The big declutter!!

[HiccupHaddockHorrendous]

Today is day 1 of my big declutter and so far I have done...nothing

Actually, that's not true. Ds and I went to town and bought a new shredder (I broke the last one by accidentally putting a plastic decoration in it!!).

I did have a head start and cleared a couple of cupboards last night but I really need to get off my backside and get decluttering.

I have 5 days 4 now to sort out my house. It has to be done.

For the next two hours, I am going to declutter the bathroom and get the washing on.

Anyone with me?

Be ruthless.

If your kids are old enough to tidy away but refuse to then I would get a big black sack and threaten to throw it. I would actually start throwing it away if that still didn't motivate them. I tell my dc that its their mess not mine and its their job to clean it up. Otherwise you end up with entitled teenagers who think their mum is their slave.

We have a small chest for arts and craft, about the size of a bedside table. It all gets put in there. Or it gets chucked. Its amazing how quickly things start getting putting away when its a choice of clear up or lose it.

And if dh left crap everywhere, it would be thrown in a box and put in the shed where he could sort it out. I would last one day with it all spread over the dining room.

But like I said, I'm ruthless and living surrounded by mess drags me down.

Its about setting the tone. If mess isn't acceptable then people won't make mess. If you keep quiet, just tidy up after them or let them leave crap lying around then they will. Be ruthless.

I may have PMT Jayne but I do think you come across as sanctimonious.

I'm glad that others are finding the link helpful

Iorek - I started reading the thread you linked to...will read some more later, thanks .

I have approx 5 hours left to declutter . Work tomorrow so need to speed up a bit. Kitchen and sitting room are almost straight and much better than last week. My bedroom could do with a lot of some attention so I'm heading up there after tea. Then I have a couple of hours of ironing to finish off my evening !!!

Jayne, why are you being so negative? Your first post on this thread was so aggressive. It's a support thread not a shit on everyone because you are perfect thread :/

I'm done with decluttering right now... I've got ft work from tomorrow. Toys have disappeared but they are in trays and their drawers. Not going to bother anymore for a while. My cleaner will be v impressed with the amount of space that's been created!

Maybe Jayne doesn't work. Maybe Jayne's perfect. Whatever...

Good tips there JayneJam. Sometimes a bit too easy to spend too much time on mumsnet and not on the important things. I certainly get distracted! House looking a lot better now, had extensive interior decoration done this year so has been a good opportunity to clear clutter and arrange things in a way that works.

I am finding that putting things away straightaway really helps to stop mess building up in the first place

Jayne - I find your post most out of place with the rest of this thread and in fact the whole housekeeping topic. I have been on here for a while and have always found it supportive. Whatever useful information you have tried to impart on the rest of us mere mortals living in their respective "shit tips" is lost amongst your sanctimonious attitude.

My house isn't a shit tip.

I don't run around with a bin bag threatening to chuck other people's things away

My point was that we live with people and we live together and I can empathise with others

Oh and if you don't like the thread that Hiccup started hide it

Oh Buffy, loved you on screen and now on MN

Slattern I wish I were as eloquent as you!

I had 5 unexpected visitors this morning MIL, SIL,BIL and 2 of their adult children. 'Popped' in e route to somewhere . Luckily I do not live in a shit tip, but it did make me realise I need another sofa

Hmm, got a bit distracted. I managed to clear a shelf of CDs and just as I was putting them in the charity shop bag, an advert came on tv for music magpie or something like that. I spent half an hour putting in the barcodes and it offered me £10 for 30something CDs!! They're going to the charity shop tomorrow . Ds had predicted £100 before I entered the barcodes...I predicted a more realistic £20...anyway, they'll be out of the house tomorrow morning!!

Going to spend an hour getting my bedroom straight, an hour of ironing then bed early.

Keep at it, everyone

What is it with mn lately? There's always one arsehole preaching the tough love approach when it is clearly not wanted. It doesn't work for everyone and can quite often have the opposite effect for people who are already down about something and seeking support.

But ignoring that now.

Does anyone know what the best thing to do with old textbooks is (well old as in I don't use them but they are brand new never read haha)? I was thinking of selling them on amazon but the longer I keep them the less likely that is. Do universities accept donations of books that are still a new edition?

Buffy Freecycle ?? Textbooks are a pain for posting (often heavy and expensive)

Ah I didn't think of the weight, good point, thanks!

wtf Jayne!!!? Seriously fuck the fuck off.

I have a cleaner yes, but I do not live in a shit tip. That, I believe was your fucking word that you used to describe everyone's houses.

The cleaner cleans. I never said that the house wasn't clean. I keep it clean too when she's not here.

I have an issue with clutter, and perhaps storage, so I have the time these past two weeks (actually only one because we had to go away to see the in laws) to declutter and remove things that are no longer necessary in this house, away from this house.

You can really fuck off.

Actually Jayne, what are you doing on this thread then? I don't go around lurking and posting on the relationships threads when people are having relationship problems with husbands having affairs lording over them about why it's their fault for their husbands having affairs; or post on teenage pregnancy saying tsk tsk for letting their teenage children get pregnant or impregnate their girlfriends??

Arse.

Buffy, there are people who go around in universities collecting old textbooks for resale. You can google them if you wish, or you can list them for little money on amazon? With postage you can still get £5?

Ignoring Jayne

I have had a mammoth weekend of decluttering and am happy. Dh has sheeted the attic. I have stored away baby clothes that no longer fit, maternity clothes, sorted the office with expedit. Very tired.

I can't part with my textbooks, old school uniform. Top I got engaged in.

But I am not a hoarder

I'm on this thread because its a free world. I'm not lurking though - I'm posting, as is my right.

And a cluttered house thread isn't really comparable to a family destroyed by an affair. Good job you do stay away from the relationship threads if you think it is.

Hows your pregnancy going Jayne? You are doing well to work, be organised, have 2 children and be pregnant!

Lost hearts - don't forget to add 'and be a paragon of cleaning virtue'.

I could add so much more but in the spirit of this supportive thread I won't. Although I think NK summed it up rather well at 23.40.

Good morning all!! (The sun is now shining )

My DC are back at school today and I'm not back to work until this evening so I'm going to pick through their books and see what they have grown out of.

DP has finished stripping the dresser in the kitchen. Yay!!
He has claimed the top shelf for his CDs. It's inaccessible to me, even using the step ladder.

And the rain starts again