De-cluttering, the never-ending process

Those ikea bags are wonderful as a help and also if ever moving house. Watch when lifting heavy boxes down, that is how I hurt my shoulder and it was bad for months, couldn`t lift my arm at all

I think that when it starts to feel overwhelming and a never -ending process, then it is time to take a break from the de-cluttering. The mojo will come back in its own time

Yes. I’m away from home at the moment but the mess awaiting me at home hangs over me like a dark cloud. I thought this year was going to be the year when I got everything sorted but I seem to take one step forward and two steps back eg I wasn’t expecting to have to have windows replaced. And I only finished painting the recesses and putting the curtains back up just before I left.

I hope everyone's sore bits feel better soon. It's bad enough having to declutter without it hurting as we do it!

I am away just now, and every now and then my mind drifts to the clutter that is waiting for me to sort out when I get back. I hate it too, Esmay. I know it is worth it in the end, but getting there is so wearisome. My plan is to do a couple of hours a day for a week, which should cover a lot of ground, but not be too unbearable. I have bought a pack of those blue IKEA bags so that I can sort into those, as some of the stuff will be going back after the room is decorated. I have yarn on open shelves for instance, and will try to thin it out as I put it into the bags, so it is more organised when it goes back on the newly painted shelves. Other 'stuff' that is to go out can be put into one 'chuck' bag for sorting into recycling categories and another for donation - that sort of thing. I'm not bad at procrastinating planning, but not so good at getting on with it. I frustrate myself at times!

I'm also having a major declutter .
Having a sore knee and back isn't helping .
I have to bribe myself with the promise of a nice film .
I'm not enjoying it .
But I've found lots of mislaid items .

I am in the process of sorting out double garage. So far so good. I have started labelling boxes and found it very satisfying.

Next I plan to get items in the attic brought down and put in the garage for sorting. I hope this does not undo all my hard work!

Well, my ex actually came round and took away a lot of his things from the garage. There’s now just a small cupboard with his motor bike bits in. Unfortunately I’m currently at my partners for a few weeks. Was hoping to do lots of walking but I seem to have hurt my back and am struggling to even walk round the house. I think it was own to me moving heavy stuff around in the garage. I’m really hoping I haven’t done some sort of permanent damage

My son has been busy sorting my garage, taking stuff he can use himself, and dropping off things at the tip on his way home. Soon there will be enough space to move items from the house into garage, meaning rooms can gradually be decorated.
DH’s special collection has now gone off to auction and I am able to move things around in the sitting room, making it more spacious. He filled every inch! I am not a minimalist by any means, but it is nice to have room to move.

My dd loved my wrapping paper rolls but their children were younger then, nowadays it is all about brown paper and minimal wrapping. I still have quite a few shiny bags with drawstrings. That really useful storage box is quite big and I may well empty it, when the weather cools. I have small `just in case` presents in there but they have been in there for years. Time for me to reclaim that space, it is a pretty obvious area to de-clutter

I have decided that vegan keto is not for me so did the de-cluttering for that yesterday and emptied 7 kilner clip jars. All washed and tidily stored now to give to AC in due course. In process, I did find my 5 unopened boxes of cbd tea. That was a welcome find for me. I got rid of some packets of artificial sugars, coconut flour etc so have actually ended up with some free space

Maybee, I had good results when storing unused paint. It was eco paint so was water-washable. I used lock n lock boxes, wrapped in sealed bags. Last house, it was still good for touching up after 7 years. The boxes washed fine and I have re-used them for the same paint after getting this house interior done. I keep them in my utility room as they don`t like freezing garage temperatures. I had to throw various other paints out, they were kept in their tins

I keep mine in a long plastic box I bought in Hobbycraft Cabbie.

Any tips for how to store unused rolls of wrapping paper?
I have found a stash when clearing out a cupboard. Most of the rolls are started which makes it trickier. Actually it will take me years to use it, as I give very few presents that need wrapping up. Will a charity shop take it?

I’m currently sorting out my decorating stuff. I’m so annoyed with myself for not storing used paint correctly, thereby rendering it useless. I’ve decanted it into non airtight containers and it’s gone solid so will end up in landfill, I guess. I now, when I open a new tin of paint, clean the lid and, when I put it back on cover he top of the tin with cling film first. Painted the window recess in the two windows that have been replaced and realised I might as well just throw the used roller in the bin: the amount of water I’ll use to clean it will be massive. I’ve started buying tiny tins of chalk paint as well, as one small tin is usually enough to paint one item of furniture. I feel awful about the amount of old decorating stuff that I’ve taken to the tip, though.

Yes, it is definitely worth it. Keeping it going is the hard part

My lovely accordian and all my teach yourself books are going to dgc next week. So brand new that it has sat under my bed in its case for a year. I am finally admitting that I cannot turn the clock back to pick up where I left off at 25 and they are downstairs, to remind me to take them

I am succeeding in some aspects, bogof especially and at long last I am learning to buy for one person wrt eating and cleaning. I am continuing to add to my fabric stash, especially beautiful linens and blends. I don`t have a guilty conscience as I need my wonderful sewing. Anyway I am doing without the likes of netflix and amazon prime and I like the endorphins when I indulge myself. Sewing and spinning and knitting, all are very well supplied in my house and so is dark chocolate

It will be worth it!

I know about the "spare bedroom" scenario.
Part of the reason I keep going with it all.
The family keeps growing. Effectively, with their visits, they are here for days when they come, and it is inconvenient all round to not have all bedrooms ready in proper use.

I've just seen that I said I was going to do this weeks ago . I was away for a week, and came back with Covid, so it's been put back till now - I'm not fantasising!

