Do you ever do clutter clearing?

Well done on doing one room at a time. I hope that you do get your new house. I know what you mean about being a paper pack rat. One of my friends has moved on to paperless billing. She still has to keep all the old bank statements and other important papers. I have a filing cabinet with two drawers. I suggest filing every Monday and getting rid of useless paperwork every six months say 1st February and 31st August. Good luck.

If you can take a day (I know, that in itself may seem impossible) and clear it out. Get a fireproof box for important stuff (passports, birth certificates, mortgage agreement, deed to house, etc). As for the old bills, if it's more than 30 days old, shred it. The company that bills you is required to keep those records for at least 3 years, so there's no reason for you to have a second copy. Once a bill's been payed, I keep the statement until the next one shows up (no file cabinet needed; I just have one accordion file that I keep in the drawer with the checkbook and such). As for paying the bills, I pay them as soon as I check the mail each day. They're all online, so really I just have to log into my bank account and fill in the amount and date I want it paid (addresses and such are stored by the bank). Then I write it in the check register as if the check were already cashed--that way I don't have to remember it when the check clears 2 weeks later. When I put the statement into the accordion file, the old one gets shredded. I know it's a bit ocd, but my husband was so disorganized when he was in charge of the bills that when I took them over, I think I overcompensated. Anyways, that's what works for me. Hope it helps!

Thanks for the advice. I have many ideas on how to keep it organized but very few ideas on how to get it there to begin with now that I am sooooo unorganized. It's really quite pathetic!

I like to get things recycled if I possibly can and send some things to charity. I can see that you would find it difficult to do clutter clearing. Your grandmother is sensitive and I know that you wouldn't want to upset her by getting rid of unwanted things. Having lots of clutter means it takes longer to clean. I like to collect things like costume dolls from around the world.

Yes, having a husband like yours makes clutter clearing tricky. Things I thought might have been handy weren't because I couldn't find them. A place for everything and everything in it place is what I would like to achieve. I was having trouble with my books so I told myself I could only keep what I could fit on my book shelves. The bag of books I have cleared will be going to the charity shop. Attics are places full of forgotten items for most people.

Wow! Thanks for your excellent response and words of wisdom "tidy house, tidy mind". You did so very well to do a really big clutter clearing session and get rid of everything that you didn't use. I am sure the charity shops were grateful and it sounds like your were so much happier to become clutter free. My house looks great now and my shed and loft are future projects.

Hi Ellie. I think you have made a great start with your clutter clearing. I ought to get my unwanted paperwork shred instead of cut up. That would save me time I think. Your under stairs cupboard sounds packed but it is an excellent place to keep things to Ebay. I got rid of all my videos and then ordered ten DVDS. Last week I was sorting out my shed when it began to rain so I gave up. It feels great to say that I have completed my clutter clearing. I hope Ziggy is settling in really nicely. Take care. Maxine