Declutter - an encouraging thread

[Housemum]

OK, so have been lurking/posting on various declutter threads - there are a lot of us out there trying to shift stuff. Anyone care to join me by sharing their small achievements in the hope of helping others to get motivated? Similar to the Flylady threads, I think, where they share their lists of achievements. I'll start off with my small achievement today - we have an IKEA tall CD rack which was full of assorted CD roms - I have been through them and ditched a pile 18" high of CD roms that I don't want or that are incompatible with our current PC. Straight in the bin as they are not worth anything, not even for giving away. I know it's not huge amounts of stuff, but they have been preying on my mind for ages.

Next up, the kitchen cupboards :)

Oh that's great, thanks - will have a look at the other thread about hoarding!
Love this thread, it's inspiring me to get stuff done. I've just cleared out the cutlery drawer. Taken absolutely everything out and given it a good scrub, then put things back in. (Considerably less things, then chucking/giving away the rest! )
Unbelievable how much stuff was in one tiny drawer. Four potato peelers?! WHY?! How many bloody potatoes are we going to be peeling all at the same time?!
Ditto for wine bottle stoppers. Five of them. Why so many of them, I've no idea - not like we ever have use for any of them as wine never stays full long enough to warrant using them!
Feels great just having knives, forks and spoons in there!

softkitty I just dropped a bag of clothes at our local depot - only one bin liner, but still just over a fiver that I didn't have before (did it on my way to somewhere else so I didn't use the fiver on fuel!!!) - but that website pays 10p per kilo more so will use them next time!
Today - not much decluttering as such, but took clothes to recycling place, recycled the garden waste at the local tip (no room for a compost bin in our garden), took one box to of stuff to the charity shop before I could change my mind about any of the "treasure" in it! Decluttered and hoovered the car - the mum-mobile is now a crap-free zone!!! Boot contains 2 umbrellas and a plastic sheet in case I have anything dirty to put in the car such as plants/compost. Notebook and pen in door pocket. A few CDs in the glove box. That's it :)

That's impressive housemum. Our car is full of crap

No decluttering a such today, though hoovered all the book shelves that were covered in dust and cleaned all the picture frames. As I was going over the books I was making a note of all the ones I'll never read again. I'll need lots of boxes next week to take them all to the charity shop ....

Please may I join?

I'm in such a mess and it's so depressing .

Despite the chaos that I live in, I am a perfectionist and if I can't do a job properly then I won't even start it . I am getting better and keep telling myself that 'just ok' is enough to start with and is better than not doing it at all.

The downstairs of my house is acceptable, though there is definitely room for improvement. Ds' room is also ok apart from my carbootsale boxes but the other two rooms upstairs are terrible.

My room has terrible condensation and all the crap everywhere is making it so much worse. I discovered a mushroom growing on bedroom ceiling a couple of weeks ago then noticed a second one yesterday .

The other room upstairs is a walk-through room which has three huge fitted cupboards which cover the whole of one wall. It has the semi-redundant pc, printer and all the millions of pieces of paperwork that I seem to collect. It also is home to my giant stash of 'stuff to ebay'. I eBay quite a lot but tend to list the things that I know will sell well and the rest just sits for years waiting patiently for me to get around to sorting. I have sold over 150 items since Christmas but you'd never know that from the amount still up there. All the cupboards are full to the brim and have boxes of stuff on the outside holding the doors closed .

Every now and again I have a burst of enthusiasm and did well with looking for 10 items to bin/recycle/charity shop. That also works well with ds when his toy collection threatens to take over the world. Unfortunately, the bursts of enthusiasm are infrequent and don't last long enough to make a big impact.

Anyway, enough of my confession...I am going to tackle the mountain of clothes currently living on my bedroom floor...I will be back in an hour for a break!

Mogs - how about setting yourself a task of listing x items per day? And if you have items that won't sell/will go for a pound or so only, is it worth the hassle/fees? Or would you effectively lose that much in order to have space, like "paying" that much to get some space?

I did set myself that exact task . I usually have 2 hours, three mornings per week, where I am at home alone. I set this time aside for ebaying and doing a couple of housework-type jobs. This was supposed to start last september but I've just never got into a good routine of actually doing any of things I was supposed to. I really am crap and will put everything off indefinitely .

Well, I've spent a couple of hours moving things around my bedroom so at least I can safely get from the door to my bed. I've even put clean sheets on to help motivate me to at least keep my bed clear.

I'll get a few items listed tomorrow evening if I survive my day with four children aged 3 and under!!

Despite the chaos that I live in, I am a perfectionist and if I can't do a job properly then I won't even start it .

