Getting rid of one thing a day decluttering challenge: Part 4

[StealthNinjaMum]

And the decluttering continues…

For 3,000 posts we have been slowly transforming our homes from hovels to palaces.

We’re not quite there yet some of us are further than others but we won’t give up until we have a decluttered existence.

We just get rid of one thing a day and report back to showoff for support and to be told off when we’re naughty and bring more clutter back into our homes, gardens, sheds, garages.

As ever newbies are welcome to join us.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3243987-Getting-rid-of-one-thing-a-day-decluttering-challenge-Part-3-Are-we-nearly-there-yet?msgid=79207142

Chucked a top of dds full of holes.

And a loads of bits and bobs in a bag of wrapping present stuff. Just saved the good stuff and put it in a proper tub.

Our bin in full and it's not collected til Friday-oops.

@bobgoblin and @Halfahunnerstillastunner I find your treatment of cards quite radical! I always feel slightly guilty, that I have to keep all cars as someone lovingly bought and wrote in them for me...

stillloving I know what you mean but I try to reread them before I bin them, appreciate them, have a kind thought about the person that sent it and then let it go. I've never missed them. I wouldn't hunt them out of a cupboard to read if the person did pass away. So why keep them? The pleasure was in the receiving, I am grateful, but I don't need to keep the physical card to be able to feel that gratitude.
Does that make any sense at all? It's weird to actually think this through. I have a lot of emotions attached to "things" but cards isn't one of them. I don't know why.

I have turned my decluttering attention to my phone.

Went through emails and unsubscribed to loads of companies.
Went through pictures and deleted random screenshots plus blurry photos and 1 million random selfies and pictures of the dog from toddler DC.
Went through all the apps and deleted ones I don't use, sorted other apps into folders and put in ABC order.
Had a clear out of friends list on social media, deleted lots of people I don't speak too and don't want them knowing what's going on in my life. Think old college friends/ex work colleagues/random family friends I only see 3x a year at parties etc.
Also went through my notes and sorted my lists out, deleted some, put some together in 1 folder, made new lists and ticked some stuff off.

I would like to print off all my photos, does anyone know the best way to do this? Not on canvas or framed as I don't want them up in the house, just normal printed pictures that I can put into an album for DC to look at when he's older.

Had a wee bit of time this afternoon on my Day 3 so I have:
Cleared all the shoes out of bottom of my wardrobe. Put 2 pairs in charity bag. Hoovered the space. Found the shoe storage bag I'd bought ages ago and put the shoes/boots I'm keeping into it so they are protected and not in a big jumble.

The bag that the shoe storage bag was in also had a heap of crap in that I've now sorted - 90% of it was paper/receipts/old notebooks/shopping lists that are now in the recycling or shredded if any personal details. A few bank bits now in the "filing" basket.

I've also coalesced two bags of old toiletries that were at the bottom of the wardrobe into one and put it on my bedside cabinet so I will actually USE UP some of the older lotions n potions first before my glam new things. I should really be on the "beauty hoard" thread too as I love skincare etc and have a hard time getting through it all even though I use stuff daily!

Also got the first of 3 big baskets down from the top shelf of wardrobe and sorted through it. Chucked a few bits (ancient Veet cream that I reacted to on first use but still kept for some random reason, anyone?!), very old creams (one was expiry date 2004 ) and body spray that's gone off. Found some other bits that can be used up before I buy any more!

Sorry for the essay. I find it so helpful to record progress as it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the task ahead and knowing I'm making a tiny bit of headway is good for me.

halfahunner Unlikely they'll find my bike as it wasn't at his property when they searched it. I'm just pleased they caught him.

26 books taken to the charity shop today ☺️

@Sitranced should have kept some of the books to pelt at the scallywag that stole your bike 😁

@MonkeySlutIsBlown, I upload images to Truprint & print off from there, decent price, easy to edit & crop them if that helps, about once every 18m. My kids like looking thru the albums.

Just had a bit of a furtle through my memories/trinkets and photos box and found a little silk pouch of sugared almonds from my sister's first wedding in 2002. Still safe to eat do we recon?

Halfahunner I also have a load of beauty products. I am working my way through bit by bit and it is taking a very long time but my hoard is going down. I had a chest, 6 drawers, 2 cabinets and loads of stuff on top of my vanity table but since I have decided not to buy any more (unless I have completely run out e.g shampoo/toothpaste etc) it has gone down to 1 bathroom cabinet, 1 small box of make up and 3 shelves of products.

I'm on my last bottle of perfume and can't wait to be able to go shopping for new ones as I have missed out on the new released ones for the past 2 years. (Yes it really has taken me 2 years to get through all my perfume which I wear daily!!)

@lljkk I have found an app which lets me print off X amount of pictures for free each month and I just pay postage - thank you anyway.

I'd scoff the almonds (no standards)

I have been quietly getting rid of one thing a day and following the thread.

In addition I managed 3 large bags of textile recycling and 7 bin-bags of 'stuff' to charity last week. I have another 2 bags ready to be taken to the charity shop, plus enough to fill another 2 at least. I have also sold a few things on eBay, 2 pairs of my shoes (unworn) and a Trunki car seat. Also had a NPB for a set of fitness scales - grrr.

The scary thing is that even with moving all the stuff out, I can't see any improvement. I'm planning on sorting out more of the DC's toys out in the next few weeks, but it is such a daunting job I don't know where to start. I know I want to sort some Duplo and Playmobil 123 sets out to resell in the Autumn though.