It's good to hear that you are all plodding on.

I am joining in as of tomorrow. I am getting the bedrooms decorated before Christmas, and will need to clear enough space for the decorators to get into them. I'm dreading it, but plan to use the BH weekend to crack on and get rid of as much as possible. We did downstairs this time last year, and I surprised myself at how much I got rid of, so I know it can be done. Unfortunately, quite a lot of the detritus found its way into spare bedrooms 'out of the way', so this isn't going to be a quick job, but needs must, and it will be worth it to have the bedrooms all done whilst downstairs is still looking fresh.

If I keep repeating 'This will be worth it. This will be worth it.' it will keep me going. Probably 🥺

Still de-cluttering slowly, in between having been ill for weeks.
I am determined, come rain or shine. Though have to be careful I dont miss the Summer altogether. Or make myself feel worse in the process.

My youngest DD was here for a few days. Went through the last of her things[apart from what is in the attic already].
I have kept bits and pieces of the kids'.
I decided that when she came this time, I wold pare down some more, see what she wanted of what was left, and put a bit in attic.
It has all freed up some more space in what was her childhood bedroom.

Progress is still quietly on-going. Three stashes from my fabrics are now made up into clothing and two are going to DDs, they were requested.

Last weekend I learnt that dgs 16 really wanted to learn accordion, he was showing me his progress on guitar at the time. He did not know that I have an excellent new hohner accordion in a fab rucksack case, tucked under my bed.

A trip to wiltshire by the weekend and I will be taking hand made dungarees and a beautiful accordion plus all the `progressive` teach yourself books. I am very happy to be properly re-homing that package and to `potentially` be giving dgs and dgd new hobbies

I like to do the travelling to them, my car does not do many miles per year as it is and a good run is always beneficial

After mum died. all the old black and white photos were dumped on me by the sibling who was in charge of clearing. My dh copied quite a few photos and I made a photo book for my six siblings. No-one wanted any of the originals so they went, apart from half a dozen that I wanted to keep for myself

My cousin who was a lot older than me, had lots of postcards sent by family members a long long time ago. I loved them so much. Unfortunately I ended up keeping everyone’s cards because if it. Apart from the cards when I had my first baby. My husband wouldn’t speak to me because I’d had a girl and I threw them all away I regret it now….

I have moved 11 times since leaving home, and there will be one final move to downsize, I am in the middle of de cluttering at this very moment, give a lot of items to a lady that is helping the homeless. I will never have a minimalistic home 🤣 try as I might

When my mother died, my sister opened a large. blanket box
tucked away on the landing. It was full of cards and letters sent to her over many years. Hundreds. She went through them all, over a few evenings. They were picked up by a charity.
Dad wasn’t at all sentimental and didn’t even know they were there.
It’s truly melancholy making to think of all the many photographs binned and burnt, of people we didn’t know,
not our memories, same as my daughters.
I asked them if they wanted the New Baby cards when they were born, so many, looked at me askance, saying, we have no idea who these people were they are yours not ours.
Anything they may have fought over they have now.
Occasionally when either displease me I threaten to cut her/them out of my will, eliciting shrieks of laughter, fooling no one.
There are a couple of items I regret disposing of, despite the financial rewarding, bound to happen.

Don’t forget to advise of pin numbers and passwords.
They know any hard cash is in the freezer (frozen assets) hoping it will still be a valid currency, otherwise I will just have to spend it.

I’m trying to employ the tactics from Sort your life out ie grouping things together to see how many duplicates there are. A lot of the problem is BOGOF deals and buy one get one half price. Plus pandemic stockpiling. I’ve got bottles and bottles of shampoo because I was always searching for one that would stop my hair from falling out! For some reason I use far more conditioner than shampoo. I guess not much hair means not much shampoo needed!I can’t just throw them out of give them away though, because I’m on a small pension. I used to use far more when I went to the gym every day and used the sauna. And I’m always trying new cleaning products even though I do try to stick to environmentally friendly stuff. I always think a new product will turn me into a domestic goddess! Fat chance of that! It doesn’t help that I still have to make an appointment to go to the council tip so things tend to accumulate in the garage.

I also found a video of Oprah interviewing Danish people
in Copenhagen, remarking on their small spartan streamlined (light bright airy chic) homes, Where is all your stuff?
husband replies, we do not have Stuff - less stuff more life

Ohhhhh I LOVE to de-clutter but I have a husband who says NO... everything I take outside and HIDE in the bin unbelievably finds its way back in the house, its like he has a radar that goes off at an alarming pitch if the bin lid is opened ..... infuriates me.

On YT, searching out decluttering, downsizing videos, found Shannon Torrens and her mum, embracing Death Cleaning with a vengeance, describing their ruthless decluttering, how not to hold on to ‘just in case’ clothes, how it can be a long process. They are a good team, honest, humorous, clearly spoken, recommended.

Cabbie21

Yesterday my grandson spotted seven huge tubs in the loft and today my granddaughter helped get them down- all part of Mr Cabbie’s collection, so I need to sort them asap. I just want everything gone now, but there is so much sorting to do, including things the family have asked for but not yet taken.

Specialist auction for the collection, quality auction for other good stuff, general auction for general stuff, give away, charity shop, recycle, tip. It is overwhelming, and help is only very occasionally available.

I’ve got my ex in-laws stuff in the loft along with my ex’s stuff in the loft and garage. My children’s art work from A levels. My daughter has room for hers but my son only has a tiny house. I sometimes wish I could move into a caravan in the garden but the garden isn’t big enough!