I found the hardest thing to declutter was my childhood toys/dolls. knowing I plan to have kids in the future I felt the need to keep some of the things. I only allowed myself one bin and kept practical toys that would last like my wooden blocks, wooden train set, American girl dolls, etc. This declutter brought me back to when I went through all that stuff.
Elizabeth Grace Everyone has that thing that is hard to get rid of so it's totally normal! And yours sounds pretty sensible to me! Reusing them for your kids makes a lot of sense in my eyes 😊
Elizabeth Grace it's so stupid letting go things what have your greatest and oldest memory ....problem is you think pol that some system fix a person who don't think do this system actually work for you ...Instead minimalism use fly ladie ...... go for My great challenge ..With Sofia ...... its funny to watch and can be done with any other system buy much better results ...without regretting growing all memorabilia out ......kids don't mean always letting go a lot .....vlan garages then you found space for anything else haha haha . I Donington this today with my storage in classic English weather of wind blowing 75 m speed ..obviously inside .. haha great fun instead sloth on sofa all day .....have my cuppa and heading back for paints and brushes.
I hope that this inspires and helps some of you in your decluttering/minimalism journey! Let me know your thoughts on a declutter guide of sorts and if it is something you'd be interested in! EDIT: I have received some comments making a few assumptions about our situation and why we have left stuff in this room/why it was in this state to begin with so I just wanted to clear a couple of things up :) Firstly, we are taking things one step at a time and will address the rest of his belongings at a later stage. Secondly, we don't currently have a home to take the things to, but fully intend to when we find somewhere to live in the coming months. Thirdly this was a big deal to do in the first instance and people sometimes forget that all families and situations are different. Many people hold a lot of sentimentality to their children's things and don't like change, especially when their kids leave home. This was tricky for us to do but believe it is the first step in a positive change for Alex's family. We hope this opens the door to them seeing how getting rid of stuff can lead to positive change :) And finally, it was quite a vulnerable thing to share online in the first place so please consider this before making an assumption or judgement. People aren't perfect and I have only ever intended to share my life on here to encourage and help others who might be coming from the same position. You don't see the entire story in a video on RU-vid (as you can only share so much) so this has to be taken into account. It helps us all out if we aren't so judgemental of others' journeys to minimalism.
Madeleine Olivia wow! Phenomenal job, Madeline and Alex! Childhood things are sometimes the hardest ones to let go of, but you two made that look easy. Love the choice of song too!
That was so satisfying. And yes I would love a how to guide. I pack up my house to move but didn't end up moving. And now I have to unpack in the same house and it's so overwhelming. I don't even want to start.
Great video Maddie :) And brilliant idea to start with surfaces first and then move to drawers, wardrobe etc., because I see or hear that people often start with making huge mess taking out everything and than they're struggling to finish decluttering and organizing. I'm myself guilty of that, to be honest. Once again, thank you for his video, it's very inspiring, I want o declutter right now :)
jeff hayward I will definitely be making a guide! My best advice is to just start. Start with one box today and it will slowly get done. Don't think about it all just think and deal with one bit at a time and it will get done! Make a list even!
Your Harry Potter illustration is SOO CUTE! And good!! I love the style, and I love HP. I'm currently re-reading the series for the first time since they originally came out so I'm extra obsessed now. haha
Yes to a minimalistic decluttering series, can't wait. I hope to this yr go to my parents and declutter all my books that are in the loft. I actually can not wait to do this and hope I find my Beatrix potter collection from my grandma and hope its not ruined from being up in the loft xx
i love videos that show unperfect rooms and makes it perfect, just like this. i love to collect things and its hard to get rid of any of them cause obviously they mean something to me :-)
This takes me back, I just did this a month ago at my parents house especially in the attic! The things we accumulate in one lifetime is incredible 😳 Glad I'm more minimalist now!
I know it really put it into perspective for me. We gather so many things and are so wasteful sadly! Makes me want to work harder on my footprint on this planet!
