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...

Muji do sell online & they are brilliant.

Now I have got so much stuff out of the flat, we are moving into phase 3 of this journey now.

Phase 1 was me having a mild declutter/clean/reorganise (inc ExP moving out) and grouping like with like.

Phase 2 was CleverOCDDeclutteringFriend coming to help - this is when the serious decluttering started, and rooms started to change shape. I began to feel like my flat is being transformed and can once again be a wonderful bijou home for us 3.

Phase 2 is slowly winding down after 3 intense weeks.

Phase 3 is about to start. Bringing in some new pieces, like the Muji drawers and stuff, to best organise what I have left in the available space.

I'll continue to enlist Minimalist principles to get rid of even more stuff.

Some pieces of crappy furniture will go and slowly be replace by stuff that I LOVE, NEED and will USE (which is a change from the old principles of is it CHEAP, and can I get it in the flat and How much CRAP will fit inside) :)

becool what did your decluttering friend do yesterday??? Tell us!!

Cookbooks: I own one, the Bero cooking book that my mum gave me, anything else I need I google it.

I'm struggling at the moment with my DC's spreading stuff around in the hour and a half before we leave for school and not picking up, then I open the door after the school to a mess.

Any suggestions?

Cristiane work interferes with my decluttering too!

But is is now really lovely coming home to an emptier cleaner, and less dusty flat.

after the school run that should have read

MM it's today - DOCDDF (Dear ODC Decluttering Friend) is busy working away now as I type.

She is taking huge (ie too big for room) wooden chest of drawers out of bedroom and putting it into front room. Eventually it will be replaced with wall cabinets/TV thingy. All bits and bobs from front room will go in here for now.

So smaller Habitat cupboards are going from front room into bedroom. She has the Muji boxes to use too. All remaining clothes (mine & 2 x DD's) will be gorgeously folded and put into new 'system'.

Habitat cupboards will also be released very soon - but for now I feel it's important to do this step by step. ie Stuff out, have a think about what I want and need, then replace furniture etc as the vision shapes up.

I don't often 'get' what DOCDDF is doing, but I have learnt to trust her and let her go for it - cause she is good!

Basically kitchen/bathroom/bedroom/hall have all be decluttered, with any remaining homeless 'bits' forced into the living room. Then I can really see what is left that I want to keep that needs a home. And then I can throw everything else out :)

I have filing system/paper work to finish off this week. We are taking a break this weekend - apparently there is more to do on a Sunday that clean and collect stuff for charity shops.

MM do your DC only get stuff out after they are ready for school? (DD1 can only do other stuff once she is 100% ready with coat/bag etc ready to go too).

Could you set a reminder/alarm for 10 minutes before you leave the house and then set them a 'tidy up' challenge so they can put everything away themselves and if anything is left out it goes in the bin - probably too harsh?

With DD1 (5) especially I've been getting her involved and I'm getting her putting her stuff away herself -which I always tried to do, but she was OBC (overwhelmed by crap) too. Now she can feel the difference I think it will be easier for her. Slowly slowly slowly.

I'm in awe of anyone who could fit DC tidying up into the before school routine.
I don't know if I mentioned our house was empty for over a year before we moved in. So there is lots of stuff to get rid of in the garden: hideous pots full of weeds, ivy, nettles. We used to have a nettle corner in our old garden for biodiversity but this garden is too small for that.
I'm not attempting any sorting projects in the house while the weather is good but this weekend DH is going to sort out some hooks for storing the gardening tools so we'll get rid of anything for gardening that we don't use.

garden hooks Love these!

Ponderosa talk to me about your shaving mirror - I need one to go in the shower for DH so he'll stop moaning about how horrible it is for him that he has to shave and how long it takes so that he can get ready more efficiently.

BeCool - out of curiosity, if you don't mind sharing, how much does your friend charge? Excellent to get her in while you are at work. I also want a full report when you get home!

I'm still doing small bits while we have FIL here. They moved the playhouse and put it up on some pavers today - which is great. We really need to pay some attention to the garden - there are random bits of wood / pallets / and all sorts of toys and sticks randomly strewn about. I confess I haven't even peeked in the 4 (!) sheds left by the previous owners. I am absolutely certain they are filled with crap.

For now I have a bag ready for the charity shop tomorrow. I've also been looking for stacking coffee mugs that I like for the kitchen so I can get rid of the others. I also need glasses which will stack nicely.

Just marking my place for later - I aim to do some serious decluttering on this thread :)

welcome TT!!

Inspiring How To - 15 great decluttering tips

Wendybird she charges between £150 - £300 per day, depending on the client & situation. But I am blessed in that she is charging me a lot less. I couldn't afford £150 per day!

