Is that you making a size joke? Hard to tell
If a serious question then nope always been Petridish.
Decluttering your house.
- Thread starter Mysterae_
- Start date
If a serious question then nope always been Petridish.
Yes, I only deal in poor attempts at humorIs that you making a size joke? Hard to tell
If a serious question then nope always been Petridish.
Don't worry it got a smirk initially before I second guessed it
Looking for some inspiration here, not from 'normal' people, but from people who've been in the below situation and managed to come out the other side.
Our house is appalling, even when we attempt to declutter it looks twice as bad after as what you see on property shows when they say it's really cluttered. Our tidiest room is worse than other's messiest room.
Basically there are kids toys everywhere, not enough room for clothes, computer stuff, boxes and boxes of stuff my wife has bought for the house but never used. Garage is full of stuff like old furniture, toys etc. I still have some boxes of stuff from when we moved 15 years ago. Books, DVDs, CDs, games, knick-knacks. Every room that isn't a bathroom probably has at least 500 items in it.
Sometimes I'll spend a good 6+hrs at the weekend tidying up but it barely makes a dent, maybe it does the hall and half the kitchen. Then by the next week it's a bombsite again. It feels like you need to spend hours on it just treading water, you never actually make any progress. So in aggregate after 100 hours of graft you are back at square one pretty soon after.
My dad has been working on clearing some stuff at his house which means I've brought some stuff back for sentimental reasons. In general that sentimental thing slows things down a bit, e.g. I'll round up books to give away but then there will be a bunch of books from authors I like and want to keep, or books I haven't read yet.
It all just feels so overwhelming, you work all week and then you feel guilty sorting out the house because you aren't playing with the kids etc, or you play with the kids and get depressed about not making any progress on the house. It feels like months of dedicated work is needed but you never get months to focus on it because of work and family commitments.
Our house is appalling, even when we attempt to declutter it looks twice as bad after as what you see on property shows when they say it's really cluttered. Our tidiest room is worse than other's messiest room.
Basically there are kids toys everywhere, not enough room for clothes, computer stuff, boxes and boxes of stuff my wife has bought for the house but never used. Garage is full of stuff like old furniture, toys etc. I still have some boxes of stuff from when we moved 15 years ago. Books, DVDs, CDs, games, knick-knacks. Every room that isn't a bathroom probably has at least 500 items in it.
Sometimes I'll spend a good 6+hrs at the weekend tidying up but it barely makes a dent, maybe it does the hall and half the kitchen. Then by the next week it's a bombsite again. It feels like you need to spend hours on it just treading water, you never actually make any progress. So in aggregate after 100 hours of graft you are back at square one pretty soon after.
My dad has been working on clearing some stuff at his house which means I've brought some stuff back for sentimental reasons. In general that sentimental thing slows things down a bit, e.g. I'll round up books to give away but then there will be a bunch of books from authors I like and want to keep, or books I haven't read yet.
It all just feels so overwhelming, you work all week and then you feel guilty sorting out the house because you aren't playing with the kids etc, or you play with the kids and get depressed about not making any progress on the house. It feels like months of dedicated work is needed but you never get months to focus on it because of work and family commitments.
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@HangTime, I feel for you man. I can tell by your post that you've had enough and want change - and that's good, use it as the fuel you need to power through it. It sounds cheesy but the energy has to come from somewhere!
I suggest forming some habits, humans are good at this (the book Atomic Habits by James Clear provides many insights to this). Good habits mind you, like breathing and exercise - set aside some amount of time to organising and disposing of stuff, perhaps 30 minutes or an hour each day, what ever you can spare. It'll all add up.
Kids toys is a good one. Instil in your kids habits too, like tidying up their crap with the typical parental threat of the bin if it's not put away. Sell the stuff they no longer want or play with but involve them in the process. In our journey of decluttering we did this with our lad and what looked like a pile of plastic junk was actually a village of Fireman Sam stuff that we sold for £25 to another parent (FB Marketplace) which turned out to be a great bargain for them. Not only did they collect it (saved a trip to the tip) but it also gave joy to another child. The money received was given to our lad to continue his understanding of money, so now he comes to us and says "I don't want this, can we sell it?", although his expectations for the items worth are usually a bit off
!
I think you need to identify what is undoing your good work. This harks back to habits. This is probably a bad habit or two that you and or your family have and therefore can be changed, you just need to know what they are. Look out for them.
This last bit really struck a chord with me as I too suffer from it. I have so many jobs around the house needing doing and it can be a real mental struggle deciding which to give my attention. The house isn't going anywhere but my lad is getting older by the day. Then again it's important to give your children a clean and healthy environment and the discipline and skills to grow up - so set by example. I've certainly not solved it by any means but I've made him understand (I think!) and any time I can give to him I try to make it count.
Hope this helps, you'll get there.
I suggest forming some habits, humans are good at this (the book Atomic Habits by James Clear provides many insights to this). Good habits mind you, like breathing and exercise - set aside some amount of time to organising and disposing of stuff, perhaps 30 minutes or an hour each day, what ever you can spare. It'll all add up.
Kids toys is a good one. Instil in your kids habits too, like tidying up their crap with the typical parental threat of the bin if it's not put away. Sell the stuff they no longer want or play with but involve them in the process. In our journey of decluttering we did this with our lad and what looked like a pile of plastic junk was actually a village of Fireman Sam stuff that we sold for £25 to another parent (FB Marketplace) which turned out to be a great bargain for them. Not only did they collect it (saved a trip to the tip) but it also gave joy to another child. The money received was given to our lad to continue his understanding of money, so now he comes to us and says "I don't want this, can we sell it?", although his expectations for the items worth are usually a bit off
!I think you need to identify what is undoing your good work. This harks back to habits. This is probably a bad habit or two that you and or your family have and therefore can be changed, you just need to know what they are. Look out for them.
This last bit really struck a chord with me as I too suffer from it. I have so many jobs around the house needing doing and it can be a real mental struggle deciding which to give my attention. The house isn't going anywhere but my lad is getting older by the day. Then again it's important to give your children a clean and healthy environment and the discipline and skills to grow up - so set by example. I've certainly not solved it by any means but I've made him understand (I think!) and any time I can give to him I try to make it count.
Hope this helps, you'll get there.
Soldato
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- 24 Sep 2007
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I guess you need to get permission from whose stuff it is first, but basically, get rid of the lot, you will feel so much better. If it's the kids old stuff, tell them you will get them something new they want to replace it, if it all goes.
Just establish that you will have a massive clear out, then execute. You can put stuff on Freecycle and people will pick it up, otherwise drop it off at the local charity shop. I guarantee you will feel so much better once it is all gone.
Deleted User 298457
Deleted User 298457
Probs just need to stop aiming for "completion or bust"; and just chip away an hour an evening. Old stuff - bung it on market place, give it a week - if not, tip.