The minimalist quiche

[educatingarti]

This is a new thread to replace the minimalist journey one which is nearly full!

Trinity you are getting some fab advice here. I was Eglu btw, visited you a few years ago.

One thing a day sounds like it may be useful for my DC. I'm going to try them with that for a few weeks.

bec vv envious of your decluttering dh. Wish my dh would be more proactive. Although he does work 6 days a week so doesn't have a lot of time.

Items decluttered today:
Sneezy perfume - tipped away - bottle recycled
Pair of shorts with bleach splash on them that I don't look any good in anyway, besides I have 2 other pairs of shorts I don't look good in without the bleach splashes! charity rag recycling
Old paperwork - recycled

26 items out - 9 items in! It is actually harder than it looks to increase the net total out!

Oooh - and I've put my random electrical items in a bag and will re-offer on freegle, otherwise I'll take them to the tip. -so that's another 5 items out!

Trinity - feel free to post your progress on here. one item at a time - you can get less cluttered!

I was just catching up on the thread and thinking "I really should be decluttering rather than reading this" when my charity shop bag fell off the shelf and on to the floor! Ooh, the minimalist spirits are at work in my house!

Bless your DH Bec. I wonder if he could be handed round to give all our DHs lessons? I would need to go and have a lie down if I found out my DH had spontaneously done something like that.

Arti, wish I'd started logging in and out items, think that would have ben encouraging.
Trinity, just take it at your own pace. And welcome!

Mammoth - no reason why you can't start now. I didn't start logging until a few weeks after I started and didn't want to backdate it as I didn't want to count all 60 A6 binders on my in list and can even send you an A6 binder to keep your list in if you like!!

Yes Trinity do get started.

I wasn't planning to do any decluttering today because I had to grocery shop during my lunch break and then from afterwork until 9pm it's full on with DCs activities, dinner etc by which time I'll be too tired to think. (This is just a quick log in while DDs bath is running) but I thought I can surely find one thing to put in the charity shop box in a day and I found a two plus three things to bin.

I find it's a question of making yourself do it and getting into a good habit. You know how some people get unload the dishwasher during the ad breaks. There's always going to be a spare three minutes in your day to walk around opening drawers and really looking at your stuff and popping an item in a box. I think even if you don't have a large stretch of free time you can still acheive something.

The more time consuming part is disposing of it appropriately: finding the person who will benefit from it, selling it etc.

Mmm, yes, but I can thoroughly recommend the ebay app if you have a smart phone, very user friendly and les hassle than finding camera, taking o
Photos, listing items.

Arti, yes, ok, I will!

Oh yes, I had a bit of a revelation today! I've got a nappy bag because years ago I lived in a city and didn't drive, so pushed pushchair into town.

Now we live in the sticks and I drive everywhere. I'm rarely far from my car and if I am I stick two nappies and wipes in bottom of pushchair. Wallet with cream, antibacterial gel, reins and tissues live in car tidy, so does porta potty.

And with new baby due next month, I'm charity shopping the nappy bag!

Hello... I've been lurking and following your links. Just wanted to say how inspirational your thread is.

I had made a start before Christmas and took around a dozen bin bags of clothes,books and toys to the charity shop. That felt great,but didn't really seem to change our lives its iyswim?

Then I started reading here, and have made some huge progress this weekend. Just wanted to delurk and say thanks!

Have five carrier bags in porch waiting to go to charity shop. Have already 'done' the house once since New Year, and am now revisiting areas as I've got more ruthless. Just found another 2 pillow cases in airing cupboard that can go, 4 cushion covers, and a DVD. Also just sorted out loads of make up and some perfume which I'll offer to my sister.

Today I wore a ring that I haven't worn for 15 years and a pair of my mothers earrings which I was complimented on. One of the great joys of decluttering is re-discovering and enjoying some of the lovely things I own. It's quite sad how much stuff I'd forgotten I had. However 2013 is the year of change. My new mantra is use it, wear it, enjoy it, read it, watch it or get rid of it!

This thread is great at keeping me going. I wasn't planning on sorting any stuff out today but then thought I'd take a jigsaw out of the cupboard and put it on the eBay pile.

I ended up sorting out five drawerfuls of stuff and went through a bunch of 'sentimental' paperwork and a carrier bag of photos of which I threw about a third out.

