I love ethernet cables too! You never know, when it's going to come in handy!

I grew up in my granddads workshop (he was a blacksmith) where he would have so much clutter, that he would spend most of his days, looking for something that he had lost. When he died, my dad and my brother spend an entire summer cleaning out the shop, and a lot of it was just trash really. Litteraly!
He wasn't a horder - you just never knew if you suddenly found a use for half a soda bottle, or half of a broomstick! (you decide which half is most useful - he probably had both halfs).

So you see, I also kind of had a nack for "you never know, if this might become of use some day - I better keep it" growing up. It's amazing the shit you can accumulate over time, when your default is to KEEP stuff - rather than just get rid of it. In recent years, I've gotten better at getting rid of stuff - but my default is still to keep it - just in case!...When we moved last year, we packed 97 large moving boxes (my wife numbered them, and kept track of what was in them in a spreadsheet, so the friends who helped us move could place them in the correct rooms - they were pretty amazed by the level of organization in that move!). To this day (more than 1 year later) we still have 10-15 boxes that haven't been unpacked. We probably also have 10-15 boxes worth of stuff besides that, that we don't need!

This summer, I'll get rid of it! I promise...maybe...- You never know, if half a soda bottle might come in handy! :P

Haha, you're exactly like my partner :)

I am an only child so growing up my house was generally quite tidy and clutter free. It's probably why I get so agitated when my own home is a mess now I'm grown up. My partner, on the other hand, lived with 2 other siblings and had quite a toy filled, cluttered home.

It's funny how much our parents influence us :)

You should read that book with me! It's meant to do wonders for kicking yourself into gear. Knowing my luck, I'll need all the ethernet cables as soon as I chuck them away! I just went and Googled the cost of an ethernet cable and I found one for £2.79. I don't think they're worth all the space they're taking up haha!

Hmm. I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I love to read, but this book has too much of a "self-help"-book vibe for my blood. However, check this out:

Marie Kondo will help you declutter your life with her new major Netflix series Organise the World with Marie Kondo, coming soon

I already have netflix! $10 saved right there! :P HAHA!

Oooo, awesome!!

Thanks for sharing this :D Unfortunately it's US Netflix at the moment, but I'm sure I can use a VPN or proxy to get it :P

Let me know how you get on!

I have absolutely no urge to be or live as a minimalist. I like being surrounded by stuff and in fact, this is one reason I've barely bought anything these past few years because I don't need to!

However, I would very much like to reduce some of my stuff - I'm a lot older than you so have many more years of stuff accumulated, particularly during decades when things were not digital so were in paper form! Think photos and photo albums!

I don't think my clutter gets to me so badly but I'm sure there will be benefits to reducing it!

Anyway, you are sure to be getting some hints from the book you are currently reading (we're reading the same one :-D)

Yeah, I think things that you have an emotional attachment to, like photos, are harder to cull. I listened to a TedTalk once that said things like that you should just take a picture of to store. It's difficult though, just like giving away a book. Can hold a lot of memories!

Oooh, I've just realised :D I'm going slow with that one as I'm making notes for a review. I'm on the chapter about minimalism now :D We should start a book club!

I love the idea of a book club but I like the freedom to read what I want, when I want, so struggle with the limitations of having to read a specific book within a specific time.

That said, we appear to have similar tastes in reading so perhaps something to consider in the future, if I know I'll be reading genres I'll enjoy! :-)

Decluttering and living more minimalist is very high on my list of things that I want to do. I completely agree with you that it is coherent with the FIRE mindset. Like you I've tried a few times but "stuff" always builds back up...it's got to the point where I dread birthday or Christmas presents a little because I'm going to have find somewhere to put them.

I know for a fact that we don't use most of our stuff as we moved into a rental for 18 months between houses and put most of our gear into storage. There was hardly anything that we missed in that time.

I think the key is to do little and often but just to keep going with it until it becomes a habit or a way of life. For example I find books to cull a bookshelf that I thought was completely pared back when I come back to it a year or so later. I find that my mind just needs a bit of time to get used to the idea.

I would love to hear how you get on with this when you've got into it for a while.

I have the exact feeling around present giving. My partners mum is the worst for this. When we were living in a tiny 1 bedroom flat, she thought it would be an awesome idea to buy a wall picture that was no joke around 2 meters long. The picture was embroidered flowers, but worst that that - it couldn't actually fit on any wall! The cost was said to be a lot as she had the frame custom made (probably because it was so bloody big!) So, we couldn't just say we didn't like it. We lived with this behemoth leaned against the wall vertically behind the sofa for over a year. We then finally had the courage to say "Would you mind looking after it for us until we have a bigger house, it's too big." We're hoping she forgets.

Recently she bought us a life-sized statue of an Orangutang because my partner 'likes-monkeys'. Not that bloody much! That thing went straight into the loft.

So apparently, the way to decluttering success (as said in the book I linked to) is going gung-ho and doing it all in one go. I'm hoping that after writing down a few ideal solutions for different home categories it will be easier to work towards them.