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

[SandSnakeOfDorne]

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?

[StealthNinjaMum]

I didn't manage to do much in the end yesterday. I threw out three manky old bath toys. I have decluttered the dds bathroom anyway but it's always good to do a bit more as there is no storage in that room other than a plastic box of toys and a window ledge that has a million nit combs and treatments (from the Great Infestation of 2015) that I might move to our medicine cupboard where they'll be hidden.

[BasinHaircut]

MAnaged to get DH to sort out a drawer today and he binned a few items of clothing. I’m counting that!

[SandSnakeofDorne]

I think getting your DH to declutter definitely counts. Today I moved and squished up a load of old cardboard from the loft and DH took it to the recycling!

[whirlyswirly]

Re paperwork, I keep pretty much nothing that I can access online. Statements cleared every 3 months. Pension docs shredded each year when the new ones arrive etc. A lever arch file does it. I also have a small box each for the dcs and one with mortgage stuff that lives in the loft.

Take a photo of instructions etc on your phone, email it to yourself and skip the original. All magazines in recycling once read. Few books kept, especially fiction, all passed on. All vouchers stored together and binned once past expiry, same with school paperwork (again, take a pic), medical appointment letters and receipts after the return date, unless big purchases/electricals.

Being ruthless is the only thing that works for me. I rarely, if ever miss anything I've got rid of.

[kalinkafoxtrot45]

Can I join in too? I feel the clutter creeping up...

[BakerCandlestickmaker]

I chucked plenty of paper/ magazines this weekend mainly from my middle term storage. Long term storage is getting into my line of sight..

Husband causing issues with documents left out as clutter but saying "they must be kept" a new box file is needed I think. Athough he did say he is planning on looking through the previous ones..

I have collected together some old but damaged waterproof kids' coats . I can't give them to charity for reuse but will they be accepted as "rags"?

I'm putting away my warmer weather clothes this week and next as they are washed. Extra Jumpers will be coming out of storage so no real space saving. I do usually chuck a few bits of clothing to charity though as I do it.

[ArcheryAnnie]

This is a really good time to review your stashes of halloween decorations and christmas decorations, because it's the time charity shops can sell them. (Or the time that people will leap on them if you put them on freecycle, if that's your alternative recycling route.)

[SandSnakeofDorne]

Good plan archery! I am hoping to get through the cupboard which has Halloween decorations in this week. I've just sorted out a load of excess kitchen stuff and put it on freecycle. I really can't think of a situation in which I'm going to need two colanders.

[BakerCandlestickmaker]

Oh I've been keeping hold of some household stuff "for the kids".

The eldest has just moved into fully furnished and only needed my second best frying pan!

I have some wooden chairs that I really should get rid of as their replacements are now in turn slightly shoddy. I'd now be happy to pass those to the kids in a couple of years..

[StealthNinjaMum]

I have just attempted to burn some papers in the garden and am feeling quite stressed! To put it into context I am someone who has never even smoked a cigarette so fairly risk averse. Anyway I used match after match for little result, this was briefly a six inch high flame which terrified me and a ridiculous amount of smoke. I will be having a shower before I pick dc up from school.

Am going to the argos website now to buy a new shredder!

[SandSnakeofDorne]

I could have kept the second colander for the baby...

[SandSnakeofDorne]

I think maybe the papers need a bit of BBQ fuel to get them going? Not sure though, I've never actually done it yet...

[StealthNinjaMum]

I just poked at them with a barbecue skewer and it seemed to bring up big scary six inch flames from nowhere. What surprised me was how much smoke there was for about a one inch high pile of paper and I had removed anything that looked like it might have plastic in it so it was pure paper. It was an interesting experiment but I won't be doing it again because I was really worried about annoying my neighbours. My house is about 40 feet from my neighbours but if they had had washing out they would have had to rewash it.

Lol at keeping a colander for 20 years for when the baby is old enough to leave home.

I only have an hour before I pick dc up from school so will have a quick shower and see if I can sort through some more of a Box of Doom. I haven't really thrown anything away since Friday so I want to find a token thing to get rid of.

[ArcheryAnnie]

...to stop it going out with the bathwater, SandSnake?

[ZeppelinBend]

Bit late to the thread but I'm totally up for this. I feel like I'm slowly being buried in a house full of clutter and could weep every time I walk into the kids bedrooms. Have three bags of dc clothes sitting in the kitchen ready for the charity shop for a month

[ArcheryAnnie]

Zeppelin I have just bunked off for half an hour to take two big bags to the charity shop, and it feels SO GOOD! So if you have bags ready to go, get them gone!

[ZeppelinBend]

I've left them by the front door to grab on the way out for school run. They shall be gone tomorrow!