I realised I was getting quite aggrieved when I was doing some of this stuff and have been thinking about it most of the day. I think it's partly that I'm pissed off that I've been carrying this baggage around all these years - physically, mentally and emotionally.

Some of the stuff went back to when I was a child/teenager and many of those memories are not happy ones. I know I've tried to sort through this stuff before but thought 'well, I've kept it so long that I should really just keep it for ever'. Not sure why but I feel much better for having binned some of it today.

Oh, and DD manage to declutter a glass by breaking it - a freebie from McDonald's so I'm secretly quite pleased. We seem to have got through quite a bit of crockery and glassware recently.

boony I too have rediscovered a lot of great antique jewellery that I'm ashamed to say I'd forgotten I had. The cheap Accessorize and holiday tat has gone and I'm wearing things that I really love.

Hi everyone, just checking in. Looks like everyone's making great progress-wish I'd thought of an in/out list ages ago too!

We FINALLY completed the attic of doom this evening, having spent one weekend taking everything out, one weekend sorting/chucking/charity shopping the contents, and now one evening putting the things we really do want to keep back in there. Feels very freeing and also a blessing to have our spare room back, and that was where we were keeping all the crap in the process!

We got rid of the TV a few weeks ago and put it in the spare room, partly because of not wanting DD to get reliant on CBeebies and partly because we were watching so much rubbish. We've not missed it at all and so we've decided to get rid of it altogether-we've offered it to my DM whose TV is about to go bang, and are feeling v virtuous! Of course she lives at the other end of the country so it won't physically leave our house till the end of March, but I feel so much lighter at the thought of being rid of it!

Ooh amtoinette I am so jealous of that!

Hi all and welcome newcomers! Sounds like everyone is making great progress! Antoinette, I am very envious. We got rid of sky a few years ago and stopped watching any grown-up TV (though still bbies for the kids). DH got BT vision though when we moved and now has it on every night again. And there still isn't anything to watch! At least there is only 1 TV. I've banned any others as I find with more that one TV families tend to split up and I don't think that's good.

I have been making progress on the stack of stuff in the entryway / utility and have another bag of stuff for charity in the car. I need to tackle the upstairs cupboard, but I need a plan for where I'm actually going to store the stuff that needs storing. I have a lovely old desk that I've inherited from my parents that is in pieces as I've no where to put it. Eventually it will go in the conservatory when that is no longer used as the playroom, but what to do with it in the meantime? I think there is an old coat in there that can be charity shopped though as now I'm a country bumpkin I don't need my slick pre-DC, not very warm, winter coat.

Right, will stop pondering decluttering and start actually doing some.

Not so much decluttering as taking action. I'm trying to work in short bursts and spend a limited amount on house-jobs today. Just booked removal man to clear the Garage of Letting Go NEXT WEEK! Hooray!!!!!!!!

I've put the disgusting saggy heap of cushions that have been overwintering in my garden into bin bags, and put 6 bags of garden waste ready for collection. I've bagged the paddling pool as rubbish (because it's not been used for 3 years, has spent 2 winters in the garden and didn't inflate last time I tried to use it). I've put the balance bike on Freecycle.

Now for tea and some brain work.

Hello all, welcome to the delurkers . Tell us about your progress Downfall - I always find it really inspiring to hear what people are letting go of.

So I just finished a big work project which means that I can take a couple of days off tomorrow and Friday. I've got some paperwork on my desk - post that needs filing or shredding etc. - and a VERY messy accounts file, haven't done my accounts in ages, so I'm thinking I'll sort those out and do a bit of wardrobe decluttering.