That is my problem too! Everything is "All or Nothing" - all of my problem areas are now too big to tackle in one go, but I am still waiting until I have the time to do it! So it just gets worse and worse.... Downstairs is not too bad - the surfaces are all cluttered, but since we have a dog the floors are at least clear! Upstairs is another story.

I think I need to join. My problem areas are magazines (mostly unread), toiletries and clothing.
I have set myself a target of clearing at least one item per day for magazines. (going through and reading quickly) Know its not much but its a start.
Also set targets for toiletries too.
Clothing more difficult as I am pregnant.

I did the toiletries a couple of weeks ago - a total ban on anything new coming in, I pulled everything out of the bathroom cupboards/shelves/top of wardrobe and sorted into type (moisturisers/shower gels/lipsticks/eyeshadows). I ruthlessly went through each type and chucked anything old or looking a bit iffy. I had some unused & still sealed body lotions that I didn't fancy so I put those in a box to give away for tombola prizes when the school asks for them (summer fete coming up soon).
I put stuff back, keeping items of the same type together, and putting out only one of each shower gel/bubble bath/shampoo etc making sure the one I put out was the one with least in so it's used up quickly, then get the next quickest to use up out. Don't keep out all the "special" ones if you have any - you know you have them so if you'e getting ready for a night out, you can get it out of the cupboard/off the shelf.
I had so much make-up I didn't need - one carrier bag full in the bin. All my lipsticks are together in one little make up bag now, I keep one in my handbag and again I'm trying to use up the ones with the least amount left.
My resolution now is only to buy toiletries/cosmetics when something has run out.

purplefrog try to just tackle sections of the problem areas eg one shelf at a time. It will probably mean you'll have to go back at a later stage, as some things may belong somewhere you haven't done yet, but at least you could eg tidy one shelf - try to get rid of some stuff off it and put the rest back neatly.

My resolve for sorting toys has been sabotaged by my 4yo DD today - you just try being ruthless about decluttering toys when she chose to put the Toy Story 3 DVD on

Hello everyone! Well done to those who've taken the plunge and started to sort and tidy.

Had a massive housework day today. No decluttering as such, but all my crap is now tidy and clean!!

Will start on the wardrobes tomorrow. I will be RUTHLESS!

Right, went though the chest of drawers and the wardrobe today, one bin bag of crap (15 pairs of opaque tights! WTF!) just the other wardrobe to do now

Can I just ask a quick question?

OptimisticPessimist mentioned earlier that you used Clothes for Cash to get rid of some unwanted clothes. Do you recall if they require items sent to be "fashionable"? I tried Return to Earn, but they had so many conditions, including this one, that I didn't end up using them! Also, not entirely sure that all the clothes I want to dispose of now could be called "fashionable"...

TIA

Well done AllOverIt

Am going to attempt to get some stuff on eBay and Freegle over the weekend. Depends if DS will manage to be de-boobed for more than 10 minutes...

jenduck their lists of what they do/don't accept are here, I can't see any mention of whether it should be fashionable. The stuff I sent certainly wasn't, although most of it was probably children's stuff in fairness.

Have done really well today, went through my kitchen cupboards and fridge/freezer and binned anything that was nearly run out, teetering close to use bys (and some that were over lol) or that I'm unlikely to use. Then got more boxes out of the garage and sorted through them, mostly into the bin. I think it's mostly done, so I can start going back through what I've set aside to keep, make sure I definitely want to keep it and then pack it. Downside is that my wheely bin was only emptied yesterday and it's now 3/4 full. Ooooops

Optimisticpessimist - my wheelie bin was like that - I've been pushing stuff down like mad for the last few days!! Thank goodness they come tomorrow!

Really ground to a halt for the moment - the weekend is always bad as the younger kids are just demanding stuff all the time - I try to do the technique of playing something with them then setting them off alone to play, but with a 5 year age gap between them (9yo and 4yo) it dissolves into whining and arguments within seconds! They're quickly despatched to go and sort it out themselves, but to be honest I can't concentrate when I'm listening out for the next argument.

Planning to tackle our bedroom today or tomorrow, I have a couple of drawers where I only ever seem to take the top couple of items out so surely I don't need whatever's underneath!

Over the week I need to do a surface level tidy up downstairs as it's DD2's First Holy Communion next Saturday and we've asked the family to come round afterwards. I sometimes need a deadline!!

I'll sign up. I have rather had a clear out imposed on me by having to clear the loft out due to a leak. Nothing is going back up there until it's been sorted, chucked or organised.

