So sorry you're not feeling well Robo. Relax and take care.

We've been in a rental house for the last eight months while building a new house. A lot wouldn't fit, so we had to get a large storage unit. There's not one thing in that unit that I've needed or wished I had except some Christmas stuff. My idea is to keep everything in the garage. I don't want one box to go in the house, unless I know I want to keep what's in it. We move in a month and my decluttering itch is in overdrive right now!

Sorry to hear you're sick! Now sit and browse through some of the decluttering tips and PLAN for what you will do. That's my pre-retirement strategy. I've been reading Kondo's book off and on and agree with the other comments. But it has made me look at things in a different light as far as my strategy for letting go. That's a big leap for me.

So sorry you're not feeling well, robo. If you've got what's been going around down here, forget about decluttering for right now, because it makes everything seem like way too much effort. Just rest and focus on getting well. Once you're convalescing you can start planning.

Yikes! So sorry about the surprise ER visit, and hope you're feeling much better very soon.

"Thanks to all for the great advice. I've read all your tips and I really appreciate them. I too have added a couple of the books to my Amazon wish list."

Declutter/downsize rule #1:

Stop buying stuff. Check books out of the library or look things up online. Use your recovery time to read online. Hope you feel better soon.

Get a box of heavy duty black yard trash bags. To start, give yourself three minutes in each room. Go into each room and quickly fly through like a whirlwind and put stuff in the bag that you can do without. Open drawers as well. Don't over think it. Do this in each room.

Later, go through bags and box what is to be given away or sold.

Repeat if necessary.

Hope you are on the mend : )

Hello stomach flu :(

If I want to be ruthless, I watch an episode of Hoarders.

But don't do that (watch Hoarders) while you've already got the stomach flu!

Poor robo.

I am downsizing (except the kitchen since I will finally have one I will want to COOK in). Anyhow, since I've now retired, there are research projects I've put on hold, and the stained glass I want to take up again. These things WILL happen... not ditching those items just to re-buy them once I move.

BUT there are a lot of other things I'm getting ruthless over purging. Clothing. Yes, I've lost weight, but there are things that gather in my shoulders where I will NEVER lose weight. Out. (Donate or toss, depending on quality.) Reserving some worn clothing for my future chicken farm, and for painting in. The rest... out.

It is slow. It is painful. I'm downsizing books - but not to re-buy on a Kindle. Ones that meant the less to me. Lord of the Rings stays. And so forth. Donations for book sales are wonderful.

I am keeping most of my holiday decorations, although I haven't used them for two years. 2015 - broken ankle, could NOT decorate. At All. This last season, too busy prepping to move, and just didn't give a good golly past putting out the outdoor things. It's not the usual me, so things like this should be taken into account.

Poor robo! I sure hope you rid yourself of that awful stomach flu.

I've been on a decluttering spree the past two days, mostly for knick-knacks and bedding. We don't have a linen closet so I had everything in drawers in the bedroom. I bought a long storage bench/ottoman for sheets and some blankets/throws & put it at the foot of the bed. Love it! You can store anything in there.

Do you know I have an almost two foot stack of pillow cases? :) I washed them all today and now I have a ton of folding and throwing out to do. So that helps with the decluttering of my bed linen.

I'm lucky to have large "barn" which is what the guys call it. It's a large metal building where we can store a lot of things. I'm putting the kk's I'm not using in clear storage tubs.

Do you have a garage where you can store things until you decide what to do with them? At least they would be out of your way.

BTW, I have other knick knack's stored in the barn and about once a year I go "shopping" in there.

Robo, hope you feel better soon.

Jmc, writersblock it sounds like a good idea to sell stuff but....I have absolutely zero time I can devote to posting items (which belonged to someone else mind you so it's not even me causing the problem), dealing with questions, arranging a sale, shipping etc. Hard no on that idea, for me.

That is what's so frustrating about life's detritus I think; we all have the sense that someone, somewhere could use X or Y or Z and/or that we could surely make a little-or a lot-of money if we could just find a buyer.

Nah, at a certain point it's just a matter of getting it GONE! Disposing of households full of other people's stuff, nope not happening. Maybe in my next life when I'm looking to fill my days instead of looking to survive them with brain and body intact ;).

I have been watching/listening to these videos by Gayle Goddard for inspiration:

Gayle Goddard

Robo, feel better soon.

We have a small house and we have no storage, small closets, so getting rid of things is something we really need to do. We have so many things we will never use. Even things like glassware/barware. I'm sure I have enough barware to pour a drink for everyone on this thread and probably more. Lamps. Have so many lamps that have nowhere to go.

Please send me your lamps!

Today I walked and washed the dog, did a load of laundry and loaded the dishwasher, which is pretty good considering I was bedridden until this morning but pretty bad considering where I wanted to be with decluttering this weekend. I'll be lucky if I get the recycling out on Monday.

Dog was not convinced bath was in order.

can you tell this is the one bathroom we haven't remodelled? ;)

Oh Penny! Yes ma'am, it's bath time lol.

My best tip, hire a professional organizer to help you. It is so discouraging for me to work for three to five hours and then look around and hardly notice what has been done. With an organizer helping, in three hours you can get six hours worth of work done. Plus, they are good at it. Best investment you will ever make.

