Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

Decluttering in 2017- A carrier bag a day

328 replies

Snap8TheCat · 01/01/2017 12:11

I read about this method in 2015 and gave it a try last year, it was mostly sucessful and I kept a track of what I had got rid of on my phone. It was interesting to look back at the end of the year to realise I missed none of it!

I'd like to do it all again for 2017, perhaps even more committed this year!

I like lots of the other decluttering methods such as KonMarie or Flylady and do incorporate many of their rules but I also know that getting rid of a carrier bag a day is easier for me to fit in to my life.

I'm a childminder working 4 days a week 8-6pm and have 3 dc of my own, 13,10 and 6. Dh is a shift worker so our lives are busy and the house can get out of control quickly with the mindees and my job.

I'm looking for anyone to join me, anyone who likes the idea of decluttering but always feels they fail as they don't have the time. This is literally one carrier bag a day, either a large item like a toy or a quick sort out of a kitchen drawer whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. Just trying to stay on top of the flow of stuff that constantly enters our home.

January 1st and I have got rid of two plants on my kitchen that we're dying. I was desperately trying to keep them alive but realise I'm crap and that and they depress me every time I see them.

Anyone else? Smile

OP posts:
ChristmasSeacow · 08/01/2017 13:24

Have books are hard to do but I am trying to clear out at least half the contents of my little study so that my husband can 'move in' and we can liberate his man cave and start doing it up for the new baby. I am starting to gather baby stuff and until he has cleared his room I have nowhere to put it! He is not at all happy to be losing 'his' room, but then not am I. We are not going to be very compatible, I predict marital tension ahead!

Also, our local ASD support group has a table top sale in 2 weeks and books always go down well, so I'd like to donate to that if possible.

Cagliostro · 08/01/2017 13:45

Hi everyone :)

I wasn't really up for physical decluttering yesterday but I went through my emails instead. Hotmail account TOTALLY empty - I had nearly 5k in there (and that was an improvement compared to a few months ago when I had my first attempt).

Will do the gmail one later today (more difficult as it's not so user friendly) but first I'm going through the pen drawers - not going to spend ages testing everything but just gathering like with luke and ditching anything without lids etc.

I find clutter is as much in the mind as in the house so to do digital decluttering when I can't manage the physical stuff still helps me.

OrlandaFuriosa · 08/01/2017 13:58

Sorted bathroom, nearly: all medicines beyond expiry date gone. Spare toiletries for spare room sorted. Stuff fir DH and DS to sort out sorted. Spare soaps in linen cupboard to scent it, harden off and be used later. Two carrier bags full in bin...

Lucked · 08/01/2017 14:01

Can I recommend the spice cupboard, I filled a massive bag with out of date spices, soy sauce,mango chutney etc. I also no longer have to worry about the salt falling in me when I open the cupboard.

Katymac · 08/01/2017 14:04

Cleared out all the drawers in the bedroom & tidied DH has albums to mount photos/memories in & pen to check, pencils to sharper and combination locks to work out the number for this evening Wink

Trip to the tip with his old chair (from August when it broke) & thousands of empty boxes from the attic!!

& a load of stuff photgraphed

Vinorosso74 · 08/01/2017 15:17

I'm starting to feel more human after this rotten cold. DP has just taken the bags of textiles and shoes along with a few other bits to the recycyling centre.
Hoping to have more progress this week.

Katymac · 08/01/2017 19:22

a black bin bag for charity, half a bag fro rags

& everything I photgraphed is on Gumtree & half is on Preloved (but the rest will be later)

Feeling like I achieved

Cagliostro · 08/01/2017 19:51

Well done everyone!

I've ditched some fabric scraps having salvaged the usable stuff, I've run out of steam now though. Pretty much cleared my other email inbox.

Vinorosso74 · 08/01/2017 19:58

I managed to clear and clean out one kitchen cupboard. Got rid of out of medicines.

SweetGrapes · 08/01/2017 21:02

Have managed a carrier bag of clothes, another of paper and a bag of broken decs. So that's 3 so far this year. Not too good - but it's a start.
Am working from home tomorrow so am aiming to spend a little time clearing my desk. That should be a few carrier bags so hopefully will catch up.

luck - thanks for reminding me! That should be a couple of bags worth!

officerhinrika · 09/01/2017 01:28

The living room is back to normal! All random boxes / bits that have been lurking around since Christmas are now tidied, binned or recycled, lovely.
I did open the CD cupboard but have shut it again rather quickly. That's a project that needs a run up, I keep planning to copy all the CDs to the computer then either get rid of them or put in the loft until I can get myself to get rid of them. It's such a boring job though and there are rather a lot. I'm sure there are easier wins somewhere!