Having said that if you CAN afford some help DO IT!! I have 2 young DC and I work FT. Having help has ment I can transform my place over a few Sundays when DC are with their Dad. She has vision, drive and works really hard. There is no way I could have achieved close to half of what we have on my own.

Slacking this week, but I will read your links BeCool, at least nothing is coming in while I'm taking a break.

I have decluttered the fridge of over-date half-used bottles of cooking sauces, glazes etc. The powers that be have reinstated the local recycling point so now we don't have an 80km round trip, I can include it in shopping trips when I get groceries.

Welcome Tallulah!

It's slow going here. Mostly my fault, as I just haven't been arsed really. It's hard to remain motivated when DP finds all sorts of reasons why we mustn't get rid of this or that item (that never gets used). The most recent item is a beautiful polished wooden box that contains two untouched packs of cards and a few dice. I had never even seen it before last week when I came across it in a box of DP's stuff that's tucked away in a cupboard. He says we should keep it as we might want to play cards one day, or DD might.

I won't get rid of DP's things without asking him, but my god it's tempting sometimes.

MrsP would the dated box method help with your DP? Put these 'treasures' in a box, date it, put it in loft (if you have one) and make a diary note for one years time. If he needs to get something out of the box before the year is up, he can keep it. If the year passes without going into the box (he probably wouldn't even remember what is in there) then the whole unopened box goes to charity?

(I haven't played cards for a while, but I did keep one deck - threw 2 away)

Oh, I wish BeCool! DD is currently 20mo, I'm not sure exactly when kids start playing card games, but it's not going to be within the year! I think he thinks that if something isn't in the way, what's the harm in keeping it? If it was just a pack of cards, I'd keep them too, but it's the fact that it's an expensive looking gift set, a charity shop could get a decent bit of money for it.

We do need to start sorting out the spare bedroom though, as DD will be moving into there soon, and it needs insulating and decorating first, so it NEEDS to be clutter-free as soon as possible.

After my last post I went upstairs and collected all the charity shop stuff and sorted through it (just sorting the sale-able clothes from the rags), and have now put it at the bottom of the stairs, where it will be in the way, so I will definitely get it out fo the house tomorrow. I also added a few bits to it, without even having to look for things, really.

Ah MrsP that made me laugh - your card playing toddler :)

Thanks for all the inspiration on this thread! I have so much stuff to sort out I hardly know where to start. I love the idea of little and often! I think that's where I was going wrong before, kept seeing the whole big problem and it looks too big and daunting all at once.
I will start small and see if I can fill one bag at a time till it's done.
Got rid of some big stuff on freecycle a few weeks ago. Felt like a weight being lifted off!
I'm feeling quite positive after reading this. Feels like a may actually one day get my house sorted out!

Out with the old... Today I removed several bags of outgrown clothes, two bikes, a ride on and 2 pushchairs to storage. Some to store for when dts are bigger. Most to carboot once I've got enough stuff organised/warmer weather.

In quite a positive decluttering mood now just seeing things out of the way. And I know where the storage unit is and how to access it so I can get rid of more stuff while dh is at work (and doesn't realise it's going missing).

Wow, I bet that's made a noticable difference, Sok!

Can I join you? I'll read the entire thread later but thought I'd join in anyway.

I've been doing a throw one thing away the last couple of weeks and its been great! I gave a h&m bag full of boys clothes mostly good quality to a friend whose son is same age but smaller. I have another bag for girls clothes for another friend which will go hopefully end of this week and I have a charity bag on the go.

I'm determined to get rid of one thing a day. Doesn't really matter what it is but it needs to go into one of those bags or the bin. It's been pretty good going! Need more inspiration!

Hello all

I've been lurking and inspired - today I sorted out my wardrobe and have 8 carrier bags of clothes and gubbins to take down there tomorrow, which is a good start. I'm hoping to inspire DH to have a chuck out because he's a hoarder :(

Does anyone have any tips for getting rid of masses of tights? I've gone up a size, and have a drawer full of mainly opaque tights I can't seem to bear to chuck.

Welcome to all the new people. There seems to have been a surge in interest recently. Perhaps it's the spring weather.

Use your tights to store rolls of wrapping paper, cut them up to make ties - like elastic bands. Garden ties, storing bulbs/onions in. Put oats in the foot and tie the leg to your bath tap for a nice bath? Use them to make little potpourri sachets to make your drawers smell nice?

Maybe someone you know could use them for any of the above.

Thanks to all for their suggestions! I think throwing away the boxes without opening them would consume me with guilt - you never know what is in them so I am not sure a charity shop would welcome them unsorted! I may tell them I am on a zen minimalist journey though..