L pinkmountain what a wonderful idea. In fact I have a friend who I would love to pay to help me. She is very busy right now (building a cottage) but should be free in a month or so.

What happened with Goodwill? I see the clothes with their color tags at the swap meet all the time. Vendors buy it by the pound and sell it for 50 cents or a dollar each on big tables. There's always a crowd of people looking through it. At any swap meet, there may be at least 5 sellers with tables of clothes bought by the pound. I wonder how much of it goes to the landfills. I think much of it is bought to send to or sell in Mexico, especially children's clothes.

The best tip for me was something I read: do 'one thing' a day (or whenever your schedule allows). The 'one thing' is whatever makes sense for you and the time allowed... it could be to declutter one drawer, it could be to accumulate one bag of clothing to get rid of, it could be to tackle an entire closet or simply to declutter one desk-top. That approach is far less stressful for me -- and I do see results!

Yes, I actually made SIGNIFICANT progress on redoing my completely messed up and disrupted yard after they put in the patio. The area around it the soil was all disturbed, weeds and piles of dirt and junk everywhere. I got so depressed, but I came up with the strategy that I would spend 5 minutes a day out there. Set the timer and everything. After about a month is was looking good and all done in six weeks. I would have never been able to do it had I not decided to not worry about getting it all done and instead just focus on getting in my five minutes each day.

My progress report: my husband and I buckled down this weekend. I washed every stitch of laundry in the house (had been procrastinating since flu) and got together one bag of clothes to go. He cleaned out the fridge and pantry completely and got rid of all expired food. Not bad! Not GREAT but not bad! My godchildren are coming for a sleepover on Saturday so that is good motivation for me to at least scrape off the visible surfaces.

My tip: Pull all of __item type __ out of the various places it's hiding so it's in one place and decide how much of it you want to keep. Don't think of reasons you "might" be able to use something if you keep it long enough.
If an immediate use is not in your face, let someone else figure out how
to use it.

I do a series of binary sorts so I'm not trying to juggle multiple decisions at once ... I do handle any item

trash/not trash Always first, because it clears the area quickly of unrepairable things and debris. Trash also includes unrepairable (worn out and totally trashed) clothing and other items. Trash goes directly into a large trash bag - I have a plastic full-size trash can for this. Usually it's in the garage.

Sometimes this will get you the space you need. Cleaning out the laundry cabinet (left over from SO's ex-wife's tenure) and disposing of all the unusable trash left me with plenty of room.

Keep/don't keep gets me two piles, each of which gets split into two piles so in total there are 4:

• Good condition, keep/donate ...

• Things I want go back to the correct spot.

• Clean, wearable or immediately usable items I don't want ... go immediately into the charity box. I won't donate anything that needs fixing or cleaning.
  
  After taking the full box or boxes to the charity shop ...

• Need fixing keep/give away ...

• Things I want that need repair - put them with the repair parts on the list of things to do.

• Things I don't want that need repair ... Craigslist for curbside pickup, clearly described as NEEDS FIXING. There are people with good skills that actually make a living fixing and reselling things.

Another tip ... Don't fret about which charity should get what. Pick one or two nearby ones - in my case the "high class" items went to a small boutique and the general purpose ones went to a more family oriented one. And one that can pick up.

****************

SELLING the excess. If you do this, remember the goal is not to get as much money as possible, it's to sell it quickly. Price accordingly.

lazy_gardens I like your ideas. I think the idea of collecting all of 'one type' of thing in a single place is great. For example I have tools at my cottage, in my laundry room (frequent access), in my basement and probably in my shed, too. It would be great to pull them all together and make two good toolboxes.

Update: can you believe I'm still in the precontemplation phase of serious decluttering? But I finally regained some energy and don't feel compelled to nap on the couch every day. I borrowed the Marie Kondo book from the library, took copious notes, and am ready to Kondo-ize my house. Got to take advantage of the next two months of relative normalcy.

Oh, funny - I miss her!!

I'm in the thick of it now! This is my second full-time day of decluttering and so far my husband and I have finished our clothing and books. Next step is papers which is terrifying to me. My husband was game and got rid of five garbage bags of clothing and about half of his cookbooks.

I am finding it very satisfying to sort things by category as opposed to room, it really appeals to something inside me.

Kitties enjoying the process

Reading this thread made me think of this.... a little smile for your afternoon. :)

Sounds about right! Hahaha!!

I have organized my lingerie and socks drawers using Marie Kondo's method.

The "does it bring joy" though just doesn't fly with me. Sometimes things are functional and useful and not necessarily joyful.

I hate clutter. I do have too much clothing and am trying to sort it out. I also gave a lot of books to the World Books drop off at a local library.

But Robo, you are to be commended. I can't even think about dumping everything out like that.

So, you are due in July?

Oh no, November! Early days yet. But I'm picturing getting very fat and lazy around July/ August. Well even more fat and lazy than usual, I've never been a spitfire!

Robo - love your kitties and love your approach to life. Best wishes to you and your new baby. I was just with my family in Ohio and got to hold my nephew's 2-day-old daughter. What a miracle life is.

