Keep on getting rid of one thing a day decluttering challenge!

[StealthNinjaMum]

After a thousand posts our homes are beautiful, decluttered places of harmony and relaxation….. or perhaps not?

We’re still trying to recycle, freecycle, sell our unwanted stuff and most of all clear out our houses, garages and sheds.

It’s easy to get involved, literally get rid of one thing a day and report back for support (and sometimes finger wagging if you’ve ‘accidentally’ bought a load of new clutter!)

Please join us and a warm welcome back to

@SandSnakeofDorne @PenelopeFlintstone @MajestyRoyal @Cupoteap @Gibble1 @SandAndSea @Medwaymumoffour @Rainbowqueen @Namethecat @lljkk @CapricornWithAUnicornHorn @Helsingborg @Panda81 @abitoflight @fannyanddick @AbbieLexie

(Apologies if I missed anyone out)

Original thread here

Grumpy I read the first dozen or so of the posts in that thread to see if anyone had mentioned my house and felt relieved it wasn't there. (I am stupidly paranoid even though my house is generally clean and slightly tidy for visitors)

Majesty one thing is still very good. I haven't been 'decluttering' as such (i.e. setting the timer and blitzing an area) since dds have been off school but have been getting rid of things and even one annoying item gone makes a difference. I think I've said this before but I feel like I have been blind - why have I just lived with an item I hate for 7 years? Today's item is a doormat. It's really ugly. I have 3 by the front door (2 inside and 1 out) and while it worked when I had a toddler and buggies coming in and out of the house I haven't been in that position for about 5 years so why is that hideous mat the first thing you see when you enter my house?

It's amazing how much less time it takes to tidy / clean once you have got rid of a critical mass of STUFF! It's so liberating not having to constantly tidy up.

Hallway cupboard being dismantled tonight & all the crap inside will be sorted, donated or chucked.

My kitchen is the last bastion still to be conquered..

You're right. I spend much more time on mumsnet now and much less time doing housework.

I have done my one item but I am considering sorting out our winter stuff from the cupboard under the stairs - gloves, scarves etc and being one of those women who store summer and winter stuff separately and rotate things. It depends on whether dc are self-sufficient or whether I have to break up fights!

I need to catch up. I'll have to get rid of 21 items this weekend.
It's alright. I've got this.
(Repeats to self in front of mirror.)

Hello. Can I join?
I seem to keep things thinking they'll be handy at some later date. Yesterday I have binned three mobile phone cases ( for 2 different mobiles that I don't even have anymore).

I have also used the last of a bottle of shower gel (one of too many on the go at the same time). The empty plastic bottle is now in the plastic recycling bag which our Council collects from our house once a week.

Last night I hoovered half a room as that bit was cleared and tidied. I also dusted and wiped the chest of drawers down. I took great pleasure in waking up this morning and looking over at the fruits of my effort. Long way to go but I've started!!! Tonight I intend to do a bit of tidying of the bathroom and take stock of how many shower gels, toothpastes etc I already have. It's so easy to buy more in supermarkets and Savers/Wilkinsons when they're so cheap and then I get home and realise they're not needed.

A lovely day. A lady picked up a rucksack I had sold on Facebook. Then dds were sufficiently good that I managed to pick up scarves and gloves from around the house and put in a box ready to be sorted. I also sorted through sandals, summer hats, picnic blankets and tennis rackets and put them in the cupboard under the stairs. Along the way I found two pairs of shoes I don't wear and some damaged slippers which I binned (not missed as I have 3 other pairs).

I am in slight chaos in my bedroom now as I still have makeup on the floor from weeks ago and now a box of hats and scarves but it is definite progress. I have asked dh to take the kids out tomorrow as the spare room and boot of my car are full of stuff to go to a charity shop but I can't do it with the kids around or they'll see their precious stuff clothes that don't fit and toddler toys going.

A very productive Friday night here in the Squirrel house. Have dismantled huge Ikea cupboard full of random crap (think: fishing lures, bike parts, camping equipment, random tools, diving masks, and about 100 spare wedding mugs!) and it is all now in the car! And I have a hallway again!
Need to have a clean tomorrow and there’s a few more things to put in the shed that aren’t going but well on the way to a minimalist house 👍🏼

(We had personalised mugs as favours for our wedding)

Massively productive day here today! Out went a cassette tape and a wooden spatula!

Still haven’t done charity shop run though.

Can I join in too? I'm a hoarder. Dp is a hoarder. I have 4dc, too many pets and my house is literally bursting at the seams. I know em and mrsoh from the frugaleers thread, but I'm a mess generally. My whole house/gardens/sheds/cars full of clutter.

Today: tip run to take 1.5 walls worth of plaster (had to take wall back to brick as plaster falling off), plus a piece of old carpet gone. My middle dd's are staying with my mum while I fix the wall, so I have a good chance with their room. They have to share, so room heaving with preteen crap down to baby stuff. Before bed I'll take all the empty shampoo bottles and rubbish out of the bathroom to the right bins.

Threw out 2 cork screws this week!

Also E bayed lots do dress up clothes too small for anyone and gave away a camera.

