DECLUTTER....in 40 days ....care to join me ?

[spiderbabymum]

..
Have decided the only way I'm ever gonna get organised it to own less ....

I like the look of this

www.keeperofthehome.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/8-weeks-to-declutter.pdf

progress - 2 bathrooms are now properly done!
I even sorted our towels by size for ease of use! [proud]

too much to list and although it doesn't sound like much it's a huge step for me!

Also I've just emptied out playpen for DD - she'll hate it at first but I get held back so much because she is always underfoot.

I do a lot of sewing, patchwork mainly.
I have been saving old, broken jeans for over 20 years (!) to cut up one day and make something with the patches.

I finally had an inspiration to make a giant bag for swimming (decorated with fish and sea/beach related fabrics, buttons etc) and make a good number of shopping bags as well.
that will reduced clutter and it's very satisfying to make something useful!
( I'll post photos)

I've already cut some of the jeans up but I have loads....so to finish cutting them up and sewing patches into a strips would be a great achievement this week - on top of usual stuff.

can I lurk here for some ideas? Have just discovered that DS1 has 11 pairs of jeans....one for each year of his life I NEED to do some de-cluttering!

Hi all, this thread is motivating - you all sound like you're doing really well. I didn't do my task yesterday - bad ComeTalkToMe!! But I've caught up a little tonight with a big kitchen cupboard. Hopefully be fully back on track tomorrow!

I'm 4 hours into dd2's room and at least another 2 to go. It's Lisa an episode of Hoarders

Ooh, ooh, a decluttering thread - I love sorting stuff out when I can be arsed - can I join in?!

Have actually been doing a big declutter over the last few weeks anyway - yes I too owned a never-used honey stirrer!

DD and I had a good go at her room yesterday - why do little girls own so many tiny pieces of crap? She has a special weakness for those annoying little polyester pom-poms supposedly used for crafts (called boptins in our house). Anyway I've just remembered where the rest of the boptins live (following partial craft declutter earlier this year) so all yesterday's can now join them.

Yay!

So inspired, DD and I did a pass at the stuff under her bed and have contracted 8 boxes down to 4. And most excitingly, found a purse containing £9.35 buried in there! £9.35! Now I know that's not the £120 found up-thread.... well actually it probably is equivalent to an 8 yo.

Took more than 30 mins mind you, but then I got rid of many, many more than 10 things (including pink, plastic, cruddy meccano set, gendered nonsense because of course girls won't play with construction toys unless they're bubblegum-coloured and have long eyelashes, grrrr. But I digress.)

Next time I will be tackling the Barbie kingdom in the spare room!

I made a start this week. the inspiration only lasted a day.
I might keep an eye on this thread ;-)

youcan

I have some lemon cake to share. can I be your friend now?

Hi guys, threetomatoes you're right, any little thing is a step forward. I had to work late tonight (grrrr!) but still did the windowsill in the kitchen. Quite an array of crap had accumulated there actually and the kitchen does now look a bit better which is motivating.

hardtostayfocused and threetomatoes it's nice to hear you guys talk about your DD's and their stuff, mine is only 19 months and already has quite an array of pink stuff - I imagine it only gets worse!

zingwidge can I have some cake too.... Please??

Have read through most of the thread & been inspired though a tad erratic. Haven't looked at the plan yet but have got rid if lots of stuff recently, more than 10 baby bits today plus some hanging about stuff that was actually rubbish has been recycled.

Aim to start properly on the plan tomorrow/ thurs (depending how tomorrow goes!)

of course you can come - I was handing it out!

today - brownies!

Gotta make a start today, from giving up completely a few weeks back.

Hoping to get these bits below done today with any luck, god help me with 4 kids under my feet! But can't have my sis coming down and seeing my house in this chaos

Living room

• Pull out sofas, chuck out all rubbish behing them.

• Move living room table and clear out crap kids have been hiding underneath it.

• Clean my pets cages, move accordingly.

• Get rid of the big bag of junk in the corner of the room.

*Throw away old bits of paper kids have been storing in their toyboxes.

*Put all chargers away that are not being used.

• Polish, air freshen, hover and throw out all the rubbish ive bagged up.

