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Decluttering

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dolly blue
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Post  tooties Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:24 am

I have very recently made a start on this. So far its going okish but i still have loads to do. :affraid:
does anyone else want to declutter? and/or provide tips to make it easier etc. Rolling Eyes
i am not planning on selling or freecyclling, just the dump and the charity shop. Embarassed
regards

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Post  Bitsy Beans Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:36 am

I am once kids are back at school. Need to sort out kids toys, clothes and just general crap.
As for tips I guess little and often. In the past I've tried to do a whole room and ended up with excess stuff stashed everywhere needing either to go on eBay, tip or charity shop and feeling as though I've made no progress at all.
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Post  2boysmum Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:22 am

I'm planning on doing a major de-clutter, OH is a major hoarder, I will be e-baying, charity shop and dump for mine. Already got a few things on e-bay tonight but no bids yet, hopefully they will sell if not will try them on Gumtree, too good to give to charity. Going to give each room a major clean and de-clutter one by one, could take me a while!
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Post  alec eiffel Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:27 pm

Good luck with the decluttering everyone!

On top of the things I've said on other threads I think my top tips would be to prepare properly before you get going, that way you only have to touch things once when you are sorting. Things generally fall into three categories - stuff to leave the house, rubbish, recycling, charity/sell/freegle. Stuff to clean, laundry, dishes, "stuff". Stuff to put away, things to go back into that room and things that belong elsewhere. So if you have a place to stash things in each category then it makes things easier.

When I was decluttering I'd have the laundry basket in the hall, a bin bag, the recycling box, I'd plug the shredder in and then have put away and throw away baskets. Then just get going. If there's something you can't make a decision on I'd advise to put it into the "put away" box otherwise you run the risk of getting stuck on that one item and slowing yourself down. Just get through the easy stuff and deal with the harder stuff on your second prune.

I am a fan of "worst first", getting stuck into the worst room or the thing I was looking forward to least was best. It's all about the psychology for me. It's never as hard as you think it's going to be once you get going so hitting your biggest demon can help. Having said that I'd also think about doing your bedroom first. That way when you've had a hard day of working on the house you can walk into a nice room and not have that overwhelming feeling when you walk from a cleared area to a cluttered bedroom - plus the bedroom is a really handy stash and dash place, remove that option and you'll make more progress imo.

Little and often is another good approach, for example if you have loads and loads of washing up or laundry don't do it all at once. If you're washing up when the drainer is full stop, dry that load and put it away. Then do more. Same with decluttering. When you fill a bag of rubbish or to donate, stop, tie up the bag and put it in the car, the bin or wherever you need to put it before it goes away. That way, when you've finished you've finished you don't have to start carting bags about the place and all that stuff. It's easy to get carried away and overdo it then realise you still have a ton of other stuff to do.

That's probably more than enough from me for now. HTH

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Post  froogs Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:33 pm

That's helped loads alec eiffel, ta Smile

For me it's the 'art cupboard' in the kitchen. I has spread to three cupboards now and is just crammed with bits of rubbish, odds and s*ds of toys kept just in case and broken bits that we've stored.

I'm planning on putting up a shelf on the kitchen wall and fill it with lovely pots of pens, brushes, paper etc that way freeing the cupboards. It's just getting in amongst the sequins because I know it is going to be one big mess in my kitchen.

Wednesday is pencilled when the girls' are not about... 'can we keep that? Oh I forgot about that! Can you fix that Mum? Can I make ****** out of that box? Oh wow I canmake that into a christmas decoration! I can hear them now! - result will be 2 cupboards still filled with garbage! Mad
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Post  alec eiffel Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:42 pm

Yep, just because you "can" make something with it doesn't mean you "will" or even that you "should" Laughing

One thing I would say about the lovely pots of things is to have lovely pots that are bigger than you think you need. If they're prettier than they are functional you run the risk of everything only working when things go according to plan A and things end up being a tip again. If you use plastic milk bottles they make holders for pencils and other bits and bobs - milk bottle tutorial Things like that can stay in a cupboard but they hold loads of stuff and are easy to store - plus it's easier to put the stuff away than to get it out which, for me at least, helps to keep things organised.

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Post  froogs Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:12 pm

Oh I adore those milk bottle holders. It's something I can begin to make now actually. They would be great for their sequins and gluing stuff. I like how they could get their hand in without having to empty them all out too.

I also like (from Pinterest) Decluttering 152453510_NoCre5Sf_c

The clippy lids are adorable but just going to use old candle jars/coffee jars/jam jars. Pens, pencils, paint brushes will do just fine in there too.
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Post  alec eiffel Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:19 pm

I love those jars too. I have a pantry full of them and I guarantee half the lids won't be shut. They look great but they're a Plan A only product for me! I use jam jars for my small crafty bits, they work really well, putting the lid on is easier than taking it off so putting things away is the easy option so it's a winner for me.

