Decluttering challenge

[Captainmouse]

The decluttering isn’t going particularly well I have to be honest!
But has anyone ever found a version of those vacuum sealed storage bags that actually work?
I want to pack my winter clothes away and pretend we’re having a summer!

I bought different brands and all I can say is that some work and when they do they are fab, but sometimes they don’t and I have no clue why and the expensive ones are not automatically better

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

+1 signing up for another de clutter moment, I know the bottom of my wardrobe could do with some TLC.

I popped something on eBay and was stunned I got a reasonable offer within 12 hours, accepted it and off to the post office to post that later (and some of my sister’s clutter from around my house) so another 2 wins. Tempted to list some bags I’ll just never use again but don’t have any proof of authenticity (they are, obvs!) so not sure if that’ll just be more grief than letting them live in my wardrobe for the rest of eternity 🫣

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

My house is starting to look neater. Things are going behind cupboard doors rather than cluttering up the kitchen, now that I have made some cupboard space for them.
I've put some tins of food out on the worktop to annoy myself to get them used up.

Tbf my house is neat but the closets are bursting with crap! I just need to start being more ruthless.
Like am I really going to use those odd sized batteries, etc! I’m always worried something will be needed once I chuck it. Even though it’s not been needed for the last ten years

 

[Chocolategoggler]

When I moved into my own flat at 19 I shoved everything in one room that I didn't need immediately, and over time it emptied out a bit. Then I just had the stuff I never needed in the time I lived there, so I just got rid.
The next time I did a big move of stuff years later when I moved from a bedroom in someone's house, my dad offered to help me move. When we'd finished he asked me how did you manage to squirrel all that stuff in there and still have space to walk? Are you Doctor Who????
So I think I have hoarding tendencies, but I did like the having a separate room to dump everything in and take stuff from that I wanted/needed to keep.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

I've got an entire downstairs toilet full of stuff for the charity shop. I'm constantly decluttering but still my house has way to much stuff. Got a new baby en route so needs to be done.

Here's me wondering if any visitors have a root through whilst in that room.
You'd think I lived in a museum or shop the way people act in my house, browsing my bookshelves etc when I just want them to sit down and chat!

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Some interesting ideas here:

Genius ways to reuse sentimental items to help reduce clutter, without the guilt

Turn your treasured memorabilia into actually useful items

www.goodhousekeeping.com

 

[Lynno77]

The decluttering isn’t going particularly well I have to be honest!
But has anyone ever found a version of those vacuum sealed storage bags that actually work?
I want to pack my winter clothes away and pretend we’re having a summer!

I bought some from Argos last summer and they were good. Nice and thick and the screw on lids where the hoover nozzle goes tightened up well. Clothes do need a press when you take them out but that's to be expected I guess.

 

[L1fe0nM@rs]

I’m getting my late teenage daughter to declutter her room at the moment and the challenge is finding time she will do it. Once she’s on it she is much more brutal than me! I just remember her happy little face when she got her first smiggle pencil case or whatever and find it hard to get rid of. Hopefully she will be less of a keeper than me.

I’m having a big clothes sort out at the moment and just divided some stuff into charity shop - husband taking as we speak - and Vinted. I’ll list Vinted a bag at a time I think

 

[Parklady]

I'm in. Have a bag in hall with pjs in already, will definitely get few more bits

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

I finally got around to sorting my clothes to see if I could do some kind of capsule wardrobe.
I dragged an empty rail into the room and filled it with stuff I wasn't sure fit or suited me and left behind in the wardrobe all the things I loved and wore.
I packed all my winter stuff away whilst doing this, but only packed away the things I loved and used. The rest went on to my rail.
Then I had to lie down and rest as I was aching and shattered!!
Looking in my wardrobe now I can definitely see a capsule wardrobe so I think the next tasks will be to:
Gradually try on the stuff on the rail and decide what I'm keeping
Write a list of all my clothes I'm keeping....
Then I'll sit down with my list and work out what's missing that I need.
And then I'll go shopping!!!

This is such a good idea. I wish I had a rail I could put my clothes on. Then you can just come and go as you please. I get irritated really quickly by trying on clothes

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

So far so good. Have decluttered some skincare and makeup (shared on the Share Your Empties thread) but so far decluttered 16 products. Sorted out the baby clothes yesterday that no longer fit my youngest. Have kept the suit that he and my eldest wore home from the hospital and put aside a few nicer bits to sell on Vinted. Rest of the stuff I'll put as a bundle on Faceboon Marketplace. With the bundle should I just keep it as newborn to first month clothes or add in the 0-3 months too? It's a decent sized bundle already but is limited by size. Any thoughts? Also, would weeding count as decluttering the garden?

Yeah, I’d make the baby clothes one big bundle. Also ebay no longer charges fees for selling second hand clothing so try and see if you could sell the bundle on there

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

I'm just putting a marker here to try and hold myself accountable. My own tiny house is bursting at the seams but I am also now responsible for my parents large, cluttered (some hoarding issues actually) house. So I have a vast amount of decluttering to do. I intend to start with clothes from my parents house, there is a serious excess of special occasion wear or damaged clothes that should be a fairly easy win. Also the last of the expired food items.

My own home will be a bit harder and I don't know where to start. Perhaps some garden chopping, clearing and straightening if the weather allows. Otherwise perhaps a ruthless sort through my pet beds and throws and get rid of the damaged or tattiest ones. I'll report back on Monday!

I always wonder with hoarder homes. Can’t you stealthily take a few items each time you visit without them noticing?

