Enough is enough - the great declutter

tattycath

Hi everyone. I have just read some of this thread and I have to say that I feel motivated. It sounds like an epidemic-and it has spread to our house-well actually it's been residing at our house for a while. If you don't know what I mean I'll tell you:

CLUTTER

OH and myself have decided we're sick of it. You can hardly move in our house! It doesn't help that we're in the middle of decorating-we just have de-cluttered first!!- I have the dilemma of not knowing where to start. We did manage to take some clothes and shoes to charity and I have sorted 2 bags of books ready to go to charity, but there is a huge mountain to climb. It's not just in the house, it's in the loft and in the sheds in the garden!!!
So I'd like to join you all and hopefully by summer I might just have an uncluttered house!!!

Fruball

I am so proud of myself !!!

I am terrible for clutter and have it everywhere (except the living room and conservatory, don't know why but thats the way it is )

I just cleared out 3 of my kitchen drawers :j :j :j

Two of them would hardly close before I have filled a bag for the charity shop of various cooking implements that I have duplicates of or never use and feel motivated to do some more now

My TOP TIP for de-cluttering is what I do when I move house. A week or so before I start packing I hang a plastic bag on every door in the house and just fling things in it as I spot them. Anything without a value or purpose goes straight in the bag without another thought. I am really ruthless but never at any other time - I need to be more ruthless more often coz its too expensive to move house just to de-clutter

lilmisskitkat

Well done Frugal Feels great to declutter, i love doing it - its just actually getting around to it lol

I'm dying to have a clear out, i want the xmas tree and everything gone and i want to blitz DD's bedroom so can find places for all her new things because at the moment everything is still under the tree and it looks a mess! Also need to organise the bookcase in the living room because theres just books and dvds in piles and its groaning under the weight lol.

Grrrr! blooming blood pressure :mad: making me have to rest. I think i'll amuse myself by making lists of all the things i'm going to declutter once i'm up and about again. I do love a list, me!

Kate xxx

lessonlearned

Ooohh glad this thread is up again. It's very motivational.

Last year I did really well, cleared the loft and made £1150 all told.

Going to try again this year - still got a fair bit to go. Doubt if I'll make much money this year cos it seems to be just junk that's left now. Still whatever I make I'll put it away in my piggy bank for a treat.

I find little and often is best. If I do too much I get exhausted and overwhelmed.

Today I did a chest of drawers, and am now going to start taking down Christmas decorations.

Will do kitchen cupboards etc tomorrow and will have a "use-up" month from fridge, freezer and cupboards. Decluttering and moneysaving.

r.mac_2

I am joining you lot! OH and I are moving at the end of the month and I am determined not to move with anything that is either:

broken
we don't need
we don't want
going to get chucked out at the other end anyway!

i have a couple of things just fit for the bin, one or two things that may sell on ebay (never very sure about what will and what won't sell) and then a few bags for the charity shop as well. The problem, like many others seems to be getting OH motivated!

mary43

Any plans to de-clutter today came to standstill when I had a visit from one of the kids who used to be in foster care with us. He turned up with christmas pressies and has only just gone.
So, the new brown wooden vase he bought me has made me chuck out the hideous one I must have liked when I bought it, herbs for the window sill means I have to clear that tomorrow when I sort out decorations and get rid of the holly thats on the windowsill.............two hyacinths in those glass vases that need to be in a dark place just might make clear a path to the wardrobe in the spare room. They can go in there until they start to shoot.
So, although he's bought me more 'stuff' its given me an incentive to clear out a little bit.
The wooden vase would look better if it was standing on its own on the window sill in the front room so the other stuff there just has to go.
Oh roll on tomorrow...............can't wait now..............:T

charlies_mum

lessonlearned wrote: »

Last year I did really well, cleared the loft and made £1150 all told.

Wow, well done :beer: DH has spent the past few days sorting and has just taken a carful to the tip. I just want to get to the point where if we were burgled, the police would be able to tell which room they had ransacked :rotfl:

Mind you, downstairs is OK now, I just need to sort a couple of the bedrooms, oh and the garage

moanymoany

DH and I are getting the house ready to go on the market in the spring. Our new house is going to be much smaller and so we have decluttered. The worst thing was my fabrics. I collect them and have become very attached. They filled one large chest of drawers and half a single wardrobe!

I went through and made three piles - to go - to keep - definitely to keep. The first went - then the second and I've kept the third and all my braids and ribbons. I went through my buttons and picked out my faves and the rest filled a huge glass sweetie jar - that too has gone!

We kept one small tree and a few decorations and two black bin bags of decs went to the charity shop three weeks before Christmas. Also went a carload of stuff out of the loft.

I don't think there is that much more to go. I feel so much better now it's all gone. The decisions were made and the items taken to charity shops as soon as possible, no time to change our minds.

I also found bags of stuff that I'd forgotten all about. The DH came over all masterful and refused to let me open them on the grounds of if I haven't missed it .......

jane130

charlies_mum wrote: »

I just want to get to the point where if we were burgled, the police would be able to tell which room they had ransacked :rotfl:

Thats exacty my motivation too, and the thoguht of not being able to even tell what was missing in the event of a burgalary , mind you the unlucky burgalar might think someone had beet them too it and give up LOL

passion8

charlies_mum wrote: »

I started this thread back in February last year, and I'm ashamed to say I haven't got very far. I did manage to get rid of quite a lot, but I have my own small business, and bought about 20,000 greetings cards for very little money, and I know I will make a massive profit (eventually) so I was being moneysaving - honestly :eek:

Walks off, hanging head in shame

I'm still glad that you did

It was one of the few posts I read on here at the beginning, and although I've faltered by buying and not selling, it still drives me on. Thanks x