Also went through my kitchen drawers and got rid of 3 utensils I don't use.

Today's plan is to eBay more clothes and recycle some hard copy maps that we haven't used in at least 10 years and us up the last of my shampoo samples

I can report an ongoing trickle of things going out (charity shop, Ebay, gifts to others). However, teen DS needs new trousers (sulk).

I hoard empty cardboard boxes & packaging to post Ebay items in. Some day I will figure out how to rationalise down. Plastic bags are terrible for posting stuff ime.

We had a massive bonfire last week. Does burning 100kg of thorny sticks count as decluttering?

I've got rid of more old paperwork, old stationery items, and added to my charity shop bag.

It's a wrench to get rid of things with memories of dearly loved family members, I'm finding it quite difficult really.

Another bag of paperwork gone!

Will be on track soon as new wardrobes in and sorted
I'm not going to buy any new stuff to overfill them as they look so nice atm
I actually have empty drawers 🎉
Next area will be garage crap out
I've little left to do tbh as being strict about not accumulating stuff

Is there anything I can do with a bunch of DVDs? We don’t watch them anymore so no point in hanging on to them.

Charity shops take DVD movies. Perhaps you could selling them as a bundle on Ebay. Freecycle, too.

I must get a bag to charity shops this morning.

ps: I left a load of DVDs at work by the microwave with 'FREE' on them, most went! Better than going to landfill.

Morning everyone!
Please may I join you?
I spent hours reading all the posts yesterday/this morning and now feel motivated to sort out my clutter - one thing at a time
I’ve just removed 4 empty product boxes from the bathroom shelf and have 2 big empty boxes in mind that need flattening and putting out into the recycling box.
Nearly all the clutter/mess in this house is mine , although, ds (15) does contribute a little!!
I started kondoing a few years ago and whilst I follow some of the principles, I can’t get to a point where I feel on top of things.
I don’t have a loft or garage so all clutter is just there. However, I also don’t have a hoarding partner or small children (other than my childminding ones!!) so I’m not quite sure what my excuses are for my house being in such a state!!!
Reading all your posts has given me the push to at least make a start

DVDs...my DH has lots of videos! Currently in a box in loft, being kept just in case.

I'm tempted to throw them as I try so hard, yet he is a hoarder.

When we moved last year we needed an extra van for his collection of retro stuff and we even bought a house (it's too big) just because it has an extended loft to store his stuff.

I vowed we'd never need another extra truck and since moving have been trying to declutter general stuff, secretly readying for an easier move next time (i want to go back to a smaller house) though God kbows where his stuff would go. Can't believe when we viewed/chose houses that I had to factor in an extra room just for his 'stuff' I mean, imagine having the luxury to have an extra room for clothes and bags, say! Never again

Ada it is hard to get rid of things of sentimental value, I know we want to declutter but you are allowed to keep a few bits. You can take photos of them too. I dip in and out of rooms and never really finish but i am finding that each time I return to a room it is easier to get rid of something I couldn't have done before. I haven't regretted anything I've got rid of yet - but I appreciate that they're only my childhood possessions and my dcs and I might feel different if it was a parents or grandparents. So just take your time if you find it hard.

Anyway bad news from dh this morning, last night he saw a mouse. This morning we found a shredded plastic peanut butter tub in a cupboard about three foot off the ground. It is astounding what they can eat through. It's the third time we've had mice and this time I feel surprisingly relaxed about putting traps down etc and I think this is because I have decluttered. I used to freak out that that they would go in a room and hide in / behind a box or nest in one of my many boxes of paperwork and of course we don't have so many now. There aren't so many hiding places. That said I still have a lot of tidying to do because I keep emptying spaces, throwing stuff away (or putting on spare bed) and I want to focus on tidying for a week while obsessively hoovering and looking for mouse poos around the edges of rooms!

@abitoflight any chance of a pic of your new wardrobes? Are they fitted? We are getting built in ones fitted in May - something I said I'd never do - but the only way to maximise space in our weirdly shaped bedroom

@Middleoftheroad wow I'm assuming he paid the extra for the bigger house too then? Sending you some strength & solidarity.. my DH is a bit like this but I have successfully got him to see the benefits of minimalism over the years... today sent him to his dads with a car full of camping and sports equipment we never use in London 👍🏼

Grumpy - it was the only house he liked funnily enough. Previously, in old house my entire conservatory was filled with broken monitors, wires, cassettes, broken consoles etc
I'm in awe of your conversion skills. Am trying, but when he goes to tip for me he'll say "look what I pulled out" and come back with another broken TV to fix.
I have, though, just convinced him to list a broken 20stone! rare monitor on Ebay and it is actually generating some interest!

@TheGrumpySquirrel I’ve recently had a fake wall put up at one end of my bedroom. It has a chimney breast on it and already had make shift cupboards fitted into the recesses. By putting up a fake wall, about a foot into the room, it’s created a much better storage area and has made much better use of the rest of the room...hmm, I’m not describing it very well!! Basically, I need less furniture in the room now so it doesn’t feel any smaller by losing that extra foot at one end.