2021 MISSION DECLUTTER and CLEAN

-taff

ClaireT13 I'd do as suggested, get yourself a black bag and start throwing out anything that can be thrown out from the piles you have. Don't try to organise anything or sort it out, just throw out the rubbish.

And if you're that way inclined, I'd read or have a look here https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/

I was directed this way by an earlier thread and I was so entranced by her methods, I bought the book. I must have read it about ten times by now but it really did make the difference in our house. I turned into a complete decluttering bore. We've gotten rid of 44kg of clothes, made five trips to the tip, consolidated bags and bags of stuff into a very less amount of storage boxes, taken about fifteen carrier bags of books to a reseller, got rid of a lot of bed linen and are well on our way to having a home that has just enough instead of way too much. All that in three months. It really worked to find a system that made actual sense to me.

dND

I've just started on a bit of filing - the mound is getting too big - and my mind was mulling over what people have written here.  One, (of many ), things that stopped me from tidying was that I needed to label everything and if I stuck a label on a drawer and then I had too much to go in that drawer I would be flummoxed.  Sad but true!

Then I discovered cheap masking tape.

It's cheap so I don't mind writing out new labels when I have to change the storage container, in the short term it's easily removed if required and because I also use it for my freezer labels, I've been able to get rid of the freezer labels that were never big enough and never came off easily enough when you wanted them to and cluttered up my kitchen drawer getting mucky.  At a pinch, it can even be used for masking things when painting!!!

Joking aside, it is often the silly little things that can become a block when starting out on a big project and daft as it may sound, this life hack actually freed me to feel confident to sort things and be able to know where I had stored them until I was certain enough  that things were in their permanent home.  I've probably not explained that well but I hope it helps.  Kitchen drawer now has a roll of masking tape, a pair of scissors and a permanent marker pen and that deals with all the labels I need in the house.

Happy decluttering everyone and thank you MrsSD for you support and encouragement.

balabooberlies

Ditto Cheapskate !

However, have cleared and tidied (apart from 2 bits of furniture) little tiny room.  How estate agents call it a bedroom is beyond me.  Anyway, will be putting all stuff in bags to go to charity shops when they open.  All stuff that needs to go to recycling/dump is going straight into boot of car.  Don't care about objections from anyone.  They are not helping so they can button up !  

Claire, do you have one tiny room that you can clear and then only be used for storing the things you want to sell ?

Am definitely sure others will share excellent ideas and one of them will make sense to you.

3 JOBS ?

I take my hat off to you.

bala

x

vulpix

Hi Claire,I would with the offspring the room belongs to pile everything on the bed.Empty the drawers onto the bed too.Have  boxes,washing baskets or plastic bags ready.All clothes to keep, folded and put away,or in the wash.All things to donate and sell in a bag or box.Rubbish in a bag. Take breaks but keep going until everything has a home.Offspring can then dust and hoover.
I have had to resort to this method with all 3 of my children when things got too bad. The youngest was the hardest nut to crack and this had to be done about every 6 months, summer school hols and before Christmas..They all have their own homes now which are lovely!!!
PS I had to be very strict and hold every item up and get a yes or no answer about it.When child realises they are stuck there until it's finished they soon speed up!

I am not starting my "out" count until 1st January but I am still trying to reach 365 items for this year.A beautiful necklace I wore on Christmas day has gone in the car boot bag.It was just too uncomfortable for me.We are also getting a new washing machine tomorrow as this one has stopped spinning and makes a dreadful noise. 358 items gone never to return in 2020.

Chatting last night we are leaning towards not moving yet. We both work at the same place part time and whilst we still enjoy it will continue to work there .I think I get a state pension in about 5 years Mr V in about 4.

