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?

Storage seems to work in this house. But I mostly use storage that can be put away in cupboards and/or the loft. I am ruthless with binning and selling things that aren't needed anymore, so the things i do keep I want stored properly.

However, the exception is when I have storage that is on show - that is when I fill it with crap. Or put the crap beside it instead of beside it

Yes that's exactly it, I have an obsession with Really Useful Boxes (they are brilliant) but sometimes I just end up shoving a load of random crap in them, same with some of the Trofast

I don't think there's a single surface in my house that doesn't have clutter on it! (except some parts of the floor )

Had a big clean up of the house this morning and managed to get rid of two bags of toys that DS2 has grown out of. It seems like a drop in the ocean compared to what needs to be thrown out, but at least it's a start.

fuzzpig - apart from the sitting room, that is true of our house too (clutter on surfaces). I visited a friend's house the other day and she didn't have any clutter on a single surface. Admittedly, she has OCD, so is not to be envied in that respect - but I do want to know where all her clutter goes. I don't know what to do with it all.

Kitchen is finished! I looked in the utility room but was overcome by the mess so have made a tactical retreat and will pick a day when I have more energy.

I really want to dismantle the cot but I'm so tired and I'm sat on the sofa and the bedroom is so far away (in the room next door).

Ah sod it. I will go and do it. I'm going to have two baileys at christmas to justify this hard work

Good work oreo

Not such a productive day as had bad nights sleep-my cleaning of bedroom included cleaning the radio alarm and I somehow pushed a button that caused an alarm to go off at midnight! I pushed a button which must have been snooze because it went off 10 mins later- this repeated for an hour until I found another button

I did though tidy round the bedroom and make the bed this morning so the bedroom still looks fab. Have sorted a few books and will do a few more this afternoon.

Then I am going to vaccum bag some quilts which will free up storage space- so things that are stuffed behind the bed head in our room and in dc's wardrobes can go in a cupboard and all the bloody football trophies that the dc have collected can go out of the lounge into their cupboards

Not much done here today, although I have done quite a lot of washing. There was 'stuff' hanging around that I hadn't put away because I wanted to wash them. So a few blankets and my two slings have been washed.

I have washed the slings because I will be selling them. I feel really quite sentimental about them, but they are worth quite a lot of money .............

I hear you with the slings. Have just given a friend my ergo and almost chased her car and asked for it back.

Did all the dd's clothes though and have arranged to give all the grown out of stuff from dd2 to a friend for her DD.

Hope you get some sleep tonight Nishky

Not doing anything today! DH had his staples out and we are massively behind on regular housework so need to catch up there somehow!

Am just looking round the room wondering what all the clutter even is, let alone where it comes from!

Hello all. Just checking in. Cleared & deep cleaned side two in the kitchen today, and persuaded dh to do a carboot on Sunday, so that my boxes of 'stuff to car boot' that have been hanging around since this time last year finally get cleared (hopefully!)

And signing in for Christmas baileys...

(Oh, and I know this is against the spirit of decluttering, but I still have dd's ring sling, TommeeTippee and ILikeToMoveIt. And she is 6 - it was SUCH an important part of our lives I can't bear to sell it. Although I did sell two others I didn't get on with as well.)

Funny have you got a plan of what to do with anything that doesn't sell? You could ask DH to take it straight to a charity shop, it's worth deciding this beforehand especially if there's anything that you definitely want to sell (ie if it's worth a lot) rather than give away.

With the stuff that doesn't sell, you can offer as a job lot for a tenner to the pro carbooters. They will be the ones who come riffling through your stuff asking if you have any jewelry or mobile phones while you are still unloading! Remember who they are and just before packing up go and offer them your stuff.

I dismantled the cot! It's still in the bedroom but at least it is ready to go in the loft when I get it boarded.

Think MIL is going to babysit DP and DD for me on tuesday so if I can get DP to help me do the loft on monday night, I will crack on with a really good effort on tuesday.

Just have my fear of lofts to overcome now .

Have to say, I think my house looks worse now than when I started!! A work in progress I suppose. Daren't tell you how dusty it is was under the cot, and how much crap was under it!

