This  retirement gig has some serious ups and downs – particularly during a pandemic. We managed to have our road trip interstate and have been madly preparing our home for the next stage of our lives i.e. selling up and moving out. But, there are a few issues that have arisen that have made this process a bit tricky. As a result there are days when we feel that we are not achieving anything and our new, future life seems a long way off.  I am talking about the decluttering process. As I write this we don’t have all the answers to overcoming our current problem but I can tell you how we have approached it so far!!! To take our really big step forward (that fourth step to retirement) and get out of this big, old house we need to get rid of all the junk – sometimes referred to as ‘treasure’.

Decluttering  your house – a bigger problem than you might think! 

Everyone I speak to about this problem has their two cents worth of advice and so I try to piece it all together and apply it to current situation.

Why declutter? Because when we put our house on the market for sale we want people to be able to see the potential in our house. We don’t want to spend thousands of dollars renovating an old house because if we do it could just be money down the drain. People these days will rip out a brand new kitchen or bathroom just because it is not quite perfect for them (This snippet of information is directly from our plumber who sees this first hand!!!). So as an alternative, we need to clear the decks, show how big the rooms are and how much storage space we have etc. We will paint and probably re-carpet so the house is fresh but the bigger issue now is moving out all the stuff.

The right way is the hard way

If you want to dispose of all the clutter in your house and keep within the current laws of the land it is quite a complex process. For example, you can take a Bluray or DVD to a charity shop but they won’t take VHS tapes. These tapes can’t be disposed of in general garbage or as Tech waste. So what to do with them? We are still not quite sure but we will keep you posted.

Another problem is disposal of building materials. One of our children collected timber for furniture making. He moved interstate and left us with loads of wood. We can’t put it out for a clean up and must now find a specialist waste collector.

Glass and paint are two other items that are tricky in terms of disposal as are cement and gardening chemicals.

Oh and don’t get me started on the piano. Apparently 80 year old pianos are not antiques, they are just a problem waiting to be smashed up. And that will only happen after I pay someone I pay loads of money to take it away! Perhaps we could just leave it in the loungeroom when we move and no one will notice – after all it hasn’t been moved in 25 years so surely it has just become part of the house anyway???

And what about the stuff left behind by the kids?

I have heard a few stories about ridding the house of the children’s belongings. One idea was to give them 6 months to come and collect  after which all would be thrown out. Another idea was to place their stuff in a box and drop it off to them when you visit. Another is to tell them to put it into storage. These ideas might suit you but for our family they either live too far away or have no space for storage themselves. We are also holding on to much more than 2 boxes each – more like a room worth of ‘treasure’ for each child.

So how to we solve the problem of clutter?

• The main thing to do is to put on your ‘ruthless hat’. This is so important because you need to feel comfortable about throwing things away. Put sentiment aside and take photos of the special items – these can fuel your memories.
• Secondly, make sure you talk to your family members about their belongings. Tempting as it may be to just throw everything out, it will end in tears!! Come to an understanding then send them the photos!
• Once you are ready to move ahead check out all the places/[people who might just be interested in your ‘treasure’! Charity shops, council collections, freecycle and swap sites on Facebook, recycling places, churches and schools etc. You can waste your time with this though as it seems that there is a glut of certain items e.g. no one wants very old pianos. Be very specific about what you want to give away – and a word of advice, don’t try to sell anything, it is hard enough to give things away!!! I have been trying to give this cupboard away for weeks now and every person who expresses interest lets me down. I’m sure they would love me to pay them for the cost of pick up and removal.

• You could try a garage sale but personally I think they are a waste of effort.
• And lastly, be prepared to pay for waste removal and destruction. This is where the ‘ruthless hat’ comes in again – do not become emotional about that piano or wonderful old cupboard. If no one wants it then you just have to throw it away.

Of course if you are reading this before you have had a chance to collect all this stuff – throw it away before you start your pile of ‘treasure’. Your children will not want their plastic toys when they are 20 years old.

What Next?

Finding the next place to live…. But that is a story for next time, hopefully.

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Until next time,

 

 

 

 

Gillian (and Andrew)