Decluttering!

[stratobuddy]

Talking about mouthwash, when my usual one was on offer at 1/2 price, I must have bought about 30 at once! I have used about 1/2 of these so far, so none will be wasted. I found a cardboard box that they would all fit neatly into so storage was not a problem, but I can't resist a bargain.

 

[stratobuddy]

My problem with decluttering is that nearly all my stuff is very expensive but outdated gadgets, usually top of the range models, such as Sony VHS players (I have at least 2 to enable tape copying) and the same with mini-disk players (3 Sony models).

So it is too expensive to just junk or give to charity shops.

My local hi-fi shop was closing down last week, so I negotiated a good price on an all-in-one hi-fi that I'd had my eye on for 6 months, having had demos of it.

It's full price was £2,200 but I got £800 off. But that now means my previous hi-fi system (all separate units) is now surplus to requirements, but far to good to give away.

 

[maymorganlondon]

My problem with decluttering is that nearly all my stuff is very expensive but outdated gadgets, usually top of the range models, such as Sony VHS players (I have at least 2 to enable tape copying) and the same with mini-disk players (3 Sony models).

So it is too expensive to just junk or give to charity shops.

My local hi-fi shop was closing down last week, so I negotiated a good price on an all-in-one hi-fi that I'd had my eye on for 6 months, having had demos of it.

It's full price was £2,200 but I got £800 off. But that now means my previous hi-fi system (all separate units) is now surplus to requirements, but far to good to give away.

You need to find an appropriate specialist outlet to dispose of your older electricals, and you're not alone! In a different electrical genre, I have a very old pre-turntable microwave oven, bought in the late 1970s. It resides in the black hole (a cupboard I'm too scared to open and go through) and it weighs a ton, but I do wonder if there might be an interested party for it.

I am chomping at the bit to get the clutter I've sorted out off my premises, as the place looks so chaotic!

 

[merryone]

It's all very well keeping stuff if you can honestly say you've got enough room to store it, and if it's stuff that's likely to appreciate in value then, I'd say hold on to it and maybe when the time and the price is right, then sell it...but if it's stuff you're keeping just because it's serviceable, it was expensive or what have you, if you're not getting use out of it and it's just bringing you down, then I'd say get rid, and if you can sell it all well and good, but I find a charity donation, or just leaving it outside for someone else to have feels just as good. One of my cupboards upstairs is literally full of boxes and bags of crafting stuff, and I haven't done any crafting for years, think I'll go through it tomorrow, anything worth salvaging will be donated, the rest will be binned. As silly as it sounds it'd be great to have a free cupboard, especially when xmas starts approaching and I've started to buy presents. At that time of the year I can't usually move around my upstairs bedroom for all the boxes and bags! As for the bogof offers, great if you need the stuff, but I generally don't stash 'cause the offers always come back round soon enough!

 

[maymorganlondon]

It's all very well keeping stuff if you can honestly say you've got enough room to store it, and if it's stuff that's likely to appreciate in value then, I'd say hold on to it and maybe when the time and the price is right, then sell it...but if it's stuff you're keeping just because it's serviceable, it was expensive or what have you, if you're not getting use out of it and it's just bringing you down, then I'd say get rid, and if you can sell it all well and good, but I find a charity donation, or just leaving it outside for someone else to have feels just as good. One of my cupboards upstairs is literally full of boxes and bags of crafting stuff, and I haven't done any crafting for years, think I'll go through it tomorrow, anything worth salvaging will be donated, the rest will be binned. As silly as it sounds it'd be great to have a free cupboard, especially when xmas starts approaching and I've started to buy presents. At that time of the year I can't usually move around my upstairs bedroom for all the boxes and bags! As for the bogof offers, great if you need the stuff, but I generally don't stash 'cause the offers always come back round soon enough!

Hear, hear! Wise words.

