House & Home Decluttering tips

Discussion in 'Living Room' started by Gockie, 28th Dec, 2015.

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  1. Travelbug

    Travelbug Well-Known Member

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    Haha!. I started a year ago when I was thinking of retiring. I made myself throw something out every day. I had 14 filing drawers full of stuff, :eek: Teachers are BAD hoarders. Every night I would pull one out and put it in front of me in the loungeroom and go through it. I'm down to a 4 drawer and a 2 drawer. Some teacher files still to go.
    Threw out half my wardrobe plus LOTS of other clutter. Stuff I didn't even remember I had. Crazy!

    Yes it feels great to get rid of stuff. When we moved from our first PPOR we had stuff in boxes for 3 months. I figured we didn't really need whatever was in there. We had a garage sale and chucked the rest. Wish I knew this years ago.:rolleyes:

    Have a look at a site Becoming Minimalist It's great. I sent everyone their Christmas ideas list. No clutter!
     

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    Travelbug, 29th Dec, 2015
    #21
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  2. beachgurl

    beachgurl Well-Known Member

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    I recently liked that site. I enjoy reading the articles - short, simple but very relevant
     
    beachgurl, 29th Dec, 2015
    #22
  3. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    My wife has thrown stuff of mine out and it upsets me. Not the fact that they've gone, but the fact that she's done things with my stuff without asking permission. 99 times out of 100 I would probably say yes but that 1% can hurt; the fact of her assuming ownership of my things does damage to our relationship without her realising it.
     
    geoffw, 29th Dec, 2015
    #23
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  4. Heinz57

    Heinz57 Well-Known Member

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    Never looked at it like this. I think women just see junk taking up useful space
     
    Heinz57, 29th Dec, 2015
    #24
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  5. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

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    Good point - although I don't actually throw anything of his away ... it's more that he has so much "stuff" in his shed, he can't find what he's looking for
     
    Lizzie, 29th Dec, 2015
    #25
  6. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    Our new house (settling in Feb!!) has two storage rooms... I said one is for him, one is for me. He can keep whatever he wants in his... I'm a bit afraid he will clutter up the garage too though
     
    Gockie, 29th Dec, 2015
    #26
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  7. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I get this. Hubby got into "clear the clutter" mode and emptied a sideboard onto the dining table a couple of weeks before Christmas last year. Not only did he put out things I had kept hidden from our kids (grown up, but didn't need to see their "surprises" before Christmas), but he also had put out the little bag with my late mother's funeral mementos so I could decide what I wanted to keep.

    I was so angry with him for that. I hadn't been able to face that task even five years on and they went straight back in the cupboard until I am up to dealing with them. I felt defiled. My kids saw the things I'd been keeping tucked away and I don't think he will do that again. My mother's mementos being plonked in a "keep or not?" pile was the worst. He may not have looked in the bag?

    He has also given away things without asking me, sometimes with friends saying "I like that" (antique copper kettle) and he hands it over. He would give you the shirt off his back, but when he thinks he can do it without asking me... well he tends to run it past me first now after I went ballistic a few times.
     
    wylie, 29th Dec, 2015
    #27
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  8. JenW

    JenW Well-Known Member

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    Ouch, wylie. Hopefully he's learned never to do that again!
     
    JenW, 29th Dec, 2015
    #28
  9. vtt

    vtt Well-Known Member

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    If your wife threw out something that was dear to you or special then I totally see your point. However if she is throwing out the envelope from your read mail, your empty chocolate wrapper or even your shoes that have gone mouldy and can't be saved then the 1% you mention is emotional not rational thinking.

    Having an orderly home requires quite a bit of discipline. If one party does not reasonably declutter then the other party either gives up and the home potentially becomes a "collectors" paradise or they attempt to take control, generally out of desperation.

    It could be argued that the person that does not want to discard the item is exhibiting dominant control behaviour by refusing to part with an item that does not have value (emotional or otherwise) with the knowledge that it has a negative impact on their partner.

    Hoarders are at the extreme end of the spectrum in that they cannot psychologically disassociate themselves from the item, believing it has "value" when it very often does not. People with this disorder will often say that the item may be useful for something in future, even if it's broken or damaged. Therefore their rational perception of value has become distorted.

    Not saying you're a hoarder but is that item that is in the 1% really worth getting affected by?
     
    vtt, 30th Dec, 2015
    #29
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  10. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    Gockie, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #30
  11. balwoges

    balwoges Well-Known Member

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    You and I will be moving house at the same time, I've been cleaning out for months and doing repairs for sale of house - I just hope the owner of the house I am moving into is doing the same, never seen a house so cluttered, agent wasn't able to take photographs of downstairs because of so much furniture and the poor man who did the P & B report couldn't see all he wanted in the garage. Every drawer/cupboard I opened was stuffed to the top :eek:
     
    balwoges, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #31
  12. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    Oh dear. Good luck @balwoges. I'm going to sell mine after moving into the new place but I really want to bring a minimal amount of stuff across. I feel my partner will need a heap of encouragement to throw anything out.
     
    Gockie, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #32
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  13. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    I once had to clean out the unit of a hoarder who had been evicted- but we still had to store his stuff. It was a filthy horrible job. It was only a 1BR unit but with just a narrow alley through the piles of junk from the front door to the kitchen and to the bedroom. But the before and after (we subsequently renovated) was the biggest contrast of any I had done, and of most I have seeno.
     
    geoffw, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #33
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  14. Bayview

    Bayview Well-Known Member

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    We seem to keep moving houses so bloody often we find it easy. I am not a hoarder by any stretch.

    We have yard sales with every move we've made, and clear out loads of stuff, and donate whatever isn't sold - if they'll take it, and if they don't; off to the tip.

    I will help with the set-up for a yard sale, but I refuse to actually attend and do the yard sales though; my tolerance for "Steptoe hagglers" over 50cents or a dollar is now zero....bad attitude I know.

    (Same with hagglers in those 3rd world places at their markets - the stuff is bloody cheap already, and the folks are starving; pay them what they ask ffs)

    So, now my wife does them while I watch the kids/play golf. :cool:
     
    Bayview, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #34
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  15. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    I'm about to bin all my trophies except for 2...
    20160102_182108.jpg 20160102_181604.jpg
     
    Gockie, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #35
  16. balwoges

    balwoges Well-Known Member

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    My daughter and her partner are about to set off on a trip around Australia, she has brought back for me to look after kitchen ware, winter clothes, photographs etc. etc. and ALSO her car, her partner has left all his belongings at his parents.

    I have to take all this with me as well :eek: :eek: :eek:
     
    balwoges, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #36
  17. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    You have my sympathies!
     
    Gockie, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #37
  18. Chilliblue

    Chilliblue Well-Known Member

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    Council clean up in one week @Gockie
     
    Chilliblue, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #38
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  19. DaveM

    DaveM Well-Known Member

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    Can you melt them down into a gold ring door knocker for your new ppor? Shame for all those years of doing the splits to go to waste
     
    DaveM, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #39
  20. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    The trophies were mostly for volleyball...
     
    Gockie, 2nd Jan, 2016
    #40
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