Let it GO! Decluttering (simplifying) your life of (people, places or things) success stories?
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Hi there! Here's an update. I recently moved into a ranch home and now it is much harder to maintain the clutter. Upon moving, I placed things in certain places but now can't find anything. I am finding it hard to clean a whole house; I'll have to start a new cleaning routine. I agree with you that clutter cuts deep and affects our mind. I am finding this house a little unnerving and missing my apartment but I think that once I truly unpack, reorganize I will feel much better emotionally and start to love the new house. Hope you are well!RubyRed427 wrote: »I grew up in a spotless house. My mom would stay up late cleaning many nights. I think it set an unrealistic expectation for me as an adult. My brain got wired to think it was the way you live .... with zero clutter.
My mom, grandmother, aunts... all have beautifully decorated homes. Where they hide their clutter, they've never passed on the secret! I am like your husband....
My mom says that even as an infant, before I could roll over, I could destroy a perfectly clean room during my sleep.
I wish I weren't like this because I know how distracting the clutter is to me and know that it places a deep emotional burden on my mind and can lead to financial and emotional distress which can lead to other things, like excess weight.
I'm not saying your husband is wrong in how he is, but I am curious - does he ever feel overwhelmed by all the "things" he has? I feel like all of it just gets in my way of enjoying life. I spend more time cleaning up after myself than anything!
I'll spend an entire day de-cluttering and scrubbing and enjoy a stress free / clean home for 1 day... then the cycle starts again.
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@BMcC9 I have a developed a system where I have a seasonal switch twice a year, and get rid of anything I haven’t worn that season, before it goes back into storage. I also vet what I’m going to wear, for the coming season. Both these practices have helped me whittle down quite a bit. It’s an ongoing process, but it’s good to create space.
Also, I started 2020 as a ‘buy essentials only’ experiment, which has been greatly assisted by lockdown, and has, incidentally, improved my bank balance considerably. Lockdown has had some advantages. 😂9 -
TerriRichardson112 wrote: »@BMcC9 I have a developed a system where I have a seasonal switch twice a year, and get rid of anything I haven’t worn that season, before it goes back into storage. I also vet what I’m going to wear, for the coming season. Both these practices have helped me whittle down quite a bit. It’s an ongoing process, but it’s good to create space.
Also, I started 2020 as a ‘buy essentials only’ experiment, which has been greatly assisted by lockdown, and has, incidentally, improved my bank balance considerably. Lockdown has had some advantages. 😂
This year's Light-Weight clothes seasonal switch included not only "now that I am in maintenance" stored-till-they-fit-again clothes (many of which were too BIG when I tried them on) but also a reality check on the contents of the "maybe I could alter it some day? " nearly-fit pile against what I KNOW my sewing limitations are. Now that I have reached the point where RELATIVELY minor alterations / adaptations (by a far better sewer than I) to fit a stable-going-forward silhouette could theoretically have taken place.2 -
The clutter in the house is effecting me mentally and emotionally. At the beginning of the year I was able to focus on getting rid of the excess around me. I want to get back to that. I am, starting today.
Now that I am 7 weeks into logging everything into MFP, I want to incorporate decluttering into my day. I definitely see a relationship between clutter and my weight. Shopping can be like binging...another way to avoid life.7 -
Last Friday I reached a healthy weight according to the BMI. While I still have weight to lose, my reward for this milestone was to go through my wardrobe and try EVERYTHING on, decluttering along the way. I had a blast! So many things fit well, and I was able to farewell some hardworking but now too-big items. I still have a couple of aspirational pieces in there (like the silk dress I wore on my first date with my partner...twelve years ago) but on the whole it's such a good feeling to open my closet and know not just that it almost all fits, but it's all things I love!
I find decluttering like this, going through and touching/holding/assessing items has a very strong psychological effect of reminding me that I actually have everything I need. Powerful stuff!13 -
Has anyone found that your spouse has so much stuff that it overwhelms you and you're powerless to do anything about it and he is too connected with it that he won't let it go?4
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Has anyone found that your spouse has so much stuff that it overwhelms you and you're powerless to do anything about it and he is too connected with it that he won't let it go?
Yes, I have. Mostly in our home- office where he keeps a lot of papers that should be discarded/shed, and also in the garage. The rest of the house is in perfect order because I exert a dictatorial control, and honestly, he doesn't like disorganization or mess in the rooms. I wish he had the same attitude for the office and the garage.
