A graphic of an overwhelmed person in their loft surrounded by a lot of boxes that need organising and decluttering

Episode 51 – Loft (Part 1) emotions

In Part 1 of this three part podcast, Lesley and Ingrid talk about the emotions and habits that make us keep things for years and years and how to tackle them when decluttering and organising your loft.

So many homes have lofts and attics that are filled to the brim with stuff - from appliance boxes to suitcases to memorabilia to kids' toys and hand me downs. You name it, it might just be in your loft. But decluttering your loft can be a daunting task. In this podcast series, we break it down so we think about the emotions involved, the decluttering, zoning and organising your loft.

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Transcript of this podcast episode

Intro  0:07  
Welcome to today's episode of The declutter hub podcast, your channel for super easy, no nonsense advice on how to declutter and organise your home. Please welcome your host professional organisers, Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman.

Ingrid  0:27  
Hello, and welcome listeners to Episode 51 of the declutter hub podcast. We're Ingrid and Lesley and we're helping people declutter their homes. Check out members dot declutter hub.com For more information on our step by step online courses, live q&a sessions we do every two weeks, our membership community and our checklists and guides. In today's podcast, Lesley and I are talking about loft and attic organising this is a three part series and this is the first part. So the first part we're going to talk about all the reasons why there is so much stuff in your loft. And the second part we're going to talk about decluttering and logistics of loft organising. And in the third episode, we're gonna talk about organising your loft and zoning it properly. So Lesley three, three podcast episodes about loft organising. 

Lesley  1:22  
Well, it's such a big thing to do, isn't it really to organise and declutter a loft, it's quite daunting, it takes a while, it needs a lot of planning. And so if we talked about it all in one go, we would be talking for an hour and a half about a lot. That would not be good. So we thought we'd break it down. And I think, you know, it makes sense the way we've broken it down. So before we do any decluttering, project, try and think about the emotions and habits that you've got in your life that making you do certain things. Because once you've got those nailed, and once you understand your own behaviours, it's much easier then to go through and declutter and then do the organisation at the end of it.

Ingrid  1:58  
Yeah. Now, you and I probably both have seen a fair share of lofts that are absolutely filled to the rafters or are quite full. And I think the thing we hear all the time is like people saying to us, we're so overwhelmed. There's so much stuff. I don't even know anymore. What's up there. We're so overwhelmed. Where do we start? How do we do this?

Lesley  2:21  
I think the interesting thing about Lofts is, for me, sometimes they are when I'm working with a client. And so obviously, when we're working with clients, that's because clients find it quite difficult to work on their own and to make those decisions on their own, or logistics or whatever. There's lots of different reasons. But quite often a lot is one of the easier places in the home to work. Because those things are things that have been put up there years ago, they've been things that have been put up there because people are not quite sure. And so it's almost like, it's easier because you've already made the decision that they're not fit for being in our home at that point. And so they've gone somewhere else. So they've almost it's almost like a halfway house in some ways. So once you get stuck in sometimes a laughed can be a really easy space to declutter.

Ingrid  3:06  
I know I mean, the amount of empty appliance boxes I found in loft is like, well, we can recycle these. Yeah, you create lots of space already. And it's quite it's easier than you think it is sometimes.

Lesley  3:20  
Yeah, certainly, the emotions are difficult to to work your way through the decluttering is difficult only because of the logistics, really, I think, isn't it? And then the zone in an organisation and let me tell you, once you get your last sound and organised Well, it's really, really good. And it makes you feel so much better. Because I think lops if they're full and disorganised and full of junk, they really sort of Weigh Down heavy on our minds don't know. Yeah,

Ingrid  3:47  
I think we always, although we can't see it, we know it's there.

Lesley  3:54  
We definitely do. We definitely don't. It's right there over our heads, you know, and you know, it's tricky. It's tricky. So we wanted to talk anyway today about the psychology of why we do things. So first and foremost, it's all about procrastination, isn't it?

Ingrid  4:08  
Yeah. Let's not make the decision. Now. Let's just put it up there. And we'll do it another time.