Obviously I am sitting here now with a huge pile of crap glaring at me. Vintage falling apart scalextric anyone . My problem is photos and old school / college work. I need to condense it into one scrapbook / portfolio.

I've just seen this thread and I'm on a (rather slow) mission to de-clutter. Love the Cash for Clothes website and have just sent off for a bag. Can someone send me that list that was mentioned earlier?

I took 2 bags of stuff to the charity shop yesterday - just trying to muster the energy to sort some more stuff tonight, but not sure if that's realistically going to happen. Once I've sat down and started to relax in the evening, it's a nightmare!

Hi all. I am still sort of getting organised. Sending the list to anyone who asks. OM me with your email address Curlyfrizzball and I will send it to you although it will probably be tomorrow.

So. So far my decluttering/getting organised plan has involved:

Amazon shop for books on organising;
An online order of Elfa shelving from Store (started with the Guardian article linked to above!)
Trip to Ikea - various storage bits;
Trip to Matalan - two nice baskets;
Trip to Wilkinsons - stationery stuff;
Trip to TK Maxx - storage tray thingie for my pens etc (also a swimsuit and a scarf!);
Another trip to Ikea (!) - with DH in tow this time and purchased a shoe storage shelf for the hallway, a mirror to go above it, a chest of drawers and mirror for the spare bedroom, various other bits.

More has definitely come INTO the house rather than gone out!

But. I can now sort the spare bedroom properly.

The hallway looks much better without the constant pile of shoes. Just need a nice picture on the wall opposite now and that bit of the hallway is done.

And I recreated this. Bought all the bits and set it up - ended up screwing it to the door of the under stairs cupboard as it was a little too big using the over door brackets. Now all of my wrapping stuff is in one place and looks very similar to this.

I am loving the IheartOrganinzing blog. Find it very inspiring. I discovered it through a link on here on the thread about throwing all the Lego into one big box and I was hooked. I love a lot of the colours she has used. Love all her ideas. I think I want to be her when I grow up.

Cider!!! Be careful not to just find new ways of storing the same stuff

I have quick-blitzed downstairs today, picked up EVERYTHING off the floor onto the sofas (living room), table (dining room), & worktops (kitchen). Hoovered and mopped the downstairs floors. Have put the majority of stuff back into the right places, ditched 2 carrier bags' worth of old magazines/kids' drawings etc (not good stuff, just day-to-day scrawls) into the recycling. Have one collapsing crate of stuff still to put away (I have 3 of them which I use when quick cleaning - throw everything into one and work through it) and a pile of "paper clutter" on the coffee table to go through in front of the telly tonight.

Housemum I know! I am a disaster! Although, to be honest the purchases are stuff that I have needed to buy. We moved back to UK last summer after years overseas. 10 years with houses with huge basements. What do you do with basements? You use them to store "stuff"! We did major, major clearing out last summer. Did more clearing out. Had had major renovation project done on house. Moved back. Settled in. Did lots of sorting, decorating etc. Then I lost impetus and DH got interested in the garden so we have been concentrating on that. The house has been getting me down as it wasn't sorted properly when be moved in. So the decluttering and re-organising is part of a large project in which some rooms are 'stuck' as we need to buy some furniture etc. I have needed some inspiration on the decor side and the getting sorted side. I feel like I am getting somewhere finally!

My Elfa shelving door storage for wrapping stuff project has also included clearing out under the stairs which is now useable. Finally a place for DS's school sports bag which is huge.

I like your collapsing crate idea. I tend to throw things into nice baskets which is a disaster as you can just leave them for months. At least I do! I think I will hunt out a crate or something similar and do a blitz. Something more utilitarian that I can't just leave lying around1

Not sure it will be tomorrow though. I have exercise and Weight Watchers in the morning and need to tackle my ironing mountain in the afternoon.

My Dad is coming over in two weeks so I need to sort the spare room. Which will lead to sorting and tidying the airing cupboard too. Both jobs that need doing and will make life much easier generally.

Realised today that I could take garden refuse to the tip myself (thus clearing out of garage) rather than wait for the (infrequent) Council collection for it.

Cider - well done for all your hard work! Any chance of seeing a photo of your lovely new shelving? Oh and where did you get it from? I started looking at it online, but got confused as I didn't know what I'd need.

I've been addicted to the Iheart organising site too - I want her to come and make-over my house! Do you think she travels?...

a bootful of books (3 nappy boxes and 6 carrier bags), a big bag of clothes and a picture frame to the charity shop today, and a bin bag full of non resaleable rags into the textile recycling.

Feeling very worthy with an empty boot!