Spurred on by this thread I cleared the majority of dd's room bar a small set of drawers full of small toys. 1.5 bags full of plastic crap and sets with bits missing or broken. Thankfully she was engrossed in something else or I would have been told they were her favourite things ever and she plays with them all the time lies. So much floor I can see now and apparently it's 'Well Ah-may' which I think is 5 year old youtube speak for good

[GoGoGazelle]

bend this thread made me sort out dd's room too. Long overdue and the most cluttered room in the place but much better now.
Also returned a couple of dvds that I had borrowed from friends. Lost count but def getting rid of at least one item a day.
Want to list 2 things on eBay tomorrow.

[StealthNinjaMum]

Zeppelin I put things in the car that I need to get rid and so I generally get rid of one or more things every time I go shopping. I have to be careful where I leave charity shop bags because dh/ dc see them and start protesting about me throwing things out.

Apart from burning papers I didn't get rid of much yesterday, the only item was a sun lotion as I tried to declutter again while dd was in the bath. Today I'm going to chuck out a Nivea face cream which is in a big tub. I decided to try cheaper moisturisers but the Nivea one kept giving me spots so it's back to Clarins. I hate throwing out something that's almost new but I can't expect anyone else to want it.

[Freshprincess]

I've been a bit slack with the paperwork mountain, just threw a couple of things away.
But I have chucked a fair bit of stuff from the kitchen. ExH fancied himself as a bit of a chef so we had loads of half used jars of stuff, bottles of booze with a teaspoon taken out. So all binned. I've got almost a whole cupboard back!
My dad wants me to look at some holidays for him, and he's coming round on Saturday. This will involve him sitting at my PC which is slap bang in the middle of the paperwork mountain, so that's given me a bit of motivation to get on it

[Medwaymumoffour]

I'm aiming for 300 things this month, so a bit more than one a day but I will join you as I then need to form some good habits.

[StealthNinjaMum]

I love this thread, it is quite motivating to keep reporting back. I lost about 5 stone on a weight loss thread 5 years ago and I do need to feel accountable to someone and in real life people aren't interested in your weight loss journey or decluttering.

I was feeling a bit demotivated but I collected a shredder from Argos and it is amazing. I have just shredded a bag of old papers and thrown away loads of notes from university (in the 90s). So I have two sacks of papers. I have also just made up a carrier bag of books and CDs that I'll put in the car for a charity shop.

I also have the problem of my childhood teddies. Unknown to me my mum kept them in her loft and got them out about two years ago when she was decluttering. I am now wondering what to do with them. They take a whole bag and should go but some are just too scruffy, no-one else would love them and I can't bare to think of Bugs Bunny and Penguin in landfill. It'll make me sad to get rid of them but surely no-one keeps a whole sack of childhood toys? I wish my mum had just thrown them away. She also gave me my brother's childhood lego because there's no room in his tiny flat. He is 50, single and not likely to have kids so I really resent having it around but if I throw it away he will never speak to me again. What's worse is she threw my lego away!

Medwaymum wow that's impressive, you'll be so satisfied when you've achieved that. Zepelin I hope you got rid of your bags.

[Medwaymumoffour]

I'm not to far off my goal. I have two kids with considerable SEN so I have been appealing for years to move one of them into a more suitable school. Both boys moved this term so now I'm dealing with years of fall out from comfort buying and not getting rid of anything.
I did a big purge like this last year - but once a year isn't enough. I'm aiming to do clothes and this kind of purge every three months but i also need to relearn to get rid of things daily ( like mail and emails as they come in).
I am a hoarder. It's emotional linked but at the same time exhausting trying to get rid. A big purge with a target number is good for me as it keeps me focused.

[SandSnakeofDorne]

How have they settled at the new school medwaymum? It must be relief to have some mind space to think about other things.

I've cleared a couple of shelves on our cupboard of doom in the hall and also taken some outgrown shoes to the shoe bank.

We have loads of old cables and wires, does anyone know what to do with them? Do they just need to go to electrical recycling?

[Medwaymumoffour]

At our recycling site anything with metal goes into the metal bin so I wonder if that's true for wires?

Yes both boys seem happy enough now. One is non verbal so it's hard to tell with him but my older boys loves his new school. Says it's much much better. I was going to allow myself some time out just vegging and healing but that would be a bad idea as I want to draw a line. I can see that so much has fallen apart while I took my eye off the ball with everything that wasn't do with moving my son.
No more! This is a new chapter where I'm on top of housework and my life.
I want to visualise watching films on the sofa on Saturday nights without looking a tat out of the corner of my eye and stressing about the mess!
Also each time I want to buy more clothes I want to think about this feeling.
Then take it from there forming new habits. I'm no where near appearing on a hoarding documentary but if I don't stop I could be a few years down the line
Shudder