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Post  tooties Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:16 pm

thanks everyone, one car load as already been disposed of!
not feeling all that great today but im determined to tackle the book shelf. I have gone through all my cook books and copied and laminated my most used recipes and they have been filed into a binder.
well here goes for the rest lol

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Post  dolly blue Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:52 am

I need to declutter but will wait for ds and dd to go back to uni and I need a holiday first and maybe after the declutter Laughing
Did make a start last winter but lost a bit with it, in other words unfinished!
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Post  TP Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:42 pm

son's been gone ages, but alot of his stuff that he left behind is still in there. There are games and videos still on the shelves. Think it would look bare if i took it all down and where am i going to put it all?
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Post  2boysmum Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:34 pm

I made a start yesterday, started with a nice easy drawer had loads of incense sticks that had came out of their box, scattered everywhere, thats all tidy now so doing another one today, just going to try and do a small thing a day otherwise I think I would have a meltdown and throw it all out!!
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Post  tooties Wed Sep 07, 2011 5:09 am

i done some of the craft stuff today, charity shops going to be full at this rate.
More craft stuff tomorrow
a little everyday really helps Laughing

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Post  stiltwalker Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:53 am

Oooh you're a braver woman than me tooties - not sure I could bring myself to declutter any of the craft stash! (Even if I've not really touched it since the kids wer born - one day I'll get back to it!)
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Post  flibsey Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:31 am

oh my goodness the jars with the backboard paint are AMAZING!
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Post  froogs Wed Sep 07, 2011 8:00 am

flibsey wrote:oh my goodness the jars with the backboard paint are AMAZING!

I know I must do it. How blimmin' simple too Decluttering 2244421188
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Post  tooties Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:08 am

More craft stuff done today, i am being really ruthless, moved house a year ago and i couldn't believe how much i had. Hoping to move again so don't really see the point of packing, moving and unpacking it again when i doubt if i will ever use it!

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Post  dolly blue Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:31 pm

Bumping

The declutter mode button seems to have got stuck on the on position, sorted DD stuff that she left behind ready for the charity shop and bin.
In the middle for organising the overspill food storage(approved food shopper here), from the bottom of the stairs to a spare cupboard upstairs, I then can put the spare cans of paint under the stairs so the frost does not get to it in the shed. This paint is sitting patiently in the dining room waiting to be rehomed
Having a break with a cup of tea now Laughing
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Post  froogs Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:37 pm

hey dolly blue. Well done. All of my upstairs is free from clutter now and I feel so much more in control. It even effects my ability to calm down and relax. I've been lying in bed reading of a night and normally I can't bare to be up there.

My main clutter part now is the non food kitchen cupboards and all my studying stuff.
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Post  alec eiffel Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:37 pm

Good work!

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Post  knitmylife Sat Oct 08, 2011 4:26 am

my entire home needs decluttering after having moved in 18 months ago. it was lovely but has gradually become a complete clutter pit.

having no time to sort it out will mean it stays that way for the foreseeable future but i would love to be decluttering with you all xx
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Post  flibsey Sat Oct 08, 2011 8:45 pm

we've been decluttering for 2 weeks now and the house is finally starting to look like a house and not a midden!!!

2.5 bin bags of fabric and offcuts have gone to the local tip; they have a bin which is emptied and goes to make insulation and industrial felt.
3 bin bags of clothes distributed between my friend Leah (she has a little girl 2 years younger than sophie so she gets the really high end stuff; monsoon, next etc-all second hand when I had them!!) and the local jumble, the charity bin at the tip and finally anything irretrievable (stained, torn etc) went in to the industrial felt bin.
12 bags of recycling. our usual is about 3 per week. we cleared out out filing cabinet, one recycling bag was filled with shredded stuff!!
umpteen bags of rubbish. just. trash.
3 large plastic storage box worth of books to the local book recycling shop; it's the free book shop. people donate, others go in and take... it's great. wonderful shop, means i can treat sophie with a little gift whenever we're in town, no mater how skint we are.
I am feeling good.
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Post  dolly blue Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:24 pm

Well done Flibsey, you must have an echo in your house now, I finding this decluttering a bit addictive at the moment, think OH is a bit worried incase I move on to his shed Laughing
Not sure how long this new hobby is going to last, I wonder if its until I get fed up and run out of declutter juice.
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Post  flibsey Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:48 pm

I was lucky, hubby felt the same way I did so even his spaces have been decluttered now!
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Post  TP Tue Oct 11, 2011 1:53 am

ive got a cupboard in bedroom thats a right mess. When i get back i will be decluttering it. Thanks for the inspiration all. Razz
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