Discussion
I shouldn't be on here as I'm trying to declutter. Moving out of the family home in 2 weeks to a small but nice one bedroom flat and I need to seriously chuck out a lot of the stuff that I have gathered over 30 odd years.
Not doing well so far.
Sometimes I have to go away to work and I seem to get by with just a duffle bag of stuff so why is this so hard. I have just found a box full of giant birthday cards from jobs I had as a teenager. You know the ones where everyone signs it, even old Henry from the warehouse. The best one is the card I got when I left a London motorcycle courier company and it's signed just with the bloke's call signs ie Data 17, Delta 6 etc
It's all the stuff you only look at when you are trying to have a clear out.
I did well with clothes yesterday. 3 bin bags for either the dump or charity shop.
Books, I have thousands of books, I'm going to be vicious with those as I have enough to fill a small room.
Also my business stuff as I'm self employed. Files of paperwork older than the 7 years that you have to keep them. That'll keep the shredder busy.
I have at least two big areas full of power tools and other DIY stuff as well as a shed full of stuff including 3 bicycles (One should be sold on eBay by tonight) and a collection of air rifles. I'll take them with me but there is no garden where I am going but they may come in useful when the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us.
Anyhow back to the grind but any advice/encouragement will be gratefully received.
Not doing well so far.
Sometimes I have to go away to work and I seem to get by with just a duffle bag of stuff so why is this so hard. I have just found a box full of giant birthday cards from jobs I had as a teenager. You know the ones where everyone signs it, even old Henry from the warehouse. The best one is the card I got when I left a London motorcycle courier company and it's signed just with the bloke's call signs ie Data 17, Delta 6 etc
It's all the stuff you only look at when you are trying to have a clear out.
I did well with clothes yesterday. 3 bin bags for either the dump or charity shop.
Books, I have thousands of books, I'm going to be vicious with those as I have enough to fill a small room.
Also my business stuff as I'm self employed. Files of paperwork older than the 7 years that you have to keep them. That'll keep the shredder busy.
I have at least two big areas full of power tools and other DIY stuff as well as a shed full of stuff including 3 bicycles (One should be sold on eBay by tonight) and a collection of air rifles. I'll take them with me but there is no garden where I am going but they may come in useful when the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us.
Anyhow back to the grind but any advice/encouragement will be gratefully received.
Try here
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/how-to-de-clutter-yo...
There are a couple of other links in there too.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/how-to-de-clutter-yo...
There are a couple of other links in there too.
I had a skip delivered on Christmas eve to clear out the garage. It was full in 3 hours and I still probably need a small one to finish the job.
If you employ the two question policy of; Do I need this? Will I ever need to buy a replacement if I throw this out now? and you should be fine
If you employ the two question policy of; Do I need this? Will I ever need to buy a replacement if I throw this out now? and you should be fine
I think the key to leaving in a small space without it looking like a junky squat is to keep surfaces tidy, and as much crap as possible out of sight.
My tips:
- Under the bed. Make maximum use of out-of-sight storage areas such as this. Various places - Ikea / John Lewis etc sell zipped under-bed storage boxes.
- Storage chests. I have a number of these for bed linens, CDs etc and they also double as tables.
- Wardrobe space. Divide your clothes up into 'summer' and 'winter', and pack which season you're not currently wearing into vacuum storage bags. Be ruthless and don't kid yourself that you're going to 'slim into' clothes you haven't worn for years. Sell what you can on Ebay and give the rest to charity. Space-saving hangers are good too.
- Books. Give anything you don't cherish to Oxfam book shops. There's one in Kingston.
- Old cards, letters, etc. Could you scan and digitise these, then shred the originals?
- Air rifles. Don't be scared to keep these propped up against a wall in the bathroom. It makes for an interesting talking point when visitors come round.
My tips:
- Under the bed. Make maximum use of out-of-sight storage areas such as this. Various places - Ikea / John Lewis etc sell zipped under-bed storage boxes.
- Storage chests. I have a number of these for bed linens, CDs etc and they also double as tables.
- Wardrobe space. Divide your clothes up into 'summer' and 'winter', and pack which season you're not currently wearing into vacuum storage bags. Be ruthless and don't kid yourself that you're going to 'slim into' clothes you haven't worn for years. Sell what you can on Ebay and give the rest to charity. Space-saving hangers are good too.
- Books. Give anything you don't cherish to Oxfam book shops. There's one in Kingston.
- Old cards, letters, etc. Could you scan and digitise these, then shred the originals?
- Air rifles. Don't be scared to keep these propped up against a wall in the bathroom. It makes for an interesting talking point when visitors come round.
Mobile Chicane said:
- Air rifles. Don't be scared to keep these propped up against a wall in the bathroom. It makes for an interesting talking point when visitors come round.
Love this idea. I'm going to hang my deactivated AK-74 above the telly Plus the scanning of stuff, shear brilliance. Thanks.
Blakeatron said:
Think its bad now - just wait until the kids come along!
We declutter at least every other month and we are always overflowing a week or two later
I presume you mean to visit We declutter at least every other month and we are always overflowing a week or two later
Got three kids which has basically meant there has been no point in tidying or redecorating in the past 14 years.
I am really looking forward to getting home at night to find the remote control exactly where I left it the night before not in some random drawer because one of the kids decided to take it with them when they went to bed
Ive been on my own for the last 3weeks as the wife and son went away, i cleared out the wifes dumping ground ie my garage and the loft. I decided to just be brutal, i found stuff that i bought from my parents house and had been through 4 property moves, binned or charity shop. Getting a shed next to put all the gardening stuff in,then board out the garage loft for more storage.
croyde said:
Sometimes I have to go away to work and I seem to get by with just a duffle bag of stuff so why is this so hard.
I had to do similar recently and was inspired by that George Clooney film where he imagines all his stuff is in a rucksack. Or in other words - what do you really need to be you?Large or valuable items first: eBay, some charity shops will collect, Freecycle.
Then you are left with small or invaluable items - which are either a) personal or sentimental b) you think you might need them. For example I had a collection of guitars which I never ever played (as I have a piano) - got rid of all but one - don't miss them at all now. Magazines and stuff - do you really need them or are they just relics from your youth?
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff