Oh for a simple life..

[mrcharlie 10]

I'm currently trying to build a wall around my house (50m) stupid builders quotes and a serious mistrust of them has resulted in me tackling it on my own, the block work is already up just need to face it in stone....but the weather !! every day the footings are flooded preventing me from even laying the starting course.

 

Needless to say I'm stuck in the damn house. Too much spare time with no intention of switching on the TV (never watch TV in daytime). So wandering around, stuck indoors all the while waiting for Monday to come round to go back to work...I notice the cupbards are full, the wardrobes too. as is the loft, under the stairs and that's before I even go into the garage or outside sheds.

 

Clutter....I'm beginning to loathe the stuff. I did a part ebay purge last autumn, sold over 200 items yet it quite honestly looks like nothings gone.

 

I can't afford to just "hand" it over to the charity shops, so no doubt it will be ebay/gumtree again.

 

Has anybody here gone and de-cluttered their lives ? Y'know the so-called minimalists look. I do mean drastically decluttering the home...was it worth all the effort or did you wonder what on earth had come over you and regretted it afterwards.

 

A lifetime of hoarding, takes...well a lifetime! need to be certain letting go will give me the freedom I long for.

[Anna B 1,417]

What a good question. Interested to know the answer myself, as I too suffer from clutter. I save stuff 'just in case' then I can't find it when I need it.

 

A friend suggested taking a photograph of stuff you think you can't bear to part with, then let it go. That works to a certain extent for some things.

[mrcharlie 10]

What a good question. Interested to know the answer myself, as I too suffer from clutter. I save stuff 'just in case' then I can't find it when I need it.

 

Exactly so

I've come to the conclusion that 80% (rough estimate) of all items we own as a family never see use...EVER!! Ridiculous.

The kitchen is ram packed with stuff, but on a daily basis its the same pans, plates, cups that see use and they live in 3 cupboards at most, the rest of the kitchen storage space is just filled with clutter.

 

Same applies to the wardrobes, drawers, sideboard, bookcase, closet, shed, garage etc etc Absolutely ridiculous!

 

I'd like to get back to a simple life where we have simple items that see frequent use, when it breaks/wears out, bin it and buy another.

 

Yes, that does sound so appealing

Edited July 30, 2017 by mrcharlie

[Waldo 96]

With your wall building job, or anything like that; have you considered paying a professional to teach you how to do it yourself? Just an idea!

[monkey104 10]

I have a rule that I carried on from my Army days ( moved house every 2/3 years for 22 years ), if something we have stored has not been used or seen within a year then get rid.

Our lass has a penchant for saying " save that, it will come in handy " that's when I know it never will 'come in handy' put it to one side and dispose of when she has forgotten about it.

It's worked a treat so far with only a few near misses !

[mrcharlie 10]

With your wall building job, or anything like that; have you considered paying a professional to teach you how to do it yourself? Just an idea!

 

The wall is coming along just fine thanks, the bad weather is slowing the progress as I work full time so only get evenings and weekends to tackle it. Best thing about doing it myself is that I know no corners have been cut, which I can't say for "Professionals" when your backs turned the Pro's will cut ANY corners to make it easy on themselves.

 

We both know that so lets not be coy

[Super Hans 10]

I think you'll be a lot happier if you purge the crap, having too much useless junk around somehow stresses out the brain.

 

Think to yourself, if I didn't have this...would I go out and buy it? If not get rid.

[spilldig 190]

If it's a small item and I think I may need it I will keep it for a while. If it's a big item I bin it.

[Cyclone 10]

I'm currently trying to build a wall around my house (50m) stupid builders quotes and a serious mistrust of them has resulted in me tackling it on my own, the block work is already up just need to face it in stone....but the weather !! every day the footings are flooded preventing me from even laying the starting course.

 

Needless to say I'm stuck in the damn house. Too much spare time with no intention of switching on the TV (never watch TV in daytime). So wandering around, stuck indoors all the while waiting for Monday to come round to go back to work...I notice the cupbards are full, the wardrobes too. as is the loft, under the stairs and that's before I even go into the garage or outside sheds.

