De-cluttering, still at it, still no end

Perhaps the shock of finding you are no longer able to deal with life the way you did, and how hard it has hit you, is perhaps the thing you should deal with first. Think about seeing someone to talk this through with and come to peace with. Then, and only then, should you start decluttering, you might then find it so much easier.

That’s why I’m trying so hard to declutter. It all starts with that. I’ve always been a collector and I have to remember that it has given me joy over the years. It’s sad that so many things are now just sitting on shelves, still loved by me but with the threat of ending up in land fill hanging over them. I’ve always been so healthy; old age has come as a bit of a shock and hit me hard.

Maybee, I think deep down that you know the answer. Getting older can make people unfit, unwell and tired. Time to seriously think about the next stage.

I did that in the autumn. Paid some lads a lot of money to clear a load of stuff from the garden. I was pleased with what they did but a lot of it has grown back. But the seeds are endless. The garden was swept on Sunday and by Thursday was covered again. The car wasn’t driveable. The were all over the windscreen wipers. I’m on a very small pension and there’s a limit to how much I can pay out on a regular basis. It costs me a lot to have the gutters cleared twice a year. I’ve only just started paying a window cleaner but still have to clean the bird poo off them myself as it’s too dried on for him to do. Even though everyone takes their shoes off when they come in the house the seeds get everywhere. I have Hugg mats everywhere to try to contain them.

MayBee70

Trouble is there's nowhere in my village that I could move to and I do want to stay here. I'd really like to enjoy may garden instead of constantly sweeping up these horrible seeds. The pine needles are a nuisance [I have to get my gutters cleaned twice a year] but controllable. The Silver Birch are now huge. I wonder if one of those lawn vacuums would help.

Maybee yes a garden vacuum would help greatly but in your case I would get a good quality powerful one, industrial as you don`t just have leaves. It will cost of course but should help make your garden manageable

Obviously the seeds are not going to stop, year on year and I would manage this by looking forward ie de-cluttering and also tentatively exploring areas within a radius from where you live. A vacuum would give you some breathing space

Your mind is overthinking, ie this and this and this, all at once and that has made everything overwhelming. Can I suggest that you face one thing at a time, starting with the vacuum cleaner to catch the seeds while they are fresh and crisp

If it is seeds on the lawn that bothers you most, I would definitely pay for a gardener. A powerful mower would also pick up and chop the seeds, you need to ask the gardener to take the trimmings away or at least bag them

Why not pay someone to do it. Accepting as we get older that we need to pay people to do things that we previously did for ourselves is no big deal.

I recently paid a couple of lads to do some garden clearance for me. I had got behind because of our expected move, and DH's ill health. We are also getting the movers to do a lot of the packing for us when we move, for similar reasons. DH cannot do any packing and I am daunted by the thought of doing it all on my own. I have never had garden help before , nor had the removers do the packing for us.

Trouble is there's nowhere in my village that I could move to and I do want to stay here. I'd really like to enjoy may garden instead of constantly sweeping up these horrible seeds. The pine needles are a nuisance [I have to get my gutters cleaned twice a year] but controllable. The Silver Birch are now huge. I wonder if one of those lawn vacuums would help.

Maybe speak to an estate agent?
They could advise you, without it all being a guessing game for you.

I’ve just cleaned my car. Covered in the stuff that comes off the Silver Birch trees in my neighbours garden. My partner swept the drive and the patio for me at the weekend and it needs sweeping again already. It all gets trodden into the house, too. It only seems to blow my way!And this is before the brown seeds appear. I’m seriously thinking of putting the house on the market but I’d have to declutter to do that. Can’t keep on top of the decluttering and the maintenance. It’s like one step forward and two steps back.

Athrawes, welcome

We are all different here with different circumstances, personally I am widowed and am in process of slowly planning ahead for the `what if` situations and following the mantra of `dying tidy` I do this for my AC and my DGC

I am in process of slow de-cluttering and am happy if I can do a bit at a time. I don`t look for de-cluttering jobs any more, often they just happen, as today

I am shattered now, doing a bit of feng shui stuff in my living room has been followed by me gaining another cubic foot of shelf space as well as knowing where small things are for my various hobbies. It is all positive

I've virtually given up on decluttering I'm afraid. I've put aside some bags to find a new home but DH is not the tidiest person in the world but he is the kindest so I leave things as they are. We now have my granddaughter and her fiance with us. They are reasonably tidy and one is a musician and it's worth it as the music is wonderful and I love having them around. Luckily we live in a detached house!