I have no recommendations or suggestions for you, sorry to say. But I wish you good luck!5 -
Yes, I am poor.2
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Has anyone found that your spouse has so much stuff that it overwhelms you and you're powerless to do anything about it and he is too connected with it that he won't let it go?
Yes. Eventually he hoarded so much that there was no room for me and I had to leave him. That was my first husband. We're still friends, and it broke my heart to do it, but I was suicidal, and that's not okay.
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Given that we moved at the beginning of July, we had large piles of deconstructed cardboard boxes in unused corners. They are now all either bagged or boxed and in one large pile in the garage, and I am researching recycling options. We're going to borrow a truck soon, so it makes sense to take them somewhere in one go when we have the truck.6
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AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »Given that we moved at the beginning of July, we had large piles of deconstructed cardboard boxes in unused corners. They are now all either bagged or boxed and in one large pile in the garage, and I am researching recycling options. We're going to borrow a truck soon, so it makes sense to take them somewhere in one go when we have the truck.
Last time I moved I advertised all the boxes as a free giveaway on a local Facebook group. They were snapped up almost immediately. The guy who took them was moving his mother and was very thankful to get them all. You could try something like that.
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Xiaolongbao wrote: »AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »Given that we moved at the beginning of July, we had large piles of deconstructed cardboard boxes in unused corners. They are now all either bagged or boxed and in one large pile in the garage, and I am researching recycling options. We're going to borrow a truck soon, so it makes sense to take them somewhere in one go when we have the truck.
Last time I moved I advertised all the boxes as a free giveaway on a local Facebook group. They were snapped up almost immediately. The guy who took them was moving his mother and was very thankful to get them all. You could try something like that.
Last time I moved it was due to plumbing being redone at our aparment complex. They did it block by block, and every block had to vacate for 10 weeks and then we could move back in. Once we moved back, I simply looked at the work plan and put a piece of paper on the bulletin board in the next block to move out saying ”free boxes at block X, call this number”. A mom and her two toddlers came to pick them up in less than 3 hours, and she said that was the first thing she had managed to do for the move. They were due to vacate in 2 days and she looked so exhausted and grateful for the boxes she was about to cry harder than her toddlers.
Lesson of the story: donate those boxes, someone probably needs them.
I’m scheduled to move again just before Christmas. We bought an apartment in a new building that’s being constructed, and the estimated move-in date is exactly one week before Christmas Eve. I’ve been decluttering and going through things way too slowly, I need to read this thread for inspiration!
I’ve been struggling even with daily cleaning and decluttering. My husband is currently a stay-at-home husband and in charge of all chores (he’s furloughed), and he asked me to pick up all of my stuff from the floors so he can run the Roomba tomorrow while I’m at work. It took a whopping 7 minutes to clear shoes, bags, laundry and other random junk that had fallen on the floors. I really have no excuses.5 -
Part of what I do every night after Boyfriend goes to bed is a wind-down putter around the house just to put everything small in order. And in the process my phone goes on the charger, my desk gets tidied, stray glasses get returned to the kitchen, random socks go into the dirty clothes hamper in the laundry room, and the cats have a full water bowl and dry food dish for the night. As well, I make myself 40 oz of hot tea and put it in a thermos for tomorrow morning, and set up the coffeepot. It sets my head up for going to sleep, keeps me from being anxious about anything I forgot, and starts my following morning off right.15
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So, you know that stage you go through when sorting stuff out and you think to yourself, "Well, I'll keep that because it might come in useful at some point?"
Well, I was like that with leftover material from my wedding (my dress and the bridesmaids' dresses). So I kept it, for the "it might come in useful" thing as well as a bit of sentimental value. There wasn't very much but "enough to be useful".
I finally found a use for it - face masks. I got married 23 years ago. I have kept that material for twenty-three years and never had a use for it until now. How crazy is that? But, whilst making said face masks, I have decided that I no longer need the rest of the material for "sentimental" reasons so I am going to donate it to the local library for their crafting sessions that my youngest has attended in the past (and will again, once the pandemic is more under control and the sessions re-convene).
It's a shame that my lovely husband is still in the "Well, I'll keep that because it might come in useful at some point?" stage . . . he keeps all sorts of random stuff, like old keys. He's not ready to let go of it just yet. I just have to be patient about it.7 -
Madwife2009 wrote: »So, you know that stage you go through when sorting stuff out and you think to yourself, "Well, I'll keep that because it might come in useful at some point?"
