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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Join me in getting rid of at least one thing a day decluttering challenge?

998 replies

SandSnakeOfDorne · 21/09/2017 16:04

I am trying to declutter, starting with our loft and garage both of which need some work doing so need to be a lot emptier! After they're done I want to declutter the rest of the house. I've already got rid of loads of stuff but I'm starting to lose motivation alone!

We have quite strict rules for what we can put in rubbish so I'm selling, free cycling, taking stuff to the clothes bank etc. At least one thing a day. I'm hoping to be done by Christmas!

Anyone want to join me?

OP posts:

TaylorTinker · 10/11/2017 09:59

My DH uses the library and I put stuff on my Kindle nowadays.

megletthesecond · 10/11/2017 11:37

Someone's in denial about their cookbooks fresh .

I've whittled mine down to just a few on top of my freezer and a binder of magazine favourites. The dc's like using recipe books, so until they leave home I won't chuck them.

Currently sitting here sorting old Cd's. Some to chuck, some to keep and some to maybe try ok music magpie. Really quite bored but want to make the most of being off work.

StealthNinjaMum · 10/11/2017 16:37

I have donated 3 bags today and sold one very small toy on Facebook as well as two large ones yesterday. I did some of the xmas decorations sorting that I had aimed to do and so one of the donated bags was of Christmas decorations. I also threw away some old children's paintbrushes and rollers but I do need to go through our arts and crafts things. So apart from clearing the floor of the Room of Doom I made good progress on the targets I made on Monday.

Taylor Tinker I found about 8 lost library cards in the Room of Doom (some were dds). I keep losing them and getting replacement ones. If I have time I'll go with dds tomorrow.

Am still looking at Delia's cookbook and my Japanese one. Think Delia was a present from mil and I am wondering if she would notice if it vanished from the kitchen.

Chloe1984 · 11/11/2017 00:42

I think I’d really regret throwing away cookbooks, that would be way down at the bottom of the list of things I’d get rid of to make more space.

Sparrowlegs248 · 11/11/2017 07:59

Argh nothing yesterday even forgot to give my mum the bagrill of her stuff from my house. AND bought another buggy........

Hannahbal · 11/11/2017 22:38

I agree that I will keep cookbooks that I use, the one Kindle cookbook that I have has not been a success. I am not an e-book fan really but find it handy for holidays and reading sone lightweight stuff.

StealthNinjaMum · 12/11/2017 11:07

Considering I don't usually do anything at the weekend I had a good day yesterday. I put a few things from the kitchen and dining room into a charity shop bag while I cooked lunch and also took a few things out of my bedroom while I was getting dressed. I have one and a half bags now ready to go in the car for the next charity shop visit.

Original poster

SandSnakeofDorne · 12/11/2017 16:06

I've done quite well this weekend, though I haven't actually got anything out of the house! I have two bin bags full, one to donate to charity and one for the textile recycling.

I use the internet for recipes most of the time but can't bring myself to get rid of the nicer cookbooks!

OP posts:

TheGrumpySquirrel · 12/11/2017 17:55

Chest of drawers donated to BHF today! Now have to go through the stuff that was in it... but at least I’m forced to 😳

Ausparent · 12/11/2017 18:03

Can I join you guys? I started back in March after seeing the Minimalism documentary on Netflix. It was really depressing as we moved abroad 3 years ago spent thousands on having the contents of our house shipped, but now I realise we could have brought a fraction of the stuff with us!

I have big shopping bags stationed around the house and put stuff in them whenever I can. We have done about 40 bags so far. It is difficult here because there is no culture of charity shops so it is harder to ethically dispose of things.

I did a car boot full this week including baby clothes I was given for my son 7 years ago and have never used

StealthNinjaMum · 13/11/2017 11:30

You're all doing well.

My never used Delia and Japanese cookbooks are back on the shelf. I have already given away 2 or 3 bags of cookbooks so I think I need to come back to it again in a few months. I found some recipes I'd like to try in the Delia book - if I ever finish decluttering I might have time.

Targets this week are almost the same as last week (although I did do a lot last week):

Clearing up so much stuff I can see the floor of the 'room of doom'. This will involve lots of filing and shredding.
Finish sorting out xmas decorations.
Put another 10 items for sale on Facebook.
Taking at least 3 bags to the charity shop

I don't have as much time this week as I am intending to start on the Christmas shopping and go to our nearest shopping centre and a garden centre. The tree is up so I will be wrapping presents up as soon as I buy them and stick them under the tree.

Original poster

SandSnakeofDorne · 13/11/2017 17:19

Welcome ausparent! What do they do with used stuff if they don't have Charity shops?!

A Christmas tree up already! Wow!

I took the bin bag of clothes along today. Then I cleared out half a kitchen shelf. Not much, but it's progress.

OP posts:

StealthNinjaMum · 13/11/2017 18:37

I put the tree up last week I have been decluttering the cupboard in which I keep the Xmas and Halloween decorations and it was a squeeze so it made sense to just put the tree up early. The DC are really excited and I keep telling them Xmas isn't for ages.

