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Anyone else de cluttering/ Mari Kondo-ing this Summer?

59 replies

Cailleachbeag · 30/06/2019 14:36

Fancy joining me in keeping track of progress?
I'll have 3 kids at home so I expect mine to be slow! It'd be great to have some company/ moral support Wink

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Cailleachbeag · 04/07/2019 21:40

How's everyone doing? I've stalled this past few days, turns out the kids want to be fed and entertained even though I've told them how important this job is 😉😅

@tectonicplates I get very sentimental about clothes, particularly the kids but have started to try think of how much they might help/ bring joy to someone else. I'm also finding this purge easier because it really has gotten out of control and if I don't do something soon we are going to end up on one those hoarder shows 🙈

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Cailleachbeag · 04/07/2019 21:41

How do people with small kids balance their time between de cluttering and getting the everyday jobs done? Feel like I'm doing 18 hour days at the minute trying to keep on top of everything!

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Meckity1 · 05/07/2019 11:07

@Cailleachbeag I'm not in that position, but I sort of feel your pain. The school run takes two hours a day, plus any time nipping to the shop/tip/wherever. Then when everyone's home I don't seem to get anything done then either!

My problem is where do I start The neighbours are giving me justifiable grief about the garden, but I can't go out there when they are as they are in my face all the time. There is a path through the living room because so much stuff got dumped there over the last few weeks. I can't move in the dining room as it is full of ironing. The kitchen looks like a condemned area which hasn't helped because I kept having to move things around in a hurry due to washing machine repairs and the boiler service that was on and off like a stuck indicator for weeks. I can't move in my bedroom, I can't move in my son's bedroom and I'm sinking. I also have a blocked loo.

And I have just spent an hour and a half tracking down the numbers for the various thingies associated with the mortgage coming to term. I also need to get on with the freelance stuff as I'm getting up against deadlines.

I'm almost paralysed because I need to be doing everything and I don't know where to start.

Rant over. I'm going to start on the ironing, I think. If I'm not back tomorrow, please send search party. There could be anything under there!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 05/07/2019 14:47

@Cailleachbeag assuming your home is of normal family life standard of tidy/untidy, (like mine) then the two things aren't really tackled as one. I clean 1 day a week, like a cleaner does, although it does take several hours while Ds is at nursery. But the decluttering is a separate task, done in addition, and I suppose it's a 'right I'm going to spend 2 hours on Saturday doing this task' sort of thing. I haven't done it for a while and it's brewing. Although I did sort the boy's wardrobes and put the outgrown things in the loft for handmedowns or in the charity bag.

I helped my friend decluttering her home, she was much more chaotic, bordering on hoarding, and it wasn't so much decluttering as actually getting rid of mountains of stuff. In that type of scenario it can be very overwhelming. We tackled it by setting a timer, doing 20 minutes, boxes for tip, charity, or keep- and then after the 20 minutes before moving on, we dealt with those boxes (charity boxes to her car, tip boxes to my car, keep boxes to the right places), then set another 20 minute timer and did it again. This prevents that 'moving things about' feeling where you're not really getting anywhere, and also prevents you from just making a job that will take you hours (eg having 50 things to list on eBay which is so mind numbing I never want to do it, although listing say 5 things is no problem)

Another tip I gave her was every time you get one of those free charity bags, on the night before collection day, whizz round and fill the bag, and put it out for collection. We get lots of those so that helps but it's a drop in the ocean if you're very overcrowded. I'm lucky too because we have a charity shop, with parking, right by school so it is very easy to stop off. Could you factor charity shop drop off on your way to supermarket/kids clubs or something so every week you take one bag?

RunningKatie · 05/07/2019 16:11

@tectonicplates - could the clothes be re-purposed? I have a skirt I love but I doubt my waist will ever fit in it again. It's still hanging in my wardrobe but I think it could make a really cheery cushion cover.
Not that my sewing skills are up to that yet!

I'm tempted to clear a stack of my books, I've held onto them because one upon a time I had the time and attention span to read huge classic novels. Now I'm more likely to be reading Mr Tickle.

RunningKatie · 07/07/2019 16:38

Anyone still here? We've had a shed clearout. Bikes up for sale. Tiles etc. ready for a tip run, I've listed them for free but have no idea where to donate them.

DCs returned from a sleepover with a bag of handmedowns, so went through them for what is their taste, everything else in a bag for donations (as per agreement with donor!).

Ready for a gin now Gin

thenewaveragebear1983 · 07/07/2019 17:02

Running you could donate boxes of tiles to a charity shop, I've bought various diy bits from our local one.

I've listed 30 items on eBay, ready to start at 8pm tonight, so that's a good start. I've also patched the render on our front wall, not done too bad a job actually! And I've bundled up and got ready to post off all my non-recycle plastic items which I send off to a charity, but I've been very sloppy lately and they were really mounting up. I've also moved a big pile of jumpers to my shelf which has really freed up hanging space.

My tasks for the upcoming week are to list a few more items on eBay; sort out my wardrobe some more (in particular my sports kit which is a nightmare because it's a big pile of identical looking black Lycra but everything is actually different and I end up rummaging constantly for the right bit; finish off my rendering and paint it; plus we're having a carpet fitted, so currently the contents of that room are in a pile in my dining room- I'd like only half of what's there to go back into the playroom when it's done. The rest is either loft or charity worthy, so I will begin that this week.

Cailleachbeag · 08/07/2019 09:08

I'm still here! Just about 😉
@thenewaveragebear1983 have been employing your method of de cluttering for a certain length of time and then getting rid of things/ putting away things before moving on. So got 3 bags to the clothes bank and a bag to the charity shop on Saturday 💪 planning to spend another hour this morning while the kids are pottering

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RezCowgirl · 08/07/2019 09:35

I kondo-ed the shit out of my wardrobe this weekend. Bagged up just few carrier bags to the charity shop but I can't believe how much space it saves and I can actually see everything I own at a glance. I also had a rummage through my makeup bag and got rid of most of it as I hardly wear it anymore. I'm more likely to spend on skincare instead.

I've got a year to go through this house from top to toe about 20 times until we move which will be a serious downsize. Kitchen cupboards are next.

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