I'm also very very cross with myself that I have lost a present DC1 got for his birthday - I think it was a cheque but it may have been a voucher - at least a voucher will be OK if it turns up. He had some cash plus another cheque, which I put safe and I know where that is, I just can't find this other present and I don't understand why it isn't with the cash/cheques I have as I collected it all together at the time. I can't tell DH as he will just go on and on about the house being untidy - quite frankly he is one of the worst for dropping his belonging wherever he stands.

Still no progress on clearing the spare room for DC1 to move bedrooms - I'm thinking about getting him to help clear it. Most of the stuff in there actually needs to go in the loft, along with a few bits to charity / recycling.

monkey you've done amazingly well with your beauty amnesty!
It doesn't help that part of my job is kinda beauty related so I fairly often get samples/free stuff given to me. Our school raffle and tombola does well out of me

2nd wardrobe basket done tonight between tea and Tesco run! Again a few bits chucked (old hair dye, very old makeup brushes, positively ancient eyeshadows, no idea how they survived previous culls), basket dusted and replaced. Looks much tidier now there's not a pile of stuff sitting on top of the baskets and it's all neatly inside instead.
Just the third big one to do tomorrow then onto clothes and bags I think!

Cleared a drawer upstairs and put an old dress that I don't wear and doesn't suit me in the charity bag. Job done for today!

Monday - had a surprise text from K who was in the area, and was able to drop in to see me. She remarked on how my mood was more positive. We chatted a bit aboutt the changes that had come with the decluttering.

Decluttered two years of weekly magazines into the recycling.

Monday I continued with the paperwork on and off all day. I think I've caught up with all school and health stuff, added a few more things to the to-do list. Apart from that, all that remains is to keep up with it.

Tuesday's report.

An interesting day. The evening before, I'd left the files and piles ready for locking away in the cupboard. Unlocked the cupboard to find it extremely untidy. A few weeks ago I'd have been overwhelmed and distressed. This time around, it was back under control within a couple of hours of solid effort.

During the day I hoovered my bedroom and discovered my forgotten hiding-place for sweetie wrappers which I had forgotten about because I've decluttered the habit of sweeties in bed while I listen to radio.

Tidied and sorted single bedding that was in laundry baskets. Sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases now in relevant drawers. Winter duvets and underblankets all piled together for me to sort through today. It's easy to forget in the summer how long it takes to dry that stuff in the winter. Getting sorted now in the hope of not having to buy extra in an emergency.

Had a quick tidy before bed, opened a seldom used drawer to put something away, and found a heap of paper notes and clippings. I'll have a quick check for admin paperwork today. Still not discouraged. Just determined to maintain control of this problem.

stillloving it’s taken me years to get to that point with cards. I did keep all of them for a very long time for the reasons that you say. But in all honesty I don’t even look at the ones I have kept but I know they’re there if I ever want them. I did try and do the Kondo thing a few years ago and while it mostly didn’t work for me, her thoughts on dealing with emotional and sentimental stuff did help.

I did a little more yesterday afternoon. I decluttered some baking bits by making two lots of cookies. And I finally listed an item on ebay. I took a few photos and then decided to have a look at how to go about listing it and before I knew it I’d done it and it took less than 10 minutes. I’ve been putting it off for ages so I was really cross with myself when I realised how little time it took. There’s still loads more to list so I am going to try and do that today.

Another jacket has gone on the charity/rag pile as well. It was quite expensive and I wore it once to a family wedding so I was going to try and sell it but I noticed it had marks on the sleeve. I’d have to get it dry cleaned because of the material and I don’t think it would sell for enough to cover the dry cleaning costs.

Any suggestions about what to do with a baby car seat? I have the seat and an isofix base. I think it should just be dumped or possible freecycled. It’s done for two kids and is fairly battered and a bit grubby. DH thinks we should sell it. I say no one wants to buy second hand car seats because you don’t know what’s happened to them and I wouldn’t buy one. So we’ve reached a stalemate and it’s still in the hall two months after we stopped using it!

Well done Tidy! You seem to be tackling lots of tricky things and you’re achieving so much. Reading your list has made me more determined to get things done.

WhenDoISleep delurking to say, unless what you've got rid of (which sounds like an awesome amount) was actually blocking your hallway, you probably won't notice an immediate difference. But as time goes on, you'll notice its easier to close drawers /cupboards, choose clothes that fit and find the paperwork you need quickly. You'll have more breathing space and be less stressed as there's less clutter to stress you.

I'm in the same boat and wr have to keep hoping that these small cumulative changes will add up to big changes overall.

Thanks leeloo1. Everything that has gone was from various places around the house, not just one area so it makes sense that I can't see much difference really.

bobgoblin car seats generally have a 5 year life, so you probably need to dump it. If you can, strip the fabric off the seat for recycling and cut the straps so no one takes it to use. If the isofix base is separate you could sell or freecycle that. I've just got rid of my stage 2 car seat and have done this.

Popped two big bags of clothes and bedding out for textile recycling. Got rid of all of DS's polo shirts now that he's off to secondary and the alarming amount of clothes he's grown out of. 28 items leaving the house! Oh and an electric spice grinder that's been used twice and is now broken 🙄

@Halfahunnerstillastunner what you say about cards makes total sense
I definitely need to change my approach! I'll start getting rid of them and maybe keep the really beautiful ones to frame