Out with the old and in with - NOTHING! Further adventures in minimalism.

[MrsPennyapple]

Following on from the Minimalist Journey and Minimalist Quiche threads. The journey continues...

Yy to the breakfast tray next to the bread! That is what I was getting at with the lunch basket - take basket out and put on table - people help themselves - put items back in basket - basket back in fridge. Simplified lunch system. Actually, that may work well for snacks as well....

MM I keep the root veg in a drawer in the pantry cupboard. My 2 kids ate 6 bananas between them this morning for breakfast - buying 4 at a time would not work for us! I don't like cluttered worktops either though - thus the use of the window sill - at least I don't have to move them every time I want to use the worktop unlike my stack of paperwork and unopened post.

Clear I didn't know that about tomatoes! I do keep ours in the fridge, but maybe they belong up with the fruit.

For those who have bags of potatoes on your kitchen floors, my mum has an old floor standing wood box which she keeps her potatoes in - looks nice and they keep for ages. I've also seen baskets with lids sold for this purpose (if you are looking for a potato bag alternative).

Minimalistmommi would baulk at the sight of my work top today. The (also ex chazzer) breadbin is buried under the homeless shopping.
I'm loving hearing of how everyone else organises their kitchen. Lots of ideas to mull over. The kids are away on Sunday night so I might have a go at revolutionising the kitchen. Not a job that can be done piecemeal I think.

Hello :)

My microwave is on top of my fridge freezer :) I can't see the dirt in it

I did not declutter, but I did get my summer clothes out of the loft and will sort through what I need and what I don't tomorrow.

I daren't put the winter stuff up there yet. [castnotaclout]

Our kitchen is a bit weird, it's not a great layout tbh. DP was given the units second hand, so just shoved them up however they fitted. So it serves it's purpose, as kitchens go, but could be better.

The potato sack, whilst not hugely in the way, is just against a wall, so you do have to walk round it all the time. A storage box would look a bit nicer, but would still be sort of stuck on it's own.

We do have an under-stairs cupboard, but it's too warm for veg storage. DP chopped a hole in the kitchen wall, to house the fridge / freezer. sounds odd, I know, but it means that if you're in the kitchen, the front of the fridge is flush with the wall, and the back of it faces into the under-stairs cupboard.

There is a little nook which would house a butcher's trolley nicely, but then the bin would be homeless. My kitchen is rubbish :(

But do you need a butcher's trolley ?

Oh can I join? Biggest need it to sort out my dumped paperwork, I have 2 piles going on, one that needs my attention, that has been ignored for weeks and one that might need my attention at some point. They both keep getting bigger and bigger.
Also need to sort out photos, clustering up my mantel. Need frames and stick them on the walls then out of the way for dusting.
Then there's the bags of clothes...

Hello all

It seems like ages since I've been on here. BeCool I still have the tights :)

Arti I hope your dad is okay?

DH and I haven't been getting on too well, and I've realised getting rid of all of the physical clutter (my stuff, not his too) would mean I'd be free to make a decision about our marriage. Which I've been putting off, obviously, so the crap stays. And I've got uni exams over the next couple of weeks, so a 'mega declutter' won't happen just yet.

I've been inspired by the 'little and often' approach, so have sorted out about 50 books tonight. There are more to go. I'm started to think of getting a Kindle (I used to hate them) and only keeping a small bookshelf for uni books and my absolute favourites.

I got the closest possible park to Muji this evening. I'm greeted like an old friend by the cute guy who always serves me.

3 more drawers for wardrobe/bedroom. I have enough now. My clothes have mostly been in 2 crappy boxes (nightmare) for 5 years so to have them streamlined and in lovely functioning drawers is bliss. Plus all our clothes (bar a few coats) are in the bedroom. Grouped together. Making sense. Findable. Manageable. Wonderful.

Spent the rest of the evening baking a cake for dd2's birthday tomorrow and wrapping presents. She is 2 and we will have cake with friends at playground. Is it wrong to secretly wish any gifts she is given to be tiny? She needs for nowt. I could always find a home for a book.

Sunny - you are off the hook re tights until after your exams. Then I'm on your case .

My decluttering journey seriously started after P and I separated. I tried to do it with him, but he would not be a team with me, though I got lots of resentment from him about everything. A friend has helped me hugely, and I've experienced what I can achieve when I'm supported and working as part of a team rather than being resented and told I'm shit in 100 different ways.