Lesley  4:16  
Definitely. So again, what we've said it's this halfway house thing we don't want to make the decision so we put it up there and leave it for a rainy day really. So aloft is full of delayed decision making everywhere isn't it comes out of every under under every rafter and out of every plastic or cardboard box. So procrastination is a key emotion that people feel in terms of lost organising. So beware the procrastination make that decision today, you know, but even when we're doing standard decluttering there's so many people and certainly laughs What what we read a lot about it's interesting the kinds of things that you read in magazines and articles, isn't it? And people who are not maybe that have written articles that are not in the industry and don't understand the psychology as well as we do. Talk about this idea. If you don't want to make a decision about something, put it in a cardboard box, put a date on it, put it in the loft and revisit it in six months time. Now, I would absolutely wholeheartedly recommend, that's a really bad idea. You need to make a decision at the time that you look at that item. And if it's too difficult for you to part with at that time, keep it, don't put it in a box, don't put it up in the loft. Because all you're doing is you pushing it out of your psyche, and you never get you're never gonna go up there in six months and think, oh, today's the first of August, I am going to revisit the decisions that I couldn't make six months ago. You know, it's kind of crazy. So I don't believe in that as a suitable strategy. What about you?

Ingrid  5:42  
I don't think I've ever packaged something up and put a date on it. I can't remember ever remember doing that. I think I always say, let's try and make the decision now. And if it's a super difficult decision, you're obviously not ready to let it go. And exactly, you can't you are allowed to revision it. I mean, maybe in six months time or a year's time or two years time, you think about it differently. But I've never written a date on a box and go in six months time, let's let's do these books again, is you see the same stuff again.

Lesley  6:18  
But you tell me that you've never read about that as a strategy. And

Ingrid  6:21  
all the time you read about it all the time. And I'm? And I'm really wondering how they do. I'm like, why would you do that?

Lesley  6:27  
It doesn't make any sense. So yeah, so first and foremost, what aloft is, is lots of decisions that we decided that we couldn't make on that day that we shoved up there hoping that we're going to be able to make that decision in six months time. But don't do that. Now going forwards. Don't do that from your house, you know, don't put things in a box and put them up there. Because that's just asking for trouble. It's asking for those boxes to just keep reading and be never to tackle them.

Ingrid  6:52  
Very true. And I think also, let's then talk about, you mentioned something like living for life in the past or the future, can you can you explain that to me?

Lesley  7:03  
I know you found this quite interesting, didn't you. So I always think that there are so many things in a loft that represent our past life, and potentially our future life. And we keep on hold of things from the past in the future and don't focus on the current. And so obviously, we know what kind of things are from our past, it's gonna be memory boxes, all those things that we've kept for years close that we don't fit in sentimental stuff. But the future stuff that finds its way into a lot is things certainly someone my age, and I've got kids that are kind of not on the way out yet. But you know, Luke's just left home. And so a lot of people will keep things now that might come in when my son or daughter leaves home, and they might need that dining suite. Or they might need that old kettle or they might need that old dinner service that I haven't used anymore. The chances are, they are unlikely to I knew Luke was moving out. And so I was like, Oh, that might come in for him asking him did he want it, he probably wanted 10 or 20% of the stuff. But actually, he wanted to do things on his own. He wanted to create his own home space, he didn't want a lot of hand me downs from me. And so but so many lofts are full of that kind of stuff full of things that we've taken out of our house that we think are going to be useful for someone else. If you think that they're gonna be useful, someone else, send them off to charity, send them off to homeless charities, send them off, you know, there's homeless charities where people are setting up homes and things like that. That's a perfect opportunity for you to offload those kinds of things at the time, and make sure they're relevant for somebody because otherwise they'll sit up in the loft for 20 years. And you and I both know, there is decades of stuff popping up from years and years and years ago. And so those are the kinds of things that sit there because you're never going to say, Today's the day that I'm going to take out the dining table from my grandparents that I've had up there for the last 70 years. So yeah, it's all about do we live our life in the past? Do we live our life in the future? Or do we really focus on the current? And obviously with decluttering? With all you know, yes, we need to remember the past. I'm not saying eradicate everything from your past. And I'm not saying don't keep anything for your kids, but be sensible about that. And everything that we need should serve our current life and not live in the past or in the future. That's what I'm talking about.

