Carrying on from the de-cluttering theme

I think Casdon has hit the nail on the head - one in and TWO Out otherwise it’s just status quo.

We are lucky here as there’s a charity shop in the square below us. I go down in the lift with just a carrier bag occasionally on my way past. No clutter here - just as well, it’s a very small apartment!

That said, I don’t bake, sew or craft = less ‘stuff’ in here anyway.

Freecycle is good if you have something large which could be useful - we recently rehomed a traditional style baby’s cot and also a climbing frame. Usually it’s best to say needs to be collected. Books go to a local cancer charity which I thought was a small library when I first went in!

I have reached the stage of not actively looking for things to remove but an always open to this transformation.

I have candles, lots of them and all 100% stearin. A great big box of them in my garage as well as a drawer full in my house. I started buying them many years ago and obviously bought more than I ever used

I started using them again the other evening, two of them and safe in storm lanterns by my fireplace. When I get to the end of them I will still buy them but just a few at a time, which will occupy only part of a drawer and no box in my garage

This really will be a slow process but so be it

No problem decluttering my own stuff, but husband can’t bear to part with things he spent money on once. Anyone know how to tackle this? No reasoning with him! And absolutely impossible to sneak anything out of the house

Mine insists on holding onto CDs and DVDs, which we don’t need. It drives me mad. I got storage built in and did a massive declutter (complete with thread on here😀) but half of it is taken up with Husband’s stuff.

I have got a new boot room installed recently, so all the detritus that used to be in there is now behind doors, which makes a huge difference. I’ve systematically worked through the house making various rooms easier to keep tidy, and after two or three years, I need to start again by assessing what needs to be kept.

It should be easier this time.

For those starting out - I began by emptying a sideboard and took it from there. It wasn’t always easy, but one step at a time it happened, and my house and life are so much more streamlined now.

*Doodledog*, I used case-logic files, used to have 4 of these but have now managed to get down to 2 x 128 cd each. It did mean getting rid of cd and dvd cases. These matching files look very good on my living room shelves. Got them from amazon

Maybe DH will compromise

Mine insists on holding onto CDs and DVDs, which we don’t need. It drives me mad.
Ah, but they might be worth something one day.
CDs and DVDs are the new vinyl!

You see my problem now 😁

Thank you karmalady, but Allira has nailed it.

We will be millionaires when someone (#vague) comes along and pays for all the disc-based entertainment and the millions of tools that clutter the garage, as all of it 'will be worth something now'. Or so I'm told.

Today I had another attempt at sorting out my huge book collection.
I have some not first but rare editions .
My books are precious to me .
I just didn't realise how many I have .
This sorting is taking me a long time but I'll get there in the end .

GrannyGravy13 How about you say to your AC, "On (name a date a few weeks from now) I have a man coming to take the contents of the attic to the tip. Anything still there on that date will be taken, so darlings do come and fetch anything you'd like to keep"

3 ACs plus their DHs had stocked up my flat always saying ‘when we get a bigger place’. Finally I gave them warning that I had to move everything. Their books, such a shame, filled 3 car loads, boot and backseat to a well known charity but I had to find my own space. Three years on they have never asked for the books and articles.

Doodledog

Thank you karmalady, but Allira has nailed it.

We will be millionaires when someone (#vague) comes along and pays for all the disc-based entertainment and the millions of tools that clutter the garage, as all of it 'will be worth something now'. Or so I'm told.

And the books ...

The problem with books inherited from MIL is that sets which might have been quite valuable as a whole set have been split, presumably with some other relative many years ago.

HiMay

No problem decluttering my own stuff, but husband can’t bear to part with things he spent money on once. Anyone know how to tackle this? No reasoning with him! And absolutely impossible to sneak anything out of the house

To be fair, my DH isnt too bad.
But if there is a specific area I would like him to tackle, I clear my stuff around it first.
Whether that then makes him see his more clearly, or whether he is merely just copying me, I really dont know. But that works surprisingly often.

Dont know whether that might work for your DH at all.