I carried on chucking papers out today and stopped at my 1995 bills! The source of my hoarding papers is that in 1995 the water board in my rented house tried to send debt collectors around for a bill I had paid. In those days you had a bill with a slip and you could take it to the post office, fill in a payment slip, pay cash and they stamped a tiny inch wide slip of paper and handed it back to you. Fortunately I kept that tiny slip for 6 months and could prove I'd paid but the whole thing was really stressful and I was angry (still am) that if I had lost that tiny sliver of paper I'd have no proof I'd paid.

So tomorrow I will finally shred my 22 year old council tax and utility bills as I guess they're not going to come after me now!

megletthesecond · 14/11/2017 10:07

stealth I'm starting to work through old paperwork now too.

I can see my desk again . Nice to see wood instead of piles of paperwork.

Original poster

SandSnakeofDorne · 14/11/2017 20:50

I admire those of you brave enough to start on paperwork! I'm putting that off as long as I can.

I took a bag to textil recycling today. Unfortunately I took it on the way to shopping and I brought back a similarly sized bag of shiny new things... I think that makes it zero progress.

OP posts:

ArcheryAnnie · 14/11/2017 21:17

I'm going to go through the xmas decorations box this week. It'll be a while before we put up a tree, but now is the time to take surplus xmas decorations to the charity shop in good time for them to make use of them!

CandyMelts · 15/11/2017 08:34

Also not brave enough for paperwork yet...

Yesterday I did every basket of crap on our shelves of doom. Unfortunately that leaves lots of electronic things to check before getting rid: memory cards, hard drives, USB sticks etc. Urgh.

I'm pretty good with cookbooks but have lots of food magazine, really need to rip out good stuff and put them in a recipe journal

Bowerbird5 · 15/11/2017 09:39

Can I join in?
Paperwork urgh! I have loads from work, some from a hobby- course and then general stuff. I have challenged myself to going through a bag a day those hessian shopping bag size not a black bag. I sit near the fire and burn it as I go or make a pile for lighting the fire for next day.
Also went into computer desk drawers and there is loads of stuff that doesn't belong to me so will need to get others to go through some of it like USB sticks. I think only one is mine.aiming to do craft room by end of year...didn't say which year!

Freshprincess · 15/11/2017 10:46

My charity box of books and toiletry sets I've been chauffeuring around for nearly two weeks has finally been delivered to the charity shop!
Also this week, small bag of random crap from the utility room, 3 jars of out of date herbs.

Also I've started a log of all the stuff I've got rid of which prompted me to go through the cupboard yesterday.

Cookbooks are a tricky one for me. Most of the ones I have belong to exH which I'm keeping till he gets himself sorted out (I know, it's a whole different thread!). I'm not interested in cooking and rely on BBC good food website if I need to do something different, so I'd happily throw them in a skip if I could.

I'm aiming to dig the shredder out and start on the paperwork mountain this weekend.

Medwaymumoffour · 15/11/2017 13:02

Hi, I’m not doing great. Feeling stressed and buying from charity shops ( shoot me now) I have sold eBay bits, more out than in this month but this week is a right off. I need to get two stressful things out of the way and start a fresh next week

StealthNinjaMum · 15/11/2017 15:38

Medwaymum It's still more out and that's a good start.

ArcheryAnnie I've nearly finished going through the xmas decorations and have thrown a few away and donated some to charity. It's a nice feeling and I have started to decorate the house. Dds are delighted dh isn't

However the paperwork is getting me down. It's just never-ending. I have thrown away bags and bags of it and filed lots of it but I swear it gives birth to baby paperwork at night. This week I have shredded all my utility bills from 1996 to 2003 and thrown out more university notes yet my room of doom looks like someone has stuck a five foot high pile of paper in a room with a powerful fan - stuff everywhere!

megletthesecond · 15/11/2017 17:31

archery I have real problems letting go of old Xmas decs. I get way too sentimental over them. They are tidy but I could do with halving my stash.

Medwaymumoffour · 15/11/2017 18:05

That’s how I felt about my washing pile stealth, I swear it breeds if left too long.
So much to do and I really enjoyed last month, I think I have to be in the right frame of mind

ArcheryAnnie · 15/11/2017 18:51

meglett I totally get feeling sentimental over xmas decs! I think my approach this year is to treat decorations that we haven't used in at least three years as if they were akin to puppies we were not allowing to be adopted - so if I give them away then they get to have a new life in someone else's xmas scheme instead of mouldering away in a box. (I will let you know if this approach works or if it makes me anthopomorphise the decs even more than I already do...)

StealthNinjaMum · 16/11/2017 10:03

I love my xmas decorations, to borrow the language of Kondo a lot of the tree decorations (not baubles but one-offs) do give me 'joy' and I have enjoyed sorting through them. So far I have probably thrown away about a quarter of them - mainly broken ones, scruffy dc-made ones and a bag of black ones that I bought thinking they looked cool and they didn't. I probably won't throw many more away but the cupboard they're in will be nice and organised.

Hope you're feeling better today medway.

I have to have a day off to do a bit of shopping and other errands so hopefully will be more enthusiastic tomorrow.

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