De-cluttering, still at it, still no end

Hope they come earlier than that Redcar.

You are talented karmalady

I feel as though I have been forced into clothes de-cluttering this morning I needed some cool clothes and could not find anything. I put a skirt on that I enjoyed making and is made well but it does not suit me and neither does the colour, I have no tops to go with it

Maybe later today I will have the impetus to carry on, at least I found the cool slinky slip nightdresses and my cool cotton dressing gown

I make all of my own clothes, properly and well and they were made to fit. One of my hobbies. Every new pattern is made in a toile, as if it were the final garment, very wearable. Then followed up in a very good fabric like linen or a good pima cotton etc. It is the toiles, they need to go if I have followed up

This is hard to face

My family said they would help clear the garage this coming weekend as I have a skip being delivered. It now seems as though they’ll be with me on Sunday afternoon! No doubt I’ll end up doing most of the clearing myself.
Some years ago we spent many weekends helping a friend declutter her large house prior to putting it on the market. They were both hoarders, we had to climb over piles of stuff to get anywhere. In the end most of it ended up being stored in shipping containers at a storage facility. After she died, her family had to clear it all.

Oh MayBee , I can relate to your story about your parents. Mine threw everything of my childhood away, including all photos.
My one consolation is that no one can see the dodgy fashion choices I made in my teens.

We sorted through some clothes yesterday………anything not work for two years has gone in the charity bag which was full to capacity when we had finished.

fancythat

Norah

Redcar

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

Good Luck!

As each daughter moved out another moved back. I believe we're almost through -- my husband has their stuff in his buildings now. At least stuff is out of lofts and garages and ready to burn later.

Do his buildings have some sort of heater in them?

Yes, people work in all seasons.

I used to read mine but not for a number of years now.

Allira

Redcar I still have a set of encyclopedias I was given age 11! My mother decluttered toys and clothes but not books.

I also had a set of Books Of Knowledge, filling up shelves on the bookcase.

Bought by my dad when we were children.

They sat there for years, I didn’t want them but felt guilty not keeping them.

Finally took them to a charity shop, they said if they didn’t sell they would go for pulping.

I felt great relief to be rid of them.

Good luck Redcar

My friend is clearing her mums house, her mum died at age 90+ and had lived in her house for 68 years and never done any de-cluttering. It is a nightmare for my friend

This de-cluttering malarky is not really for us but is to help our loved ones

The joy ( and tears) of receiving a long lost book in the post and remembering every word and every picture. The only things I’ve never found again are some magazines that I had called Mr Tasty Freeze. How or why I had them I have no idea as they were American. And I can still remember on the day we moved out of my first home a box full of old books that were in a cupboard. We didn’t take them with us and I don’t think they belonged to us anyway. I have a terrible memory when it comes to events in my childhood apart from when they were about books.

Oh there are so many books I would love still to own. Like you maybe70 my mum threw them all out😢.

I have a very long list. But I guess my offspring would promptly throw them out at my demise.

My mum threw out all of my toys and books when I left home. It took decades for me to find some of the books on eBay. She even threw away the photo I’d taken of my dolls and teddy bears although I do thankfully have a photo of me and one teddy. I’m sure it’s one reason why I’m now a hoarder.

Norah

Redcar

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

Good Luck!

As each daughter moved out another moved back. I believe we're almost through -- my husband has their stuff in his buildings now. At least stuff is out of lofts and garages and ready to burn later.

Do his buildings have some sort of heater in them?

Redcar I still have a set of encyclopedias I was given age 11! My mother decluttered toys and clothes but not books.

The other day I sorted out my houseplants (not many now), those I kept 🤞 hoping they might revive and didn't have gone in the garden waste. There is so much to sort indoors but the garden's a mess as we can't tackle it as we used to. I started sorting out my herbaceous border and found three small trees in there (thank you squirrel!).
Perhaps I should stick to decluttering my wardrobe!

Having a cuppa and a break.

Redcar

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

Good Luck!

As each daughter moved out another moved back. I believe we're almost through -- my husband has their stuff in his buildings now. At least stuff is out of lofts and garages and ready to burn later.

