Decluttering

I found this thread and would like to revive it by asking:

Do you feel guilty if you throw out things that your DC or someone close has given you?
We are trying to clear out a load of 'stuff' but I keep thinking "oh so and so gave me that, can't throw it out to the charity shop", even if I don't really like it or want a more minimalist look.

Ornaments, presents brought back from holidays , MIL's stuff that DH couldn't throw out - it's all still here. I just think one of them may come home and say " where's that leprachaun I brought you back from my trip to Ireland in 2002?" Or will they never remember?
Should I just be ruthless? Or could some things be worth a fortune...?

I'll be binning the holey ones Ana! Part of the decluttering process

Some things should never be thrown away. Like the hideous Hawaiian shirt DH bought in Singapore about 55 years ago. It may have fit him then. Apparently I must NOT dispose of it when decluttering.

I think this particular towel would be an embarrassment to give to anyone! Even a lost dog.
I did give bedding to the YMCA before I moved who were very grateful for it as people usually move into their bedsits with nothing. Failed to give a tower of Nat Geogs to the prison though.

Our local dogs' home takes towels an d duvets (they get destroyed fairly quickly)

Yes, I know the Heart charity shop next door to the office where I work has a regular pick-up (giant van, it probably collects from charity shops all over) of unsaleable items.

But they never actually ask for rags or rubbish, do they, so I wouldn't feel comfortable filling a bag with such things and 'donating' it to them!

I gave my neighbour some old bath towels as I'd changed the colour scheme, and she is a dog groomer. She said they'd be great for her husband!

I gave my multi-dog neighbour a couple of ragged towels for use on canine feet after walks.

I think Oxfam send "rags" to a recycler ana and get some money.
There is a towel in this flat.
Now bear in mind we threw away a mountain of stuff in early 2013 before moving here.
i am not sure where this towel originated from (I think one of DSs must have left it behind in my house) but I definitely did not buy it (hideous burgundy with a white pattern). At one time I used it for a dog towel. The dog died 12 years ago. It's knocked around since, in a and out of garage, doing various low grade work e.g. when DH servicing his bike. Thus acquiring extra oil stains. It has lost its hem and is fraying gently. For some obscure reason DH is reluctant to part with it and was recently taking it to his spinning class in the gym to mop up his sweat.
He did agree that it was a disgrace and we have plenty of other options.
Still not been finally thrown away though - about to be demoted to a car boot towel.

Just out of curiosity, what will you do with the holey ones, goldengirl? Use them as cleaning cloths?

I'm always at a loss to know how to get rid of old, unwearable garments etc. as I can hardly put them in the charity bag and I draw the line at using DH's old underpants as dusters!

I opened my tea towel drawer only to have difficulty finding one without a hole so this weekend I shall be having a clear out. A trip to Dunelm I think is on the cards to get some new ones - my excuse anyway

When we had our house built, all we had was 2 camping chairs and a bed settee and some personal stuff. Now in a 3 bedroom house with 3 fitted wardrobes there is no where to put anything, The guest bedroom and the spare bedroom is full. Now the strange thing is there is hardly any shops where we live. I could barely get a new cup in the kitchen which is 25ft long. I wish I could blame my DH for all the clutter but on this rare occasion I have to say I am to blame. I think because of where I live things have to be saved "just in case". I blame my computer for buying things online

I am a great chucker-outer. I believe the more clutter in a house the more there is to dust-and I don't dust very often. DH is a hoarder and was upset when I threw away his (deceased) budgie's bell and a sparrow's skull he found when he was in the Scouts.

When I moved here, I just filled the loft with the stuff moved from the loft in the previous house. I decided to empty the loft and there it is, ready for inspection. I did this a couple of years ago and I have never regretted it. I just have to start on the 2 wall to wall wardrobes.

My DH's mantra is "Parkinson's Law prevails in our house". The more cupboard space there is the more I fill it. Just decluttered and emptied a cupboard so why is it full again?
But it could all be worth a fortune - one day.

My DD has just sold some cups and saucers for me and I'm now keen to get rid of a few more bits and pieces. I'm starting small. I had to stop DH from purloining the space left in the cupboard though. His mantra seems to be "see a space and put something on or in it!" His study led someone to believe we'd been burgled. How embarrassing was that!!!!

Does anyone else find that things you have throw out/sent to charity shops come back into fashion and you regret it. It's always happening to me.

I will have a big 'sort out' when I retire so I can throw out all my work clothes. Until then there is never enough time to go through things - clothes or otherwise. My weekends seem to be taken up with grandchildren.

As a service wife for many years, I understand what some of you are saying, but I seem to remember that, for some reason, most of our moves were during school holidays, so my lot packed their own stuff. The older they got, the bigger the removal vans.

Having recently moved to a slightly smaller house, we decluttered like mad, first to market the old house, then, here, to get rid of things for which we had no room. But is accumulating again....We have a huge double garage, and incredible loft space, so at least "it" is out of sight.

And I still wish my Mum hadn't given away my older brothers' train set, she thought I wouldn't want it because I was a girl!
Do you think if your mother was a declutterer it makes you want to hoard and vice versa?

Yes! And if I send stuff to the charity shop I sometimes think longingly about it for ages!
Got to start soon, no cupboard space left.

We are de cluttering and I have lost one of my good boots Oh said he had checked charity bag It might be in there or it's gone to the tip I will have to buy some more Did not want to buy boots this year urgh You bet it will turn up when I get some new ones

Yep; put everything back on the shelf [in a slightly different order] turn round and there's nother load of stuf that I've missed. Currently going through the old music maazines that were in the drawer with the cd's [articles about Kurt Cobain and 'new bands that are going to be big..the Strokes and Arctic Monkeys'; obituary for George Harrison].

My problem is that I get half way through sorting out clutter, get fed up and decide to put it all back. And it NEVER FITS! Why does taking something out of a cupboard make it grow twice as big and become a completely different shape?

I remember a chair!! I had a little pink wicker one, and was particularly fond of it as my elder sister couldn't squeeze her big bottom into it, so it was all mine. Until the day I came back from school to find it was now the girl down the road's

Same here. When my son went to uni I had to phone the man who was in charge of his hall one day. We after we'd spoken he about whatever it was I'd phoned about he said 'he's very tidy, isn't he!'. Mind you, I've still got all of his notes in boxes under a bed and two wardrobes full of his clothes. I need my kids to come round and say 'mum, throw that out; when you're gone I'll throw it out anyway'. Then again I often think about a chair that was in my ex's parents house that must have been thrown out; it is so retro and in vogue now, I bet it would be worth a fortune.