Clutter wars! Do you fight over clutter?

Do you and your partner argue about the clutter in your home?  You are not alone.
Couples argue 32 times a year over clutter
Half of couples admit regularly arguing about how much stuff is their home - and throw away £240 of items they want to keep to keep the peace

• Half say they argue about their partner having 'too much stuff'
• One in eight admit to 'accidentally' breaking a partner's possession
• Men give up their seasonal sports equipment 
• Women are forced to clear out treasured possessions, such as cuddly toys and cards

Half of couples regularly argue over their home being too crammed with stuff, with 32 rows a year for the typical couple, a study shows with two fifths blaming their partner for having ‘too much stuff’

If you are newly cohabiting you should expect to throw away around £240 worth of possessions in the first year alone in order to keep the peace according to a survey of more than 2,000 cohabiting couples.

One in eight respondents to the survey by Big Yellow Storage admitted to 'accidentally' breaking one of their other half's prized possessions so they can bin it. And in one in ten cases, a lack of space has caused couples to go back to living apart.

Arguments over space forced 44 per cent of couples to throw away items they really wanted to keep, with clothes (42 per cent), furniture (36 per cent) and books (33 per cent) most likely to be culled.

The research revealed clear differences in the items men and women have to part with.

Women cleared out sentimental items, including cuddly toys, gifts from previous partners, school books, photos and birthday cards.

Men are typically forced to give up their sports equipment – such as seasonal kit such as skis and surfboards and boys toys, including games consoles, DJ decks and wide screen TVs.

Cath Harrop, founder of mum2mum market nearly new sales which enable parents to recycle their outgrown baby and children’s goods on to other families and recoup some of the expense of raising a family.
‘We live in a consumer society.  Our families are getting smaller but the amount of stuff we buy is more than ever and there quite simply isn’t room to hang on to all of it any more. Perhaps we should take a more transient view to our possessions – using them and then passing them on when we are done. By taking good care of the kids stuff and selling it at a mum2mum market there is a financial incentive to delclutter.’

Mum2mum market offer FREE decluttering tips to ease the decluttering process.  You can book a stall at www.mum2mummarket.co.uk/book-a-stall.html.  Events Nationwide

Do you and your partner argue over clutter?  Who is the main culprit?  Is your partner a neat freak who makes you chuck out your cherished memorabilia?  Or does the kids stuff take over everything else?