De-cluttering, still at it, still no end

Feeling very down about not putting my house on the market ages ago as next doors build is messy and I don't think it will sell. I went out three times this week each time bought a new top, necklace and pair of cut offs with some vouchers I had. I didn't need any of them I had a big clear out if my clothes . Don't know what to do with unwanted ornaments and gifts, agreed with rookie from now on no gifts just company and a meal and meet up.

Yet another biggie for me, patio parasol is arriving soon and I was looking for a storage space in my garage. I have stored this rug for 6 years, rolled and protected and it is mighty heavy. A quality wool/viscose rug, far too big for any room I have now. A dd has just said she would love it. Thank goodness, my conscience is clear again. I like it when they want stuff

I did take in the appearance in my pull our larder today and instead of layer upon layer, I am down to one layer on each of three shelves and empty storage boxes on the top shelf. A big win so far

fancythat

^whereas my house with things belonging to me, my ex husband, his parents, my kids^

You may have mentioned before, but can you declutter the things that dont belong to you?

I have now started on this in the loft, and the difference is quite visible already.

It’s really up to them to dispose of their stuff and they’re all so busy. My ex and my son both live in quite small houses and don’t have room to take on their clutter that’s in my house. I’ve got an amp that my ex made when everyone was making their own hi fi equipment and I love things like that. I think part of the problem is that we have never really emotionally been divorced.

I've been decluttering for ages now and after a bedroom refurbishment where we got rid of stuff before moving temporarily into one of the spare bedrooms. We are back in our room and new furniture installed - we are still geting rid of stuff that we feel a bit Meh!! about.
Now we have the loft to do again - we did it a few years ago but lots of stuff including Christmas paraphernalia has crept up there.
We still have the smallest room to finish decluttering and also need to finish dismantling DHs railway hobby but I can at least see some of the floor again. DD is doing a boot sale - so I have been through GCs toys too. At the very least daily, I try and go in there and physically remove 10 items - doesn't matter if it's a piece of paper for the bin or something going to charity or something for the tip - it is removed - thereby adding to the decluttering process. As they say - How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!!

whereas my house with things belonging to me, my ex husband, his parents, my kids

You may have mentioned before, but can you declutter the things that dont belong to you?

I have now started on this in the loft, and the difference is quite visible already.

I’m carrying on reducing ‘stuff’ as the mood takes me.

This afternoon we’ll combine a sea front stroll with taking three large bags of clothes to three different charity shops. There will soon be some more.

Tomorrow a bag of broken plastic pots and other garden items will be taken to the recycling centre before we head to a supermarket. I’m happy letting many things go, my Nan’s treasured small ornaments and bits from both sets of parents homes are going nowhere. We both enjoy having them here. All are photographed and annotated so family understand why they were here. It will be their choice what happens next.

The loft in our family home took two years to empty. We took our time and enjoyed the process. Lots of memories were triggered along with much ‘why on earth did we think that was a good idea’. Our sons had their own homes. We put their things in the dining room. Identified a weekend they were all available and explained anything left after that weekend would be disposed of. Most of it disappeared. As we went I made up folders of a selection artwork which they now have.

We thought it was so much easier to accomplish loft emptying when we were relatively hale and hearty and had no time pressure. Our loft here has suitcases and boxes we keep until warranty periods are over and that’s it.

This summers challenge is a full to bursting shed in the garden. All tools - and rubbish - kept by the squirrel I’m married to. Now that will be a challenge!

MayBee, could you take something equivalent to the tea light holders to a charity shop to make a space (as in one in one out, two in two out etc)? Probably you’d need to take the ‘out’ items and donate them before you buy the tea lights 😂. I must try to take my own advice!