This minimalist journey is therapy for me as well as all the other positive effects it has in all our lives. Apparently exP told dd1 who is 5, that I'm lazy as I had a friend help. I'm enraged he would say that to her. Tosser. He's clearly might po'ed that life is improving here without him. He's currently banned from my place - he's going to get the shock of his life when he eventually come in again (if ever).

Right grabbing the bull by the horns, spoke to dh last night about how the house is getting me down. We've got a plan of attack, gonna have a big weekend on it and then try and get it all done by the end of may. Dh has some time off too so sounds like we are good to go.

Ok after my recent burst of activity I have slowed down. I have a pile of stuff for car boot (not the problem) but I'm having problems parting with clothes!! I keep thinking I can wear it, I want to wear it but the weather here really stops me from wearing them!
I have pretty dresses that could be for work or weekend. I have worn some but not all. I have tired jumpers but I am reluctant to part with them (thinking oh that's my only white jumper etc).

Help!!! I also need to at least get rid of a shelf of books. I have not read them in a while (years!). Some are the Girly type which can be found a dime a dozen at charity shops, others are non fiction stuff which are great to read but having read once not about to read again for a while ESP if I still have little ones around and have no time to read after work. (The last time I read a book was when I was away....it was such bliss to be in a hotel room and just not being bothered by 'mummmmmmmmyyyy'!

Help!

MrsP - we have a butchers trolley. It used to be a dumping ground in the kitchen, until we bought a tumble dryer which is now housed in that space. It's now a dumping ground under the stairs! I want to get rid of it but I also want to sort out decent storage space under our stairs. I'm thinking a friend who is very good with woodwork/carpentry may be the best person to help us out with shelves and whatnot. Just need to work out what I want enough space to store the wine

Today's mission resumes with decluttering the pushchair which did not sell on eBay. Am considering taking it when I go carbooting as I'm sure someone will be glad of a cheap and cheerful double. Or another trader will take it off my hands. Is it wrong to look forward to the vultures who swoop on you as soon as you lift your boot? I know they will only put it on their stall at a higher price, but as long as I get what I want, I'm not taking it back home.

Also decluttering the dc's book shelf. There are so many books, many of which we have been given, so they won't miss a few. And I really want to get rid of the huge shelf to give more space when we swap rooms. Plus our library is brilliant so as long as we have a few at home and I recycle them regularly, they really won't miss out. I'm torn with what to do with my books though. I've not read many of them for ages. But I like seeing them on the shelf downstairs rather than filling them with clutter. I'm a huge fan of curling up with a book and turning pages, so while I have some on my iPad, paper is important. Plus I think it's good for the dc, especially the boys, to see mummy and daddy have books and read too.

Happy birthday to dd becool. It's not wrong to wish for books - I give books or puzzles as I know my friends' dc get swamped with toys and they're all about the same age as mine. Julia Donaldson ones are a particular favourite.

I've got dd and ds' party to plan so am already stockpiling recycling bags from the council for packaging we will inevitably get. We can put out two extra with our recycle bin and having two of those, especially around birthdays and Christmas is a godsend.

Just a quick plug for taking baby things (and other stuff) to Women's Aid. Will post link.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/good_housekeeping/1711748-Getting-rid-of-baby-things

So, in one of our reception rooms we have a tall cupboard which was bought with wedding present money (if anyone remembers, the same stash of money that bought our bedside cabinets in our bedroom which my DH insist stay although his is full of crud his stuff.) Inside the tall cupboard on one shelf is a line of children's DVD's and the rest is very rarely played very expensive board games. I can really see this cupboard going so the table and yet to be bought sofa can comfortably go in there. I can see my DH saying 'absolutely not' again It seems small stuff is so much easier to go Han the big items.

'Than' not 'Han'

hobnob about your work surfaces!

sok could you borrow books from the library too? Then you DC will still see you reading. We're book fanatics in this house, but the majority are borrowed from the library. I still have about six books of my own. I quite often pay 80p to order a specific book I want and then I have an e.mail through to say its come into the library. My DH the other day bought a book from the charity shop and then I was very proud when he returned book to charity shop after reading it.

Becool let us know how the presents go for your DD!

Morning :)

I have sorted the winter (black, dark dresses etc.) clothes out of the wardrobe, and bagged them for the loft. I have halved the pile of summer things. Thank you all for this thread, it's really helping me to see what I have and make the most of it :)

I haven't gone back since I started reading free books on kindle for my iphone :)

I also love the kindle though I do sometimes buy novels from charity shops and then take them back there if I don't pass them onto a friend. main thing is they keep circulating.

