Less than 3 months to go! It's the DECLUTTERING FOR CHRISTMAS thread...

[fuzzpig]

My house is a state! I am absolutely determined to declutter in time for Xmas this year. I have never managed it before

My main wants are:

• to clear out our tiny kitchen (it's a galley style, so small you can barely swing an atom let alone a cat!) so that cooking is less stressful and we will be more likely to do festive baking etc - another thing I've never managed to do...

• to do a massive sweep of all DCs toys, books and clothes. They have WAY too many, and especially with toys it means that new things don't really get appreciated because they get lost among everything else.

• to completely sort out our living room so it actually looks nice when decorated and there is room to play.

I am unable to do much ATM because I'm not very well, but this could be a long term thing so I don't want to just leave it - I want to do a tiny bit every day. Yesterday I collected a laundry bin full of recycling stuff - mostly pieces from some orchard toys games - some of which due to clutter have never really even been played with properly

I can't be the only one who needs to declutter for Xmas - who's with me?

welcome, stuffitunderthebed your username reflects a habit I have as well ;)

For keeping the rest of the place tidy: only pull out what you'll be able to finish and put back that day/session. Failing that, have bags/boxes/tubs/bins/laundry hampers ready for you to shove what's left in so you're looking at storage containers (in whatever level of poshness suits your needs- I'm fine with looking at a tidy row of bags for life, others might not be) rather than piles of crap.

Or just accept that mid organasiation is the messiest phase of all!

I am halfway through... more to go. Love sorting things out just wish I had more time for it!

"cleaned" my bedroom today - 2 sacks of rubbish, one of clothes to go to charity shop, old car seat to go to a friend and storage boxes a bit past their best will be fine to put the paint pots in in the garage...

time for a cup of tea and the shredder.....

Right, here is what I am up against:

[background] I wanted to do a bit of work this evening but in my spare room (DH calls it the Room Of Requirement) there are piles of stuff to ebay, pictures wanting to be hung on the wall, files of financial stuff (and unfiled piles of same), and so on.

[more background] My parents moved house recently and everything which had been happily festering in their attic for the last 15 years therefore got the once over. Some things have now been passed to me. I was all certain I was going to be ruthless with it, then I find...

four files.

1. Large thick plastic sleeve containing rather a lot of childlike drawings. Must be mine from 30 years ago.
2. Folder marked [my birth date] containing ALL the greetings cards my mother was sent, hospital leaflets, first mother's day cards etc etc (I am PFB, bet my little brother doesn't get one of these!)
3. Folder marked [my primary school] containing reports, swimming certificates, recitation judging sheets (poetry festivals...)
4. Folder marked [my secondary school] containing, well, you get the picture.

They have a sodding four bedroom farmhouse FFS! Why do I have to keep this stuff? No, of course I can't chuck it! I am a sentimental fool!

Still, I reduced the unfiled bank statements by quite a lot, and will from now on use the 'one touch' rule, at least to get them out of the envelopes and into the pile if they don't need action. One day the pile will be files on a shelf but I would need a shelf first.

The solution is to scan-scan-scan!

Also, note that each 5-6 year period was whittled down to a single folder- I'm sure she didn't keep every SINGLE one. ;)

I haven't done a bloody thing tonight :( My tummy has been hurting enough so I've had to wallow, feeling sorry for myself rest in bed to prevent queesiness. Am now folding laundry, but had high hopes of sorting the shoe rack so I wouldn't have to hunt for a pair...

My printer-scanner is shite. Maybe I can get a new one that also doesn't take up as much space. For DS's artwork (when he starts doing slightly less abstract stuff) I was hoping to find an A3 box picture frame, which we could add a new picture each month on top of the last, and end up with a neat stack. I have looked but I can't find one big enough, and it doesn't really need a glass front, so I might think about making one some day. Just needs to be a shallow plywood open box, with about four pivoting retainers at the edges.

I'll store these things from my mum alongside some similar stuff I kept (school yearbooks and angst filled teenage diaries oh yes), might try to cut them down a bit more, but I haven't the time for scanning at this stage in the overall household decluttering process! Maybe I could pay a teenager to do that. Do the scouts still do bob a job?

Hello! I haven't posted in ages- but am still plodding along. Have totally sorted the utility room which makes it easier to deal with washing. Also cleared out a chest of drawers yesterday; am on leave over half term so hope to have a blitz then.

Remember we are 'meeting' with baileys on Christmas Eve at 2pm in our lovely shiny houses!!

Hello. Joing in the decluttering. In the unfortunate position of recently being made redundant 2 weeks ago so taking the opportunity to do a massive declutter and a bit of decorating.

