Declutter, declutter, DECLUTTER!

[SupersonicDave]

No more messing, my house is full of piles of stuff that I don't need, I am going to be ruthless (i really am!)

Does anyone want to join me? Anyone have any tips or advice?

Our new CD book arrived today so I've put all the rest of our DVDs in, put the inlays in recycling bin and now there are heaps of empty cases for my dad. I've not bagged them up yet, as my 1yo is laying them out as traintracks :)

Glad to see everyones getting on well! I sorted my bedroom out the other day, and boxed up clothes that don't fit ATM ( starting slimming world next Thursday!) and got rid of heaps of "stuff". I realised I have a secret addiction to candles. So secret even I didn't realise, til they were all placed In a box together...

We head off on a wee break to Scotland on Thursday so I've no big decluttering plans now til I get back. I will keep trying to declutter as I go about my day tho.

Once I do return tho, the next task is a storage room (we don't have an attic so all stuff you would keep in an attic goes there- Christmas/Easter/ Halloween decorations, spare bed frames, luggage etc.) Things kinda been dumped there in an increasingly disorganised way- not sure much will be thrown away/ donated/ sold but it'll be more streamlined soon.

Hmm, actually, now I've got the urge to start it now... Maybe just half an hour...

It's funny about decluttering, the more you do the more you want to carry on! It's almost as addictive as hoarding the stuff in the first place :o

I've sorted out heaps more clothes to get rid of, there's loads of bin bags on the stairs. Seriously, my DD is only just 4, DS is 22m, how the Jeff have they got through so many clothes?!?

Also put some stuff in the outdoor cupboard to take to the dump at the weekend. Dreading the boot fair, as DH is in a lot of pain from his back and I've been ill for ages, but it's now or never I think, we just need to get it done!

Really love this thread, gives me a real boost to write down what I've achieved :)

Is the boot sale really worth it? What price will you put on your time? Would you consider ebay / gumtree or local ads depending on your "stuff"?

I can see the appeal of a boot sale. It gives you a set date and a chance to get rid of everything in one go.

I know what you mean about the kids clothes. My two are 3.8yrs and 11m and I have one underbed storage bag, one underbed storage box, and an IKEA bag full of outgrown clot

Oops.

Full of outgrown clothes that I need to organise. About a third of it was passed down to us so I will pass on again with a couple of other bits that are a bit more worn.

For the baby sale I have got: a bumbo, baby swing, baby nest, door bouncer, bouncy chair, lots of clothes and for eBay a nursing chair and footstool. All stuff that will make a huge difference to our house!

We made almost £200 profit on the last boot fair (which more than paid for my piano to be moved here from my parents' house), although that included lots of computer games and 2 guitars. Definitely wouldn't make that much this time, and we've agreed we are only doing one more.

I did realise though that it's important to be selective about what you display - if there's too much crap then people just walk straight past. Less is more!

Will be checking out gumtree etc after the boot fair for the big stuff (still got a silver cross buggy and a guitar amp), and all the cheap stuff like non-designer clothes and books will go to charity. Expensive babyclothes will go on eBay.

I sound like an advert, god, but one thing I do is scan all my post and documents into Evernote and shred it right away, so i don't have piles of pointless things like bank statements and tax missives being filed forever JIC.

I do this with everything and now I can find everything - it can even search the text of handwritten notes.

I love evernote however, I run the risk of cluttering up my digital life too. In fact, I've spent about 10 mins a day for the last week unsubscribing from email newsletters etc and I've barely made a dent! Trying to get rid of all shop newsletters as like lifestyle magazines they only make me crave more stuff.

That's such a good point, it is easy to get digital clutter too! FB notifications and random spam on email, oodles of photos I need to sort out... I'll wait til the house is done though.

Got a busy day planned, just wrote a list of little tasks, it feels great to tick them off :)

Phew, huge declutter this morning. Got rid of loads of stuff in the kitchen that we just don't use, tidied the conservatory (clear surfaces everywhere!) and chucked a load of garden rubbish. I even defrosted the freezer

Still got a pile of stuff that needs ebaying but tackling it slowly so I don't get bored of it.