Ingrid  9:17  
I think I think I find this very interesting because I think it's all about finding that balance, isn't it? It's exactly what you're saying. It's a lot of people think just because we are decluttering we don't want to keep anything. That is not true at all. But I think we really want to remind people to keep the important things. I have a crib in my loft because it is it's a family heirloom father in law's unit and my husband was in there. My son and daughter were both in it. And I'm hoping it will be passed down for future. But that's one thing. I don't have a whole whole last fall of every equipment ever passed down through the generations. So I keep the important things that are important to me and my family message, I think I really want our listeners to understand that we're not about exactly what you're saying eradicating the past. But keeping the stuff that's important.

Lesley  10:18  
Balance and compromise is what it's all about. A lot of this is about where the space allows, and whether it's impacted on the life that you've got today, if your loft is impacted on the life that you've got today, and the stuff that you've got in there, because to me that there's stuff that you would quite like to get your camping equipment or your Christmas decorations up in the loft, which would be a sensible thing to do. But you can't do that, because you can't even get in there. Because of all the stuff from 30 years ago, that's the kind of thing that we're talking about. So a lot of this is dictated by space as well, you know, obviously, we need to make decisions for the right reasons. But some people struggle with that more than others. And so it's not, it's just never as simple as that. But it is about focusing, but what, what we're trying to do is we're trying to get you to tackle the emotions that you've gotten to really think those through, you know, think those through because chances are, your kids are not going to want any of that stuff that you're keeping. And then you probably know this in your heart of hearts. And that's when it becomes sentimental, that your kids when they have kids in probably 1520 years time are not going to want your an old crib, because of health and safety because of hygiene because of all those kinds of things. It's a nice idea. So you're keeping it for yourself, you know, you're there's a there's a small chance that they might want it. But it's unlikely. And so actually, it's more for yourself than it is for them. And it's understanding, it's understanding those emotions and everything. And it's hard. There's are so many when we're working with laughs It is quite emotionally difficult, because often I work with people who are keeping things for another baby, you know, and so part of my job is to say, but is that something that you're going to do? Are you going to have another baby, you know, and sometimes it's saying goodbye to a chapter of your life that you don't want to say goodbye to as well. So it's difficult, you know, these these decisions and emotions, even though I said it right at the beginning, I'm changing everything that I've said where it's like, quite easy. There are certain things within a life that are difficult, because it is about saying goodbye to a chapter in your life, whether that's work, whether that's the fact that you are not going to have another baby, you know, things like that all come into play in a lot, because that's exactly where that kind of stuff lives. And but some

Ingrid  12:19  
some items are easy as well. I mean, I recently found some looks of flex like curtain things up in the loft, because they had the previous owners had put their old stuff in the loft. And the new owners of the house put all new like blinds and everything on there. So that was an easy thing. But because the loft was huge, and they thought, oh, nevermind, we'll just put it up there. And now 2015 20 years later, it's all dusty, and it's yucky. And it's no good for anybody anymore. Or maybe at the time when the Buddha says we're not going to use this anymore, we can give it away to somebody it would have could still be useful to somebody else. But now after being stuck in a loft for 15 years, it's all dusty and yucky. And the ropes are yellow and or grey and black. And nobody can use it anymore. Now it helps it has to be thrown away, unfortunately,

Lesley  13:09  
exactly. So there are so many things in life that are very straightforward. Like that kind of thing. You know, like old tiles, you know, we keep tiles down when things like that when we redo bathrooms and kitchens. And sometimes I'm gonna find towels from the previous kitchen, just me so those kinds of things can go. Like you said old curtains and things. It's all about knowledge really, isn't it? A lot of things, the kinds of things that you're talking about at the moment with old curtains, you know that how many downs we're not quite sure what to do with them, you know, it's about knowledge or, you know, I know that somebody would really benefit from that. But who's that going to be? I think times have got a little bit better and the Internet and kind of local Facebook groups, we can ask those kinds of questions. And so but in years gone by it was just much more difficult to know what to do with things like family heirlooms are expensive furniture or things like that. But now we do have the internet to help us out on that.