Madeleine Olivia I know! I am trying to work on this as well but it's still a struggle because we are so set in our old ways. Sometimes I still don't think twice when going grocery shopping... I'm on my way to try and reduce my use of plastic in particular! It's everywhere!!!
Wow, you did such a great job, it looked so overwhelming at first, but you were really systematic getting it organised. And Alex was so good at letting go. I finally donated a childhood toy that I'd been keeping for years, I didn't want to just give it to the charity shop, so I donated it to a local nursery, it felt great to know that it would get a second life and other kids would play with it.
I actually love the sink in the bedroom! How great for washing your face at night. The only places in the states I've ever seen that is in a hotel or dorm room!
Great job Maddie and Alex, you did flipping awesome sorting, reorganising and donating :). I particularly loved the part of the Vlog where you actually dropped the items off in there respective places. Reduce, reuse and recycle 😊
Madeleine Olivia I know I always do my research but am continually shocked that people don't know how or where to get rid of there things. A lot of vloggers never show this process or go into any detail about where there taking there stuff or what options you have.
That was very inspiring! Re-purposing and recycling is always best. It can be hard to let go, but that opens space for growth and the new. Room looks great :-)
His room is a lot like my boyfriends childhood bedroom was when I first met him too! Crazy how much we can store like that! It looks much better now :)
I like being surrounded my stuff becuase it makes me feel cosy and comforts me. I still have all of my childhood teddys on my bed and all of my childish stuff on the walls
and in addition: when you start with the surfaces, it keeps you more motivated because you can see a huge difference which wouldn't be the case if you start with everything inside. keeping yourself motivated is very important if you want to continue- at least that's what i found out .
It's so true that finding the time is difficult. I am mostly done with my decluttering process, but I have I think 2 large boxes to go through at my parents' house. They have things like old papers I drew in elementary school in them, and I want to scan some of these things in because I'm pretty sure the papers are moldy or will get moldy.
Wow! Such a big difference! That's so inspiring. I already begun my journey, and I think Before/After pictures are the most satisfying, even if it's others. Yours are absolutely stunning! *-*
Charterhouse! Very fancy! (I used to work near there in Godalming. Such a nice area!) I really wish I knew somebody with a room like this, I'd have so much fun decluttering it with them.
Hi ;) so kind of you, the parents should be happy too ;) I did it many years ago, i felt it liberating and happy to sense that things will serve others now or been recycled and this video inspired me to turn back to parents house soon to help my younger brother to do it maybe and keep helping my parents to declutter ;) as they feel it i feel :) thank you for your inspiration and thank you to Alex too to open his private child bedroom to inspire other to let go ;) as it can be intimate to share houses and all :) you are cute together ;) kiss kiss from France ;)
This is SO sweet! You two are adorable. I love how thoughtful, kind, and respectable - yet, playful you are to one another. This is a very difficult thing to do ... as a mother, we have to do this with our child's things countinously and it is always 'bittersweet' ... even though I dislike that term. Good on you all for doing this esp you for the amount of physical energy you put into this! Thank you for sharing this experience with others.
It is so strange how this video easily made me feel more comfortable when I realised that my room is not like this anymore :D my next-stop of declutter is our country house (bedroom full of old books/duves/clothes/garden supplies). looking forward to do it!
I would transfer the stuff to the two 3-drawer dressers and take down the shelves. Then move the bed to the wall with shelves and use the two dressers as night stands and get rid of the larger dressers.
I have been decluttering my room when I was a kid, so the first shot of the room in the video was a bit shocking 🤓😀 but you did a great job clearing it out!
Have you done your childhood bedroom? I know you went through your wardrope of fancy occasion dresses that used to be in your old room but not sure if you did a video and I've missed it. Just wondering 😊
I have always decluttered as I have grown up so there isn't really a great deal of old childhood stuff in there! It's been turned into a guest room/arts and crafts room. I think there might be some old art work of mine and a few other random things but not a lot!
Excellent work! To be honest, if I ever left a lot of stuff in my old room my parents would bother me to come back and clean it all up or just throw it all away. Lol.