Almost done and shock horror still in my dressing gown

Window cill, I located a nice 3" tall white shiny lidless tray which is the right depth on the cill and the length is just right for the coaster to be direct on the cill. I now have room for bits and will be selective tidier

Laptop and phone and plant on my sewing cabinet

Trolley in hall and is doing a sterling neat job of shoe storage, I only have small feet. The big shoe tray can go

Feels good now and only item to be de-cluttered is a flat big shoe tray. Took me a couple of hours to get there

Maybee, I hope you feel better quickly. Arthritis and indigestion could both be linked to eating the nightshade family ie peppers, potatoes, aubergine, tomatoes. There are good subs, like sweet potatoes

For me, feng shui as in energy flow in a room, goes hand in hand with de-cluttering and I have moved my zero gravity everyday recliner into a corner, just a foot from where it was. It feels better from here but I have a trolley on my right, I bought several at a good price many years ago. Very useful but this one now feels and looks out of place where it is. I could put it in my hall I suppose and will need to work out an inconspicuous and safe way to have my things hand when I sit. I will never de-clutter those trolleys but sometimes things just need to be moved rather than removed from the house

www.black-by-design.co.uk/kitchen-dining-c1/home-bar-accessories-c21/drinks-trolleys-c45/normann-copenhagen-block-side-table-drinks-trolley-black-p725

Once upon a time, when I had the house decorated, I put felt pads under every stick of furniture and this morning I pushed a very heavy unit along my hard floor, to make space for my chair. I can move every bit of heavy furniture by myself, without making marks

I have a horn `cub plus` sewing machine cabinet to my left back, it contains a vintage bernina sewing machine and I cover the cabinet with a soft cloth to take the `hard` look away.

I have a window cill to my right, I could carefully use that as a resting place for some essentials and then actually tidy the other stuff away

I think sometimes I conflate de-cluttering and tidy storage and it becomes overwhelming

Not exactly decluttering but something that takes up time that I could use to declutter. Actually paid a window cleaner to clean my windows yesterday. I’ve never paid someone to do something that I can do myself. Unfortunately I’d hoped that he would clean to bird poo that covers my windows but on closer inspection I’ve still had to hang out of the windows and scrub it off ( I’m terrified of heights, even looking out of an open upstairs window makes me go wobbly.

My partner is looking after our dog for a couple of days to give me a chance to do some tidying up/decluttering. But my arthritis is bad and I’ve had terrible indigestion all day so spent most of the day in bed. Hope I’m feeling better tomorrow. I get motivational tiredness just from looking at the mess.

valdavi

When I went up the tip yesterday, the (very chatty) assistant was trying to persuade me to take a discarded piece of art-glass home.
It was rather nice, but those days are gone. I wonder if his house is full of bits he's salvaged?

There is a very helpful and nice young man at my tip, he is chatty with everyone. He said that he has furnished his house with items he saved. I have actually given him a lot and glad to do so. I love that he is so kindly and treats me like a normal person, not some invisible old lady

When I went up the tip yesterday, the (very chatty) assistant was trying to persuade me to take a discarded piece of art-glass home.
It was rather nice, but those days are gone. I wonder if his house is full of bits he's salvaged?

I thought of you all today.
We have a serious storage problem. We are going through everything to see what we can rag.
The swimwear container took a bit of a hit.
I filled a 10Kl bag and still had more to dispose of.

Many of us have ‘stuff’ belonging to our AC which we hang onto.

If they had to find a home for it themselves, I bet the ‘stuff’ would soon be disposed of.

Having said that, I found my DS’s birth certificate in the safe the other day. I gave him the little free one when he left home, but retained the large one that we had to pay for, as he was rather lax about paperwork.

It doesn’t take up much space! but as he’s now 48, I think it can and should be passed on to him!

I found it on another thread and reported that as well. It is probably on other threads I am not on.

I shant bother with the offer, 2 paracetamol serve me as well as anything else for most uses.

What on earth were those!!!! Thanks Monica for reporting

M0nica

Do charities take good quality wooden coat hangars? I have aabout a dozen. I could use them as kindling on the wood burner, but ti is a bit late in the season for fires.

They should snatch your hand off. They are rarely donated.

M0nica

Do charities take good quality wooden coat hangars? I have aabout a dozen. I could use them as kindling on the wood burner, but ti is a bit late in the season for fires.

MayBee70
Join your local Next Door site. Lots of sales in our local one.

Do charities take good quality wooden coat hangars? I have aabout a dozen. I could use them as kindling on the wood burner, but ti is a bit late in the season for fires.

Both of the above reported.