What is the secret to "de-cluttering" your home? I have so much trouble getting rid of things.?

Question

You might say donate, ebay, or throw items away, right? I mean, that's logical. ...but when I open up a closet and start sorting, memories return. Every item is tied with a nostalgic event. These items fill up holes in my life and bring me to better times. I get sidetracked, remembering my most valuable player award when I look at my letter jacket, there's that prom dress where I thought I'd shock everyone with a skimpy black dress, fishnets, and a feather boa, there are my dance class costumes, my track spikes, my shin guards from our champion soccer team, rock band t-shirts from concerts of long-dead rock stars, a Hypercolor T-shirt, a vampire cloak, a trenchcoat with glow paint from the haunted house I volunteered at, a dead flower from when a knight chose me as the beautiful princess at medieval times, 100s of action figures/collectibles, & the BEANIE BABIES..it gets ridiculous... I need to de-clutter, so I can stop living in the past. Have you organized your home? How? Help!

Answer 1

you can either put things in storage, put them in your attic if you have one, or make decorations out of the small things. i recently moved and had to throw alot of my nostalgic stuff away. trust me, you won't feel so bad if you do!

Answer 2

A picture can say a thousand words, memories will live on. So take the pictures, and get rid of the junk. Make room for the new memories. But keep the dearest things in a box. A Box, only one box. Then just do it.

Answer 3

I have the same problem. I hold on to everything. I then realized that bu the time I'm 40 I will have to buy a second house for all of my things. I have started taking photos of my nostalgic items and am now making a scrapbook. It brings back a lot of memories and you can save space. A 12X12 album takes up alot less space that a 50 gallon Rubbermaid container of old costumes and mementos!

Answer 4

This article might help you a little bit, it is about all the emotions that come with a cluttered home.  Just remember, all that "stuff" doesn't make you who you are.  Concentrate on your relationships, and serving others, and your life will begin to improve.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Clutter-Help--...

Answer 5

Take photos of all the stuff that give you those special memories and keep the photos in a special album. A photo album takes far less space than the actual items. Don't be a hoarder ......SHEESH! JUST DO IT!

Answer 6

well start in a room lets say yours and little by little get rid of things then move on to the next room and the next and so on..then after you kow it all the junk is gone.

Answer 7

When you aren't sure you need or want it throw it away. Only the things you are sure you want should be kept. Also, hire a teen to go through and throw things away. You will save yourself the pain of losing it because you won't know it's gone.

Answer 8

hope this gives you an idea...

http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/living...

Answer 9

take pictures and get rid of items.  give the beanies and action figures to kids in the hospital.

Answer 10

keep it only if it is  what you really use. If you haven't used it in 6mths to to year get rid of it!

Answer 11

If I haven't seen, used, missed/needed, or worn something in the past 12 months then I don't need it. Forget about "when I lose that last 10 pounds" stuff, "maybe the kids will want this later", or "maybe I can find a use for this". those mind sets get you nowhere fast and you end up in a literal pile of stuff and frustration. i bet you have pics of a lot of those moments that you can look at so the stuff really isn't important. My favorite thing to do is take stuffed toys and gently used clothing to the local homeless shelter. There are so many people out there that could use that nice clothing to help get a job or even just to stay warm at night. I know of two thrift stores in my town that rent old costumes and sell wedding dresses for $3 to help the less fortunate. Dive in and help your fellow man with your lovely contributions and save your memorable pics to put into a wonderful album to reminisce with.

Answer 12

The secret is to make three piles:

items you definitely want to give away

items you definitely want to keep

items you're not sure about.

If there's any doubt, put it in the unsure pile.  Take everything in that pile and store it somewhere for six months.  If it's still in storage after six months, get rid of it.

Also, take pictures of the things you love, so you always have memories even when the stuff is gone!

Answer 13

If I haven't used anything in the past 2 years I donate it. Meaning anything you haven't worn, used, or touched in that time period are gone. If you aren't using it why keep it? Memories are forever, you don't need the items to remind you. If you still feel a connection take a picture of each item and place it in a "memory" photo box. Better yet, have pictures of us IN the prom dress, IN the track spikes, wearing the clothes and playing with the toys. This will save so much space!

Law

Answer 14

I used to have a bunch of Stuff too, I felt such a feeling of release when I just got rid of it all, I threw it all away, I don't regret it, in fact it's helped me to not keep things now.....I did it with my brutally honest neice, who just started tossing things, I couldn't believe it, maybe you need a person like that to give you a hand......You will always have those memories....Take pictures of everything first....make a memory book of them, explaining each picture...that way you could share it easier with those you want to see it!!!!

Answer 15

it took me awhile too. one thing i did was look at stuff and asked myself "will i ever really wear/use this again?" if the answer was no, what i did was take a picture of it and after i got enough pics of "memories", i made a fun photo album that way i could look back on everything but not have it clutter up my whole room. i love looking through that album now, its so much fun!

Answer 16

i know wat u mean...i have alot f things that make up a part in my life. Why dont you try putting aside a small closet or area where u keep all ur memories. And ask urself this: what is the improtance? is it worth dying for? and does it afect me in a good way? if the first ? is reasonable, and the other 2 are yes, then keep it. and put in those little plasic darwers for small stuff, and shelfs for big stuff and all/ maybe u could give ur beanie babies and kiddie stuff to a close family member, so that the importance will live on.

Answer 17

save just the things that bring good memories and have a garage sale i'am sure someone else could use it and it will make you feel a lot better if you gave to cherity

Answer 18

You just have to be brutal. If you have that hard of a time with it, put stuff in a box in the garage or attic for 3 months, if you don't think about it or miss it, you can let go. Good luck.