Then breath lol

*Hallway

*Throw out crap, put the toys in their correct home, put sewing machine away, hover stairs, wipe down mucky handprints off the walls.

*Kitchen

*Move appliances, throw out all crap, tidy under sink, clean down sides, empty junk cupboard, throw out rubbish.

*Bathroom & downstairs loo

*Throw out loo roll tubes circulating around the bog, take down nets, wash, bleach loos and clean floors.

*Bedrooms
Quick tidy up & Hoover

*Downstairs hallway

*Sort shoes, throw away rubbish ones, tidy good ones. Same with coats. Hoover.

Breath and hope the dc don't destroy my hard work overnight!

Now i'm reading this back, it sounds some what impossible to do in one day

This thread has inspired me! 2 bin bags full from the spare room gone today. Just wondering, what do you all do with your old christmas/birthday/newhouse cards? Do you keep them? We seem to have accumulated the past 3 years worth(since we moved in) and i came across them all in the spare room. Part of me wants to chuck them, and the part of me is being all nostalgic!

Well i tackled the living room and the downstairs hallway, and now i'm cream crackered so will leave the rest for another day! Got rid of 3 black sacks of crap! All which was hiding behind and under my sofas.
Kids took all their toys upstairs bar a few

Right, why don't you buy a scrap book and put the cards you want to keep in there ?

Hi Rightsaid.. had the same dilemma as you with cards.. only kept card from DH and parents. Threw the rest. Then boxed up wedding cards. Only kept a few 21st, confirmation etc.

I don't think you would miss them. You could keep special ones. Find a box.. allow yourself to fill it.. then dump the rest. I did this with little tokens from hols etc. I am a teacher and kept all the little things children have got me in a box too.

Am currently printing out plan to study and maybe even start later.

I would recycle all the cards personally. The weight lifted would be immense.
However, the middle ground would be to store (somehow) a few of each from people that actually mean something to you. That's what I do with the DC's birthday cards, and I go through every now and then and recycle any from people we've lost contact with over the years. Callous maybe but what's the point in keeping a card from someone who's no longer even a friend?

New house ones I would ditch easily, I know I'm here now
Christmas ones usually get recycled shortly after Christmas as there is usually a charity thing for them - so you could keep them until after this Christmas and find a local place then?

Right, Day 1 DONE :)

(Kitchen drawers utensils & cutlery)

Got rid of (well at least put in a pile in case DH vetoes anything):

• broken corn on the cob fork
• pile of toy metal knives & forks that came with the toy kitchen but have never been used by the DC
• random fork
• jar opener thing for old people (!)
• rusty knife

Have a pile of my grandad's (butter) knives with yellow handles that I have no idea what to do with - might ask my Mum if she wants them/or wants to check them over first for any reason.

Have also printed out, cut & stuck the list and stuck it up in the kitchen & written 16 for today to see if I can keep track of how many items I get rid of :)

Thanks for the ideas everyone! It's our first house, so that's why i was feeling a little nostalgic about the 'new home' ones, but i think your right, birthday/Christmas i'm going to be ruthless and keep a select few. Christmas ones from last year i'm glad i kept hold of actually, i've got quite a few from the neighbours and can never rememeber some of their names, awful neighbour here so will recycle them after this Christmas, will keep a look out for charity thing for them.

Next thing for both me and the boyfriend will be the dreaded wardrobe clear out, it has literally buckled under the weight of all of our clothes, and believe it or not, it's mainly his!

This thread is so exciting! Definitely joining in. I'm feeling a bit nesty (27 weeks in) but I haven't been able to organise myself at all. Fingers crossed for the kids sections though, DD seems massively attached to EVERYTHING!

pumpkinsweetie I'm in awe you got that much done with four kids.

zing mmmmmmm brownies!

Today is my day off with DD, got some tidying done, no real decluttering but a lovely day at park with friends. Out for a work dinner tomorrow but back in track Friday. Slow and steady but I'll get there

Today stripped and remade beds, all linen washed and pegged out. Took 12 carrier bags of clothes to textile bank, washed and ironed some stuff that I'd stored for dd2, vac packed 2 bags for her future use, did bottle recycling,took dog to V.E.T then took him for a walk.