Thank you seagrass :)

I guess puppy thought we had too much tissue.

As long as it wasn't toilet paper . . . You can never have too much toilet paper!

I think I like the "category" method instead of by room. It's so much easier to find duplicates. Does "miscellaneous junk" qualify as a category?

Yes, it is called komono. And I seem to have loads of it!

Puppies rule. What a cutie.

Love your pets! Is that a Maine Coon Cat I see? I have a Shitzu who loves to tear up our TP.

We are doing a remodel, finally on our very old home. We have been talking about it but had a water disaster so now we are forced to and while in chaos I can't wait. I have lots of sentimental stuff but I will gladly get rid of a lot.

It sounds like you are nesting and I am glad your husband is on board. Your blessings are going to be huge! So happy for you.

Wow! You have gotten a lot of great advice.

I am going to add something that works for me. When I have something I am not sure of. (Usually something I should get rid of but think someone could use this.) I reason with myself, if I am moving and have to pay to move this is it worth the cost. Almost always the answer is get rid of it. Moving stuff is expensive and almost always more expensive than you plan on. Also I hate unpacking, so less is more.

I need to go through areas more than once. First time for the absolute trash and obvious things to toss. Then things I don't really like are discarded before I get to the nitty gritty - do I NEED 5 vegetable peelers or 6 blue permanent markers??? I am quite sure there are more sorts to be made too. So long as the doors and drawers shut and you can function in the house you have time to do more sorts. It takes time to switch gears from needing stuff to doing with less, it really does.

And keep it if you want to! Never let somebody pressure you into getting rid of grandma's damaged lace tablecloth or a ratty picture book just because it seems useless. Your treasures don't have to be worth anything to anybody else!

Permanently in the garage is a plastic bag lined box for on the spot discards, that shirt I decide won't do, odd book or bowl and so on. It isn't taken to the thrift on any schedule, just when it is getting full. So handy, much better than thinking you will remember to purge it next time round.

I've been watching a youtube channel, a woman that's downsizing from 5 bedrooms and moving in a few weeks. She decluttered and now she's packing and getting rid of even more stuff. I feel validated!

Getting ready for my free yard sale tomorrow (for friends). Spot the evil clown piggy bank.

It was curbside giveaway weekend in my city so got rid of a bunch of stuff there too. It has all gone. Miracle!

Yeah, I'll pass on the clown.

Curbside pick up is the best. It's like magic.

Best decluttering, downsizing tip (courtesy I think of Dave Barry): Move. Set everything in the old house on fire. Go.

No, I haven't done this, but on some days, it's tempting!!!

PS; The next best thing is watching an episode or two of Hoarders. Oh, man...

I just throw stuff out but it can be difficult if you live in a rural area. I miss living in a "town" where you could put stuff on the curb. We have to borrow a truck or with our now remodel after a flood get dumpsters. It was a one month wait and now we need another. Drywall and soaked furniture takes up a dumpster quickly.

I've been doing pretty well so far! Between my husband and I we have donated about 10 bags of clothing. A couple hundred books. Not as much kitchen stuff as I would like, but that is the husband's domain and we did get rid of a few moving boxes' worth. Took another car full of stuff to donate after the free yard sale, maybe seven or eight bags of knick knacks and kitchen ware.

I do notice a real difference between the relative proportion of stuff I have purged using the Marie Kondo method (clothing and books) and my usual method of picking through my belongings to find stuff I can let go of (knick knacks, building supplies and kitchen stuff). I did the latter out of necessity because I ran out of time, but the first is much more thorough and has led to a much greater proportion of stuff going out the door. So I do plan to follow through with the Konmari method systematically over the next few months.

The weekend give away in my city was hugely successful and everything I put out (I did not put out junk) was gone within 12 hours.

I am really stalled in the Konmari method because I went back to work, and only really have energy to clean or work in the same day, and because I am onto papers. Very tedious work and unrewarding. We have just a ton of paper to go through. The good news is I have put it all in one room and shut the door but it feels very psychologically heavy, like there's a black cloud around the room.

I find it very difficult to muster the energy to get difficult tasks done once they have accrued psychological heaviness- any time I fall behind in things this happens to me- so I am a bit of an expert on pushing through the darkness. Such a long preamble for a very short piece of advice- Just use a ten minute timer every day to get a tiny amount done- it adds up and often you'll decide to do more. You could even set a number of items you'll sort through- like just ten or 20- anything to keep the ball moving without feeling overwhelmed.

I use the number of items method sometimes, when I really don't feel like doing it. I did office work for a guy whose desk was always piled high. He would get overwhelmed and do nothing. I told him to go in and touch five things. It didn't matter what they were. But he had to eliminate them, whether that meant filing, tossing, entering data, or making a phone call. When he had touched five things, he had permission to stop.

Invariably, he would do 10, or 20, or work for an hour. Just a little momentum, with permission to stop, was all it took.

My best tip would be to have my son clean up for me. Dumpster and done.

I have to clear out my old barn in the next month to sell that property. Full of antiques and DH parents family memorabilia and my families too. Pray for me.