 

[merryone]

Got another tip for all you declutterers out there - Watch hoarders on the tlc channel! it's one of those ones anyway. Boy does it spur you on, and not only that it make you feel saintly! Yeah, these poor people have serious mental health issues, but I just love seeing the before's and the afters. The last one I watched was really sad though, woman living in so much chaos, just junk, litter and mice everywhere, her house had two toilets both were unusable, it seemed that she was using adult nappies, then just bagging the up and throwing them on the floor, the place obviously stank. A team came in, including a psychologist to try and help her, but when the dumpster arrived, she insisted on hand checking every single item, every single scrap of paper before she allowed them to throw it away, and after 6 hours I think they'd managed to fill less than a quarter of a truck. In the end with a lot of coaxing, she allowed them to spend the rest of their time there, just pushing rubbish aside in order to create a "gangway" so she was able to walk around safely. It was just so sad to see - Thankfully most of the shows have a much happier outcome, and like I say does wonders for us just wanting to do a bit of decluttering!

 

[maymorganlondon]

Got another tip for all you declutterers out there - Watch hoarders on the tlc channel! it's one of those ones anyway. Boy does it spur you on, and not only that it make you feel saintly! Yeah, these poor people have serious mental health issues, but I just love seeing the before's and the afters. The last one I watched was really sad though, woman living in so much chaos, just junk, litter and mice everywhere, her house had two toilets both were unusable, it seemed that she was using adult nappies, then just bagging the up and throwing them on the floor, the place obviously stank. A team came in, including a psychologist to try and help her, but when the dumpster arrived, she insisted on hand checking every single item, every single scrap of paper before she allowed them to throw it away, and after 6 hours I think they'd managed to fill less than a quarter of a truck. In the end with a lot of coaxing, she allowed them to spend the rest of their time there, just pushing rubbish aside in order to create a "gangway" so she was able to walk around safely. It was just so sad to see - Thankfully most of the shows have a much happier outcome, and like I say does wonders for us just wanting to do a bit of decluttering!

Even sadder are the ones where they return to the decluttered home to find it in as bad or worse a state than before :sad:

In most of these cases, as with other compulsive behaviour, a person has to recognise they have a problem and seek help... and be willing to follow advice and treatment plans. I would imagine that in some cases they've been "overpersuaded" and therefore the whole exercise is deeply traumatic and destructive for them.

It is reassuring that you aren't as bad as you could be... but sobering to realise that you can end up living in a deathtrap courtesy of being unable to relinquish items of no further use - either from lurking bugs and vermin, or avalanches of precarious piles, or from being unable to keep yourself and your clothing clean, or feed yourself, and the growing isolation as you cannot have people around... overall, a terrible situation to be in.

I'm busy trying to see the bigger picture through my chaos at the moment.

Tonight I am going through food to see if it is in date or out of date. My food recycling collection is tomorrow morning, so I can begin to get rid of the out of date stuff.
Depending on how that goes, I've got a final round of clothes to declutter.
If I fly through that, there are the shoes...

The list of what I still have to wade through is massive, but I have a plan for how to tackle it all.

My best book recommendations so far:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I0C46BO/?tag=shoppingcom03-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0186O2N2O/?tag=shoppingcom03-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M2YEVDG/?tag=shoppingcom03-21

I have a few other books I'm going through, but these ones so far have struck a chord with me.

There are also some great decluttering resources on youtube, including a really nice professional decluttering consultant from Houston Texas - she has a load of talks on you tube : https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gayle+goddard

 

[merryone]

Even sadder are the ones where they return to the decluttered home to find it in as bad or worse a state than before :sad:

In most of these cases, as with other compulsive behaviour, a person has to recognise they have a problem and seek help... and be willing to follow advice and treatment plans. I would imagine that in some cases they've been "overpersuaded" and therefore the whole exercise is deeply traumatic and destructive for them.

It is reassuring that you aren't as bad as you could be... but sobering to realise that you can end up living in a deathtrap courtesy of being unable to relinquish items of no further use - either from lurking bugs and vermin, or avalanches of precarious piles, or from being unable to keep yourself and your clothing clean, or feed yourself, and the growing isolation as you cannot have people around... overall, a terrible situation to be in.

I'm busy trying to see the bigger picture through my chaos at the moment.

Tonight I am going through food to see if it is in date or out of date. My food recycling collection is tomorrow morning, so I can begin to get rid of the out of date stuff.
Depending on how that goes, I've got a final round of clothes to declutter.
If I fly through that, there are the shoes...

The list of what I still have to wade through is massive, but I have a plan for how to tackle it all.