I have decided to change my plan of attack. We have clothes EVERYWHERE. They never get put away! I can and should put away all the DCs' stuff, but I am going to stop feeling guilty about not putting our clothes in our massive built in wardrobe. I've kept thinking I need to sort that out first but actually it's totally impractical, as we can't easily get to said wardrobe due to our cluttered bedroom floor. So I have had the incredible brainwave of attacking the bedroom floor first.

Hadn't thought of the idea of offering it to a seasoned carbooter, oreo, what a good idea . My plan is to have two different coloured labels (if I can find another colour - I know they used to do them...) - one for 'charity shop' and one for 'keep to resell', so that when we're packing up we can chuck things into different boxes. I haven't done a car boot before though - any tips?? Dcs are already asking if they can spend the money they make selling their stuff, so not sure how good this is going to be for DE-cluttering!

Can I join in please too? Except I've only got until mid November when we are having a bit of a "do" so will be inundated with visitors. Just going to read through all your threads for ideas (beats making a start on the housework!!)

Lilo - if you finish in November you can cheer us all on for the last month

My bedroom still looks fab - made bed and tidied before came downstairs. It took two minutes. Ooh just think when I have done the rest of the house I will be able to do my housework in a couple of hours. Really going to attack the playroom, slept better last night(thanks tommee) so hoping to make some progress

that's a big IF Nishky! Am going to make a list for each room. Am a great list maker, just not too hot on getting anything crossed off it!

I believe in lists. Every surface in every room in my house ( except my sparkly bedroom) is cluttered. If I didn't have lists to work through it logically then my head would spin.

Am a great list maker, just not too hot on getting anything crossed off it!

Are you me?

Books dropped off for the book sale
Ebay items taken to the Post Office

That's about the list of my achievements today.

I may get a chance later when ds2 is out and I'll just have ds3 toddling around.

funnypeculiar - say the kids can have the money but it is to go in their savings?

ok hi all, I've been at work all week (still am actually but waiting for my boss to read/clear a draft I've written) so here is my to do list for the weekend...

separate last weekend's clutter bag contents to bin/ recycling.
last weekend's toy/outgrown 2-3y stuff to loft.
box up pile of cot sized bedding and up to loft.
first pass through my clothes - and straight into the car for dropping at charity shop on Monday.
separate out the "probably to ebay" collection to see if it could become three boxes marked "£1/£5/£10 per item" at a potential car boot.
check and label with a room name the paint tins under the stairs.
Remove to bins/shed anything from under stairs which does not need to be stored indoors.
put quote request on free index for under-stair cupboards carpentry.
picture hooks on walls for agreed pictures.

I have to take DS around a chain of social engagements on Saturday and I have to do some gardening too. No idea how much of that list will get done!!

Sounds like a plan Lexilicious.

I cleared the loft today but when I got to the tip it was closed. Nooooo!! Didnt realise it shut at 4 on fridays. Took DD's for a cake instead...

Will send DH tomorrow.

Cake sounds better than the tip!

I have sorted dh's old office aka his clothes dumping ground. The room will be knocked out sometime in the not too distant future so it needs clearing. Dh is dragging his (hoarding tendency) heels about clearing it so I grabbed the bull by the horns. I have sorted it in to piles and then we will sort out what gets kept and what gets thrown.

This sounds like I have to wipe his arse, but he has hoarding tendencies so I have to push him to sort, clear and ultimately throw things out. There will be bickering, but I mostly try and rise above it and try to understand his anxiety.

Such fun!

Well yesterday was a disaster couldn't be bothered and today I have been out and about trying to sort out accommodation for a gerbil which was found in a neighbours garden - poor wee thing was half frozen. Anyway one lovely fish tank later with bedding, a wheel, water and feed and ds1 found it curled up in the corner stiff as a board .

So now the dcs want to get some more gerbils - I'm trying to de-clutter to stop rodents moving in and they want some as pets

Anyway plan for the weekend:-

empty kitchen cupboards, sort out dump contents, wash down and re-pack.
Cull cookery books do not need 40 odd
clean out fridge
clean down range properly with Astonish not just wipe over
clean storage jars behind range
scrub kitchen floor.
put up winter curtains over the doors.

Then open LARGE bottle of to celebrate!

fuzzpig - I suspect we were separated at birth :-)