I'm not great at getting library books back on time/renewing them, and since our council has gone Tory the fines have really gone up. Also our local library closed last year :( So I don't get there often.

Not reading as much as I would like to these days.

Good work re the clothes Nagoo - I'm encouraged by these sunny days and will probably swap my seasonal clothes this weekend.

MM I gave DD2 a mini micro neon yellow scooter & she had to be almost surgically removed from it to leave the house earlier. Bless her - we had tears. She will be reunited in the park later today & her Dad is getting her a helmet. Will let you know about other presents later - I'm hoping for small things. I wanted to say to everyone NO PRESENTS PLEASE but felt a bit mean.

Yay ? I found you all again! I?ve only been on Mumsnet very intermittently over the past couple of months. Our broadband was switched off before we moved to our new flat, and there were problems with getting it reconnected

Good to see how well everyone is doing... I'm inspired to take a serious look at our kitchen - we've just moved in and kind of just put everything 'away' when we unpacked without bothering too much about what the best way to store things was... I'm sure there's a better way of organising it.

So we finished clearing everything out before we moved, and we are now just loving our new minimalist space. Things we have got rid of:-

TV ? we have connected our Mac to our hifi speakers, and use Catch Up TV, iPlayer, DVDs etc. We?re playing most of our music through the mac too via the hifi speakers. Obviously we still need a TV license, but this wasn?t the point ? it?s just nice to only have one screen in our open-plan living room/kitchen
Car ? we?ve joined ZipCar for when we really need a car, but otherwise using public transport (but we live in central London, so it?s easy for us).
About half of my clothes ? and I?ve put photos everything that I kept on ?Go Chic or Go Home? so that I can make sensible planned purchases based on what I need rather than impulse buys of something identical that?s already in my wardrobe!
DS? old school work, books, toys and clothes he?s grown out of
Lots of sentimental stuff ? we rode roughshod over ?but it was expensive?, ?but it?s beautiful (even though it has only been out of its box once since we bought it?, ?but this reminds me of when??, ?but we might need it one day (even though we haven?t done yet)? We haven?t missed anything yet.
Clutter ? at the beginning I kept count of how much we threw out, but by the end it was just a big rush to get rid of everything before the movers came. We didn?t move anything that we didn?t truly love. No books that we won?t re-read, no CDs? We meant to rip all of our DVDs to hard drive and throw them before we left, but didn?t get time. But we did manage to give away about half of them and put them in flip cases rather than keeping the boxes.

A funny thing ? because our place is a new build we?re not putting up any picture hooks until the snagging list is complete ? so that it?s clear that any cracks are the builder?s responsibility not ours. DH and I are both keen on art and have a lot of prints and a few original works ? but I?m really enjoying the plain white walls. The stacks of bubble-wrapped frames are a bit of an eyesore though! But I think we?ll be more discerning about what we do hang once we?re sure we can safely put a few hooks up.

Becool my five year old has the mini micro scooter and LOVES it, she uses it to and from school every single day. It is invaluable, so great choice of pressie! My older daughter has the maxi micro scooter which goes up to age ten, it is very good quality and she would be without it.

So I've just re-bought something that I decluttered about a year ago, so mistakes can happen. But I'm OK with that! It means I really do use it It was a porridge scoop that I got about three years ago with Quaker Oats and I went through a six month phase of not having porridge so got rid of it. Now I'm back in my porridge phase I realised how easy it made making porridge ( Co-op oats, one scoop of oats, three of liquid) so popped onto EBay, found a seller that was selling new ones and have just ordered one for £3.75. I just wanted to illustrate that mistakes can happen with decluttering, but the sky won't fall in if it does.

Yes my 5yo has the maxi (2nd hand one from a friend) as she is too big now for the mini (the old one is ready to retire). They are brilliant. They have redesigned them quite alot - DD1's mini was also 2nd hand and probably 7 years old.

DD2 has been wanting to scoot since before she could walk - such an essential piece of kit for London kids (and I guess kids elsewhere - but they work very well with public transport). Most of DD2's stuff has been hand me downs so it was nice to treat her to something new - not that she knows. It's neon yellow & very nice.

So now we need lots of lessons in the parks to get her going properly before she is let loose on the footpaths

Scooters, along with the buggy are usually kept in the shed car boot! Or at a push in our wee entrance hall (about to be relieved of winter coats).