Has anyone got any inspiring pictures of home office filing? I use one of these IKEA desks <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=i.ebayimg.com/t/IKEA-Hemnes-Desk-Bureau-and-Add-On-Bookcase-/00/s/OTk5WDk2NQ%3D%3D/%24(KGrHqR,!pgFCqKNS!MGBQ5Vy!jNB!~~60_35.JPG&imgrefurl=www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IKEA-Hemnes-Desk-Bureau-and-Add-On-Bookcase-/390521786934?pt%3DUK_Home_Garden_LivingRoom_TV_Furniture%26hash%3Ditem5aece99236&h=300&w=289&sz=21&tbnid=UT2GuoVBZTE29M:&tbnh=92&tbnw=89&zoom=1&usg=__45fyD1e3MIxzxTqV7m4R41cueQ4=&docid=ab-KvN0aHuch_M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2FYSUbSzBvKa0QXG8oGIBA&sqi=2&ved=0CE8Q9QEwCg&dur=249" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here for working from home, which is great as I can shut all the files away in the cupboard at the top and the computer and In-tray in the bureau so it literally hides a multitude of sins! But it's just become rammed full of files and all of them overfull. I'm starting to feel that familiar 'ugh' feeling when I open my desk up, which is not good.

I am so tempted to go out and buy lots of matching files... But I suspect that the main solution, as usual, will be to reduce the amount of stuff in there rather than buy more boxes to put it in - this much I have learned from my years on this minimalist journey (slow learner!!!).

Congrats on the lack of TV Antoinette - that was huge for us. Not having two screens staring at us (computer and TV) in our living room has made it feel much bigger and a more restful place to be. And we've arranged furniture to face each other rather than grouped around the TV - it feels more welcoming.

Hello all.

bec if you decide on balance that you need somewhere for your files, I use these from Muji for my work things: one box per project. www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=14&Sub=57&PID=359 (the price is for a 6 pack). They look very neat on the shelf and are easy to get to.

Ooh, thanks harriet. I do love stationery. I'd rather wander around Muji and Paperchase than a clothes or makeup shop. I've decluttered masses of notebooks in the past six months! I think I'll start by reducing the amount that's in there, and then when I've brought it down to the minimum I'll assess whether I can rationalise my way into buying need some new files. I've taken some 'Before' photos to motivate me... Maybe I could post 'Before' and 'After' on my profile...

Hello all, just a quick one: Listed about 6 things on ebay last night, also took a bag of stuff to the charity shop this morning and picked up a booster seat so that DD can eat dinner at the table "like a big girl." I did actually go with the intention of seeing if there was one there, so I don't feel bad about it, it's needed and means the high chair can go in the spare room until next 'un needs it.

Bec, me too! Love stationary especially muji. Wish there was one near me, I didn't find their website very user friendly st all!

I'd love to see before and after photos becs

I agree you should sort first and then buy storage bits when you know what you need. I can't remember if I've already mentioned that I bought archive boxes to sort out the office but I ended up destroying nearly everything that was in the exisiting archive boxes so I didn't need the new ones.

Today I found a file with all the receipts for wedding gifts I have bought over the last 15 years. I guess if any of the items are faulty the recipients would have been in touch by now so that's gone out. It was interesting to see what we gave to different couples but the only ones I could actually remember without looking were my brothers'. They weren't all wedding list gifts, many I had chosen personally. This is going to be helpful to me in the future. When I am struggling to dispose of gifts that were never or are no longer treasured or useful I can reassure myself that the donor probably can't remember what they gave us all those years ago!

Yes, definitely wise to sift/cull first and get storage later!

I'm a bit of stationery addict, too. I've spent hours in the past searching for the perfect diary, etc. (No wonder I don't earn much as a freelancer...). I have a self-imposed moratorium on buying any new stationery until all of the current stuff is used up. (I can't give it away because there are lots of half-used notebooks). The one indulgence I allow myself is Muji pens because I do a lot of drawing and they are the business! But I don't think I'll need to buy a new notebook this year or a new pencil for the rest of my life...

I love before and after photos too!

I'm feeling a bit defeated today. Like I will only ever be a wannabe minimalist who would even be happy with a decluttered home rather than minimalist one, but with a cluttered schedule and clingon baby and tendency to be untidy I will only be able to dream. Currently stuck to the sofa with said baby and I daren't move. If I do manage to get up there is cooking and washing to do ahead of decluttering.

An in/out list would help me keep perspective but add another unwelcome chore the the procedure. I have decluttered lots of toys, a few bags of clothes, my maternity stuff, and I have a table at a sale for the kids stuff soon. But even that will require a lot of prep which I am not sure baby will let me do .

I so want a clutter free life which is simple and easy to clean! I still seem to spend my time with the kids haranguing them to tidy up. They are so resistant.

Think I need to have a snack to get my blood sugar up and cheer up!