Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP but I think I get stuck keeping stuff for several reasons:

fear that I'll get rid of something and regret it later
indecision about giving away something that might have value (but not eager to take the time or effort to try to sell)
procrastination because we're not selling or moving any time soon

Any advice on overcoming those thoughts?

Storing things has a cost. Even if they are in your house, they are taking up space that you pay for and can’t then use any other way. I think of getting rid of things I might need later as paying Amazon to store them. Instead of continually adding storage costs, I agree to maybe one day pay the replacement cost.

You don’t need to be like that if your things are happily stored in your storage spaces because you don’t have more stuff than space. But if they’re not, that’s one way to think about it. It’s so, so much easier to replace things now in terms of time and ability to find them than pre-internet when you had to drive around and hope a store had something. So just pay the “fee” and get them out of your way.

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP but I think I get stuck keeping stuff for several reasons:

fear that I'll get rid of something and regret it later
indecision about giving away something that might have value (but not eager to take the time or effort to try to sell)
procrastination because we're not selling or moving any time soon

Any advice on overcoming those thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh I am the PP and I want to add one more tip that I believe in.

If you are going to have any boxes or totes that are going to stay as storage, get a p-touch labeler or a sharpie and label it with EVERYTHING that’s in there. Not “parent stuff,” not “Christmas.” My darling mother whom I love and who is fabulous and successful has boxes in the attic labeled “attic” which gives me hives. Instead, the box should have ten labels on it that say:
“Mom’s cookbooks”
“Dad’s sewing box”
“Mom’s needlepoint samplers”
“Unidentified old Christmas cards”
“Two crystal goblets that belonged to great grandmother”

That might feel weird or uncomfortable while you’re doing it, but it really, really helps later on. Even if this is all you do, it will be valuable work at some point in my opinion. But this is just my opinion.

Alternatively you number the boxes and then keep a record of what is in each numbered box. The record can be updated, which is great. It can also be lost or not easily available to others, which is not great.

Anonymous wrote:Oh I am the PP and I want to add one more tip that I believe in.

If you are going to have any boxes or totes that are going to stay as storage, get a p-touch labeler or a sharpie and label it with EVERYTHING that’s in there. Not “parent stuff,” not “Christmas.” My darling mother whom I love and who is fabulous and successful has boxes in the attic labeled “attic” which gives me hives. Instead, the box should have ten labels on it that say:
“Mom’s cookbooks”
“Dad’s sewing box”
“Mom’s needlepoint samplers”
“Unidentified old Christmas cards”
“Two crystal goblets that belonged to great grandmother”

That might feel weird or uncomfortable while you’re doing it, but it really, really helps later on. Even if this is all you do, it will be valuable work at some point in my opinion. But this is just my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:All of your overflow space (attic) is filled with other people's stuff. (I can relate! My MIL did the same thing.) Ask them to come get it or offer to put it in storage for them.

Start with one room. Have a box for donations, a box for moving upstairs, a trash bag, and a recycling bag.

When it comes to sentimentality, give yourself a big box for kid's artwork or whatever you want to keep. Visualize what you want the box to look like in 10 years when the kids are gone. Do you want reams and reams of school assignments or just a few favorite pieces in there? As you chuck the excess, feel happy while you do it. Think, "aw, how cute," and have a little moment enjoying the memories. You're not getting rid of your memories or your love. You're just choosing which pieces will best represent it in a finite amount of space.

Anonymous wrote:Do you know how I clean my house? I entertain large groups of people. I have to clean up then to host. It is extremely stressful but if I don't do that, I am quite capable of becoming an extreme hoarder. I am at heart a filthy and lazy person. Cleaning and throwing away things are hard for me. I just put myself into extreme situations to clean. Right now, I have three days left to clean my house before a big party. Do you even know how stressed I am?

OP - you have it. You got it. Do only one box at a time. Only one box. If you want to cheat and throw the content of one box in another so that you can feel you have cleaned out one box - well, in my books, even that counts.

How am I going to clean today? In about 1 hour, I will get to cleaning. I take "before and after pics" of every place I clean on my smartphone. Initially, I clean the 'already clean' spaces, and just move clutter from all the rooms to one room. That way, visually I feel I have clean space and I have cleaned many rooms.

Then, I basically do the same for the clutter-dump room. I work from one quadrant at a time. My mantra is "A yard is hard, but an inch is a cinch"

So, I will clean with specific things in mind. I will clean only one drawer. I will bag only one ziplock bag of bits and bobs. I will recycle only two containers worth of stuff. I will give away only 3 bags of laundry. I will put away only 10 things out of place. I am able to clean when some areas are very clean and all the clutter is in one room.

You can do Marie Kondo too. I use Marie Kondo for only doing all the clothes and it is very, very effective for clothes. Last time was 3 years ago.

Cleaning, decluttering, organizing, making space, repurposing, salvaging - all of these are different tasks.

Anonymous wrote:We all are drowning with stuff and want a cleaner home. That is what unites DCUM. No SAHM or WOHM issues here. Clutter and chaos unites us.

Can we all agree to buy less stuff also for just a few weeks?

Anonymous wrote:I’d start with a pencil and paper think through a strategy before you get sucked into the mess of distractions. Think about what you want you house to be, how you want it to flow, with. Also list the things you know are packed and determine where you want them.

Determine which room you need functioning first and get that room sorted before moving on.

Always have a set of bins while you are sorting and take out the trash regurally.

Anonymous wrote:You take one area of room and clean. Have three boxes;. 1. Throw away 2. Keep. 3. Not sure. Clean in 30 minutes increments. Take a break and go back. Get that area cleaned and move into next. I have a relative who was a hoarder and two of us cleaned her 12-room house this way in five days