My best book recommendations so far:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I0C46BO/?tag=shoppingcom03-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0186O2N2O/?tag=shoppingcom03-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M2YEVDG/?tag=shoppingcom03-21

I have a few other books I'm going through, but these ones so far have struck a chord with me.

There are also some great decluttering resources on youtube, including a really nice professional decluttering consultant from Houston Texas - she has a load of talks on you tube : https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gayle+goddard

Watched some of the Houston ladies talks, she's great isn't she?! Like I said before I've kinda reached the end of how far my decluttering can go, the place looks pretty cluttered because it's small, it's most certainly not a home I'm ashamed of, but I'd like it to be a place I am proud of too, it's clean and tidy, but still we've got too much stuff for the size of the place, and inadequate storage. My childhood home, was a house with a garden, we had a shed, indoors we had a proper "broom cupboard" which was big enough for the ironing board, the iron, brooms, a ladder and a vacuum cleaner. In the place I live now there's no such luxury, there's the cupboard under the sink, which holds a few bits, and a small cupboard, that's full of cleaning materials, but the big stuff all has to be placed around the flat and it's all visible - despite how neat and tidily arranged it is, it still creates a cluttered appearance, and as much as I'd like to get rid of the clutter, it's stuff I actually cannot live without, so I can't! I would love not to have to have the vacuum cleaner stood in the hallway, or the shoe rack..when you open the front door and look up the stairs it's the first thing you see, and it's not a good look, but where else can the.se things go? To be fair, they're not in the way, there's plenty of room to pass by, but I think I'd prefer a clear space. Still I should stop complaining as the place looks a million times better than it did, and i'm living in comfort instead of chaos and it's my wish for it to stay that way! So any little tips or life hacks....please post 'em here!!!

 

[maymorganlondon]

I haven't yet reached your stage Merryone - you have achieved nirvana compared to me!
I also live in a flat, and I am hoping for better concealment (but never total concealment) of vacuums and the like. With me, if it’s out of sight, it’s usually out of mind!
Although I'm in a flat, I’m lucky to have quite a lot of storage, and access to outside storage as well, but I must confess I was much more disciplined about keeping the clutter down when I had a shoebox of a room as a student to live in and study.
I kept on track last night and I emptied and binned a disgraceful number of Easi-yo sachets. I'm contemplating waving goodbye to my yogurt maker as I prefer real Greek yogurt (never Greek "style" yogurt) and the Easi-yo version was, in my opinion, vile unless you had a flavoured version. With that and the other discards I did, I had a heavy food recycling bin this morning, and still more to do next week as well. I’m trying to focus on the success of what I’ve done rather than bring myself down with the amount still to do in this arena as so many others.
Tonight I will get on the last of the clothes and also (gulp) try and sort out the shoes and boots. You know when you are surprised about things that you’ve not missed them while they have been put away… which tells me it’s time to let some of them go.
Once I’ve ticked off the clothes, I still need to do clothes-related (scarves, hats, gloves and handbags)… I think that may be tomorrow evening if I can face it.
Because I’m doing the Marie Kondo system, and you follow a set order, the next category to tackle once all of this clothes-type stuff is done and dusted will be books. I’m not looking forward to that, and have already discovered a pile of books which I’m hoping I can sell.
I've ordered myself a Dymo labelling device, as it's so much easier to get clear and consistent lettering for things that way. It's the only extra bit I've bought, though I've been eyeing up bits and bobs of storage on Amazon and the John Lewis and IKEA websites! I store makeup, skincare and other things in opaque boxes, so it will mean I can see at a glance what should be inside any given box.

In terms of suggestions for the items you cannot put away in a cupboard – do you have any way you can hang any of it on the wall?
If it is wall mounted, you will get a visual sense of more space, because you will see more floor.
It will rely on sturdy walls if the items are heavy, of course. But it could be an opportunity to make it more of a feature… or you could create a pelmet above the hanging space and put a curtain around it.
If you are unable to do that with the vacuum cleaner, how about making a space in a wardrobe?
Another possible might be behind the sofa – only for slimmer items if space is tight (and only possible if you don’t have any radiators behind the sofa of course).

I'm glad you enjoyed the lady from Houston - she has a good sense of humour, I think.

