Decluttering - what''s your strategy?

[HopeDream]

Hi,

I come from a very clutter-prone lineage (several generations of keeping large quantities of usless items "just in case").
I''m doing my best to break the cycle and have made a commitment to actively de-clutter my house at least once every 6 months.

I''m also doing my best to support/assist my mom who has ADHD and a severe hoarding problem (Which i have watched her spiral into for about 15 years).

I''m doing my best not to judge or alter any of her things, but be there to provide love, encouragement and suggestions for continued improvement. The fact that we live in separate houses makes this much easier.

One thing that has helped me in my relationship with stuff is "Clear your clutter with feng Shui" by Karen Kingston, aside from a healthy dose of hippy/eastern mysticism, it provides an excellent analysis of the reasond people tend to keep things they don''t actualy need - and feng shui or not, I do feel better and have more energy when my stuff is in order and tidy.

So, What is your decluttering strategy? do you have any sucess stories, or resources that have been helpful to you in the past?

Cheers,

HD

 

[Lorelei]

I split everything into topics as a major packrat ( drives my Husband nuts - hehe!) And I make a list so I go about it like this

clothes
shoes
underwear
socks
books

And zones also

kitchen
bedroom
bathroom
garage

and so on.

 

[D&T]

i do room by room, otherwise i get too overwhelmed. if a bag or box is not full, i take that onto the next room. This way I''m not feeling obligated to do the entire house in one day. Little by little.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

The only strategy that''s worked for me is moving! Every time I do so, I get rids of loads of stuff!

The second best is having LOTS of empty boxes available to stuff non-usefull items into. That way there is no excuse as to how to seperate what is needed and what isn''t.

I''m not a "hoarder," but my mom was and mostly from recollection, it seemed it came down to her (aside from the mental componants) not being very organized!

For the stuff I do keep and probably will never use again. . .those "just in case" items, I put them in clear plastic bins that can be stacked and where I can see the stuff inside. That way, the stuff is organized and I can easily see what I need, if, for some miraculous reason I need something from one of the boxes.

Rather than sort by type of item, I sort by time period. I have stuff from HS grouped together. Stuff from early 20s grouped together. And so on. That is for stuff I *do not* need or use.

Otherwise, my usefull stuff is organized as Lorelei. Kitchen together, winter clothes together, socks, etc.

It''s great that you''re breaking the cycle, but with your mom, she may need to take one great leap beyond "decluttering," and go to therapy. There is a reason behind hoarding.

 

[Gypsy]

Storage.

I do a first pass and throw away the ''obvious'' stuff that needs to go.

Then there''s the second round of stuff that I think I want to get rid of, but am not sure. I stick those in storage-- out of sight and see if they get ''out of mind'' too. Storage could just be a spare closet, or a piece of luggage. I come back to it after 6 months and see if I''ve missed it, how I feel about it. Usually after 6 months to a year, I''ll know if it''s something to keep to something to get rid of. If I''m still not sure, it stays in storage.

It''s weird but it works for me.

 

[HopeDream]

Hi MC,

I totaly agree with you about the necessity of therapy, my mom's seeing a pshychologist, a counsellor, a physician, and an acupunctureist for all the assistance that modern medicine and therapy can provide. She says she's feels like she's almost ready to get sorted out and is on the cusp of a major change for the better, but she's been feeling this way for the past two years, and I hope I can help her to reach her goals.

One of the main problems is that she has a great imagination and is constanly saving things for all sorts of hypothetical situations in which the items could be useful. This paralyses her from getting rid of anything because it all seems useful. I'm trying to teach her to be more picky, and only keep things she loves and actually uses. It's tough going, but I love my mum.

HD

 

[sparklyheart]

I''m not a clutterbug anymore, but I used to keep EVERYTHING and I was convinced that I NEEDED it ALL! After moving several times and unpacking the same Mardi gras beads, movie tickets, airplane tickets, key chains, souvenir statues, you name it, I decided I needed to learn to declutter like no other!

Now, I look at things and say "do I want to clean it?" Meaning, do I want that souvenir/knick-knack sitting out where I have to dust it?

If it doesn''t serve a purpose and it''s not TRULY sentimental (i.e. a souvenir from my trip to australia vs a souvenir from my trip to the theme park in town) then it''s gone..

Magazines, newsletters, papers from seminars, whatever.. Paper needs to GO. I used to save YEARS of magazines because I was convinced I would go back and look at one article. I started cutting them out and made folders in a file cabinet (work outs, makeup, travel, etc). Honestly, I''ve never looked back in that folder since I made it 3 years ago!!

