you are feeling overwhelmed by the clutter. As most of u know I have been decluttering in what seems like forever. Now my mom want's to come and help me. I am not ready for her help. Dh said we could have a garage sale so I didn't get rid of certain items and now he is backing out of the garage sale. I just can't afford to hire my friend all the time. Plus I now have the girls here so that is even worse. dh doesn't help and I'm not even sure I want him to since he solution is just toss everything that doesn't belong to him.

I feel like a prisoner here. I am stuck inside cleaning while everyine else gets to go outside. Even my gardens are cluttered with weeds. HELP!!

allgirls

__________________
allgirls, mom to 3 girls

What I do when I feel this way is just take one room, or section of a room, or even a counter at a time. I set goals for myself for the day, and when I get my goal done I feel like I have accomplished something. Give yourself a break too, get out in the sun and do something fun! Your house and clutter will still be there when you get back, but you do need to take a break from it. Good luck!

I use BASKETS. I declutter straight into the basket...put the basket out of sight for a few days, or sometimes weeks, and then go back through it. Anything we have missed or need to keep, I put away where it belongs. Anything we haven't missed or don't need to keep, goes to Goodwill or the garbage..the OUTSIDE garbage, where dh and the kids won't see it!!!

__________________

One tiny bit at a time!!! Just keep plucking away. You did not accumulate all that stuff at once, you can't get rid of it all at once either!

__________________
~Happiness is a large family~

Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. James 1:19

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24

I start with the room that seems to need the least "decluttering" work done. That way I don't get to overwhelmed right away and decide it's too big of a job. Then, I work my way up...to the area that needs it the most. I usually start in my guest bedroom. Then, I lock the door so the kids don't get into stuff and start bringing their toys in! Obviously it doesn't work to lock the door in most rooms- but for me I can lock this one room up and it's a huge help. I make 4 piles in every room I go through...in my "Save" pile I keep things that I use on a regular basis or have used at least a few times in the last year.
In my "Sell/donate pile" I put items that I have not used in a year and I DO NOT GO THROUGH that pile once I've put stuff into it! Because if you think twice about it, it usually ends up back in your house taking up space!
In my "THROW" pile, I just bring a big trash can and put items that are broken, not worth donating or selling and any item that is way out of date.
In my "storage pile" I put stuff that needs to be stored for the correct seasons. Then, I make 4 containers with summer, fall, winter and spring labled on them- I put these "storage" items in the proper containers.

__________________
One happy wife and mommy!!!

to just get me going with this decluttering!!!! I am trying to read all of the suggestions and hopefully I can get started on this project tonight - maybe get a couple of drawers done. I have a hard time throwing stuff away when I think of the money that I spent on it - I have got to get over that, huh?

I'm decluttering too and often feel overwhelmed. Some days I feel like what's the use no one around here helps. But If no one else cares I do and this house will one day be manageable. As I've said before on other posts we live in a 14 by 60 1998 mobile home. One day when we are more financially able we hope to add on. It's a cute house and has lots of potential. I love decorating and will never live in a home with nothing on the walls. I think my problem is mainly with storage. I've had my share of getting sidetracked and being some what of a perfectionist when it comes to getting things looking nice. I've actually scrubbed around the baseboards in my kitchen with an old toothbrush to later have company to come and see my toy strewn living room. It's kind of funny now but not so funny then. There's been times when I just moved the clutter around. My table is clear but don't look on the cabinets. One thing that I've learned is that you really need to deal with the clutter. It's good to have someone that you can share your goals and accomplishments with but I don't know if having someone to just tell you to get rid of this or that really helps. I watch those organizational shows only to wonder if it's not going to get cluttered again within a few months. There's issues that you have to deal with on your own. That's why I think I put it off alot because I have to face that fact that I waste money on cr@p.

Don't berate yourself for the money you spent on what is now clutter. Life's for living! It's not for keeping junk! I'm a pro. organizer and let me tell you, just get RID of what doesn't bring you joy! Just today, I recycled over a dozen magazines, many of which I have never read (death in the family = lots of travel = no time to read). I'm not going to worry about them; they were cluttering up my home, and new ones will come next month anyway. Dejunk a little every day! Start with easy things, like old newspapers, holely socks, and shoes that hurt your feet. Good luck!!

All right, thanks for the motivation. Now I just need to get up and do it.

__________________
:love: married to dh 7 years
ds 6, dd 4, dd 3, dd 1

I follow Flylady's system. Right now I alternate between cleaning and decluttering. There is a difference! My kids have way too much stuff, if I ask for help they part with hardly anything. If I sneak it away, they are looking for it! My house is usually clean, but definitely cluttered!

Tomorrow Amvets has a truck coming by my neighborhood, I have 4 boxes of stuff outside. I unfortunately did not declutter this stuff recently, 2 boxes were from a garage sale 2 years ago, and 2 have been in my garage waiting to be donated somewhere.
But hey, it's 4 boxes gone!

I really like Flylady's system, she says "you can do anything for 15 minutes". With an infant and 2 small kids in the house it is hard to tackle any big project. So I like breaking it into babysteps, and it took awhile for me to realize I should just TRY it her way. I thought, nah, what'll I get done in only 15 min? I was surprised. Now I try to beat my timer.

My current project is organizing the guest room/office. Our file cabinet has bills from 2003. I have been shredding like crazy, and organizing what we need to keep.

I would go spend 15 min. decluttering, one shelf, not a whole closet. Or one drawer, not the whole dresser. Don't forget to give yourself a break and get outside, give yourself some time too, even if it is 15 min!

I don't have the energy for garage sales at my house, we are in a low traffic area. I am taking stuff to a friend's in a few weeks. Whatever is left will go straight to being donated. DH thinks i should start Ebaying again, but I feel good to donate it, it is usually a better tax deduction to donate than I make from selling so lately I give it away. We need any extra money we can get, but this momma needs her sanity too!