Hmm not such a good day today. Got a very sore throat, so I came downstairs to watch the DCs while DH, lovely man that he is, went to the shop for strepsils and orange squash (to make hot with honey). Have not been back up since, and there is sooo much crap on the bed. We did accomplish a decent amount this morning though, considering. More clothes sorted, more stuff ready for the dump.

Have a reeeeally bad feeling I'm getting tonsillitis (it'd be the fourth time in just over a year, WTF!) :( which may decide against the boot fair anyway. Hope not as I'd hate to not maximise on the motivation I've finally discovered!

right, I am IN! My DC bedrooms are clean and tidy, a place for everything and all that. My lounge, dining room and kitchen, also spic and span.

However, our my bedroom is a tip. I seem to gather all the ironing, clean laundry, general stuff as well as all my make up and girlie things, shoes, clothes etc etc. I walk into our bedroom and want to run away.

So tomorrow when my DC are back at school (sinusitis/tonsilitis) I am going to start. Tonight I am going to finish the ironing, hang it up and sort everything out tomorrow morning first thing.
If I am not back on this thread sayinghow I am getting on, someone PM me and give me a kick up the bum.

sorry you are poorly fuzzpug my DD has had tonsilitis/sinusitis at least 4 times this year. The amount of medicine she has had in this year alone is more than she has had in her whole life! (8)

It's weird, before last year I hadn't had tonsillitis for at least 10 years (I'm 24) - and now it's every few months. Bizarre.

I'm sitting on the bed ATM trying to get the energy to finish sorting the clothes on it. There is so much stuff all over the rest of the room that I can't just move them. And the portable DVD player isn't working

Actually I am just browsing online, instead of tidying I really just want to order some more Really Useful boxes from the hobbycraft site - smaller ones this time, for all DD's crafty stuff etc. My paypal account is crying out to me :o

And sympathies right back at your DD coffee, sinusitis is horrible, used to get that a lot. Not for years though d'you think she might need her tonsils (and/or adenoids, whatever they are) removed?

Ah fuck it

well nowadays they dont remove tonsils etc unless it is really really bad. Just how bad it has to be I have no clue. I would have thought every other month over a year would suffice, but NHS innit.

OK, here I am again... peeing down outside, both kids still off school. Dont think I am going to get much done today.

Might go andlook on hobbycraft site, for research purposes.

Yep I saw an ENT when I was young about a possible tonsillectomy, but they said it was pointless as I'd still get regular throat infections. I was quite a sickly child :o apart from this I've been a very healthy adult though.

Today won't be very successful here either I think - only just woke up (ah how I love DH, the DCs were up at 6) but still very sore. Managed to clear the bed last night in a half-arsed fashion, but that's it. DH has said he can just do the boot fair with dad if I'm still ill so it may still happen.

right, have made myself a couple of strong pod coffees so now I am off to start. DS in bed, DD lying on sofa watching crap and snuffling. Probably best I go and start... yeah after this coffee I will.

Ah are they not back at school today then? :( we were hoping DD would be as her spots have scabbed over, but she's still quite ill. Have to admit in some ways it's easier as there's no school run, she's just on the sofa all day, poor thing.

I have done it!

I have 3 bags to go to the charity shop, 2 bags to go to textile recycling. a massive bag of rubbish.
Shoes sorted, boots sorted, handbags sorted. Found a pair of Prada shoes I bought last year... I dont like them now and have only worn them twice. Should probably ebay them or something, but for now I have put them in their little bags in the box and put the box back on a shelf.

Still have far too many clothes, sorted through all my drawers, wardrobes and blanket box.

Hoping DS is back in school tomorrow, possibly DD too although her sinus' headache is still bad, but improved from beginning of week.

I need to hoover floors upstairs but that is a job for tomorrow.

Ooh well done coffee, a very productive day! I OTOH have been mostly lounging on the sofa. Throat not so bad now though so hopefully I'll be fine by tomorrow.

yes I saw you on the tattoo thread.

Rumbled!!!