I have been decluttering. I get a nice clear space then DH comes along and puts his clutter in the space.

mokryna

3 ACs plus their DHs had stocked up my flat always saying ‘when we get a bigger place’. Finally I gave them warning that I had to move everything. Their books, such a shame, filled 3 car loads, boot and backseat to a well known charity but I had to find my own space. Three years on they have never asked for the books and articles.

This sums up many AC. I have a friend who stored her daughter’s uni text books, gym equipment, stuff from her childhood bedroom….

I would have been firmer and said either you sort it and take it or else it will be gone.

She had her own home by then.

I'm on my own now so can't blame DH. I still find it hard to throw out his collections.

I have small victories. I gave away a huge stash of old Private Eyes. The chap who came for them told me he'd read them and left me a box of chocolates.

I also had a bric a brac sale in my hall recently with an invitation on the street. It raised over £100 for charity.

Apart from that it's book fairs and charity shops, and the tip.
It's slow.

I also had a bric a brac sale in my hall recently with an invitation on the street. It raised over £100 for charity.

Aw. Excellent.

It was nice fancythat, particularly as people were so complimentary about my things.
The downside was that only a small amount of stuff left the building.

I cleared the loft this summer and must now sort out the garage. We can get the car in one half but the other side needs sorting out.
My DH seems to have collected bags of all sizes but I will probably let him keep them as the AC can use them to clear the house when we are gone 😀

The hardest things to sort out are the ones that can’t go to charity shops or be sold or go to the tip.
Paper memorabilia: brochures of places I have been to, concert programmes, letters, scrapbooks…… I am just not ready to part with them. Far too many to photograph and digitise. Mostly meaningless to anyone else. The best I can do is store them together, and label the box so my family know they can simply put them in the paper recycling when the time comes, without needing to go through them.

Cabbie.
I invited an auctioneer to value my furniture etc now that I'm keen to downsize.
He was charming and able to tell me it wouldn't fetch much in such a way that didn't make me like it any the less.

There is an old chest, in poor condition which I have inherited and I told him its fascinating story.
"I think you must keep that" he said "you obviously love it"

So I would say to you. Keep those treasures. They are your treasures.

^ The best I can do is store them together, and label the box so my family know they can simply put them in the paper recycling when the time comes, without needing to go through them.^

That is my next stage with my papers too.
Labeling them as, "to be thrown".

It is easier when there is a recycle place for your treasures, isn't it? 'Electricals' can go to Currys, and you get a £5 off your next purchase, but there are too few 'textiles' bins.
Yes keep your treasures, and I will borrow that idea of the 'throw away' labels.
Photographs and old phots take forever, as you delve back into your memories.

my paperwork is crying out to be done but I cannot be bothered. It is all safe. I think I need to make a date with myself, new year would be good and needs to be a definite. Mid winter, no outdoor jobs, its just the faff and psychology stopping me

I am going to try and get the oomph to do a bit in the garage later today, just one wire shelf will help as will those bags of `things` that I set aside for a dd. She will have forgotten about them, while I see the black bags every time I go in there

My garage will be fuller soon, I like to store my 2 small bistro tables and 4 chairs in there, they will last years longer out of winter weather. They were pricey from John Lewis and are lightweight and very comfortable, I like them and they are keepers

I think I will change now, dress appropriately and get up a ladder in there this morning, see if I can clear a bit

Grammaretto

I'm on my own now so can't blame DH. I still find it hard to throw out his collections.

I have small victories. I gave away a huge stash of old Private Eyes. The chap who came for them told me he'd read them and left me a box of chocolates.

I also had a bric a brac sale in my hall recently with an invitation on the street. It raised over £100 for charity.

Apart from that it's book fairs and charity shops, and the tip.
It's slow.

I’ve got a pile of old Giles cartoon books. Such a fascinating insight of that period of time. I keep meaning to browse through them. I know this sounds a bit sad but someone I used to know died recently. We’d not been in touch for such a long time but I caught up with the intervening years by looking at their instagram page. So I’m thinking of putting my ‘treasures’ on my instagram page in the hope that someone might look at it one day and find it interesting in some way.