DonaldTrumpsTrump · 09/01/2017 03:09

Can I join please? Done mine and DP's bedroom today, more reorganising and tidying than anything else but got rid of loads of empty boxes for recycling and it's more organised chaos which I can deal with for now! Think I'll get onto the kitchen drawers tomorrow as they're overflowing with crap. Loving the inspiration from this thread Smile

AdoraBell · 09/01/2017 11:28

I might give this a try. Books currently doing my head in, still in boxes as need purchase a book case. Other than that, decorations down and packed away. Lounge still a little cluttered but that won't take long. My bedroom is an issue as things that should be in cupboards downstairs are waiting for new storage unit. Going round in circles.

Well done everyone.

Katymac · 09/01/2017 11:35

DH just sorted out PJs, TShirts & Shirts all off to the charity shop today plus a bog pile of hangers!!

Cagliostro · 09/01/2017 19:10

Well done baggers! All seems to be going well.

I haven't done any decluttering today as had a long appointment which required lots of travel as well. About to tackle the huge pile of laundry that needs putting away instead! I did spot a couple of books under the bed that can go though.

SnugglySnerd · 09/01/2017 19:13

Lots of good decluttering going on! DH took a car load to the tip yesterday. I've emptied everything our of the bathroom cabinet ready to sort, chuck and reorganise but I haven't had time to do that yet. I might try this evening but I'm really tired and achy (disclaimer I'm not usually so lazy, I'm expecting twins in a couple of months!).

Cagliostro · 09/01/2017 19:49

Shock DD says she wants to go through her clothes tomorrow and get rid of stuff Shock

it may be partly because I said the obvious solution to "but muuuuum I don't wanna put my clothes away, it takes aaaaages" was "well let's get rid of some of them then"... still I'm counting it as a win :o :o

SnugglySnerd · 09/01/2017 21:11

Bathroom done! Threw away a carrier bag of mainly out of date sun cream. Have kept last year's to use up before buying any more.
Probably wouldn't have been bothered if it wasn't for reading everyone's progress on here. It's very motivating!

HappyFlappy · 09/01/2017 21:14

I'm in, too - better late than never, I'm drowning in rubbish here!

MardAsSnails · 10/01/2017 06:17

DH is a fucker.

He's sorted his study out. Everything is pristine, he doesn't have drawers (apart from the one for the GoPro and binoculars and related kit), but beneath his desks was cluttered with the box for his server, camera tripods, extension leads that aren't plugged in.

He's put them all in the downstairs spare room, on top of the bedding box and the check of drawers. His justification being 'that's where stuff like that goes'. Yes, it was. It took me hours the other day to unfuck that room. Now he's fucked it again.

Note to DH self - decluttering is out of the house, not out of the room it's in. If it goes to another room because it must be kept, it must be put away properly at the time.

haveyourselfamerry · 10/01/2017 09:20

Mard - I totally feel your pain.....

DH has been very sweet. He said "I was a bit sorry when I saw you'd thrown that mug out as I liked using it but then I thought of all the time you'd spent sorting...."

I felt very guilty and may go to the charity shop to buy the mug back!

Vinorosso74 · 10/01/2017 13:03

Mard I'd have been livid. I'm still waiting for DP to start show any signs of clearing his stuff out....
Sorted another kitchen cupboard yesterday, someone is due to collect something from Freecycle later and I've got rid of a couple of bags of random stuff from DD's toy drawers in the lounge. I need her to go through another bag of things.

SugarMiceInTheRain · 10/01/2017 13:09

Hi all, I know I'm late to this, but it sounds like a manageable way to get rid of excess stuff. I've read the Marie Kondo books, and do like her method of seeing if something sparks joy. It has certainly changed the way I think about my possessions and their purpose, but am struggling in certain categories and getting bogged down with it all, so having a small goal each day, like a carrier bag of stuff, will help me find the point where my home feels right and things 'click' into place.

By way of catching up, and also because some days are busier than others, and I'm not allowed to drive at the moment, I'm getting rid of several bags today, so I don't have to walk 20 minutes to the nearest charity shop every day! Am going to load up the buggy with as much as it can take (3 carrier bags so far, plus a couple of boxes of wine glasses (We don't drink wine ever! Why the hell do we even have wine glasses??)

Also, are any of you clearing out Christmas stuff? We have lots of old, but perfectly good condition, decorations, but I imagine charity shops won't want them until November or so. Should I keep hold of them, or take them to the tip? Seems so wasteful to just chuck them out... Sad

haveyourselfamerry · 10/01/2017 13:51

you'll find takers in Freecycle for those xmas decorations

Lelivre · 10/01/2017 14:48

I've been doing this alongside you and not posting, but enthusiasm is waning. How are you staying motivated. I'm always throwing out anyway so I don't have a lot of satisfying piles of stuff left to attack at present... more minimalising.