How to declutter? Help

[peanutter]

Toys

put them into tubs. Have one tub out at a time. Rotate the tubs on Saturday morning.

Books

They all go onto bookshelves. If they don't fit, put the extras into tubs. Rotate the tubs on the first of the month.

Furniture and appliances

Is there stuff that you don't need? That you only use because it's there (and possibly a little in the way) like spare couches (which could be room for play and trains and whatever) or exercise equipment which just holds your extra coats?

Same goes for the waffle iron, the coffee machine, the pressure cooker, and anything else you don't ACTUALLY use.

Get rid of it.

Artwork

3D artwork has a strict limit of 2 pieces per child. Any more gets given away. If it's too precious then one of the already kept things gets given away.

Each boy has one box for 2D artwork, and everything else just goes in there. Not sure what we'll do when it's full ...

Clothes

Not worn in 12 months? Goodbye.

Everything else?

Step 1: Play "Ten Things I Hate About You" which is a game I invented, where you go into each room, and make the biggest impact possibly by getting rid of 10 things. Whether they're rubbish or things being kept (which just need to get put away) you deal 100% with 10 things. So they're either in the bin, or where they actually should be. Not in the right room, but away.

Step 2:Play "15 minutes of fame" which is where you get one (or more, if needed) laundry baskets, and you deal with a room. Everything in it either goes away completely (again, where they actually should be - not just in the right room, but actually away). If you can't put it away-away in those 15 minutes, it goes in the laundry basket. Don't cheat - this includes under beds and in cupboards, and everything.

Step 3: Deal with the laundry baskets. Obviously, this needs to be done one room at a time. First get rid of the rubbish. Be brutal. Cull. Second, get rid of all of the charity bin stuff. And be cautious: is it truly charity bin, or is it rubbish? Would you give it to a friend? If not, don't give it to charity. If they can't sell it, they can't use it. Be brutal-er. Third, back-burner things. Put things somewhere specific, where if you haven't used them in six months time, you're getting rid of them. Forth, the thing which have to get put away. And (shock horror) PUT THEM AWAY!!

The end.

[AnyDream]

I recommend getting your hands on some Peter Walsh books/videos. He breaks the process into some pretty simple steps to follow. Even if you grab a box/rubbish bag once a day and go hard for 10 minutes, start anywhere and just remove all the extra stuff you find, it will make a difference. Once the surface noise goes, it gets easier to "see" where the other clutter problems are.

Having said that, I went through a stage when I was having trouble getting rid of DD2's baby things. My solution was to get 2 smallish plastic tubs (one for each DD) and put a selection of their best/favorite things in there. For eg, a toy or two, a handmade quilt, their favorite book, a little outfit, etc. Then I gave all the other nice stuff to a friend who had just had a baby. Seeing her little one enjoying it helped ease the pain, LOL. Likewise I have one box for DD2's art, so I'm choosy about what I put in there.

I really like Kim's rules. Especially the one about if there's no home for it, it goes. We live in a small house, there's no chance we're going anywhere bigger any time soon, so it's really about living within your (space) means. I've spent the last few months doing a progressive cull and containerise/storage blitz, but now that I've done it, I can see we still need to get rid of more stuff. I aim for 25% reduction everytime I'm clearing something out (ie a shelf, a cupboard, whatever) which for me is do-able. The more you chuck out, the easier it gets.

ETA - There's another fabulous book (autobiographical) by Corinne Grant, who had a bit of a hoarding problem for a while. Reading it helped me get really clear about how things are not memories, they are not emotions, they are just things. When you understand this, it's easier to recognise what really has meaning and value in your life - and it's not "things".

2nd ETA - Don't get hung up about the method of disposal. If you can sell it quickly, then sell it. If you can't, if it's still hanging about a week or two later, just give it away. The freedom of not having it is worth more than a few dollars.