Desire to minimise/declutter

[pommynoir]

Not me taking my (very big) wedding dress to my parents' house for "temporary storage" in between moving houses and "forgetting" it there

Speaking of, what do you do with your old wedding dress?? Unlike my husband who's been able to rewear his wedding suit to other people's weddings (not the whole suit haha... just individual pieces of clothing like trousers, shirt, shoes), I don't quite have that option...

I donated my dress to a children’s hospital, they make christening gowns for sleeping babies with them.

 

[uberoblique]

Managed to get rid of 69 books today. Made £45 on Ziffit and the rest are going to Oxfam

 

[Curly Top]

I know that feeling of wanting to hold on to clothes as I might not be able to get the quality again - pure linen, silk and wool are expensive. However, if the items themselves don't suit your lifestyle or colouring, they still hang in your wardrobe collecting dust.

Over the last couple of years I have soldiered on selling items for quite low sums of cash (it seems to me) but it is worth it. I have now amassed a tidy sum as it all adds up. I haven't missed or regretted anything yet. I am trying to work out what doesn't fit into my lifestyle now.

A stylist recently said you should spend most on the items you wear everyday not the fancy pieces for weddings or other special one-off occasions. So splurge on your everyday puffer coat but economise on a dress you will only wear a handful of times. Makes total sense yet I've always been drawn to fancy glamorous pieces rather than a sensible pair of walking shoes. I am working on this.

It's so much better to see all the extra hangers and putting clothes away after laundering is less of a chore now that I don't have to squash them in. Getting outfits together is easier too as they is less choice and I have got rid of the dead wood.

It's definitely worth it.

 

[50sGirl]

Hi All,
I’d like to join in please.
I’m going to try the monthly declutter challenge whereby you declutter 1 item on day 1, 2 on day 2, etc. By the end of January you should have decluttered 496 items.
I need to get rid of a lot of stuff.

I did it and I completed it a day early!
I decluttered a further 4 items so there are 500 fewer items in my home now than there were a month ago.
It wasn’t easy and I couldn’t do it often but it certainly helped me make progress and the decision to get rid was easier if it meant I got a tick on my chart.

 

[NowIsGood]

Well this week I've travelled to 1997, fast forwarded to 2006, briefly knocked on the door of 2010 then back to 2000
In light of a possible house move, I've been going through loads of childhood /teenage stuff from my beloved Barbie Supermarket and Spice girl dolls, to A-level textile projects, magazines and manuals for shop assistant jobs long gone by.
It's been a lot harder than I thought, being pulled back into happy and difficult memories. The sadness of how time moves and how we hang onto things for a feeling of permanency.
I allowed myself one plastic storage box for 'keeps' and admit I still can't let go of my Beanie baby collection 🫣 but yesterday did a tip run/ have loads for charity and am feeling much lighter for it
Moving forward, it's made me realise I have very little interest in buying stuff just for the sake of it!

 

[50sGirl]

Someone please (virtually) give me a shake and tell me that I should just take the big bag of clothes I've been trying to sell on Vinted/Depop for years down to the charity shop. For some reason I have forged value to these items and don't want to part with them unless they're being sold.

This meme is great. Now I just need to follow it!

 

[iieee]

My mum's just texted me today asking about the extra bauble she found on her tree got away with it for a few weeks

 

[Flowergirl14]

Resurrecting this thread.
Decluttering programme on ITV tonight.

 

[Noseybonk]

Hey all, just realised I never came back and gave an update. We started well but then I wasn’t well and off sick and couldn’t function so nothing got done. However before being laid up we managed to… get daughters clothes from the wardrobe and stuff from under the bed to her apartment

We haven’t got son in there yet because we haven’t moved the tv etc and I haven’t cleared out his bedroom/box room but from where we were in just ONE weekend before I was laid up we got a large chunk of the task done and daughter is off my hit list. We still have a new pram system in our lounge in 3 big boxes but I’ve been told it’s unlucky for her to have this in her house yet. It also doesn’t stress me like the room swap delay did. I will crack on again this weekend but still not 100% well so might be another small dint.

 

[Flowergirl14]

I had a spare room which was shocking, it was my dumping ground....clothes, shoes, books.
I tried to do it myself but never got far.
I hired 2 ladies from a local decluttering company and they were amazing.
All done in 6 hours.
They went through all my clothes with me, and sorted them into piles - charity, ebay, dump.
Felt so much better after it.
The best money I ever spent.
I now have a beautiful spare bedroom, and have been able to invite friends to stay.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Watching Sort your life out with stacy solomon. I love this program. Everytime I watch I feel so inspired.
I see all the family’s crap and think how have they not thrown away half that stuff. And then I look round my own house and have ti laugh at the hypocrisy
But I am much better!

