Kicking the clutter.. How do you minimize what you own routinely?

liliesinmycereal · 09-19-2011, 07:02 AM

I don't know if there is a whole lot of people like me but I have a problem with clutter in my life. I know my clutter issue contributes to my weight so I want to kick the clutter. I have a habit of shopping all the time but I don't buy stuff all the time. I constantly find that I'm behind on sprucing and cleaning and I want to be better at that. What are some ways that you minimize your clutter? I'm about to give away a lot of clothes and books but I don't think I want to just stop there. I feel like just giving away stuff isn't the answer to the problem. It's like food... just giving away food isn't going to make you smaller.

omgzitsmiranda · 09-19-2011, 07:14 AM

I have the same problem as you do with the clutter, so that's why I'm trying to get rid of some stuff. I'm trying to get it in my head that if I'm not using it now, haven't used it in a while and don't even remember having it; then I probably DON'T need it.

I'm really bad about keeping things that people don't want anymore/are getting rid of if it's cheap/free LOL. I love a bargain, but it's just sitting around not getting used, so I'm going to have a yard sale

If I don't sell everything, I'm either going to just take offers on it or just donate the rest of it because I don't want it coming back into the house, period. It needs to go somewhere. If I make $10 or $100 I don't really care, it's just about getting rid of stuff and making room for stuff I actually need/want/care about

Out with the old, in with the new

We could do a "get rid of the clutter" challenge. Like 1 thing per day or however many things we want per day or something.

liliesinmycereal · 09-19-2011, 07:40 AM

I like the idea of a challenge. I don't know where to start though. I keep thinking about how I started my weight loss. I exercised and then just threw out all the bad foods in my kitchen. Maybe I should make some guidelines for how to straighten every week?

Ruthxxx · 09-19-2011, 07:43 AM

When I watch Hoarders, the guilt sets in. During commercials, I do a quick pick-up and tidy. Now I need to ditch some of my "stuff" too. A yard sale may be the answer.

omgzitsmiranda · 09-19-2011, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liliesinmycereal

I like the idea of a challenge. I don't know where to start though. I keep thinking about how I started my weight loss. I exercised and then just threw out all the bad foods in my kitchen. Maybe I should make some guidelines for how to straighten every week?

From everything I've read online and all of that they've suggested to start somewhere small so you don't get overwhelmed. Such as start with one drawer in your bathroom/bedroom or wherever. BUT don't try to do a whole room at once or you'll never want to do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruthxxx

When I watch Hoarders, the guilt sets in. During commercials, I do a quick pick-up and tidy. Now I need to ditch some of my "stuff" too. A yard sale may be the answer.

YES! That show makes me feel so nasty lol.

liliesinmycereal · 09-19-2011, 08:46 AM

Good idea!! I need to work on my living room the most!

shcirerf · 09-19-2011, 09:07 AM

I have a very small house, so clutter adds up quickly. And I can't stand it! My hub on the other hand would drown in the stuff.

If you have a lot, starting small is probably the best way. Just declutter one corner or one half of the living room, then in a few days do a little more. It will eventually get done.

For myself, I go through closets and drawers about every 3-4 months and either donate or TOSS! I'm great at tossing.

bandit2 · 09-19-2011, 10:39 AM

Hi ladies - good thread.

I also have lots of clutter, but have already started getting rid of stuff
for awhile. What has helped me is giving old clothes away to charity (they call for pickups occasionally) and we are allowed 4 bags of garbage every 2 weeks & I have made sure to get those filled, out & taken away.
I have boxes of things from a previous move which obviously I haven't needed since they are still packed & go through at least 2 of those each week. Slowly but surely things are getting done & at first it stressed me out giving away things but now it actually feels like a relief once the stuff is actually gone & I can't "rescue" any of it.

Good luck, everyone!

cherrypie · 09-19-2011, 10:50 AM

stuff does tend to build up doesn't it? I find the older I get the less sentimental about things I am. We put a rental suite in our basement last winter and had to get rid of tons of stuff. It's an ongoing process I found. You would weed stuff out and keep stuff you felt you needed, then a couple months later you would go through that stuff again and get rid of more.

April Snow · 09-21-2011, 10:42 AM

Have you ever checked out Flylady? It's a whole system to do daily decluttering and a schedule for doing a reasonable amount of cleaning on a daily basis so that you never have an overwhelming amount to do.

I don't follow it exactly myself but I have picked up so good tips. I really like the 27 fling boogie, which is where you take a trash bag and walk around your house and find 27 things to toss. They can be completely random, you do it as quickly as you can and just count up to 27 and then get rid of the bag. Then you can follow it up with collecting 27 things to donate to charity.

If you have kids, that's fun way to get them into helping to declutter!

Some more ideas here http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLesso...luttertips.asp

liliesinmycereal · 09-21-2011, 10:59 AM

Wow! That sounds like an amazing website! I'm going to look it up! I've only done a random just throw stuff away a couple times.

Jelma · 09-21-2011, 01:05 PM

I, too, have issues with clutter, especially paper. I have a filing cabinet in the corner of my kitchen that is piled high with random papers, I can't seem to bring myself to go through it. I am going to tackle it before the end of this weekend, I feel like it is messing up the feng shui in the kitchen!

One suggestion I have heard is that for every one new item you bring into your house get rid of two.

A challenge sounds like a good idea, I need some motivation.

bargoo · 09-21-2011, 03:48 PM

I just moved and prior to moving I got rid of a lot of stuff, some I gave away , some I donated and some I threw out. Guess what ? As I unpack I find things I totally do not need ! I am basically a pack rat.

tkdtara84 · 09-21-2011, 09:26 PM

I second the flylady.net suggestion. I use her methods off and on and have for about five years. We're remodeling now, so most of our house is a mess, but I keep the four rooms we live in pretty clean/decluttered. I plan to start back up with more cleaning and more involved routines once the remodeling is done. At this point, though, I tend to keep better control over the clutter just having followed her suggestions for so long. I'm better about it even when I'm not following a specific plan.

The hardest part is to just detach yourself emotionally from your stuff-- get to the point where you can toss it without having a bunch of emotion tied to it. I'm better about this than my husband. He has some serious packrat tendencies, but he's getting better, too, the more I make him help me declutter his stuff.

Visionary · 09-22-2011, 02:04 AM

wow... definitely an issue. Great idea to start a discussion and get support.

Here are things that work for me:

1. I schedule a FULL cleaning day when no one else will be in the house. Blast my fav music and go to town!

2. On that day I have some games set up for myself. I will throw out 10 , yes 10 garbage bags of stuff. I have it set that if I accomplish this, I get a reward...last time, it was a massage! Makes it fun and motivating. Also great exercise.

3. I have called in a friend and/or got some help on 1 day. I even hired an organizer for 4 hours to really get me going.

4. One room at a time.

5. Garage sale stuff. While organizing, I have set a date for a garage sale for 2 weeks later. I can put stuff out with a price...and on organizing day...I'm motivated by the money I'll get while reducing my clutter.

6. Make piles fort donations and for giving away and put it in your car at the end of the day. Donate the next.

Anyway, just sharing these few ideas that have worked for me has me motivated. I have not done it for a LONG time and am planning my de clutter day later this week!

Would love to here what others are doing.

It feels so healthy to get rid of the body and environmental clutter!!!!! It will also help get rid of mind clutter!