I used to babysit for someone whose house was much messier than mine. I said to her once how unhomely tidy houses were and she looked puzzled and disagreed with me ( I can still picture her now; lovely lady, four lovely but eccentric children; she became a vicar, but I digress) because she obviously didn’t see her house as messy. Another friend has a house that looks like a morgue. And the house of a younger person I visited that was filled with things bought straight out of a shop, pictures and everything, so there was no personality. However, my partners house that I dressed from scratch ( he gave me free rein) if full of charity shop purchases and upcycled furniture so everything in it has a story of some kind) is very relaxing whereas my house with things belonging to me, my ex husband, his parents, my kids plus charity shop purchases and upcycled furniture stresses me out. But I guess there’s a difference in fifty years of collecting and ten and his house never had a growing family in it. And I have boxes full of art projects and archived pictures and posters that are homeless ( not enough walls to put them on).

Today I went to see a neighbour unexpectedly as I had some news for her, she insisted I come in and look around. Lovely neighbour but I came back thinking I have an untidy home. I haven`t, just lived in with lots of hobbies

I love my home but this is MY home not a showcase

Anyway my mission yesterday was successful, I dismantled a leaf blower and binned it, no-one wanted it and I re-homed a very good (shamefully unused) inkle weaving loom. Bought in the days when I was first widowed when money meant nothing. I am keeping the ashford `sample it ` weaving loom, I made a nice scarf once and could use that loom again

I slowed down today, seeing my neighbour did nothing for me wrt de-cluttering, in fact I felt a bit sorry for her and looked around at my hobbies and my full kitchen, appreciating that I eat wholefoods, bake sd bread, have plant-based foods in the house and can still lift and carry my heavy le Creuset pots

We’re in the process of clearing our second home. It’s surprising what has migrated here for no apparent good reason. Every day is a wonderful round of sorting, charity shop and tip.
DH has just broken up an old pine chest that’s lurked in a several of our houses for 40 years. I didn’t like it in the first place, so off to the tip it goes!

Calendargirl

MayBee

No, you don’t have to buy them, really. And you’ve nowhere to put them.🤷‍♀️

That’s why we all have too much ‘stuff’.

Be strong, think ‘no’, it’s the first step to winning the de-clutter lottery.

But they’re calling to me. And I love the lady who owns the shop and always try to buy something from her!

P.S. MayBee

Well done on the weight loss, that’s a great reason for still having kept those clothes.

👏👏👏

MayBee

No, you don’t have to buy them, really. And you’ve nowhere to put them.🤷‍♀️

That’s why we all have too much ‘stuff’.

Be strong, think ‘no’, it’s the first step to winning the de-clutter lottery.

I’ve lost weight recently and have started wearing jeans again after living in leggings for years. It has meant that a lot of clothes I also haven’t worn for a long time have now made it back into my what I wear now wardrobe. And that includes shoes that I nearly sent to a charity shop recently as shoes don’t really go with leggings. I’ve often found ( as a yo yo dieter) an ancient forgotten garment in my wardrobe and started wearing it again. I’m afraid it isn’t helping my decluttering effort. And there are some beautiful glass tea light holders in a nearby shop that I think I have to buy even though I’ve nowhere to put them; I keep looking at them and love them so much. The shop owner even restocked them after I asked about them so I feel obliged to buy them ( that’s my excuse anyway…). This is why I’m in such a mess; I’m a yo yo dieting magpie.

Our car boot the other day got rid of some ‘stuff’.

I took a load of plant pots, marked ‘free’, and they all went!

One lady insisted on giving me some money for them, I was just glad they were of use to someone.

A dress and a pair of trousers went, I asked my DH why more didn’t go, as several people looked at them. He said ‘They are too small for most folk’ which is a shame.

We didn’t make a lot of cash, but the car was much less full coming home.