It's a shame that my lovely husband is still in the "Well, I'll keep that because it might come in useful at some point?" stage . . . he keeps all sorts of random stuff, like old keys. He's not ready to let go of it just yet. I just have to be patient about it.
One of the small things I love about Boyfriend is that he's not a keeper by nature.
I also settled on a style of decorating that I like. I like Medieval, with touches of the Arts and Crafts movement. And that's a very clean-lined, simple, unfussed and uncluttered style. That keeps me from keeping too very much. Even if I could make something, if it's more on the "shabby chic" or "farmhouse" side of things, I'm not going to have it in my house because it won't match. Also, we really tend to decorate in Book. Part of the reason we got this house was the massive built-in bookcase in one room. We made it the library, of course.
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I am tired of holding on to things “just in case” I might need it down the road. 20+ years ago I had a roommate who had moved many times in her life (on average once a year). Her theory was to give it away and buy it again if needed. I could not understand it at the time, but it makes sense to me now. Even better would be to borrow it when needed and not buy at all whenever possible. 🤣6
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Even though I am not much of a clutterbug I would also keep things "just in case" No more. I moved twice in the past year and I'm continuing to downsize. Any clothes that don't fit by the end of year are going. I also realized I had stuff for the life I thought I was going to have. I live in the woods during a pandemic with a bunch of crystal. I'll put that in the "to go" pile too.2
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Spent a day this week shredding boxes of paperwork that went back as far as 1989. It was a job I'd been putting off for way too long but it's done now. It probably took a lot longer than it should have as some of it invoked memories of days out, holidays, etc.
Anyone want some animal bedding?4 -
I can definitely identify with your post. Being a clutter-bug has been a lifelong struggle, same as my weight. Don't have any tips yet, but I hope to be going through my clothes closet after a few more pounds. Struggling to decide if I should get rid of the too-big clothes. Hard to let go of anything. Ya never know when ya might need it
I got rid of my size up clothes and then I quit smoking. I also started meds that are prone to adding on weight. Then I had nothing to wear. After getting some clothes that I can wear and make me feel good, I chose to space saver bag them next time as I lose weight. I will just try to be frugal about what I save (and buy) and make sure I keep the basics. Everything else in my house is getting decluttered.6 -
Some of the too-big, in good condition, I keep because my girlfriend has decided to lose weight, and while she's not anywhere near being able to use my size 20 jeans, it'll be nice when she gets there for us to have them. But if it's not in condition to be worn (I have a tendency to wear my shirts all the way out) then when it's too big for me I just trash it. If I wouldn't pass it on to her as a gift and be okay with her wearing it as it is, then I won't keep it.5
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I've been having fun getting rid of some of the various miscellaneous plastic storage containers - recycling them - and slowly replacing them with Pyrex or equivalent. Quality dishes like that make meal prep easier and more fun. Gets rid of lots of clutter too!6
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Between yesterday and today, I've been throwing clothes into boxes and I'm going to organize and put a price on it. We bought a Halloween costume two days ago for $25. It will get worn once for a few hours and thrown into a box and never worn again. Why not sell those boxed costumes? I have so many, so many wigs too. I'd love to find second hand, less than half priced Halloween costumes, so I'm sure others would benefit from what I can sell. I have hundreds of kids' clothes, swimwear, toys...I'm getting rid of all of it. Whatever I don't sell will get donated. Just knowing I'll lighten my load makes me happy! I hope everyone reading this has a lovely evening...13
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I have been working on losing weight, paying off debt, and decluttering. I struggled to set up exercise when the gym closed with the pandemic. I did it and started losing weight again. Even though I was put on furlough I kept paying off credit cards and got down to one which I was making progress with but my husband has some but he is working from home. We made some progress on decluttering working on the upstairs office and kitchen which is too small. I got a handle on my clothes in the process since my closet is in the office. I felt this was a good time to declutter the house but then Goodwill etc. closed for donations and the transfer station for throwing away things did too. My husband did do some decluttering of a basement room. Now Goodwill is open again but sometimes it closes if it gets too much. I waited to avoid long lines. I got laid off this summer. I wanted to declutter my art room also in the basement in the daylight part. Others kept putting things in it. My son took it over as his music room and then his study room for law school. He has moved out. I cleared out some things and then my daughter took over his bedroom and put things of his in my art room.