I honestly believe you just have to WANT to get rid of things. Yes, you may throw away a special sweater you wore ten years ago and then in five years you will be upset because it''s back in style (?? it probably isn''t!) but really, it''s all just STUFF. Stuff can be replaced. For clothes, I pick out what I want to get rid of and make a pile somewhere out of the way in the closet. I leave it there for about 3 months and if I haven''t looked at the pile then it all goes. Of course, this doesn''t apply to clearing out winter stuff in June. I do summer stuff at the beginning of the summer and so on.

When in doubt, find an organized friend and ask for help. I''m now an organization addict and I LOVE to help other people organize their crap.. It just makes the world a happier place

 

[packrat]

I''m a big fan of decluttering as well. I go on big rampages a couple times a year where I''m unbearable until I''ve got crap cleared out. (We store a lot of stuff in the basement, and when it starts to feel like I have to kick a path to do laundry, I freak out and start organizing and getting rid of crap) I reorganize closets and cupboards constantly. I made my husband and dad add more counter and cupboard space in the kitchen b/c having crap laying out on the counters makes me violent. My husband keeps magazines and catalogs like he might lose his mind without them..I''m quite sure we don''t need a Cabela''s catalog from 3 years ago.

And it is truly amazing how much better it feels in the house to have things organized and cleared out. Husband even acknowledges this..it''s just a chore to get him to do it.

I go room by room also.

 

[Phoenix]

I wrote out this long reply and lost it!! ARRRGGHHH!!

I HATE clutter, absolutely hate it. Moving is the best strategy. After that, second best strategy is to throw out or better still give to charities clothes, shoes and anything else you''ve not worn or used in a year. Also, think twice before you buy something - anything at all - it''ll save you money and you''ll also avoid cluttering up your house.

 

[somethingshiny]

I''ve never been a clutterer so I can''t tell you how to STOP it, but maybe if I can tell you why I never started it could help.

I am a sorter by nature and like items ALWAYS belong together. (this is even true in my 3 yr old''s play room) This alone keeps me organized.

I only keep items if I have room for them. I don''t mean room like "well, there''s a corner of my closet," I mean an actual designated area that I can get to easily and use the item at a moment''s notice. This includes things like jewelry (luckily I have a HUGE standing jewelry armoire!!

), handbags, shoes, clothes, dishes, everything. I do like to switch out my decor and have several options for Christmas themes so I have a lot of stuff, but it''s all organized into individual totes and marked so I can get to it efficiently (those items are in the basement). If I haven''t used some of the items in a year, I give them away. I used to do my kitchen in apples in the fall and changed over to a wine theme, so all of my apple stuff went to a friend who just started her kitchen with apples. The only exception to the rule is stuff like a baby crib and toys, etc (which we hope to use again). I also have a few pieces of furniture in the basement because we went from a house approximately 2500 sq ft to a house 1100 sq ft. I plan to upsize again and will want my large dining table so I''ll keep it.

I just helped my mom reorganize her upstairs (she''s not quite a hoarder but close because a few years ago she lost everything in a house fire and now she can''t stand to get rid of things) She knows how I "work" and when she asked me to help she was mentally prepared for my wrath on her belongings. It was hard on her nerves, but when we finished and she found herself sitting in the middle of a lovely sewing room, she was so happy she had tears in her eyes. In the 2 weeks since we''ve cleared the crap, my mom has loved having her daughters come and sit in her "new" room and I can tell she''s really proud. She''s having a garage sale and will use the money to buy herself a new rug for the sewing room.


*btw- my mom comes up with crazy hypothetical situations like "when the end of the world comes, I might need that broken hoe!" Or, "if someone goes completely broke, I will make a dress out of that sheet." And, she actually MEANS it. I know her heart''s in the right place, so I just say things like "I''m not Scarlet O''Hara and I ain''t wearing no drapes!" She laughs and realizes that these are not likely scenarios and then she''ll get rid of the junk.