😃

I didn`t put anything in my loft Fancythat learnt a lesson from the family home. Same as you, everything had to come out and the children just did not want much. That stuff was skipped and an awful lot disappeared from the skip overnight

I am in a nice stage today, day by day am wearing wearable toiles (a sewing term, practice garment from not so-favourite fabrics) I always make them well and have handed several on already to salvation army. One blouse worn yesterday, was fab and felt lovely so that is going to be re-produced in a few weeks, meantime I will wash it and pass it on. Different top today and similar result

Some waisted dresses need to go, sigh, my waist has vanished. I class that in slow and steady, not sure yet

I won`t rest, conscious of my age and I am certainly not leaving my stuff for AC to sort. I have weaving stuff to go, some brand new. I`ll keep my eyes open for a worthy cause, I look upon giving away as charitable donations. Did it with good stuff from my late husband, now benefitting the community and raising funds

Kitchen stuff was easiest

fancythat

I am finally clearing my loft!

As it happened, I am moving stuff from around the hatch first.
So it already looks quite improved.

And clearing out my childrens' stuff.
There is a substantial amount of it.
10% of stuff in loft? Plus some stuff elsewhere.

Another child[well in 30s] has got own home now.
Good timing for me.
His stuff is going to be given back to him!

I have to be careful not to bring too much down.
And then it hangs around in a bedroom until he next visits.

I am done for the day, taken out around 4 big bags of clothes, sorted all my clothes and nightwear. New snag leggings are going out as are warm tunics and unworn sweater dresses.

I am having an apple and water break and will get these clothes bagged up before lunch. The best quality will go to the salvation army, the rest into a normal clothes bank

It`s a shattering process

Its a perfect time to be cracking on with clothes de-cluttering, this time of year when I will swap summer for winter

I have to separate heart from head, I know immediately if an item does not spark joy but I am trying to be ruthless, it is a tough call

I did 6 items the other day, to the salvation army bank, they will put them up for sale. I will go and make my bed now and make a tentative start. I need luck and enthusiasm

Gwyllt - fully sympathise with you and a friend's partner is a serial hoarder who even keeps post of any sort going back years. I had a declutter when moving but have gradually been finding stuff hidden in the shed which I thought had been taken to the tip. The latest find is a bag of rock hard cement. Why, just why would you even keep that nevermind bring it from one house to another?! Goodness knows what the removal firm thought. Absolutely no idea behind the latest one - he's started storing empty pill bottles which are everywhere in the shed.

I do get the butterflies sometimes, when I think about my age (78) and my still full home but then I shake myself out of it and just carry on plodding

Yesterday, two good child stools, No-one needs them so I took the ash legs off for the fire next winter and the heavy painted mdf tops went to the skip. My small air fryer, used 3 times, that went onto the re-use table at the tip

A couple of tubes from my bedroom, almost empty but that will do. Soon it will be my old large, tabletop bp monitor which I am replacing with a small neat monitor

I am very grateful that I can still unearth things to go and that I have been able to de-clutter far more than I have brought in.

Clothes next, I am finding that particularly difficult but again, one item at a time. I just need to be aware of that sensation when I put it on. That vibe tells me but I need to listen

We hope to do a car boot sale in a couple of weeks time, weather permitting.

Not expecting to make a fortune, but aim to clear a bit more ‘stuff’.

Karma lady. You make it sound so easy A short time ago we had a skip Son and I did do some clearing of sheds. Genuinely it was building rubbish and tools to rusty or broken nature. Himself went skip diving , he played merry hell and sulked for ages.

Allsorts is right, Humbertbear. Ercol furniture is very collectable. One DD has an Ercol dining table and chairs, which she loves.

Allsorts

I have tried and took three bags of clothes to a charity shop, I should never need to buy any more. I have about 20 handbags, none of them big enough to get all my stuff in, so virtually unused, why did I get them.
It's what to do with my Ercol furniture, it's in mint condition and I love it. I won't be taking it though. Also boxes of ornaments , not to my taste, Lladro etc. And copper, kettles etc all presents. Too good to just throw but I couldn't sell on line as get in a muddle buying on line.
Going to get ruthless now with my cooking utensils and gadgets

Ercol furniture is highly sort after. contact an auction house or join the Ercol FB group.