Since I was not working I could start doing my art again if I had a place to work. Then I got a very good job that will be remote until the office opens again. It starts in 3 weeks. So now I am working on my art room to be my home office. I finally took some boxes to donate and the lines were gone. It was very safe. I opened my trunk and told them what to take and they did it. In order to get those boxed I had to go through many boxes sorting out recycling, trash, and papers for shredding. I just sent pictures to my son for the few usable items I want to keep to see if he wants us to save for him, send to him or we can use them. Some will come in handy for office supplies in my home office. I am doing everything I can on my own and now my husband will be motivated to help with the bigger items since I am going to be helping bring in household income again. I am not worried that my art room will be my home office since it will be all cleared out and ready to work in once I start back to the office. In the process I will be going through some things in the hall way outside the door and getting those things decluttered too. This job is not permanent but pays well. So it won't be long for me to be home with an art room and time to work in it.
I feel good. We refinanced our home recently with the low interests and are getting rid of all credit card debt. I have lost almost 20 lbs since the pandemic and still working on that. We have made progress decluttering our home. We are almost empty nesters and went from a large home to a small one. We are now getting rid of things we don't need anymore now that our kids are grown. I have been using a corner of the living room as a makeshift office space as needed. I will get that cleared out and put it in my home office. That will then declutter the living room. I will use my personal laptop where ever I need it. My new job comes with a laptop, large screen and a work cell. My husband has his home office set up in our office. Most of the clutter there he needs to take care of (getting rid of old computers). My daughter just built herself a computer so we are going to get her relatively new desktop she used while she was in school for Computer Science so it is a relatively powerful one. It will go in the office and he also has a work laptop.
I feel that these issues are related. We have gotten rid of excess baggage and are continuing to do this. The issue now is to set up a workday schedule that allows me to exercise and cook at home. That is really why I lost weight. I started to meal plan and cook at home to be safer. Now I need to stream line that process so I can do it with me back at work.6 -
@Sand_TIger I knew someone who saved all of their old foil tv dinner trays. Had them stacked all over the garage. They're gone now, didn't seem like a hoarder just liked certain things. Containers, tv dinner trays, country magazines, readers digest and old newspapers. Stacked floor to ceiling in the garage. Could not drive a vehicle in there. Those had to sit outside in the brutal winters while that stuff sat safely inside.2
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@KeriA
Excellent job you have done de-cluttering your house and fixing your finances during the pandemic, and on top of that losing weight. You should feel proud of yourself. Keep up the good work!
@Diatonic12
Good grief, my husband will not allow the cars to spend anytime whatsoever ever outside the garage. And we don't have snow or cold winters in my neck of the woods. He probably will not object to me sleeping in the garage, but the cars...
? No way! On the other hand, our garage could use a nice cleaning and de-cluttering, but I am not doing that on my own. 4 -
Diatonic12 wrote: »@Sand_TIger I knew someone who saved all of their old foil tv dinner trays. Had them stacked all over the garage. They're gone now, didn't seem like a hoarder just liked certain things. Containers, tv dinner trays, country magazines, readers digest and old newspapers. Stacked floor to ceiling in the garage. Could not drive a vehicle in there. Those had to sit outside in the brutal winters while that stuff sat safely inside.
Yeah - I wonder what a person would do with that many dinner trays? I just hope they were clean! Most of my old cruddy plastic containers are gone and I never saved too terribly many of those.
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@Sand_TIger
I don't what in the world they were thinking. Perhaps, making their own tv dinners one day. Sigh and alas, it never happened and they were all thrown into the bin.
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This thread makes me feel better about severing all relationships with friends and family. I still feel a bit guilty, but the fact that I coincidentally also experienced major weight-loss... maybe I'm okay with myself for doing that. There are billions of people on this earth, I'll mingle with the awesomeness that is you all!10
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Musclemassass wrote: »This thread makes me feel better about severing all relationships with friends and family. I still feel a bit guilty, but the fact that I coincidentally also experienced major weight-loss... maybe I'm okay with myself for doing that. There are billions of people on this earth, I'll mingle with the awesomeness that is you all!
I don't know why you needed to sever those relationships but I agree, sometimes it's sadly needed. If those people aren't treating you properly, for example, or if they are toxic to your life and won't stop their behaviors, well then I understand the need to protect yourself. I'll bet at least half of that weight loss is due to a reduction in stress! Congratulations on your increased health, and for doing what it takes to be your best self.6 -
See what I mean! Awesome people everywhere, especially on this app. Thanks for your gentle and encouraging words. 5
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