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I need to do some de cluttering/optimising organising in the kitchen this weekend to make room for a ton of outdoors plates and cups and I’m absolutely dreading it it might finally be time to say goodbye to ancient chillies bottles I’ve lost the lids to!

 

[adviseplz]

+1 signing up for another de clutter moment, I know the bottom of my wardrobe could do with some TLC.

I popped something on eBay and was stunned I got a reasonable offer within 12 hours, accepted it and off to the post office to post that later (and some of my sister’s clutter from around my house) so another 2 wins. Tempted to list some bags I’ll just never use again but don’t have any proof of authenticity (they are, obvs!) so not sure if that’ll just be more grief than letting them live in my wardrobe for the rest of eternity 🫣

I have that issue with a pair of shoes and a bag - shoes are in great condition and I've listed them relatively cheap, but not getting anywhere. They're so nice, but I don't wear them. Although maybe no one else likes them which is why I'm not getting any interest haha.

It's making me wonder if I should bother with the bag. Unsure what to do! Just spitting ideas.. Is there a good friend/family member you can pass them onto?

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

I have that issue with a pair of shoes and a bag - shoes are in great condition and I've listed them relatively cheap, but not getting anywhere. They're so nice, but I don't wear them. Although maybe no one else likes them which is why I'm not getting any interest haha.

It's making me wonder if I should bother with the bag. Unsure what to do! Just spitting ideas.. Is there a good friend/family member you can pass them onto?

Designer shoes are p hard to sell on tbh, I actually ended up donating 2 pairs before we moved house as I knew I’d never wear them again. I’d rather a charity made some money off them than sell them on eBay for very little! Those were flats, not sure if heels are more wanted on the preloved market?

Re bags - I’m not short of space just would like to make picking clothes easier and not have so much clutter at the bottom. I’d rather just keep them for my daughter than give them away

 

[Lalla]

How do you decide when just having a lot of stuff becomes 'clutter' please?
I have a lot of stuff but then I have a largish house so I have space for it. I do get rid of bits and pieces regularly, especially clothes and shoes, but also go through stages of thinking about getting rid of furniture etc....however I then worry my house will look bare!

I also know a couple of hoarders (one is particularly bad) and this probably skews my perspective because in comparison to how they live with stuff stacked to the ceiling, barely an inch of visible floor space etc my house looks pretty sparse.

Having said that I have to empty my bedroom this weekend (new carpet being fitted) so am going to go through everything as I do and see if there's anything to discard. I'm sure I will easily find 5 items to dispose of!

 

[mee43]

The decluttering isn’t going particularly well I have to be honest!
But has anyone ever found a version of those vacuum sealed storage bags that actually work?
I want to pack my winter clothes away and pretend we’re having a summer!

 

[Chocolategoggler]

I decluttered two pairs of shoes today. Hadn't worn the sandals in about tn years. They looked lovely when I first bought them, but they would have needed the entire heel replaces and now I saw also that the fake leather lining started disintegrating. Plus no occassion to wear them.
Other pair was pumps I had bought about 8 years ago for a job interview and hated. They never were comfortable and also now saw that they were badly scratched in some places.
Both went to the bin. and they could have gone there four years ago when we moved house or any time before that. Not sure why I cling to clothes, I often feel bad about decluttering them - I'm often too lazy for vinted/would need to get a carton and I don't have a lot (I'd maybe be able to sell ~10 pieces there for ~2-5€). Plus I find clothes are such a minefield - at least here - you're not supposed to bin them because they could be useful, but donation containers complain they get too much and it's not of great quality, you could sell them but they're not in a condition anyone wants to pay for...
Also threw out a very very holey bed sheet, good riddance. That thing disintegrated by looking at it.

I would love to have more "invisible" storage - we don't have a cellar or anything like that and some items simply don't fit well into a cupboard like spare pillows. I have them in an under-bed thing, but I really don't like it, because I'd love to have nothing there. always need to drag it out and up to vacuum and it gets so dusty there.

I have one of those annoying cupboards that used to hold the cylinder in the 2nd bedroom. It actually goes over the stairs and you have to climb up into it.
When a new combi boiler was fitted downstairs, I got rid of the cylinder in the cupboard and bought a couple of sets of black plastic shelves from Argos and put them in the cupboard and then i used plastic boxes with lids, those IKEA £4 zipped bags with carry handles - things like that and I stacked the shelves and put the Christmas trees in there.
It's worked so well that I've decided to put all the Christmas stuff (including jigsaws) in that cupboard as well as all the other sundry household stuff not used all year.
So I'd probably put your pillows in the IKEA £4 zipped bags. I put all my cold weather throws, clothes and accessories in them in the bottom of my wardrobe. The carry handles make it easy to grab them.
I've got another odd area at the top of my fitted wardrobe which is a tall, deep shelf which I'm going to designate the Halloween and possibly Easter/Spring cupboard and pack things away in boxes and bags.
Then hopefully I won't have to rip out the whole house for example, to find where I've squirrelled away the Halloween stuff!

 

[Roarquaver]

I have clear outs every 2-3 months. I go through cupboards/wardrobes/drawers and throw anything I haven’t touched in that time. I know that’s extreme to some but if I haven’t used it in months then I clearly don’t need it. I’m a very organised person though, clutter drives me insane!

This is my dream! Have you seen minimalism on Netflix? I've started a wardrobe clearout which has been made a bit easier due to the fact that nothing fits me anymore after 2 kids! I totally agree with the clear mind thing.. Apparently Steve jobs wore that same outfit because he said it gave him more time to concentrate on important stuff, he wasn't faffing about what to wear..

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

You both have reminded me to carey on decluttering! So thanks for posting on here. I get distracted by life but still want to clear out lots more stuff