I was having similar thoughts yesterday. I find our clutter oppressive.

By the sound of it, our apartment is not nearly as cluttered as what you describe, but the closets hide a lot of stuff (in a not-so-organized way) and tackling it will take time. (And I won't even get started about my closet-full of stuff at my parents' house, 5000 km from here, which raises a whole other set of emotions and issues.)

I don't want to move into a bigger place/condo/house in the future and carry that stuff. Yet there are certain things we do "need" or could need, and do not want to buy again ($$).

I also don't bother selling things too much. It just makes me procrastinate. I have freecycled things, which was quick and painless: ski boots, a teapot, etc. Thanks to Emily_in_NC I now know about Bookmooch, and have "mooched" away a (small) number of books that I was positive I will never want to read again. I actually PAY money (for shipping) to get rid of things, and it makes me feel GOOD! This is the concept that 1-800-Got-Junk is based on: http://www.1800gotjunk.com/us_en/wha..._we_price.aspx

I agree with others that the key rule is to check VERY closely what comes into the house. The corresponding rule is to get one thing OUT for each thing that comes IN. I do not 100% live by this yet, but I've made some progress, in particular with clothing.

I'll look at Flylady as a preventive measure. I know I'm going to have to buy lots of clothes soon (finishing grad school) and I want to control the process more closely I'm afraid.