 

[OatMatchaLatte]

I've just tackled my Vinted bag! I've made more than £800 selling on there over the past eight months, but I've got a huge bag of stuff and some of it isn't selling. I've gone through it and will take a big pile that has been listed for yonks to the charity bin tomorrow. I can now store the bag in the eves, but it's easily accessible for when I make sales.

 

[iieee]

Someone please (virtually) give me a shake and tell me that I should just take the big bag of clothes I've been trying to sell on Vinted/Depop for years down to the charity shop. For some reason I have forged value to these items and don't want to part with them unless they're being sold.

Just take them to the shop!

At the moment they are a burden to you - selling them is a job that needs to be done. If you give them away you will never think about them again. And the value you have forged to them doesn't disappear, it will go to the charity that needs it.

 

[Fofoca]

I’ve always been a person with a lot of “stuff”. Grew up in a house full of stuff. My whole family loves shopping and hates throwing anything out (anytime I say throw out I mean recycle, charity shop, sell, or bin - delete as appropriate!)

When I got my own place I swore that I wouldn’t be like that but a decade later and I’ve got my gcse coursework and other useless stuff!!!! (My mum decluttered and said I could take my junk or she’d bin it.)

Over the last few years it was really getting to me. I did a few car boot sales and eBay etc and better. Tidy home, tidy mind (something like that?!).

But then I still had loads of other crap - including my gcse coursework. So I decided to do the 30 day declutter challenge. It was difficult towards the end but the outcome was great. And it also helped me think more about what I brought into my home. And since then my overall habits have improved. I’m much more mindful.

And I didn’t just throw out absolutely everything. I’ve kept a primary school project I did on London landmarks because it is so cute. I’ve kept all cards from loved ones but binned the ones from past acquaintances that I don’t even remember. Who are Sharon and Paul? I’ve kept my Brownie sash as those badges were well-earned - I let a boa constrictor sliver on my stomach for one of them!!

But anyways, enough waffling. Your post has inspired me to have another go. I’m going to do a 7 day challenge - that’ll be 28 items going to a better place, better than nothing. I’m eyeing up my empty coffee jars - about 10 for “just in case”.

Thanks for the push I needed. And goodluck with what you want to do.

 

[Icbaaaa]

3 bags for the dump, 2 bags for charity sorted and a bundle for vinted

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Saw this on a FB decluttering group I belong t and it made me chuckle. Might start doing this Ofcourse the group being mainly Americans they did not see the funny side!
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How do you stop thinking about the perceived future usefulness? To my mind I understand that the money I spent is gone, but if I throw the item away and then need another one in future I’ve spent twice for no reason. Am I missing something?

Practice! And sometimes, mind you normally yeara later, you do go “oh, I shouldn’t have thrown away that one shoe. Look I lost a leg it would’ve been so handy”

 

[Popcornshovel]

Anyone got the itch for a new year's declutter? I love taking down the Xmas decorations and cleaning everywhere. It makes me want to get rid of all my unnecessary stuff.

 

[under the ivy]

I had a clear out during first lockdown; moved back home when my now ex dumped me in April so had to move back with my belongings from the house we shared together. I left my stuff in bags/suitcases for weeks while I was healing but once I started clearing out I couldn’t stop. It was difficulty throwing away sentimental things but I feel better for it. Sold lots of clothes on Ebay.

It does make you feel better mentally - I hate looking at clutter. I used to be a hoarder (I’d save empty perfume bottles if they looked pretty) but there’s just no point. This year has definitely changed my viewpoint on material things - it just isn’t important.

 

[Popcornshovel]

Had a good day today reducing my books down by half! So free-ing to get rid of books which I read over 10 years ago. I enjoyed them at the time, but if I haven't reread them by now, I never will. Put them all in a box for the charity shop.

I also received 2 gifts sets at Xmas which I'll never use due to having sensitive skin. Usually, I would have shoved these in a cupboard and they'd just sit there gathering dust. I've decided to let them go while appreciating the thought behind the gift, but accepting they aren't suitable for me. One I've sold on Vinted and another went in the charity shop box.

 

[yankydoo]

I lived in the same house from 10-19 and it was my parents' pride and joy. They had a lot of possessions and as children, we had a lot too. Then at aged 19 my parents moved abroad and decided to rent the house out. We had to go through everything and get rid of as much as possible. They did take a whole container full of belongings over with them but even still, there was a lot to get through. I will never forget my mum screaming from inside the loft at the level of crap she had and throwing it down the hatch really angrily.

Since then I have been really mindful of what I have and periodically will go through my clothes and belongings and give to charity or sell. It helps that I am not really sentimental at all and rely on the memories as opposed to possessions.

You have to be strict in your decision making and just do it. That's what I find helps. And it is a sense of relief having a clutter free house with mainly essentials.