How to declutter?!

I have desided I need to declutter our house and am after tips on where to start and how?!
We dont have a lot of storage space at all,...like DD's room doenst even have a wardrobe, and with #3 on the way, we really need some extra space!

What do u do about things that u may uses again one day in the very distant future, and havent used for years- to u hang on to them like we have or get rid,...Im talking diving gear, ski clothing etc.

And what about setimental stuff that cant be displayed but doesnt serve any perpose- we have boxes of stuff from our 2 yrs in London that we dont really wanna chuck, but have probably opened about twice in 8 years!

The kids have way way too many toys, many that they never touch- they are mostly sorted into those big warehouse containers, but what else can I do to reduce the toy clutter inside? We dont like many toys left in the lounge, and they have a toy room where the toys are stored joined to DD;s room- but they hardly ever play in there. What can I do to make them wanna ply in there instead of dragging it all out in the lounge?!

TIA!

Try the flylady website for decluttering ideas???

One great idea for clothes I heard of once was to hang all your clothes with the hanger back to front and once you wear an item hang it back up the right way. Then after about 3-6 months anything that still has the hanger back to front goes!

Pudgy- She has 2 sets of drawers but Ive condensed in into one set and put her out-of-season clothes in boxes on top of our wardrobe, so that the baby can have one set of her drawers. Her and Aiden will be sharing a room and will have a small single wardrobe to share and a chest of drawers each.

I hadnt thought of storing stuff in the roof. We have insulation up there- will the stuff go mouldy or anything?
We have a single garage which has firewood stacked along one side and basically a massive pile of junk taking up the rest of the room. OInce we have decluttered the house we will borrow a trailer and take the junk and the junk from the garage to the tip after weve sorted dtuff to sell and give away.

Might have to think about some sort of sheleving for the garage- thats a good idea- then we can store the toy boxes out there too and rotate into the house, meaning less stuff in the toy room at once.

Might get some underbed storage stuff too.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

The sking gear is just clothing, but will be expensive to replace and we wont worry about if its fashionaable cos if we do eventually go sking it wont be a regular thing, just a few day visit with the kids.

The dive gear is worth heaps and DH does wanna get back into it, but cant see it happening.

Have sorted the playroom and kids toys in their rooms today- they still have way too many tho I think. Chucked a heap of broken stuff and Mc'd's toys etc, and have a bag of very decent toys that we have double ups off- like we have 3 shape sorters- and will gift them to charity.

It has taken us all day- DS was in his pj's all day, lol,...but was having a ball washing the side of the garage then making mud puddles and riding his bike through them, lol! We were sorting the garage- have a heap of junk to throw away now- sorted all their toys inside and out- chucked all the cracked or broken sandpit and outdoor stuff too, and now have a container to store in in. Have now got more than half of their toys in the garage, and will rotate them into the house every few weeks.
DS's room is looking great- havent tackled his wardrobe- but Ive sorted it heaps, I just need to actually give back and give away the stuff in there that we dont need then there will be a bit of space- the more we do the more I can see that we can do too- like stuff in the top kitchen cupborads that is never touch. We now have a plan to move the kids into the same room during the easter holidays- so that if its terrible and Isla keeps getting woken up, then at least she hasnt got school!

I will go against the grain and say that storing a lot of stuff in your roof cavity is not a good idea. My best friends house across the road from us burnt down when we were kids, they had their ceiling space filled with all sorts of stuff and it was what fueled the fire, helped it spread quickly and made putting it out very difficult. The firemen gave everyone within ear shot a warning about not doing it. At present we have our suitcases up there but that is all.

Haha, I know what you mean. We sorted our garage out a while ago to be able to park in there and it was a mission!

I love to declutter also as too much stuff around the place drives me insane, maybe because I am the one that picks it all up & finds places for it.

At the moment I am doing clothes. With having all boys DS3 has all he clothes handed down to him & has a few bits new. I need to work out how much of 1 item they need & then either put the rest away for DS2/3 or get rid of it. We now have a dryer after not having one for 2yrs so I need extra kids clothes & now that all 3 are at school & have uniforms I don't need as much day clothes. Not sure how much to keep per child yet...

The other major is toys & as they are getting older there are lots that are not played with any more...I am trying to focus them on the stuff I know they will put the hours in with & not the stuff flashed before them on tv.

I also have boxes when sorting & I get ruthless when doing it alone