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

Saturday TaDa

More weeding, and scraping moss out from between acres of paviers. The moss is drier than it's ever been before, and it's a great chance to smarten up the place. Just very slow and dusty work.

Cleared a path to the bixes of audiocassettes, found the tape player and had a rather nostalgic hour. Incredible feeling of being transported back to another world. Simply holding them and hearing the sound of the cassette rattling open and whirr and clunk of the tape in the machine.

Decluttered
Nine items of outgrown children's clothes, with name-tapes removed.
Eight audiocassettes.

Tidy what does Tada stand for?

Cassette tapes! I remember cutting them up and making my own tapes and labelling them with glitter gel pens haha!

Just found 6 items for Ebay and listed them, including my Pink lining Holdall that I only used as a hospital bag once and I think I might get quite a bit for it as it’s a sold out popular design apparently. Few Babh boden cardigans and rompers of DDs and swimsuits that she’s grown out of...

Going to attach DVDs in morning and DDs toy dolls...

I don't think patio clearing is cheating, BlackDog!

Today is going two bags of boys clothes to a friend and a few kids books in with the clothes. The clothes are age 10 and my boy is 16.....

Tidy how to you clean your moss out? I have sprayed some stuff on some of our moss and it has taken ages to go brown. Do you have a special tool or do I just need to use elbow grease?

Was rooting around in the medicines box, muttering under my breath about out of date stuff, empty boxes etc, so decided to declutter there & then! So I now have a bag of stuff to go to the chemist for disposal & a much clearer medicine box!

Our recycling hasn’t been collected (was due Thursday) so we have veeeeeeery full boxes balanced outside 😩
I’m just having a break from ds’s Bedroom of doom before I take the hoover up to start in the corners.
I’ve put everything back in his 6 box unit which has emptied a drawer full of junk so now there is a drawer for his t-shirts to go in.
He drives me mad with all the clothes all over his room and I had it all set up nicely so he could just put stuff away where it lives but no- he took all the clothes out and just shoved stuff in drawers 😬. Baggage!

I've finally cleared out my doom-box of natural remedies (essential oils, flower remedies etc). I'm recycling 24 out of date bottles. (These were not cheap but they've had it so have to go.)

All the ones I've kept are essential oils and tbh, many seem to have lost some of their potency. My thinking is that they may still be OK to burn and at least now they're on hand so I can weed out any dud ones as I go.

The good news is that they're all now properly stored and organised in alphabetical order and, in the process, I've also started on the medicine cupboard. It's a work in progress.

And another bottle.

And a really nice, hardly worn, skirt which hasn't sold, is going to charity.

Today I used up a small notebook while explaining how to do some maths homework. I still have loads of other notebooks but at least it's one thing off the dining room table.

Just having another break from the boy’s bedroom. It’s hard going in this heat.
Kids back from Gilwell24 absolutely exhausted and poor DS I won’t let him in his room 😂.
DD has unpacked her bag and tidied her bedroom and had a bath. So different from DS 🙄
I have a bin bag full of junk so far to get rid of and have removed 3 t-shirts. I have put the computer and desk from my bedroom into his and the bureau from the landing will be going into my room (hopefully later this evening).
I’m going to carry on plugging away though each day and hopefully we will get some sort of order to this hovel!
I downloaded the unfuck your habitat app last night. I’m not too sure how it works but the timer and the checklists are helping me for now.
I suppose one day I might figure out how the challenges work?

@Gibble1 - Sounds great!

I've just recycled 9 organic, detox, tea bags. It doesn't sound like much but they'd escaped several previous culls. I'd had them years (maybe 10??) and I don't even like them!! (I do drink herb teas but not this brand.)

I'm getting down to the wire. I'm going to have to start focussing more on those things which I really struggle with.

It can't really be 10 years... can it???

I've just spent a good hour trying to write my will using one of those online services. It was clearly not going to happen so I've messaged a local solicitor. This will be some major decluttering if I can get this done this week. (Posting in the hope that doing so helps me do it.)

Half way through the third bin bag..

Attempted to clean under caravan and found a spiders nest (is there such a thing) so that can stay as it is no thanks!

Shells and pebbles in a bucket, a ball that's been out in the rain and made of foam so yuk, 4 toy dolls, cutlery drawer and tins cupboard decluttered...

Need to unclutter and make my bed and pop to the laundry with it shall do that tomorrow...

