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The junk is piling up: It’s time to get serious.
I’ve never lived in a house for more than five years in my life: I can only begin to imagine the clutter I would have collected if I didn’t regularly have to box everything up and haul it across town, between islands, or even internationally.
So, when I wrote about decluttering this week, people who’ve had the ability to hoard over decades piped up to add their advice about what they do when their possessions start to overwhelm them.
One commenter, a self-professed “former op shop addict”, who had been in their home for over 25 years, said they needed a “big skip bin” to accommodate the accumulated junk. That person is now a big fan of the regular clear-out.
I felt for another commenter who lamented that, after 45 years in one house, all this could or should go:
- – Plates, cutlery and cups and saucers
- – Ornaments
- – DVDs, VHS & Betamax video tapes and machines
- – Unused overlocker
- – Unmatched wine glasses
- – Gifted wine
- – Newspapers and clippings
No wonder she added the alarmed face emoji at the end of that comment.
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A radical declutter goes much further than sorting out clothes, but it’s a good place to start.
Other suggestions of extra categories of things that could go:
- Old towels, sheets, blankets (with a suggestion they be donated to animal shelters or the vet clinic)
- Outdated tech such as CDs, cassette tapes, LPs, and cameras
- Hobby supplies for a hobby you no longer pursue – or never got around to pursuing in the first place
On the other hand, my decision to throw out the sewing machine manual proved controversial.
Apparently, “it’s better to have it if you want to sell your machine”. “All makes and models are slightly different, one size doesn’t fit all.”
Many people thought the argument to bin greeting cards was also a bit harsh, with one commenter recounting this tale:
”The nephew of a boy I was at school with found a postcard I had sent him from our school trip to Paris in 1955. The boy suddenly died aged 17 and his sister kept his stuff. My name is unusual, so the nephew tried Facebook, and now we are great friends despite being half a planet apart.”
“Save some stuff at least” was her final advice.
Commenter ”54johanna” has a novel solution: “I slap a bit of glue on the back of cards and stick them in a scrapbook. No order, no special design. Write senders’ name and date alongside. Once I am really old and can’t do much, I will have an interesting book to look at.”
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Not all clothes are fit for donating to secondhand shops.
Many pleaded with us not to dump anything unworthy at secondhand shops. For example: “Please don’t take stuff to a charity shop unless it is clean, in working order and doesn’t smell! It’s not fair to expect them to pay to dispose of it because you don’t want to pay.”
One suggested using old clothes for cleaning, “particularly worn out cotton T-shirts etc”, saying they “make perfectly fine rags for dusting, cleaning the car, wiping the toilet seat”.
Still, many commenters waxed lyrical about the life-affirming value of decluttering, such as:
“Declutter and you suddenly have more space to live in your house, can find things, and you feel more in control of your own life. You also live the life in which you are AT NOW, not where you were 15 to 20 years ago.”
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Someone who donated to a charity felt the upsides acutely: “Now it’s with someone who will love it like I did! Truly cathartic to move forward and live in today.”
Of course, there’s always the odd contrarian. Dinky1 is apparently not on board with Swedish death cleaning: “Well, I am happily surrounded by my ‘junk’ and when I die it will no longer be my problem.”
LouisPa seconded this: “Why do I have to get rid of things if it doesn’t bother me, just because someone else tells me I should? I have told our kids that when I have passed away they can get a skip to put it in, but I live my life the way I like and enjoy it.”