Ingrid  14:00  
Yeah. I think there's also lots of stuff like, oh, it like exactly what you said it might come in handy one day, you never know when I might need it. And like a good friend, I think it was our good friend Julia to set one day is not a day of the week, which is I think, a brilliant quote. But it's all that stuff up there as well, isn't it? You never know when we might need it again. And it's like, it's been there for 30 years. What is that gonna happen?

Lesley  14:26  
It's a classic kind of, you know, kind of old electrical things that you might that people keep up their appliance boxes that people keep keep up with those. Those are the classics who might need it one day, just in case. There's an awful lot of that kind of stuff that finds its way into us. Yes.

Ingrid  14:44  
And of course also, I think a lot of sentimental items are up there. stuff from people maybe from parents who have passed away memory boxes. I think that's probably the hardest in All the last stuff that might prompt is probably the hardest one to go through wish needlessly. Yeah, and

Lesley  15:07  
I, you know, I think the things with sentimental items, I'm not against people putting sentimental things up in a loft, but it's not about, I can understand why they go up there in the first place some things in a loft, I can't understand why they go up there in the first place. Sentimental stuff absolutely deserves its place going up in the loft. But you have to go through these things on a reasonably regular basis. And by that I don't mean every six months, I mean, every couple of years, probably, so that it doesn't become completely overwhelming. And you have to store it appropriately, which we'll obviously talk about in part three of our podcast. So yeah, there's a lot of sentimental stuff. And I think, depending on what it is, those kinds of things, those kind of certificates and artwork from your kids, and you know, letters, those kinds of things to be parents. Those are the kinds of things that should be in a loft, all the things, pictures, ornaments, really, they should probably be down in your house jealous mean. So it's different. It's different. So I can understand why sentimental stuff goes up there. And that's absolutely the place for for a lot of that type of stuff. But we do need to have a process that we're going through that regularly, so it doesn't become overwhelming and take over your entire loft space.

Ingrid  16:16  
Yeah, yeah, very, very true. And I think also, then, I'm thinking about I'm thinking about family, we're talking about the parents. But I think also it's the it's the hand me downs within families that live in lofts as well. And people just find it really difficult because I think they feel guilty that they're going to make a decision about it. But it's like, well, if it's in your loft, gathering dust, and nobody's using it, that's also a waste, isn't it?

Lesley  16:46  
I can absolutely guarantee that, you know, loads and loads of our listeners have probably got 1012 in bags of stuff that's been handed down over the years from because you know, as soon as your kids grow so fast, particularly in those early years down there. And we have so much stuff and and it costs so much money and they wear it for such a short amount of time, that there's a huge amount of guilt wrapped up in just letting all that stuff go. Obviously our advice would be send it to charity if you can. But if you are going to hand it down to somebody to a friend or to somebody else in the family, make sure that they want it. Make sure that you then give them permission to let go of it if they don't want it to that kind of thing. But how many downs and bags of clothes in particular is a big one? A really big one in lofts.

Ingrid  17:33  
Yeah, yeah. And I think it's also it is in bin bags, and it's not labelled, it's not. So it's also an absolute nightmare to actually sorted out what you actually want to look for something. So and I think that's why it's so important. We're doing a podcast about organising and zoning later. So if you do decide you want to keep some stuff, you can actually find it. But it's often very unclear. If people give you stuff, what needs to happen to it when you're done with it. So I think when somebody gives you something, at the time, when they give it you ask them, What do you want me to do with this? When I'm done using when do you want it back? Can I give it to somebody else? If it is broken? Can I throw it away? Or can I declutter it or go to charity shop it. So it's much less up in the air what needs to happen to this item, because otherwise it will end up in your loft.