 

Clutter....I'm beginning to loathe the stuff. I did a part ebay purge last autumn, sold over 200 items yet it quite honestly looks like nothings gone.

 

I can't afford to just "hand" it over to the charity shops, so no doubt it will be ebay/gumtree again.

 

Has anybody here gone and de-cluttered their lives ? Y'know the so-called minimalists look. I do mean drastically decluttering the home...was it worth all the effort or did you wonder what on earth had come over you and regretted it afterwards.

 

A lifetime of hoarding, takes...well a lifetime! need to be certain letting go will give me the freedom I long for.

 

How can you not afford to give it away. If you don't need it, you don't currently get any value from it, then it alters your financial situation not one bit to give it away.

 

Anyway, you're not stuck in the house, it's only rain. Sure you can't lay bricks, but you can go for a run, or to the gym, or a walk, or climbing or to the cinema.

 

---------- Post added 01-08-2017 at 18:28 ----------

 

I have a rule that I carried on from my Army days ( moved house every 2/3 years for 22 years ), if something we have stored has not been used or seen within a year then get rid.

Our lass has a penchant for saying " save that, it will come in handy " that's when I know it never will 'come in handy' put it to one side and dispose of when she has forgotten about it.

It's worked a treat so far with only a few near misses !

 

So if you go away for xmas one year and don't put up the tree, next year you've binned it and have to buy another...

[ANGELFIRE1 10]

mrcharlie, " Clutter....I'm beginning to loathe the stuff. I did a part ebay purge last autumn, sold over 200 items yet it quite honestly looks like nothings gone.

 

I can't afford to just "hand" it over to the charity shops, so no doubt it will be ebay/gumtree again.

 

Has anybody here gone and de-cluttered their lives ? Y'know the so-called minimalists look. I do mean drastically decluttering the home...was it worth all the effort or did you wonder what on earth had come over you and regretted it afterwards.

 

A lifetime of hoarding, takes...well a lifetime! need to be certain letting go will give me the freedom I long for. "

 

 

I feel your pain, we moved from a 3 bed house to a small 2 bed bungalow, 2 into 3 certainly does not work. So besides what I have squirrelled away (clutter) we have the residue from our old house as well. Maybe a skip would be a solution.

 

Angel1

[cherriepie 10]

You need a woman who will sort through your stuff. I go by a saying my Mother taught me....if you haven't used/worn it in a year then you don't need it. My home is very clutter free and very few ornaments (dust holders). Men tend to hoard alot of stuff. I've taught my husband my way of thinking too! A clear house is a clear mind!

[mrcharlie 10]

You need a woman who will sort through your stuff. I go by a saying my Mother taught me....if you haven't used/worn it in a year then you don't need it. My home is very clutter free and very few ornaments (dust holders). Men tend to hoard alot of stuff. I've taught my husband my way of thinking too! A clear house is a clear mind!

 

LOL - Don't fear, my partner would put the lot in the skip if I let her!! EEK!!

Yes, I agree men seem to have "fads" just an excuse to buy more stuff

 

And I quite agree a "a clear house is a clear mind"

 

I'm gonna be really busy with my boundary wall project, but once complete I fully intend to be utterly ruthless with my clutter. It will all go on eBay/gumtree maybe even here on the forum. I'm actually sick of the sight of it all.....what was I thinking back then??

 

Your 1yr bin policy is a hard one to stick to though. I doubt I could follow that mantra - but I know of some who do, they then call round asking if they can borrow ours!!

It's the duplicates that builds up clutter in our house, if I see a better one I'll buy with the intention of selling the current one, that gets forgotten until I buy an even better version, then a better one still. Suddenly we have 4,5,6 variations of the same bloody thing and the original version always seems to still do exactly what was needed.

Edited August 3, 2017 by mrcharlie