I know many people have asked about this and talked about this but I seem to find different answers (and some answers I know to be wrong) everywhere.

I am planning on traveling in Europe for an unknown amount of time. I know not to tell the people at the border I plan on staying as long as possible to max out my tourist free stay time.

I am simply trying to plan a trip as legal as possible in regards to time allowed in certain Schengen and EU countries.

I am starting out in France (1-3 months) and then going to Romania for 2-3 months. I can’t find if Romania is part of the 6 month max stay in Europe or if they are a “free zone”. I am also want to make sure that the following are not a part of the Schengen agreement:
Croatia
Bosnia
Albania
Serbia
Montenegro
Macedonia
Turkey
Cyprus
Bulgaria
Moldova
Ukraine
Belarus

I was also planning on going to Ireland/Great Britain which i know has a 180 day max stay. I know this is part of the EU but not a part of the Schengen agreement so it should not count towards my 6 month limit (let me know if this is incorrect).

Also, once I have been there a year does the 6 month max rule reset itself? For example…
3 months in France
3 months in Romania (assume it is not a part of the agreement)
4 months in the UK
2 months in Italy

and we have a new year where I decided to go to Greece. When I get to Greece will that be the start of a new count on how long I can be in countries with the Schengen agreement?

I know this may be stupid asking for this clarification but until recently I did not know there was a 6 month limit to most countries in Europe though I knew it was usually a 3 month limit per country. I just want to make absolutely sure I’m getting my facts straight because looking at all the separate countries and the Schengen agreement and trying to make sense of it all is a bit confusing and overwhelming.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!