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[educatingarti]

This is the new minimalist/decluttering thread! I hope everyone likes the minimal title!

Hope your ds surgery goes well starfishmummy

I had a break through with DH yesterday. I had cleared out some stuff from the kitchen, including a heavy cast iron pot with a huge chip in the enamel paint. He said he wanted to keep it, to keep flour in. I explained that I really thought we should give it to a local scrap store, and that to me it didn't seem a good storage container as it is really really heavy and takes up half of one of our kitchen cupboards. He agreed.
He still very much tends towards keeping things, even things we never use, in case we decide to use them in future. But he is willing to compromise!

What I have realised is that he will hang on for life to anything we bring in to the house, but that he is not a keen shopper or buyer of things. It's up to me to make sure only things we love/need come into the house, and then we will both be happy!

It seems to be the case that he thinks it is "fickle" to buy something, use it for a while, then decide actually you don't need it anymore or you can do without it. He often mentions how 'changeable' I am that I want to get rid of a skirt that I used to love etc. Anyone else have a partner like this or is it just me?!

My DH is exactly like this Artemis I will say that he has gotten much better recently though. It does mean i have to police what comes in - DH likes 'unusual' things, so I no longer go to vintage shops or flea markets with him as I know I'll be stuck with whatever crap he picks up for the rest of my life!

Thanks Itchy!

I am soooo tired today. I am going to attempt something very small though. I really love the idea of decluttering one thing every day so if I can manage that even on my worst days I will make progress and feel good about myself!

Don't know what I'm going to attempt yet but hopefully when I'm more awake I will think of something nice and easy. It needs to be done sitting down! :)

Bedside drawer?

Hope surgery goes smoothly, starfish.

fuzzpig what about pants? (Having said that, if I threw out all the saggy pants with holes in I'd have no pantage left).

Interesting post on Leo Babuta's mnmst blog: mnmlist.com/subtraction/

That's a great post harriet. So true.

Good idea building/harriet - don't have an actual bedside table but the chest of drawers has loads of random crap in it (as well as underwear!)

Didn't do that in the end - went upstairs to put a couple more library books away in the DCs' room and ended up dragging a load of stuff out from the aforementioned under-the-cabin-bed space. Got about a binbag's worth so far including such delights as half a pack of nappies

Been very good though, and brave getting rid of stuff that has been hanging around purely in the hope of finding all the pieces etc... probably could sell stuff if I really made the effort but what's the point if it's going to take months of extra clutter to actually find all the bits (which may be broken/grubby anyway!)? Fuck it. :)

Thanks Harriet - it is probably going to be next week now.

fuzzpig, in general people advise only selling the stuff that will get a good price with. very little effort. So you are correct...get it gone! and well done.

Also, fuzzpig with eBay postage cost so high now, it is only worth selling smaller items that can go as a large letter at max - I posted off 3 jackets to 3 different sellers, had charged them 3.50 for postage (knowingly taking a 20p hit). 2 jackets were £3.70 but one was about a millimetre more than the stupid slot thing in the PO and was £6.70!! Even though it weighed the same.

Royal Mail is a joke.

Yes I'm pretty disillusioned by eBay now. It just seems too much hassle.

Like somebody said up thread about all the computer stuff and being dismayed at all the wasted money - that's what I feel about some of the DCs' stuff (games mostly as they can't be played with if it is scattered everywhere) which is what made me cling on to stuff for so long. Not any more though, I am cutting my losses and moving forward with the mindset of Less Is More!

Oh and I was very pleased with DD last night - she came upstairs while I was sorting out rubbish in her room, and said she didn't need some stuff because she is a big girl now :)

I am feeling more positive about sorting my house than I have in months. Thanks to this thread. I was looking at the problem as huge and insurmountable. Now I have broken it down and see every cupboard cleaned out, every bag in the rubbish, every bag to the charity shop as small steps that together will make a difference. It just suddenly feels like my house is still messy but I have taken back the control. :)

on all the decluttering taking place.

I have been buying "stuff"

Disclaimer - 2 of the things are required for my forthcoming camping trip ( gaffer tape and wet wipes!)

I also bought some (inexpensive) walking sandals from Aldi. My old ones have never been comfortable and gave me blisters so these are now in the chazzer bag!

I have then bought a dress on ebay. This was strictly unnecessary, however as I decluttered 19 items from my wardrobe a week or so ago, I don't feel (quite) so bad!

Still - not exactly on the path to true minimalism!

I hear you hobnobs. I think this decluttering thing is as much about attitude as the chore of sorting the stuff.
A bit like staying a healthy weight. If you do a big clear out but don't change your mindset the clutter will find its way back.
It is better to do the job slowly but in such a way that it can be maintained. Thinking like this stops me getting disheartened when I don't have time to get much done.
I'm on my way to a lighter home!

Hello again!
So just sold a dress on eBay for 99p
That seemed like a fat waste of time.
Have Mini Boden stuff but if it just sells for 99p doesn't seem worth it...

fuzzpig have you read Simplicity Parenting? It has an amazing chapter on books and toys. If you feel there are too many toys in the house I would work on lowering the amount, and not feel guilty about it (get your daughter involved, pick out the stuff that hasn't been played with a lot) especially with your condition as it will make tidy up time so much quicker/easier.

MinimalistMommi - try selling it in bundles by age and you will likely do better. A lot of the time it's the postage costs that add up for people. Plus you get rid of a lot in one go! Look into couriers as well as Royal Mail.

As soon as an item is used, its value drops dramatically, but after that its really slow. So I buy stuff on eBay and then sell again later and all ill have lost is usually the postage and £1-2 unless item gets damaged. Sometimes I've sold stuff for MORE than I originally paid for it.

I decluttered my handbag and purse this morning so was nice to have that organised for my errands today.

Rest of day I'm picking at the kitchen and seeing what can go. Just doing short bursts as fatigue and nauseous feeling is back with a bang!

Afternoon ladies.

Since simplicity parenting has been recommended, I've downloaded it today. On the kindle app no less so no actual book - I love paper pages!

I have also got a box of books to go to our corner shop book swap (I won't be swapping any yet). I really wanted to keep them as they are ones I have enjoyed, but I've listed myself to a well thumbed copy of 'coming home' and some books I got for Christmas/birthday/mother's day that I've not yet read properly.

Hello all. I've shredded a binbag's worth of old papers today and dropped off another backpack of books at Oxfam. Massive box of defunct electronics now ready to go to amenities place at the w/e.

In part this is a displacement activity because dc's father and I are working out how to separate "properly" after 4 years of living separately under same roof... All been quite friendly so far but now it's getting sticky. still, I guess there are worse displacement activities...

Harriet sorry about the separating, that is rough. It is positive that you are sorting so much stuff out - it will help you make a fresh start.

Mommi I downloaded Simplicity Parenting on my kindle thanks to this thread! I am reading a novel ATM but I will read SP next. Sounds really helpful. :)

I haven't decluttered yet today as I had work but later I will go through a ridiculously big box of pens/pencils/crayons. Goodness knows where they all come from as only last year I took a toolbox of biros to work! I need to find a box for them, I'm sure there's a load of empty Really Useful Boxes (an obsession of mine) somewhere