Already taken 3 cars worth of junk to the coup.

Todays task (which I am putting off by being on here!) is to bring down ds's lego and separate back into sets for selling on ebay/gumtree. He has one massive box which has in it Lego City Police station, police command truck thing, Fire Station, City Street (and more smaller City bits) and another box with about 10 Lego star wars sets.

Hi not been on for a couple of days but like everyone else I'm still plodding along. Not much visible improvement in the house but there are another 15 carrier bags in the car for the rag recycling - Oh and I've managed to de-junk the car (4 bin bags of crap stuff all sorted out) - just need to get motivated to hoover and clean it now. Dc's looked at me as if I'd grown 2 heads when they were told to bring ALL their stuff out of the car last night.

On a batch cooking fest at the mo as the next few days are seriously busy so am trying to get organised with meals that just need shoving in the oven. Chicken pie and Spag bol made so far with veg soup simmering away on the stove.

Its strange but I'm getting quite territorial about the rooms I have done already. Dh got in trouble for letting the dog into the utility room last night without drying her feet off. I went mad expressed my displeasure and dh was

I must say its a lovely feeling to be finally getting in control of the mess!

Hi, can I join! we have downsized and have lost 2 rooms (playroom and a bedroom) My bedroom now host a double bed and a single bed, really need to get rid of half the stuff in it! Have loads more to do but my bedroom is really taking me down!

Deja vu christmas 2009 - 3 1/2 hrs later and I have nearly finished building Lego City Police Station - no bits missing yet, but I can barely walk after sitting crossed legged for over 3 hours!

Going to hobble to school now to pick up ds, hopefully he'll finish it for me!

Yes he'll finish it and decide that it is after all an indespensible part of his life! Probably just jealous as had to go to work today and miss a morning of tidying while ds was at preschool. House has decended into chaos again, but at least the kitchen cupboards are clean!

Hi everyone - just checking in again. Still plodding through & trying to get a bit done everyday. Tbh, it doesn't really feel like I'm making a difference - but dh commented the other day how much clearer the house is feeling, so maybe I am.

So typical though, have decluttered all mine & dcs clothes - at which point of course all of us have had to do various dress up things, requiring all the old clothes I've cheerfully sent off to be recycled! You can't win....

Hello clutter sluts.

I have been AWOL for a few days after a saw ear/throat thingy. However,i am now back.

The house has been child free for a couple of hours so I tackled the kitchen. The work surfaces have been cleared and cleaned. I will tackle inside the cupboards another day :-)

It feels good to be back

Hi all. Still not achieving much here. One bag of clothes gone for recycling though.

Have a friend and her DCs coming for lunch today so I spent the morning tidying. And I have to say it wasn't too bad. So I think I am doing bits here and there and they are making a difference.

Decorator comes on Monday. Paint colours picked. Wallpaper bought. New curtains ordered. Now I need to concentrate on clearing dining room properly and the bedroom.

Today I will box up all the ornaments etc in the dining room so we can move the furniture easily over the weekend. They will all get stored in garage till decorating finished and then I will reposition what I am keeping and get rid of the rest.

Tomorrow I will clear out the bedside tables in the bedroom. And clear out another bag of clothes for charity.

I am going to Dublin on Tuesday so will clear out DS's outgrown clothes to take to my sisters for their boys.

Iliketomoveit - hope you are feeling better!

Funny peculiar - glad your DH is noticing! Makes it easier to plod on doesn't it?

Sod it - I went for a walk with the dogs and a couple of friends and had a long leisurely lunch in the pub [hgrin]

Just got back and the dcs will be descending home in about 20 mins so only really have time to put a load of washing through and empty the dishwasher - shame!

I will do better tomorrow

Yesterday I fucked the following in the bin:

3 x radiator clothes horse thingies.
2 X lids of wicker laundry baskets.
a selecttion of unwanted free bags - inserts from said laundry basket plus cloth bags that came free with make-up and cosmetics.
a selection of toys.
an old blanket
empty boxes
magazines, empty envelopes, rugby match programmes.
Loads and loads of my precious childrens drawing! Mwah ha ha haaa.
A selection of coloured in colouring books
markers.
1 fallen apart book.

I also gave away a baby's playcentre and I have another to offload.

Love the typo Molly

A long walk and lunch in the pub sounds fab ghouljamaflip

I have no idea where all the shit comes from StuffIt, but it just keeps coming.

I do feel better buda thank you [hsmile] . What colour is your wallpaper and paint?

"fucked in the bin" [hyperventilaugh]!!!

I am at work and so nothing has been done all week. Sorry, am the sluttiest of cluttersluts.