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Aaleigha

that chocolate mouse sounds amazing

space really does have a beneficial effect on mental health it why my house was so bad at one time - poor mental health more acquisition poor mental health etc - as hubby has retired he is helping me to let go of things and the more that goes the better I feel

that is one reason we are upsizing the house not downsizing - no the real reason is the rooms are smaller as its a cottage. now to move and as we unpack we need to find a home for everything - if we cant it will have to be sold or dontated

hope all is going well this week

redofromstart

I do agree with everyone about the health value of space. Interesting discussion with OH yesterday about taking breaks from work, he works in a city office most of the time and he has been taking his full lunch hour every day, walking at a hard pace. He feels brighter for it and it has helped his general health too. By comparison, on the days when I am home I take a break and spend it putting the WM, DW etc on and having half an hour of tidying so that I don't have to do it in the evening. In its own way that does me as much good as his walk, as I hate sitting in the mess and I don't escape to a nice clean office. I could go for a walk instead, and beat him in the exercise challenge but then what little free time I have in the evenings would be spent doing those same jobs and I would have been irritated by the breakfast dishes all day. Food for thought.

Hurrah no council tax. Boo, car tax and insurance.

Seasidegal58

I'd be the same as you redo. Considering you spend quite a bit of your time in your home I agree that the getting things shipshape wil give you a better sense of calm.

Interestingly I read today that John Lewis has announced record breaking sales on decluttering aids like storage boxes etc. They're calling it 'The Marie Kondo' effect!:). Everybody's doing it!:)

HairyHandofDartmoor

Decluttering does seem to be very popular at the moment. I'm certainly getting the urge to do some myself . I can't relax in a messy crowded environment either. If DH says sit down and relax, I reply that I can't relax until I've cleared up. He of course can relax anywhere at any time!

juliejim

I've been attempting to do some decluttering and I am just sending everything to the CS even though I could probably do with the money as I just need to make some headway in the bombsite!

Sun_Addict

Decluttering is definitely the way forward

Seasidegal58

juliejim wrote: »

I've been attempting to do some decluttering and I am just sending everything to the CS even though I could probably do with the money as I just need to make some headway in the bombsite!

I think that if you find that you have heaps of things to go when decluttering then just getting it all out of the house as fast as possible makes sense. I remember someone commenting to flylady that the heap of stuff accumulating whilst decluttering was driving her mad but she wanted to sort it all out first for recycling. Flylady's answer was it's ok to take everything to the dump just this once rather than hanging on to it and getting bogged down. As she said - Why treat your own home like a landfill!:D

redofromstart

It's an interesting debate, Greenbee shared a link to a Guardian article that was very thought provoking for me. It basically says it's all very well decluttering but essentially we need to stop buying things we don't need in the first place. The article referenced the Kondo show and 150 bags going out of one house, perhaps to CS but often from there even they go onto landfill. My headset is very much now on buy good things, that I need, that I know will last.

The thing that needs to change is the decision making process behind what comes into the house. It's not a dumping ground for things that other people no longer want but are too good to get rid of, for things that might be useful one day but that live on the patio in a jumbled mess forever, or that I bought because they were a bargain.

I did a minimalist style clearance at the old house before we sold it. Had too, a tiny terrace full of stuff is very hard to sell. I ruthlessly freecycled everything that wasn't essential, baby stuff and grown out of toys and boy clothes, and without stuff everywhere finally had a clean house that could be tidy in minutes. I could have sold a lot of stuff but I just wanted it gone quickly. More recently I have just CS things, as I now know where the warehouse is to drop things off.

I personally hate the idea of useful stuff just going to landfill but I can understand why people do it. Our local council tips are really strong on recycling, so I split things out as much as I can. They make you go through the black bags otherwise!

Anyway, I'm still chipping away at ours. I'd love to order a huge skip and just get rid of stuff mercilessly but that is not going to happen, and nor should it given that the majority is useable stuff.

Last night was 'not pub tea' night, when we eat with the boys at the table. It's hard work for me as it means I have to eat a full plated meal which is a rare event. I made the chocolate mousse again (boys asked nicely) but also some welshcakes because it's freezing cold and they are nice comfort food. I usually use the mortgagefreeinthree recipe but her website is down again so I used one from the bbc. Both are good for fast results, without using the oven.

doingitanyway

As you say it is interesting.
I have started thinking very hard about what comes in.
I am working towards a much more streamlined and long lasting wardrobe.
I am getting rid of objects that I do not need.
Like you there I decided to donate rather than sell (on the whole) as the priority is getting stuff out

Have a good Sunday

in_need_of_direction

I vacillate between the buy good and buy cheap. For my work suits, I buy good and some remain on the go after 10 or 12 years. I do however buy cheap shirts, etc so that the look changes. For furniture, I tend to buy the good while going for cheaper thing like cushions. I believe this saves both money and waste as, only recently, I realised that my sister and niece had helped me unpack my living room suite when my soon to be 21 year old niece was a toddler.
However, having been in the same house since 1990, there is an awful lot that has accumulated. In some ways this was inevitable as when DH moved in some 13 years ago, I felt the need to accommodate his stuff as, going forward, this was to be his home. Equally I was aware of trying not to displace anything that the dc had been accustomed to having in their home.

Some days I dream of what it would be like to be able to start from scratch only having what you want and need in your home.