Simplifying Life

ceridwen

...the loft....and theres another thought! I've not that long back thrown out bags full of stuff from that.....but could be leeway for some more decluttering there.....I've got a (barely used) food processor up there (thats on top of the one in the kitchen!). What makes it a bit hard throwing out stuff sometimes is the thought of the money spent - for very little return (thats £50 odd down the drain on that alone).

Jolaaled

This is a brilliant thread and is making me think differently.

My little house is crammed with stuff....stuff everywhere..and i struggle to keep tidy. I want a more spacious and tidy home but, try as i might, i can't get rid of stuff.
I am genetically wired up to hoard!

I want to make a start tho and this thread is making me stronger.
Can i ask you all about clothes and shoes: how long do you keep these without wearing them, before you chuck them. I read somewhere, that if you haven't worn an item of clothing fo 2 yrs, then get rid. Does anyone have any such 'rules' that seem to work?
I'm just worried that , as soon as i chuck something, that is just the thing I want to wear!

ceridwen

Jolaaled wrote: »

This is a brilliant thread and is making me think differently.

My little house is crammed with stuff....stuff everywhere..and i struggle to keep tidy. I want a more spacious and tidy home but, try as i might, i can't get rid of stuff.
I am genetically wired up to hoard!

I want to make a start tho and this thread is making me stronger.
Can i ask you all about clothes and shoes: how long do you keep these without wearing them, before you chuck them. I read somewhere, that if you haven't worn an item of clothing fo 2 yrs, then get rid. Does anyone have any such 'rules' that seem to work?
I'm just worried that , as soon as i chuck something, that is just the thing I want to wear!

I've read that throw-out rule re clothes - with a 1 year guideline. Personally - I've regretted 2 items of clothing that I've thrown out - so guess thats pretty good. The 2 concerned were more "unusual" type things - so, from that, I guess what I havent regretted getting rid of is more "standard" type clothing. Have still got LOADS of clothing though - tossing up between whether I am going to wear it again on one hand and whether there is any chance some of the decluttering gurus might have any connection to manufacturers wanting us to buy more "stuff" on t'other hand (as in re-buying what we have got rid of if we change our minds).

Think its probably easier to focus on more important things if one has an emptier home. I think sometimes it would be easier to decide what to wear if there was only a few options - rather than all the ones I have!:o

rosieben

ceridwen wrote: »

...

(now why wondering why on EARTH I have 4 hairdryers!!!)

I'm in the midst of decluttering my bedroom and I've found 3 of those blowdryer things - each of them with big fingers, roller brushes, tong attachments. My hair is short, short, short - short enough to towel dry in fact!! why am I keeping this stuff?

I also found 2 home perms and 3 hair colours! heaven knows how long they've been in the drawer!

off to make some more 'breathing space' in my life

System

Well my loft. Where do i start. I have been living here 40 odd years so does that say something about the amount of stuff we have stored up there. In all fairness a great deal of junk was thrown out when we replaced the roof 3 years ago and replaced the loft insulation. Hubby collects things. We have camping stuff up there that we will never use..... Well he can use it but i would rather not have a holiday than go in a tent.

The thing is, we 'lose' things when they go up in the loft. Our daughters bright pink suitcase is up there somewhere. However, when we sent MrJudi up the loft for it, he said he couldnt see it. Being bright pink it would be hard not to see it! She had to buy a new one when she went abroad a couple of months ago. No doubt we will find it eventually.:mad:

My family bible is up there somewhere, it contains part of my family tree but we havent seen it for years!

If we were to move, a great deal of the stuff we have collected over the years would be thrown away. It wouldnt be worth taking!

carolbee

I have 3 new pieces of 'clutter'! boxes under the bed

No, I haven't let the side down, one is for selling, ebay or locally, one for charity shop/freecycle, and one for the tip.

why on earth did I buy a ski suit a couple of weeks ago? can't ski, not likely to learn either, at least it was only £5 in the charity shop.

also, is it wrong to re-cycle the ornamental sort of xmas gifts you receive?

I like a lot of others on this thread have way too much 'stuff'. am going to subscribe to that William Morris ethos, now where does the ski suit come into that, the sight of me in that is certainly not beautiful and doesn't come into the useful either.

needmoney

ceridwen

I think sometimes it would be easier to decide what to wear if there was only a few options - rather than all the ones I have!:o

That's exactly how I feel, there are loads now bagged up and in my car ready to go and I am heartaching over whether to keep or let go of some others, I haven't worn them for over a year :rolleyes::o

Ellidee

A good tip for deciding how precious something is to you is to ask yourself ' If I was to emigrate to Australia would I pay to have it transported ? ' Not sure where I heard this .

carolbee

I am going halfway on the throwing clothes away, they are going in the loft for three months, if I havn't missed them by Easter - off they go!

some things I have no qualms about throwing, but others fall into the just in case scenario, that is how I am going to deal with that one

Greenshieldstamp_2

Thanks Ceridwen for the stairs suggestion for the magnetic clutter. You couldn't have known that we live in a bungalow, so I smiled at that one!

Thanks Carolbee, I like the sound of the clutter boxes for stuff that is going. I have several of those folding plastic crates which I am going to label up.