Getting rid of clutter

Comments (9)

vd25
8 years ago
I understand how you feel. I always remind myself that I need to get rid of things to make place for new memories. I have moved home and country and I think for me, if I held on to everything, it would be too much. But if I think of the new memories I am always going to make it makes it easier to let go and live and enjoy the moment. I wish you the best.
PRO
Amber Jeavons Ltd
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Hello Thea,
Well it certainly is a hard one if you can't bare to throw things out and perhaps have a go at making a few piles of absolute musts to slightly less important.. It's a psychological thing really especially when items hold sentimental importance. So try this and really identify if you can what is absolutely sacred.

Another way of dealing with things like photos etc is and this is something I have. I have a Chinese style trunk with cards and things from my childhood up to current. It's square, fits with my decor well and on top I use it as a "bar" with a few glasses and a few decanters. It sits near the fireplace and so it has multi functions.

So perhaps consider something similar of a style that suits your home.
Then you can keep things but not necessarily have them all on view.
In this way you can make what you do display more important and perhaps change things round... So you make different displays over periods of time. Things then have their day and you're not lost so to speak.
These ideas may be of some help or give you ideas of your own that may be useful. :))
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Is this your only Reception space Rose? Have you got 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, this room and a small hallway? I love all the suggestions above and I'm also wondering how soon you are thinking of putting the property on the market? It might help with some of your decisions. This living space is trying to do an awful lot of things so you might want to consider if there's room in your bedroom for a home office. But if you're not putting your home on the market for 12 months say, you have to consider where the best place is to work in the meantime. If this was possible though, the TV could then go in the the right hand alcove and perhaps free up some space for a small (extending?) dining table by the patio doors like your neighbours have. It doesn't really matter how you live (we all live for comfort and our own convenience) but when it comes to photographing your property and showing it, that when the homestaging needs to start. Then I'd be looking to put as many of the baby stuff in the nursery (even the pram if no room in the hallway) except the high chair which could go in the kitchen, if room, or around a small dining table if you think that's an option. I've got friends who have put a pram and baby walker in their neighbours house and stuffed the car boot with stuff to give the impression of more space when having viewers. 😂
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Jonathan
8 years ago
I think you may be approaching it the wrong way....... Instead of looking at the whole lot and wondering what you can part with you should consider what you want to prize most.
Look at your glass fronted cabinet - consider how many items you can display well the look for that number.
Remaining items should be stored out of sight and out of mind for 6 months so you can retrieve something you remember but if you don't feel a need for one of these things then get rid of the lot after 6 months.
PRO
User
8 years ago
Very difficult I agree. Clients of ours have a display cabinet in their lounge as you have and they have their most prized possessions in there which looks lovely. I would say less is more in a cabinet. Other clients have framed all their favourite photos and put them in a downstairs room - literally making a wall of photos-lots of different frames and sizes and it looks fantastic. You could also use this idea for notes/letters. I personally find it very difficult to let memories go. I plan to do a very large wall with shelving to house those special pieces and I have bought storage boxes to house the overflow and organised them into the people they relate to. You could rotate pieces as and when you need to. I recently washed my childhood kangaroo and it faired so badly in the wash that it had to go yesterday but even doing that was hard.

Regarding your craft items I know there would be plenty of organisations that would benefit from your collection and you know that it would be living on so to speak which hopefully would make you feel good.

All the very best - Anna
PRO
Buildcloud
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I have a few techniques for getting rid of clutter. One is an 'outbox' where you put things that you feel you might need to get rid of, but can't throw away right now. If something is in the outbox then you can take it back out if you find you did want to really keep it, but if it has been in the outbox for 8 weeks and no one has taken it back out then it can go. You will find lots of things end up in the box and move to the bin or the charity shop.

There is a great book called "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever" by Marie Kondo which may help, she helps you choose what can stay and what can go by asking "does it spark joy?", and suggests you thank an item for its good service so you can throw it away! Sounds a bit bonkers but many people have found the book really helpful.
PRO
Property Reviver Ltd
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I have read "The Life-changing Magic of Tidying" by Marie Kondo and would definitely recommend reading it. In a nutshell as mentioned by others in previous posts she encourages you to think about what you want to keep not what you want to get rid of. Her method involves approaching the task in categories (such as clothes, books, etc) in a particular order.

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog called Is it time to get rid of your DROSS? (Duplicate, Redundant, Outdated and Superflous Stuff)" I break the task down into the 5Ps (Planning, Pruning, Preparation, Performing and Policing) and provide lots of tips.

I hope some of my tips help. Good luck.
wendy_sloane
8 years ago
I did something which I don't know if I regret or not. I had about 15 cuddly toys from childhood which I couldn't bear to part with. I took photos of them and threw them away. You could take photos of the items in your glass cabinet, give all the items away to someone who would cherish them, and have a slim photo album to look back on. Works for lots of things.
bookworm987
8 years ago
One more suggestion- enlist some help as it is really difficult to tackle decluttering alone. But not your husband or grownup children - it would turn into one big nostalgia-fest and nothing would get thrown away! Instead, ask your most practical, least sentimental friend for help- trust me this will make it all a lot easier!!

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Getting rid of clutter

Theodora Ford
Original Author

Comments (9)

vd25

Amber Jeavons Ltd

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Jonathan

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Buildcloud

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Getting rid of clutter

Theodora FordOriginal Author

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Theodora Ford
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