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.

 

[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.

 

[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]

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.

 

[Icbaaaa]

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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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”

 

[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.

 

[Marmite.Crumpets]

I've gone round the house and de-cluttered every room. I have two charity shop bags, three bags for the tip and a vinted bag

 

[adviseplz]

This is the pep talk I needed, thanks everyone… charity shop trip tomorrow!

 

[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.

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

Declutter day has arrived! Got six bags of old clothes and three bin bags for my recycling centre run this afternoon. Was MORTIFIED by the dust behind my bedside table About to tackle the Vinted pile that hasn't sold which will be getting added to the recycling pile. Then will spend time tidying up the mess I've created.

Found about 20 books in my mess pile beside my bed. Decluttered about half of them and Mr B has offered to drop them at a local charity shop this afternoon.

My next chance to declutter is a fortnight away so don't want to live in too much mess in that time. But am getting there.

 

[idk21]

Off to B&Ms tomorrow to buy some storage boxes in a declutter attempt!

My unsolicited advice is sort first, organise later. Don't buy any containers until you know: 1) exactly how many you need after you've already sorted and decluttered; 2) what you're going to put in them, otherwise you'd risk ending up with too many containers which becomes clutter in itself (ask me how I know )

Hope this is ok to do, but I thought I'd share some posts from one of my fave minimalism bloggers on this topic too (I've mentioned her on other threads previously):

Minimalist Strategy: Don’t Organize Your Clutter

www.missminimalist.com

Storage is Not a Solution

www.missminimalist.com

 

[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.

 

[Gembo]

We’ve moved house three times in our 10 years together and until last year we still had stuff in the garage and loft from our first house together. I was dreading going through it but my husband sprung it on me and it did feel good to go through it. We live in a pretty small house now and since lockdown began I’ve decluttered two or three times. It feels so good to get rid of things, I absolutely love being more minimalistic. Our house is quite simple and I don’t have mismatched ornaments everywhere like in our first house. The energy feels so much better and I know where everything is now.

I do still have things I kind of wish I could throw out but I’m hugely sentimental but have scaled them down a bit and have some things in the loft that I can live with. One thing I definitely feel is it’s changed my buying habits, I really think now about whether I’ll use something or if it will become another thing that ends up cluttering a draw that I’ll eventually need to find another home for. I feel so much lighter and less weighed down and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

As somebody who loves to by tat that just end up cluttering up the house, I saw some great advice a while ago. Before you buy anything think of how long you have to work to buy that item ie you want that £20 decoration but that means you have to work 1 - 2 hours to afford it!
Put me right off buying some stuff once I realised how long I needed to work