Lesley  18:27  
And then it takes away from the guilts then if you've had express permission from somebody, either, too, and that's not just when you're done with it, as I said a minute ago, I think it's also if you you know there will undoubtedly be things from your sister's baby that you don't want. Because actually, when you look at it, it's got little extends down the front of it, or you don't like it or it's a little bit old fashioned or whatever. Have you then got permission to send it straight to charity at that point, or do they want it back to give it to somebody else, for example? But it's all about our guilt, isn't it? And we talk about guilt in other podcasts? I mean, guilt is a huge one in the decluttering world, isn't it? Just about laying down some guidelines, I think for yourself, with your friends or with people that are giving you things as to what the future looks like for those items.

Ingrid  19:12  
Yeah, yeah, very good point. Do you I also regularly find valuables up in a loft, like a tea set, or some nice plates or some glasses or silver cutlery that people actually really don't want to use it all, but it belong to their family belong to their parents, but they really, really never see themselves using it. But they're kind of unsure what to do with it. And that's why it kind of ends up in a loft.

Lesley  19:43  
It may be something that's actually got value and you're not sure. So you don't want to make a mistake by giving it away. I think that's the point, isn't it? So that's where you know, as I mentioned before, that's where the internet comes in, because there are so t sets for example, there's things like China search that buy individual tea cup some plates and things like that, you know, those kinds of services, if you want to make some money out of things are perfect, you know, nowadays we can find everything can't be on our fingertips on the internet. So we're very lucky, really. But a lot of the stuff that will be in there will have already been there pre internet Deluxe meeting. So it kind of depends on the size. You know, if you're, if you're younger, and you've only been in your house five years, that's not the case. But certainly if it's an older home, you know, things have been there a long, long time. Whenever I do a lot declutter with people, often, at least a half or two thirds of the stuff will go out of that life, because it's quite a simple space to declutter, because there's lots of stuff that really shouldn't have been up there in the first place. Yeah, so it's an interesting one. Really, it really is.

Ingrid  20:43  
Yeah, I agree with you. And it's funny, you mentioned China's search, because I've actually, I've now put out a search because I've actually dropped a cup of my lovely tea set. So I actually want to make a complaint again, so I've actually now put out a search for a tea cup. So yeah, they really are helpful. And there are ways to find out if your stuff has value with, you know, Googling a little bit and trying to find so you feel better about making the decision, because if you find out is maybe not so valuable as you thought, Maybe it's easier to let it go then.

Lesley  21:16  
Exactly, no. And that's it. Another nice thing, you know, what we're doing, but you know, what China's search is doing is taking stuff from people who don't want it anymore, and giving it to people that do and another is a paid element to that. But what a fantastic service for something that people do struggle with, which is dinner services. You know, I worked for a client recently, and she was convinced at one of her dinner services would have value. I don't know whether if something a Royal Doulton service from 50 years ago, that, to me looks quite old fashioned has got any value because fashions change all the time. You know, a quick search on China search and on eBay, showed that it didn't have any values, then she was quite happy to let it go. And I pass it on to a lot of people with these sort of vintage coffee mornings and things they love that kind of thing. Yeah, it's nice that you can find a good home for things. Yeah. One trash is another man's treasure.

Ingrid  22:05  
Definitely, a loft can be such a difficult place to declutter, because it's just so awkward to get into, you know, so we kind of think, oh, we'll just open the loft latch, we kind of check it in. And we'll do it another time.

Lesley  22:23  
I think that's the thing, isn't it? You know, there's so many things, I mean, how many times you got to house a house, when there are boxes at the bottom of the loft ladder where people are like, that's ready to go up into the loft, you might be a mom at home or dad at home with little kids. And you don't want to go up into the loft window that you know, there's so many things that stop us from putting stuff immediately into the loft. And that's exactly the reason why it becomes a complete dumping ground. Because what we don't do is we don't treat it as the same in the same way that we do the rest of the rooms in our house, we treat it somehow differently. And that goes back to was talking about out of sight out of mind, you know, to me, like once it's up there, no one's gonna see it doesn't matter, you know, no one who's gonna be a guest in my house is gonna see my life. It's just between me and my family what's up there. And so it becomes this complete dumping ground. And that was that's what creates the overwhelm. And that's what means that we just chuck stuff up there and as soon as you start chucking boxes in that's the end isn't it? It's no you know, you've got to do then probably a two day job trying to reorder it and get some organisation back into there.

