impose all her 'clutter' on the rest of us. Just outside her bedroom there are 3 shelves which she has stacked all her dvds/cds/mail order catalogues but she keeps trying to spread elsewhere too. The dust in her room is terrible, not that she is unclean or anything but you just cant dust in there cause theres so much stuff piled on top of wardrobes etc but I rant on about everyone coughing their guts up at night cause of the dust in her room. The other rooms are dust free and spotless.

She has spread to the bathroom too. All our shampoos/soaps/toiletries are in a cupboard. However, theres so much of her stuff in there, you have to take out half of the contents to find whatever you need as its normally at the back. Periodically I tell her to sort her stuff out and what she doesnt want to use right now to put in her room. She does after about a week of nagging and it all starts again. Even her dad had a go about this the other day. She even collects 'posh' carrier bags for goodness sake!

Anyone got any answers or suggestions on how i can deal with this? I have tried talking to her, losing my rag with her but nothing ever changes. She has gone on holiday for 10 days and I just feel like getting a few black bin liners to what she has left. I dont go in her room on suggestion by her dad because it stresses me out so much, so that means the room is rarely vaccuumed either. I just take her clean washing up there, open the bedroom door and aim the clothes at the bed but it still angers me. I have tried shutting the door on it but after a while the room smells a bit musty even though there is an air vent it obviously needs a tad more ventilation. I did try opening the window but to do that i have to climb over the bed which is no mean feat when its the other side of the bed.

System

Passion8. This is freecycle.

newlywed

passion8 wrote: »

How many plates, pots, pans, gadgets etc do you own and use? I don't think I need six pans, two steamers, and at least three cutlery sets for example, so how do people work out exactly what they need? Is six of everything a good rule of thumb?

Thanks for reading, and if no-one can help with the above, can some kind soul direct me to a freecycle site please?

*Wanders away muttering how embarrassing it is to ask these questions at 50+*

Hi, I'm back on this thread as I need some declutter motivation. However our kitchen is fine (small and very tidy because OH is a clean freak ).

Personally we have cutlery set of 8 place settings. We have the stepkids for half the week so need 4 each time and that means one set goes in the dishwasher and the other set is there to be used.

We have a set of 5 pans in different sizes (milk pan upwards) plus two small frying pans. We also have a 3 tier steamer pan (but I don't actually use it ). As for mugs - we have about 20 - we drink lots of tea all day and I hate washing up cups so they all go in the dishwasher too.

So really I think you should work out what you use in a day (if you have a dishwasher) and what you would use if your family came over for a meal and then work to that.

You can always put what you think away in boxes and then if you haven't used them in 6 months you know you are hardly likely to miss them!!

teedy23

I think I would take the sneaky approach here. While she,s away and indeed in future I would pick out 2 or 3 things that have been languishing in her wardrobe and stick them on ebay or give them to charity shop. If you sell them you could always put the money away for her without disclosing of course, perhaps you could present her with the first month of a rented flat with the money. The thing with cd,s ect is that after a month or two they stop being flavour of the month and never get played again. So one or two items of clothing and a couple of cd,s wont be missed in a month. i wouldnt feel in the least guilty about this, you,ve asked, pleaded and cajoled, now time to take action. I would also use her shampoo and conditioner that, knowing girls of this age, will be half empty then another bottle started cos it,s better, if she doesnt like it she can put them away, she,ll soon get the message, if not your toiletries shopping bill will go down. Tough Love that is !!

newlywed

MilliesMum wrote: »

She has spread to the bathroom too. All our shampoos/soaps/toiletries are in a cupboard. However, theres so much of her stuff in there, you have to take out half of the contents to find whatever you need as its normally at the back. Periodically I tell her to sort her stuff out and what she doesnt want to use right now to put in her room. She does after about a week of nagging and it all starts again. Even her dad had a go about this the other day. She even collects 'posh' carrier bags for goodness sake!

Anyone got any answers or suggestions on how i can deal with this? I have tried talking to her, losing my rag with her but nothing ever changes. She has gone on holiday for 10 days and I just feel like getting a few black bin liners to what she has left. I dont go in her room on suggestion by her dad because it stresses me out so much, so that means the room is rarely vaccuumed either. I just take her clean washing up there, open the bedroom door and aim the clothes at the bed but it still angers me. I have tried shutting the door on it but after a while the room smells a bit musty even though there is an air vent it obviously needs a tad more ventilation. I did try opening the window but to do that i have to climb over the bed which is no mean feat when its the other side of the bed.

She sounds like me when I lived at home!!!

The bathroom thing we worked round - we had one shelf each. That was your space and if anything was in someone else's space it was chucked back in yours - or used!!

As for her room - she should be cleaning it herself if it causes you that much stress. Introduce her to ebay and get her to see how much she might be able to get from selling her old CD's unworn clothes etc etc. Financial incentive may work better

I don't think chucking her clothes will help much - just cause a big row. I know I would have thrown a fit if someone had taken stuff I had bought and then sold it or thrown it away - I would consider it stealing to be honest.

My most enlightening moment was when I moved out. I left over half my stuff behind and realised there were only a few things I missed. Lots went to charity shops, ebay and I gave some away (although I still have some more at my parents to sort out 18 months later). I have been much better since but it is gradually creeping up again and I know there is more than can be cleared out of my wardrobe now I have lost weight.

I used to do the posh carrier bag thing too!!!

DawnW

MilliesMum wrote: »

The dust in her room is terrible, not that she is unclean or anything but you just cant dust in there cause theres so much stuff piled on top of wardrobes etc but I rant on about everyone coughing their guts up at night cause of the dust in her room. The other rooms are dust free and spotless.

She has spread to the bathroom too. All our shampoos/soaps/toiletries are in a cupboard. However, theres so much of her stuff in there, you have to take out half of the contents to find whatever you need as its normally at the back. Periodically I tell her to sort her stuff out and what she doesnt want to use right now to put in her room. She does after about a week of nagging and it all starts again. Even her dad had a go about this the other day. She even collects 'posh' carrier bags for goodness sake!

Anyone got any answers or suggestions on how i can deal with this? I have tried talking to her, losing my rag with her but nothing ever changes. She has gone on holiday for 10 days and I just feel like getting a few black bin liners to what she has left. I dont go in her room on suggestion by her dad because it stresses me out so much, so that means the room is rarely vaccuumed either. I just take her clean washing up there, open the bedroom door and aim the clothes at the bed but it still angers me. I have tried shutting the door on it but after a while the room smells a bit musty even though there is an air vent it obviously needs a tad more ventilation. I did try opening the window but to do that i have to climb over the bed which is no mean feat when its the other side of the bed.

Why are you even considering doing her washing and vacuuming / dusting her room? She is 22 and you are not her servant. You need to be quite blunt with her - if she wants to live at home fair enough, but she will have to sort herself out, keep a reasonable level of tidiness and do her own washing and cleaning! If she does so however, she is entitled to the privacy of people not entering her room unless invited. Does this sound a reasonable compromise?