May 14, 2016 at 6:18 pm

How often do you de-clutter your home? What do you do with extra stuff?

Discuss de-cluttering stories and strategies.

May 16, 2016 at 9:02 am

I am trying to get my home decluttered because we are moving and I do not want to take all of it with us. I am having a yard sale to get rid of a bunch of stuff and I have been selling some of my smaller things on eBay. If I cannot sell it and it is still in good condition, I will see if someone I know can use it and if not, I will donate it to a thrift store or charity. Sometimes, churches will take donations of clothing so I will give some to them. If it is not good or is broken, I will throw it out. Although, I do not like to contribute too much to the landfills by doing this. Many times, people will pick it up from the side of the road though so at least it does not go to the dump.

May 16, 2016 at 9:35 am

I have uncontrollable regards with my personal belongings and properties. They are all stocked in the corner of the house. My wife tried to declutter them. I stopped her. I don’t know on what to discard and on what to keep. There was a time, that everything inside the house seemed in order. Everything was placed in their rightful area for safe keeping. Instead of getting mad with my wife, I appreciated her.

May 16, 2016 at 9:55 am

I cannot de clutter my home because 80% of the stuff belonged to my hubby.

He hated when I touch his belongings, whether they are useless or useful, I cannot touch them.

He said those things should stay where they are.

Then, he will know where to find them when he needed those stuff.

Hence, my home is always cluttered everyday except the bedroom.

My stuff are always in the drawers or wardrobe and shelves.

The most messy part in the house is the living room.

Assorted papers, fliers, things, knick knacks are scatter everywhere on the tables, floor, by the side of the sliding door.

Oh well, since I can’t touch them, I just pretend those are decorative items !

If I could de clutter my home, first thing is to throw away faulty electronic items or maybe to sell them to the 2nd hand shop.

I have iron, kettle, gas stove, fruit blender, rice cooker and  water heater which were faulty but not broken

All of them are in the store room.

Secondly, the old newspaper, fliers and brochures, sell them to the Recycle vendor for a few cents.

All these things, I can’t touch them.

May 16, 2016 at 10:14 am

I hate to have to do this. But my wife is better at motivating me to declutter. It is hard to do this and I am not as inclined to act without her support. I have managed these last 3 or 4 days to help move items out of the house and pack away into the out door shed and pack some up for donations.

Keeping the home free of clutter in the end will be rewarding on a psychological level. However at times I just want to put things off. Putting things off never gets things done. So I have learned that going full speed ahead is the best way. The plan is to get rid of old stuff you never used and things that are useless like broken furniture, old paintings and rugs. These collect dust and I have allergies so it’s a win-win.

May 16, 2016 at 10:14 am

@morgoodie i think you have good approach to decluttering.

I tried this tip a few years back and it really help me in keeping my house decluttered.

Take 3-4 strong cardboard boxes. use one for clothes,shoes socks etc children have outgrown. Other for books and papers, another for useless household items like mismatched mugs etc

Before putting them in boxes, i usually wrap them in old newspapers and plastic bags. after every few weeks, I make packets and distribute them.

Books go to old book shops and papers to recycling factory. I have a  small house and clutter gives me a horrible feeling so I try to go through all my drawers and cupboards regularly and get rid of things before they pile up.

@peachpurple Try to talk to your husband. Things cluttered around the house can gather lots of dust and it is bad for health. I have also noticed cockroaches make home in old, disused pots and pans. Also you can buy multi coloured drawers and store things by labelling them so that your husband can find them quickly. 

May 16, 2016 at 10:39 am

@lookat Hi Anthony. Welcome to our group.

I think in any family there is one person who loves to collect things and the other who wants to get rid of all junk. I guess if both were same way, either the house would be pack-jammed with stuff or totally bare.

Yes, decluttering is great for psychological and health reasons. You just have to be firm with yourself.