Ingrid  23:24  
Yeah, very much so and it's also a lot of times what I see is that the last letter is quite wobbly itself so you need to have somebody else there to make sure that they can actually hold the letter and make sure you don't kind of crashed crashed down from the top, you can go up safely get down safely.

Lesley  23:43  
Exactly. So I think you know, logistics is something that we're going to talk about in part two is when we're talking about decluttering as well, but there's a reason why they're locked becomes a dumping ground and logistics definitely play a part in that and the out of sight out of mind. Psychology definitely plays a part in that too.

Ingrid  24:01  
So listeners We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode about loft organising part one and that this weekend, you're gonna have a think about all the emotions that are connected to your stuff in your loft. So have a think about why stuff is in your loft. What is up there. And I hope you're looking forward to our part two of our loft organising when we're going to talk all about decluttering your loft next week. Please follow us on social media, have a listen to our podcasts and also check out our brand new membership site. It is now live and we've got fantastic step by step courses on how to declutter and every two week lesson, I are going to do a live q&a And there's lots of other cool stuff out there. So we'll definitely put a link in the show notes to our very cool online courses. So check that out if you'd like to know more. And we really appreciate you listening every week to us. And we'll see you next week.

Outro  25:01  
Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the declutter hub podcast. Check out declutterhub.com For more inspiration, don't forget to tune in next week.

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Do you dread trying to find something in your loft or attic space? When people are embarking on a declutter, trust me, the bottom of the list is always the loft or attic. Or shall we call it the Room of Doom? It’s filled with all that random stuff that just doesn’t have a home anywhere else in the house, and there is LOTS of it. You know that room!

It could be anything – you fling it into the abyss, and it never comes up for air. Old kettles, memorabilia, suitcases, summer clothes, books, pushchairs, hand-me-down clothes, all get pushed up into your loft or attic and stick around for years waiting to be discovered and loved.

The stuff stored there is random, and the space tends to be seriously awkward – tricky to access with lots of low beams and sloping walls, dusty, damp and dark – a storage nightmare! So, it’s time to be inventive!

First Things First - Time to Declutter

Lofts or attics are straightforward because, for the most part, they hold lots of delayed decisions. You have decided you don’t want something in your house anymore and just put it in the loft or attic until you can decide what to do with it.

So, procrastinate no more. Be ruthless – ask yourself, “Do I really need it, love it or use it?” If not, do yourself a favour and donate it to charity or goodwill.

Logistics can be the hardest part of a loft declutter

You need to think about such things as the weather and how easy it is to hoist your stuff from the top of the house to the bottom. If you have a loft ladder, you need a second person to help. You need to be able to get larger boxes down somehow.

A loft or attic can be dark so light can be an issue. Add that to the fact that some belongings have been buried for years, and it’s no wonder we call it the Room of Doom!

Once you start taking stuff out of there it can be like a Tardis

To be able to go to your loft and easily find what you need is a must. The less stuff you have up there, the easier it is to create a really useful extension to your home for those seasonal and sentimental items. It’s vital to create order and focus on visibility and accessibility first and foremost.

New storage in zones

Zoning is critical too. Store like with like, and create zones for seasonal decorations, memorabilia, household items, etc. And remember rule number one of an organised home – make sure everything is accessible and your system is logical for the whole family.

Storage containers matter

Large, clear, robust plastic boxes are the best storage solutions for lofts and attics – they keep your stuff dry, safe and contained and are easy to label. Don’t underestimate the lack of light – use thick black marker pens on your labels so you can see at a glance where everything is.

In certain climates, a loft or attic is a definite no-no for storage too – you know if that’s your part of the world!

So, set a day or two aside, be ruthless and go for it! If you’ve decluttered a loft or attic and are still smiling, you can tackle anything!

Do you have a loft/attic that is chocablock from floor to ceiling? What kind of zones do you use to keep everything in order

This article was first published on Sixty and Me on 16th April 2021. It can be found here

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