Can I join? I’m downsizing in three weeks so need an aggressive few weeks of decluttering and this would be good motivation.

Today I got rid of an old framed poster and some spare gym equipment

DS is about to help me get his xbox 360 listed for sale. I find myself asking why the actual fuck he has a gameboy branded box full of wires and games gathering filthy dust when he does not have and has not ever had a gameboy. Thanks MiL for that one!

*@NommyChompers - Welcome! And well done for starting!

Today's idea was not to allow myself online until I'd found a set number of things to put out. They would get me moving, I think!!

I continued on the garden theme as it was the weekend. Got rid of three broken planters, a hose (that apparently was a propane conversion kit for the BBQ) and some mystery metal frame things that I found propped against the house when I moved the chairs
I may also have accidentally on purpose got rid of the old house numbers too.
But tomorrow I’ll have to start inside

My new glasses I bought at the end of the last thread are a revelation and are going to massively improve my decluttering efforts. I can now read tiny writing and have found 5 things in the medicine cupboard that have gone off so will adding them to the bag of things in my car that has been there for about two months to take to a pharmacist. I probably should organise my medicine cupboard but I'm not sure how.

I still have my big to do list from last week. I'll work through it.

New week, new start. I haven’t been doing too much decluttering over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been pretty busy sorting stuff out at our new house so this one has been neglected a bit. We’ve been renovating the new house and it’s almost done so I really need to get organised or I’ll end up packing and taking our clutter with us.

Today’s plan is to clear and sort the dining table and top of the sideboard (again). I’m also going to tidy and sort out anything that’s in the hall. I need to find somewhere to order some packing boxes and bubble wrap from so I’ll try and fit that in too.

I’m hoping that by posting it on here that means I’ll have to do it! I’ll report back later.

A fresh new week where we are going to get LOTS done!

Removal company have been to assess for a quite and he thinks we need 2 vans so o need to calculate how much we are over the one van and the cost as it may make sense for my brother to hire a transit and take some of the clothing stock for our little business than paying for a whole van and only using a little bit of it.

They have said they'll need to pack our house up the day before.. then on the day, pop to storage for all of DMs things and hit the road to Shropshire...

I'm assuming they are expecting to load the beds and our last "bits" that we need for staying the last night in the house??

Electrician, Handyman also completing jobs today.

Sold a cardigan on Ebay of DDs.

Tenants moving in on 11th and 16th into two Fi the properties and viewings taking place for my house.

Phew it makes me dizzy thinking about it all!!

Happy Decluttering, we've a nice little breeze today!

Wow! There's so much going on here. You're all doing brilliantly!

I've also got some news... Are you ready for this? ...

I've only gone and cleared out my medicine cupboard!!!!!!!

I set a timer - Stealth, I thought of you - and even though I got side-tracked cleaning the top of the kitchen cupboards, it only took 50 minutes!

I've thrown out quite a bit of clutter - all sorts of bottles, jars and packages - and discovered an abundance of tissues and headache pills (more things that DP tends to buy compulsively). I know I could get rid of more but I'm not quite ready so I'll leave it there.

I've also started tidying away some of the things which haven't sold which are too good to give away. I've brought down some of the prices too.

The dining room is in a pickle again so I'm targeting that next.

Well done SandandSea how are you organising it? I need inspiration.

I have dropped off a bag of stuff to a charity shop. I am feeling really pleased with myself. Someone also picked up a toy today.

I am now going to do a big food order for the rest of the week so I don't have to leave the house. Dds finish school on Friday and I am determined to spend as much time in the house as I can getting it decluttered and tidy. It is always harder decluttering when they're around but I am going to keep trying over the summer.

@StealthNinjaMum - I've tried to organise it according to how often we need things and who is likely to go to it. Eg. DP is currently treating a verruca daily and can't be trusted to leave the cupboard tidy so the stuff for that is in the most accessible place at the front.

I've also put a rubber band round the duplicates and written on the one I want to be used first, because of its use by date. (I had to bin a whole pack of tablets which was out of date because he keeps buying them and then using them randomly.)

I've used a tupperware container for a sort of first aid kit with bandages, antiseptic cream and arnica. Another tin has the plasters and little scissors in. (Again, DP is using these all the time atm and I don't really want him in the first aid kit.)

That said... I'm not sure I even need the bandages or the antiseptic cream. They're both quite old now as I tend to use iodine and haven't had a need for the bandages. I'll probably fine-tune it soon.