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

Allsorts

After a massive matter de clutter I am still cluttered. If I had good homes for loads of stuff I wouldn't miss them, its giving away unused items that hurts to car boots etc where they get next to nothing.

yes Allsorts, I`m similar, much easier to rehome where stuff will be used. It was my ds talked me out of that difficult frame of mind, he said that the money was spent anyway. He was very good, I had that massive feeling of regret but I turned that around thanks to him.

The biggest release for me was letting all that pristine (expensive) workshop equipment go. The happiness came when I heard the men saying how much they appreciated that act of kindness. It was so nice to hear that. My husband would have been very happy with that decision.

I have been eyeing my 2 big planters by my garage door, stuffed full with whirly agapanthus, which need to be contained or they would be rampant. I will let them flower one last season and then I will have the difficult job of emptying the containers and getting rid of everything

After a massive matter de clutter I am still cluttered. If I had good homes for loads of stuff I wouldn't miss them, its giving away unused items that hurts to car boots etc where they get next to nothing.

Soroptimum

I really really want to declutter, with a view to downsizing in a few years time. But whereas I can be ruthless, DH is just useless. We still have his DADS teddy bears, coin, cigarette cards and stamp collection etc. etc. As well as DH cub outfit, car magazines and brochures from the 70s - you get the picture! Any advice gratefully received as I’m getting desperate.

Only thing I can think of, is, my DH will remove things if I have already done so.
I cant decide if he then feels guilty?

But I wouldnt be asking him to remove things if they were his sentimental things.
Only things he has left lying around, or could tidy/bin.

And me, Monica! My first one ("Cuddles") lost an arm. Still love him to death! And dolls. My children were born in the early Seventies and the girls were totally freaked out by my dolls! Why? I loved them and played for days with them. I still have two, once beautiful, china-headed baby dolls. Now somewhat battered an bruised. Sad.

A lot of my clutter is paper-based: scrapbooks, or stuff waiting to go in scrapbooks, brochures of places I have been to over the years, which I bought or picked up instead of taking endless photos which are later unidentifiable. Hard to get rid of as they bring back happy memories and are informative..

Talking of shoes and trainers.

DH couldn’t find a pair of his good sunglasses, we both thought we knew where they were. But no.

We searched high and low, ascertained they had last been with us on holiday to Barbados over a year ago. DH felt we must have left them behind, but I didn’t think so, we are really careful and check thoroughly before we leave anywhere.

I asked him whereabouts in the suitcase would he have put them, and it came to us, perhaps tucked into some shoes?

Sure enough, they were hiding in a pair of trainers, obviously never used last summer since we returned.

So pleased.

Thanks to St Anthony also. 🙏

Last night I started nodding off at 7, I had to get moving or I would not have slept all night. I had watched a youtube video about seniors and shoe safety, so I tootled upstairs and took all my shoes out of wherever I had stored them

Good unworn boots in that pile and they fit so they have been moved from hidden to accessible for next autumn. DB sandals, 6 pairs from under a bed, two pairs taken out to be worn all summer. If I alternate 6 pairs then I will end up not wearing any enough to get rid next autumn, so I will wear 2 pairs constantly. They are already slightly worn anyway

All I got rid of was one set of trainers, too stiff, too small and too white but I have made more sense of my footwear

In process I have sorted a bit in my wardrobe, not clothing just stored stuff and have cleared about 2 cubic feet into the bin, giving me that much space back plus I vacuumed in there

I accessed my sandals from under the bed and am very happy at how space is appearing, slow but steady

I noticed my cases on the wardrobe shelf, they will have to stay for now but eventually they will store, empty, under my bed. That will be a reason to celebrate

Soroptimum

I really really want to declutter, with a view to downsizing in a few years time. But whereas I can be ruthless, DH is just useless. We still have his DADS teddy bears, coin, cigarette cards and stamp collection etc. etc. As well as DH cub outfit, car magazines and brochures from the 70s - you get the picture! Any advice gratefully received as I’m getting desperate.

Arson?