 

[Mara]

MOVE.

you would be surprised at how even the most OCD packrats *raises hand* can declutter when they are forced with the fact of moving all their crap somewhere else. it took us almost 2 months to clean out our townhouse and garage and that included like 4 salvation army runs, 3 dump runs and 1 e-recycling run, along with about 12 trips to our other 'storage' garage so that we wouldn't bring as much crap to our new house which is only 1 car garage.

a few times i experienced anxiety thinking 'oh my god what am i getting rid of??'...like what if my yearbook or cards from my husband, or whatever is in one of those boxes, but in reality if i haven't seen it in five years, then i probably don't really NEED it AND if i do, nowadays you can get a copy of almost anything by just calling or emailing. sure there might be a few things that 2-3 years down the road i will go CRAP on (actually this wkd i realized we tossed our 'beach blanket'...you kow the gross one you keep in the garage for when you go to a park or beach, oh well)....but in reality i feel SO much better that we are so much lighter and streamlined now.

one other tip....i read this years ago and it makes great sense but in reality is very hard to do. they said, go through ALL your stuff. toss what you feel you really don't need (aka old love letters from your first bf). put absolutely precious 'must always keep' items in 1-2 boxes MAX.

then label all the other boxes and put a DATE on it. every time you go into a box to get anything, you mark the DATE on the box again under the first date. in a year, go back and look through the boxes. see what you didn't touch. if you dont want to, don't do anything just yet. keep marking when you go into a box. in another year, do the same review. you might find that you actually only USE items in about 1/4 of the boxes that you thought you might need. at that point, and this is the hard part, pick up the boxes you don't ever go into...and TOSS THEM. don't open them, don't look in them, just toss them. it's SUPER hard. but in reality you don't need that stuff cuz you haven't gone into it for 2+ years!!!

 

[Snicklefritz]

I''m taking drastic measures. I''m having a garage sale this summer! I actually think it might be fun.

 

[kcoursolle]

I''m a minimalist when it comes to "stuff" in my house, so I actually love to get rid of things, especially DH''s junk lol. He can''t stand it, but is slowing turning on to the nice feeling of a clutter free home.

I tend to pick a part of the house and spend about 30 minutes once a month of so (really that''s it!). I will pick a zone, like a particular closet, dresser, small room, etc. and go through and put things in piles. I will have a pile for garbage, donate, and sell. Definitely don''t try to do everything at once, it''s too much. Just tackle a small space every few weeks and you will have made a lot of progress in no time.

When it comes to clothes a great strategy is to get rid of anything that I haven''t worn in the last year. If I''m doubting getting rid of something I''ll keep it, but if it comes up again in the next "de-clutter" session and I''m doubting it again and still haven''t worn it, then it''s gone. I haven''t missed anything I''ve gotten rid of yet.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Here are a couple of my tricks to staying sparse...

1. I hang my clothing up. Whenever I clean out my closet, I hang everything "backwards" with the hook tip facing outwards...when I wear something and rehang it, the hanger gets "righted" so it looks normal. If I haven''t worn something in 3 months, I can tell easily because it still has the awkward hanging style...and it gets donated.

2. For everything something "new" something "old" must go. I love to decorate and finish my home...but sometimes I buy to much stuff. So for "non-season" decore, I have a rule...if I buy something new, then I have to donate something old. It keeps my home fresh and current...and my basement neat and tidy.

3. Tubs, trunks and more. Everything is in tubs. I have them color coordinated according to the season or purpose...Halloween: black and orange; Christmas: red and green; Master Bedroom: blue (the color of our room) and so on. I label every tub or trunk itemizing what it''s for (outside, inside) and what is in there (vase filler, lights, ect) this method really helps me stay on top of everything so I know exactly where my things are when I need them...I could put my hands on anything at any given time without having to really look. So while this isn''t so much about decluttering the junk, it''s about keeping what you want in such a way that really efficent.

4. A huge magnetic chalkboard. Huge, huge, huge. We actually painted one on our wall and framed it in really beautiful molding. I keep all my "loose ends" here. Every month I draw a big calendar on it, and I''ll stick a wedding invite up on the specific day that the wedding is...I''ll post a bill up there reminding myself or DH to get it paid on that day...I keep all the paper junk neat and tidy without cluttering your "live in" spaces--desks, counters, whatever.

5. When I''m on the fence...similar to how I feel about my clothing, sometimes I feel like if I let something go, I might kick myself over it later....so I have devised a plan to myself from getting overwhelmed by the "what if". If it''s something I really hesistate to let go like a payment-received notice or whatever, I will keep it for a period of 1 year in a in file box. I have folders broken down by month...and I will keep the notice in the box...each month I clean it out as things have run out of storage time. I figure if I haven''t needed it in one year, chances are I''ll never need it--so I don''t need to keep it!