My youngest daughter is almost 4 years old and i am pretty ruthless when it comes to donating her old clothes and shoes because I am not planning to have more children and there are so many other children who can benefit from her stuff.

We collect way too much stuff in our homes anyway.

May 16, 2016 at 10:39 am

@peachpurple I like how you look at them differently – decorative items!!
For my husband’s stuffs, I have to leave them to my husband as well. Mostly, his stuffs are papers. Sometimes I just packed them together in a reusable bag, and let him handle himself, as I can’t help him to do so too. Seriously, he wouldn’t like me to accidentally throw what he wants away.

Do you mean you can’t give away those faulty electronic items and those used papers? Because your husband still wants them? I used to keep the used papers to recycle vendor, but now I am too lazy to keep and wait for the vendor to come, so I just pack them properly and put them out for the garbage collectors. I heard that they will actually separate the recyclable stuffs and send them to different places. So, I think it’s good for them to earn a few cents too, and it’s quicker for me to get rid of the clutter.

May 16, 2016 at 11:04 am

@dawnwriter It’s good that you can start donating your child’s clothes now. I am still keeping  a lot of children’s clothes because I am still pregnant with my third baby. I would be happy to donate all the children’s clothes once my children are outgrown from those. 😀

I am not buying any more things into our home, but I have received many hand me downs, especially children’s clothes from my friends. These are useful, but I have to pack them nicely until my children are old enough to wear them, so it requires space to store them. Since my third baby is a baby boy, and this is most probably be my last child, so I started to pack my little girl’s clothes that she can’t wear any more and give away to others. I also gave away most of my maternity wear, just leave a few for me to wear in these few weeks.

It’s such a nice feeling to get rid of stuffs! 😀

May 16, 2016 at 10:01 pm

Well, somebody needs to touch them. Try to talk your hubby into getting rid of things or you will have to do it yourself. If he wants the stuff bad enough he will get a storage building ready for them.

May 17, 2016 at 7:33 pm

@Dawnwriter  Decluttering is a routine activity which I do on weekly basis. I tackle a drawer or a closet at every week. But major decluttering happens before the festival of Diwali. Diwali is a major festival in India. The people declutter and organize their houses days before Diwali. Some even get their houses painted and whitewashed. It is said that the Goddess Lakshmi of Wealth and Fortune visit the houses on Diwali night and to welcome her, the houses are decluttered and decorated.

When I declutter, I throw away the stuff which can’t be re-used and I donate the rest. Old clothes, old books and stationary etc. are given to the maids or the needy.

July 14, 2016 at 5:57 pm

De-cluttering has been like a hobby in my house surely, and I feel so tired some times. anyway I get to de-clutter when I feel the house is too full, and when I do I really go all the way. it would take me like a year to start that work because I will have to go around the house check what I don’t want, go to my wardrobe remove the clothes and shoes that don’t fit me any more keep them away and when I am free I can then find a way of giving them away. I like the idea of de-cluttering it makes you feel free of what dirt if I can call it that way.

July 14, 2016 at 8:00 pm

We usually decluttering the house in yearly basis. The family, close friends and close relatives joined together to have garage sale. It is better to turn the cluttered things in profit than throwing it. There are some things at home that it cannot be put away because of its sentimental value. A place can be so clean and the environment is so cluttered-free. I am sure after a few years time. The family will start to decluttering and planning to move to another place.

July 15, 2016 at 4:47 am

There is no set pattern. But as and when I feel I do not need certain items. They will be set aside and if they are not touched say for a year then out they go.

July 18, 2016 at 9:53 am

I do agree, decluttering is what our house is needing as we have a lot of things everywhere inside the house with a small house, with lots of pets, so start imagining where I am located exactly now. With a person with illness I should not be living at our house but I don’t have any choice but to stay in there. As much as I want to declutter, I can’t because for sure I will not able to finish it. My hand has been to IV tubes earlier for 2 days so it is better for me to be rested. If i gather my strength, that is my first project.