 

[merryone]

I've got a bike box behind one of the sofas lol! I could store my vac in a cuboard if I take it apart but to be fair, it would be a pain having to put it all together,I actually tried this and it was.... and like you say out of sight out of mind, probs would use it even less that I already do....Walls are all pretty "taken". Got plenty of storage for food, cups, plates, pots pans and kitchen stuff.. what I'd really love is what I had in my old place when I was with my ex and that is a massive built in hall cupboard...it was crammed, but it kept the rest of the place tidy! I just gotta stop moaning and appreciate how well I've done lol!

 

[merryone]

I think I'm suffering a bit from withdrawal symptoms, as I looked around the flat thinking, can I get rid of this, can I get rid of that, do I actually need this...but a silly thing I have a glass candle holder on my living room windowsill, with a half burned candle in it, and on the other side an empty ornamental oil burner, and a none very attractive one either. Got a whole bunch of essential oils tucked away in a drawer and I very rarely use the thing....I picked it up and noticed not only was it just full of dust, it had a chip on the plate, so that went in the bin. The candle holder, not chipped but a similar story, so I decided to put that in the dishwasher and put it away for one of the rare occasions when I do burn a candle! Might just invest in a smaller burner to put away, as I do like to burn the oils from time to time..but just doing this made me think...Ornaments!! Over the past few weeks I've chucked out a good few that were doing nothing to enhance the look of the place, in fact they were just adding to the clutter. A well placed ornament in the right setting looks great, but if like me you have a place where practicality has to take presidence over looks, I think you have to be a lot more "selective"....It reminded me of the old saying "You can't polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter"! Over the years I've tried making my tiny bathroom into a "sanctuary" with candles round the edge of the bath, music piped from a waterproof radio hanging off the bath tap, and seriously - a massage bubble spa, that you had to plug into the mains via yards and yards of cable in order to reach the nearest plugpoint, and it made a less than "ambient" noise! So did I feel like cleopatra luxuriating in a bath of asses milk?....Nah, I felt like a complete ass, looking out at the lavatory bowl, a toilet duck, various cans of deodorant and shaving cream, and a load of grouting that could probably do with a good ****** scrubbing! Then to add insult to injury cleaning up all the detritus and trying to stuff the "spa" back into its box! All I can say is, think carefully when you're buying these little extras for your home....are they going to enhance the look of the place?, are you gonna be able to recreate that luxury penthouse feel in a small flat?...save your money and spend it on a bit of real luxury like a trip to a proper spa, or a weekend in a nice hotel!!!

 

[maymorganlondon]

I've stalled with my decluttering. I've picked up a cold which is making me feel drained. I need to be on my oats for the decluttering as it is quite stressful. I will have a busy weekend as that's now my drop dead date for finishing the clothing related clutter in it's entirety.

I bet I will be in the same situation at the end of my endeavours, looking for bits that are unused and tatty to jettison.

 

[merryone]

I've stalled with my decluttering. I've picked up a cold which is making me feel drained. I need to be on my oats for the decluttering as it is quite stressful. I will have a busy weekend as that's now my drop dead date for finishing the clothing related clutter in it's entirety.

I bet I will be in the same situation at the end of my endeavours, looking for bits that are unused and tatty to jettison.

Hope you're feeling a bit better now and you'll be able to get back on it soon...After a lot of thought and having got shot of all I can for the time being, I'm gonna concentrate on keeping the place clean and tidy and I'm looking to replace the tatty, worn and ugly lol with new and improved versions! As you all know the bedroom's the biggest overhaul and I'm gonna have to save that for when I've got more time off to sort it out, do aim for this year though! but other things include for example, replacing the hideous wooden filing cabinet I have with a "nicer" piece of furniture...The stuff's all in plastic wallets in the drawers anyway, so doesn't need to be a purpose built filing cabinet, gonna replace tatty cushions, my beaten up computer chair with a new one that's the same colour leather as my settees...that sort of thing. Might not make the place look less cluttered as such, but I think it'll look a lot better and streamlined!

 

[DunmowDizzy]

Don't all disappear will you? I'm barely started yet!!

 

[merryone]

Don't all disappear will you? I'm barely started yet!!

