Decluttering

mrsmopp another Services upbringing here, also lost all my books and toys etc every time I turned my back it seemed, and yes, I can't declutter to save my life either. I've got a great bag of stuff in the utility that's been waiting to go to the charity shop since November. Every time I clear a cupboard or whatever, all I do is put it in a tidy pile on the floor or whatever until I get fed up vacuuming round it and find the whole pile a new home. Can't we find a way to help each other out of this? DS is tidiness personified and used to come home from school and ruthlessly go through cupboards - it was great.

I think I've answered my own question here, but it's a comfort to know I'm not alone.

You don't want that book any more!
You've read it haven't you!
Put your things away or they'll get chucked out if I see them lying around!

Oh it was ruthless...

Yes, mrs mopp, I know what you mean about a services upbringing; my mother too used to clear everything out as we went along. I was afraid to put down anything down for too long in case it disappeared, passed on to some other family. I was constantly being told I was "too old for that now, aren't you?" as I missed things!! No wonder we grew up hoarders!

My mum threw all of my things away when I left home [even my teddy ]. I'm sure that's why I now hang on to everything.

My dad was in the services so we had to be ready to move at any time so Mum never allowed clutter to build up. Any books I had read were immediately given away, so maybe that explains why I hang onto things.
Mums kitchen work tops were always completely clear, whereas I leave things out where they are easy to reach for. She would have a fit if she saw my house now.
Also I remember her down on her knees scrubbing the kitchen floor, a steaming bucket containing Flash, bleach and disinfectant, and she plunged her bare hands in with the floor cloth and scrubbing brush. I used to shudder watching her. I just slosh a mop round mine.

My mother too! My sister and I used to joke that she could see dust on a skirting board at 50 yards. She could too!

My mother was obsessively tidy but nothing rubbed off on me I am afraid. When I visited my parents when they were alive, I could not leave anything behind because it would not be there when I returned. Oh to be like that.

At least if I put books and clothes into a black bag to take to the charity shop, I do it almost immediately. it is just the doing of it. This has spurred me into action.

I have the same problem. Last year I decided to sort out all my books ruthlessly discarding any I knew I wouldn't read again, so I ended up with two bags full sitting in the hall ready to go to the charity shop. They would have stayed there until I changed my mind and put them all back on the shelves had not my sister in law arrived and volunteered to take them away to the charity shop for me - so I didn't have time to change my mind, and no I haven't missed them!

I move things from room to room in the hope they'll somehow disappear! This morning, I de-cluttered the sitting room bookshelves, and now there's a big bag of books blocking the front door. They'll go in the boot of my car and I'll drive them round for a bit till someone wants to put something in my boot, then I'll bring them back in the house!

..at the moment if anyone came into my living room they'd say I had a serious problem . The S.O. buys the paper each weekend; I never have time to read it but scan through it putting articles on one side to 'read later'. They mount up until I eventually throw them out [without reading them]. I can't even get rid of dvd's/cd's that I've bought, watched/listened to and never want to watch/hear again.

I just move things around and then put them back [usually in a different place]. I am constantly tidying up/decluttering and the end result is that I can't remember where I've put anything ...