Wow, you both did such a good job! Well done, it must of been very hard. Alex, did the fact that you no longer 'live' in this room make decluttering/letting go any easier?
My problem w decluttering s mostly just the work bc i'll begin and then i either get tired or bored and stop then it's hard fr me to continue since i won't be in the mood anymore
I left almost of my furniture there since they have guest a lot and it is my moms not mine. All I have is a few things like dolls and babies in a tote which she uses for her grandchildren (and my son) to play with when they visit. The only stuff there that is mine is a couple of my wedding items like my dress.
Probably because a lot of this stuff is childhood stuff so you wouldn’t need it in your adulthood (hence the clearout) and then the furniture is your parents furniture so you wouldn’t take that - my parents have guests in my room all the time so they need my bed. Where I’m from all rented accommodation comes with furniture as well so there’s no need/space for me to take my bed/desk with me. I also have moved to 4 new places in college, and 4 new places SINCE college, so I only take the bare minimum of what I need with me and I intend to go back and clear out my childhood bedroom/take the remainder of things with me when I finally buy my own place.
I am an aspiring minimalist. I do live in the same city as my parent's and sometimes my mom especially asks me to come over and help her clean. Can you make a video on ways to help people who want to get started but are finding it hard? Maybe challenges, easy things to get rid of, tips or just a playlist if you already have some of these..
I’m currently on day three of decluttering my own room. Wardrobe completely done (this included giving old dusty clothes a good wash and getting rid of three big baskets of clothes), and I’ve sorted through my bookcase and am selling and giving away all my books except some textbooks I still need and some cookbooks. My Harry Potter books are not in a good enough condition to give away as I wrote in them and stuff as a kid. I can’t bring myself to throw them out and replace them so I know how Alex must feel doing his childhood room lol. Onto my makeup and jewellery. Yikes.
I'm sorry for the random question. I know that you went to vegfest in London. Is it worth going the two days or should I just stick with the Saturday? Thanks.
My childhood bedroom is basically empty, except for one tidy bookshelf filled with a little bit of memrobelia. The part that scares me however is all the toys that are stored away in my parents house...
The thing that takes up the most clutter in my room is clothing. I wish I could have a minimalist wardrobe but I work in a professional career and in an office everyday so I find it impractical to reduce my wardrobe too much. Not sure if there's any tips for minimizing clothing while still working in an office everyday?
TheLyricalHorror I've seen people who have small capsule style seasonal wardrobes, and working in an office having a few key pieces you can mix and match together or style differently with accessories can be a good way to downsize I believe, but really it's such a personal thing and there's no need if you don't want to
TheLyricalHorror you can go through your wardrobe every 6 months and see how you feel about the items and assess the state of the items (do they fit well, do i like the color, would i still buy this today, is the item in good condition?). after you do that you can decide which items to keep, donate, or trash.
Any ideas on where to recycle old shoes? I took my winter boots out and was going to donate a pair but they were too far gone, the sole was hanging off and the faux leather was peeling. My local recycling centre won't take shoes as they're a mixed materials item, the only option seems to be the bin, I don't fancy up-cycling them into a plant pot or anything like that. I love that I can recycle my rubber soled pumps, but I'm at a loss as to what to do with old boots!
Lol I love Homes under the Hammer too. Had a moment of panic seeing your bare feet on top of electric wires. Hey I'm with Alex on this.. no one is too old for Harry Potter.. and if anyone says that to me, I reply - no one asked for your opinion Muggle. Lol.
It is such a payback to donate. It was hard for me to let go of my grown children's things. I wish they had taken care of the items but they just left for me to manage.
I would be wary of assuming that the clothes going to other countries are a good thing. Honestly, it does more harm than good. Would highly recommend the documentary Poverty Inc. for more info. Enjoyed your video by the way, keep it up!
I love this video! So nice that you were able to help Alex with this. :) I’m decluttering my place as well using the KonMari Method. It’s very similar to how you are doing it, but instead of by room it’s by category of items. It’s going really well so far. :) If you have time, come check out my channel. I can’t wait to see more of your videos!