I was reading yesterday that Deborah Meaden (SP?) is working with Oxfam with clothes donations.She has not bought any  clothes,shoes or bags in 2020. The article said Britain sends 13 MILLION items of clothing to LANDFILL every WEEK. I was so shocked by that.Clothes are my downfall.Though I am the charity shop queen and only buy new underwear and the occassional new item from a real shop. I will try very hard to not buy stuff . If it is a complete bargain I will have to do 1 in 1 out.My aim is to be able to keep my clothes in 1 wardrobe and 1 chest of drawers.Hahahahahahahahaha.
Vx

balabooberlies

Sorry everyone.  Am so slow at typing that you already came along with excellent ideas.........some of which I will use so oodles of thanks.

x

vulpix

PPS Claire,I used this method with my children from toddlers to teens.I have even done the yes no thing with my Husband with his clothes!

gettingthrifty

Hello All.  Please can I join?. I've been decluttering on and off for many years. I still have a long way to go but have some wins under my belt and like how those make me feel and how they make life so much easier. I am currently reading back through the new thread and love the idea of decluttering being a hobby , too often I have made it difficult. Some things that  have helped in the past that I need to revisit it are:
1 Ask myself why I want to do this and the benefits it will give.
2 Not  put too much too pressure on myself. For m, keeping up the momentum is better than quick wins.
3.For me I realise that fretting over the lost cost and waste holds me up. I've never been a car booter or an ebayer so i have to stop kidding myself I will be ( i have stuffed so many bags and boxes i plan to sell and never have). 
Looking forward to the journey with you all.

tryingtoavoiddebt

@vulpix it’s the only way I get my husband to tidy his clothes. I find taking everything to the living room and standing in front of the tv gets him through the pile relatively quickly!

Like @gettingthrifty the cost of what I’m throwing out can bother me but I know I’ll feel so much better when the room is tidy and organised. I still feel sad when I think about the money I’ve wasted on stuff over the years ☹️

Good luck with your cleaning @ClaireT13,  I’d also start by grabbing everything that’s definitely going out then sort the rest into keep and chuck piles after that. My bedroom is where all the mess ends up and like your pictures I have stuff everywhere. I started in the corner furthest from the door yesterday and I’m going to slowly work my way round 

xxx

purpleivy

makingmehappy said:

wort said:

Thriftygifty one of the principles of marie kondo is not to buy storage, if you sort and get rid of stuff and put like with like you should end up with spaces for what you are keeping. I certainly did and even got rid of loads of storage boxes and cupboards! ! 
It's at least 5 years? Since I used it to clear the clutter, and it's stayed clear. I come o  these boards now to keep me in check and see what other tips I can pick up!😊

This is interesting wort, because during lockdown I bought some storage boxes to help me to tidy up and be organised. I'm looking at them now and they're overflowing and the lids won't fit on. They did originally have different things in each, but since then I've just thrown stuff in any box, I can't find things and I think I've bought some stuff that I've already got in these boxes because I couldn't find it! Now, I can't face sorting the boxes out.

What about checking out 'A Slob Comes Clean'. Lots of Youtube videos. Her principal operates that if you have a particular container (shelf, box, cupboard) for a certain category of items, then you either need to find the 'right place' for stuff to be in if there are things there that shouldn't be, or cull the items in there. I have found this helpful. 

E.g  I had my cookery books on two bulging shelves. The first time I visited I got it down to fitting comfortably on the two shelves.  Now I'm working on removing some so I can go to one shelf.  The advantage of this method is that unless you are actually cleaning rather than tidying/culling, you don't need to make a mess having everything out.   It means if you get called away or lose interest, things have already improved with what has been removed and the situation may not be perfect, but it's better than it was. 

I've started to see spaces opening up in cupboards and drawers doing this.   It meant that even though the Who Gives A Crap had arrived in all its 48 double roll glory, I was still able to find room for 2 shelves of back up packets of food in the Futility Room

pamsdish

Listed for sale on facebook, 9 duvet covers, some with shams and throw pillows, 2 huge throws,  already sold, and digital kitchen scales, lovely scales but the battery doesn`t last more than 2 weeks, temp and time always on display, seems to fizzle just as I am weighing out.
Tomorrow I will list some curtains and a pasta machine, used once.