Of course not, we all need to be here to support each other, and make sure we don't give up or get complacent....Take how ever long it takes...even getting rid of one thing at a time...you're still decluttering! Keep up the good work folks xx

 

[DunmowDizzy]

I've been really busy and not at home much the last couple of weeks. But have declittered underwear. Went to Rigby and Peller for new stuff and there is no way I'd wear any of the old stuff now as it has made so much difference to look and comfort. Expensive but much cheaper than a boob lift. So old stuff binned apart from some vercella vita soft bras which are great for bed.

 

[maymorganlondon]

I've been really busy and not at home much the last couple of weeks. But have declittered underwear. Went to Rigby and Peller for new stuff and there is no way I'd wear any of the old stuff now as it has made so much difference to look and comfort. Expensive but much cheaper than a boob lift. So old stuff binned apart from some vercella vita soft bras which are great for bed.

I wish I could still afford to go to R&P. I got fitted and everyone was saying how much weight I'd lost... All down to the best fitting and most comfortable bras I've ever owned. A make called Prima Donna which is expensive wherever you look, sadly. The R&P fitters are the best, bar none, in my experience.

I'm going to do a superficial tidy, although I swore I wouldn't, but I need the energy a clearer environment gives me to press on with the task. I keep finding excellent you tube decluttering videos that keep me on track when the motivation drops away.

I've 7 bags of stuff in the car boot which will go to charity tomorrow with whatever I decide to discard today and tomorrow (charity shop closes at 4pm).

Even though I'm out of sequence, I'm doing some paperwork today just to get the horrible piles under control. Undoubtedly paper is my biggest problem.

 

[maymorganlondon]

If you're interested, the KonMari method - here are some key points:

Be committed!
Declutter by category not by location.
Remove everything in a category from wherever it is and put it all together in one space.
Handle everything.
When you are holding each item, you ask yourself "does this spark joy?" - what this means for you may vary by category.
Stick to the order for sorting the categories - they start with the easiest and progress, allowing you to hone your "joy" detector.
Do the task without distractions (radio, tv, music, video, scented candles or diffusers) so these do not give you a false sense of "joy" or inded mask it.
Only keep the items which spark joy (from a practical point of view, there will be some categories where you have to go with a kind of usefulness feeling).
Thank the items you are discarding (it sounds bonkers, but helps to banish any guilty feeling about discarding).

Categories:
1) Clothes - if you have loads, you can sub-categorise.
2) Books - again, if you have loads, you can sub-categorise... and DO NOT START READING.
3) Papers - as for books.
4) Miscellaneous (Komono in Japanse) - which can be sub-categorised.
5) Sentimental items - which can include items from any of the other categories.

With clothes you are keeping, there is a particularly famous KonMari technique, which is to fold things so they can be stored vertically (see some of the you tube videous to see what this looks like). Only hang things which really can't be folded.
There are more tricks for clothes as well, with the overall intention that you store them in a way that means you can quickly and easily see what you have and choose what you need, and they give you pleasure to look at them.
With books - if you bought them to read "sometime" accept that "sometime" = never and let them go.
With papers, the starting point would be to assume they can all be binned, so you are only looking for what you actually have to keep... such as warranties all stored together. Bin user manuals as they can usually be found online.

Once the categories have been sorted, and you have all your "keepers" and you are storing them, you group all the same kinds of things together (banishing the risk of duplicate purchase, you hope!). You don't have to buy dedicated storage solutions, most people already have what they need.
In KonMari, as much as possible should be stored vertically. The advantage of that being that you can easily extract what you need without disturbing other things, and also that you don't just go for the items on top which are the only ones visible.


I'm a bit obsessed by now :mysmilie_50:

 

[maymorganlondon]

Boy it's been hard going this weekend!!!

All my clothes have now been sorted. I'm folding clothes now.
Two very large bags of discards are ready to go in the car in the morning.
I've jumped tracks and attacked out of date food again, now my food caddy is full and ready to go out for collection on Wednesday.
Time to put the clothes away and start on shoes and boots!

 

[DunmowDizzy]

I have no decluttering to report this week but want to say well done to all those who have.

I have at least resisted buying the Decleor TSV. In fact I've not bought anything and managed to take some stuff back that bought and wasn't suitable. So not added to clutter at least. Saying that eldest is coming home from Uni house this week until next academic year starts so will be bringing all his clutter.