Downsizing

I found it difficult to get rid of books and am not very good with technology. I only got rid of the ones I probably won't read again. I've still got plenty on the shelves.
As for cook books I wrote out my favourite recipes and put them into a folder. I've got about ten cook books now which I won't part with. I'm not good with throwing things out.
Good storage is key.

Ah yes. I was reading about parting with things... according to the professional declutterers... the way to do it is to thank each item individually for the joy and happiness it's brought you.

I too slimmed down my cookery book collection before our move last year (actually to a bigger house, but that's another story) and found myself re-buying Nigella Lawson's How to Eat! I'd really missed it, as much to read as to cook from.

I part with clothes to the charity shop with such reluctance that I find it painful but, in a matter of days, I've recovered. Now and again I look for a particular item only to remember it's gone and I soon seem to find a suitable replacement. Bit of a necessary evil I guess. Too much 'stuff' is never good and I'm guilty but working on it daily with reasonable success.

Perhaps favourite CDs or just tracks could be transferred on to your computer?
Recipe books - there are usually just one or two favourites so I have copied them and now have them in my own recipe file and have got rid of the book. A hard call though!

Cannot part with my music & books though all my music is on itunes & my ipod. Have slimmed down some to my charity shop but only ones that i will never read/listen to again. Not many of those as i keep books i will reread. I still have hundreds of viynl albums which i treaure as there is nothing like the feeling of opening a gatefold sleeve, putting the record on the deck, settling back & listening to something i grew up with. I know i'm sad & dont really care!

janeainsworth what a great idea!

We moved from a 5 bed 3 bathroom to a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom - I thought I had got rid of a lot of stuff until we filled the loft here. I had to get ruthless and sold things on a local selling site and got a buzz of the amount I was getting in the pot which allowed me to go and get some new thing for our new home. i would like to add we are SO happy since we downsized and just love our smaller home.

Little and often I would say. Have a chuck out session about every six months and then move on. Consider that you may eventually live in one room in a care home and start thinking about what items you'd want to keep for life.
I have thousands of photographs and need to reduce them + digitalize them into smaller books - Snapfish is good.
Give grown-up children a deadline for removing their old school/childhood stuff.
Resist the temptation to buy 'nonsense' that attracts you as you pass pretty shops.

Iam64 I have had no trouble getting rid of books! I inherited my parents' excellent library that included classics, reference books, first editions etc as well as having built up my own. When I saw that the internet had up to date reference materials, and my reference collection was no longer accurate, I got rid of all those. When ebooks came out, I got rid of the fiction too! Now I have only about 12 physical books, chosen for their sentimental value.

My husband and I have a box each, size chosen to fit into the top of our fitted wardrobes, where we are allowed to store small objects that have sentimental value. He has some tee shirts and beer mats, I have a few things my mother and children made etc. Friends have been instructed that it's chocolates or flowers only for gifts, so we don't have anything to store long-term.

My 94 year old father-in-law is a hoarder but thinks it’s funny that we will one day have to sort it all out. I wouldn’t mind getting in house clearance people as I worry that my husband will want to tote half of it to our house. Thinking of my own children I have started to get rid of stuff which I don’t want or need, even though we aren’t down-sizing. It’s a great feeling to see tidy cupboards etc, but husband not so keen!

I've realised how much my "poverty mentality" gets in the way of letting go of stuff (I was brought up when money was tight). I always worry about not being able to afford to replace things in the future. The way I've got around it is to clear out and store things, double wrapped, in our garage - put a note in my diary (say for 6 months time) and then see if I've gone out there to get anything! The answer is always NO so the whole container goes to the nearest charity shop. (The trick is to NEVER open the container before you give it away). Works for me.

Marie Kondo has written a brilliant book that can be used for downsizing. I used it when I moved to my narrow boat. Well worth reading. It really helped me.

Photos are the only thing I would never get rid of, the rest i can always find online recipe's, books hate clutter sadly OH doesn't mind it ?

Decide first which things you really, really want to keep.
For us it was DH's collection of cookery books, my books on my academic subjects, novels we couldn't imagine doing without, cds and a few gramophone records, my dolls and teddies.

Next we went through the Christmas decorations and kept all the old things that had sentimental value and got rid of the rest.

About 8 pieces of furniture were kept, the rest recycled. Bikes went, DH's tools, my sewing machine remained. Clothes were sorted, anything we didn't visualize using again went if respectable enough to charity, the rest in the bin, minus buttons or anything else that could be reused.

Allow yourselves to keep the things that have real significance, but anything that doesn't really matter goes.

Nannytopsy although its self explanatory I still looked up "Swedish death cleaning" as it sounds so harsh!
Its all rather sad too, as we live our lives collecting things, being given lovely gifts, enjoying the comfort or our "stuff" then when we get older we spend all of our time getting rid of it. What was the point?

We've been clearing out a lot lately but mainly things that our AC have left behind and are never going to come and remove! We found a bag of old pillows, some very elderly dated curtains, a box of gifts from a long gone and forgotten about ex and an awful lot more of their junk in our loft. No idea why they put it in there except maybe it was easier than going to the dump. All gone. Felt good

We never upsized so no need to downsize!! Got to keep possessions in check anyway due to lack of storage... It's an ongoing challenge though!

Hi - I found Joshua Becker's book The More of Less (finding the life you want under everything you own) really helpful. An easy read, so practical well worth checking out.

We downsized a few years ago, best decision we ever made. Parting with furniture/books etc had to be done, but I felt quite relieved that I undertook to get rid instead of the children having to do so in years to come.

Another vote for Marie Kondo, I found it life changing. Audio book or look on youtube, makes it enjoyable and fun.

After having to clear out inlaws house a few years ago, when they died, I was determined to have a huge clearout of my own house. I don't want to put my children through the emotional wringer when having to sort through and bin personal items when we die. My inlaws had saved literally every greeting card they had ever exchanged, letters to each other, travel documents from memorable holidays It felt so awful shoving them in the recycling bin and added to our sadness really. So I attacked my stash of 'crap' in my home with gusto. So much had been stored for so long it was musty and starting to mould anyway. After the initial feeling of sadness that it had all gone, it was replaced with a wonderful feeling of freedom! I did keep a few very special items but not many! Be ruthless!

We downsized two years ago and I found the whole thing quite cathartic. I would recommend you start the ‘clear out’ sooner rather than later as it does take a while. I would open files and books, start looking through and the next thing I knew the whole day had gone! Keep in your mind that you are saving someo else the task of clearing out your rubbish. Good luck, it’s been an incredibly positive move for us.

omg I shouldn't be reading this thread - it's given me this huge urge to go through all my stuff again, and I really can't right now as I have just got the place tidy ready for guests :%

DH doesn't like to get rid of anything so I told him to think about what DS will face when we die. I think that has motivated him and changed his mindset.