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

Welcome back, @Tidy2018 !

Today's items so far are 2 of DP's manky, old t-shirts.

I've been busy doing laundry etc which is one of the many ways I continue to delay dealing with my boxes, but they are at least all organised and tidy just full of old crap .

Some more life admin ticked off: I've booked a panto for Christmas. We've got great seats by booking early too!

I'm in decluttering hell! Still doing my awful chest of drawers. It is full of so much crap of different types. I have chucked out bits of unidentifiable plastic, obviously used batteries, washers, rawplugs, a case for something (no idea what) and have a pile of batteries (thousands of them all types!), lots of DIY stuff (alum keys, tape measure, screwdrivers), stationery (thousands of paperclips, postit notes, pritt sticks, 3 or 4 blu tac packets, pens, pencils), black cotton, lots of keys, string.

I will be finding homes for all of these things - mostly in other rooms but I am so tempted to throw them away just to have a tidy room. The sitting room is usually the tidy room in the house and it's a mess!

The good news is I find a Lindt bunny in the kitchen earlier. Left over from Easter. I decluttered it for breakfast.

@StealthNinjaMum - I feel your pain. Would it help to do it quickly (I find this gets me out of the uncomfortable feelings)? You could very quickly chuck all the diy stuff in one bag/box and all the stationery stuff in another?? Maybe put the batteries by the front door to take to the supermarket for recycling.

I just wolfed half a packet of ginger biscuits which were utterly delicious but I'm so sleepy now I'm struggling to do anything useful. I have done a charity shop run today but I've still got quite a bit to do.

You're right @SandandSea I know I'm too thorough, I spend hours making the duplo sets and jigsaws before I sell them. I like to feel organised. I have been throwing away little plastic bits for a few weeks that seem to have no home and it is so unsettling as I am convinced they'll come in handy again.

I think you are right though, I do need to just put them in bags and move them somewhere else. Then I will clear that space. I think I am going to set a timer and see what I can do in 20 minutes.

@StealthNinjaMum - I think I've found the easiest way to clear out a chest of drawers or something similar is to just empty it as quickly as possible. Clean it. And then put in whatever you want in there so it's all lovely. It's immediately uplifting to see it all clean and organised, especially if this also means that you've finished a room.

The difficult bit is how best to treat the bits you take out, without creating more of a problem for yourself. Chucking it in bags by subject (diy, stationery etc) seems the best way. You can then sort them in front of the tv or whatever later on if you run out of steam. And if you don't get round to finishing it today, at least they're in some kind of order - just make sure you label the bags/boxes up properly so they don't turn into more random piles of crap in the house.

Thanks @sandandsea I took your advice and now have little bags of things to go in other rooms and sit there for three months

I'm really bored with that chest of drawers. It isn't quite finished but it is more organised and the wires which were in my bedroom aren't now so that's good. And our 7 old phones that were all over the house are now in one place waiting to be charged and files copied over. I have also found a bag of coins. Some seemed foreign and a couple seemed commemorative. One was for the Queens Jubilee in 1977. I wonder if it'll be worth anything. I'm tempted to sell it think I'll check its value on eBay.

Well done, Stealth and Willow!

I have now shredded a load of docs and have, wait for it.... binned a box!!!!! That most certainly doesn't happen round here very often!

I've also made dinner, cleaned the kitchen and am about to do the lounge and bathroom.

Earlier, I re-posted some ads and have had an enquiry (by PM) about one of them. I'm now having a bit of a dilemma as the message reads as quite rude: no hello, please or thank you, just straight into her demand about the item. I know I shouldn't care but I hate rudeness. I'm debating whether or not to answer.

For anyone who's wondering, I've replied to the rude woman and been really nice. (It's the best way.)

Ha ha @SandandSea I hate it when people are rude. I'm really attached to some of the things I sell so I want them to go to a nice home. You're right though you do have to be nice.

Thanks Willow I am going to have a few days off from decluttering other than to just do one small thing because I am really busy at the moment.

Plan tomorrow is to drop off charity shop clothes and some boxes.

I need to look at the boxroom/junk room , it needs tidied because our guinea-pigs go there in winter . Still a few weeks to go before they move in, but I'm inspired to declutter in there .

One book gone. Really minimal effort today but I am meeting a friend for coffee and cake now before school pickup.

I re-advertised my under-bed storage boxes on Facebook and Gumtree and someone collected them on Wednesday! I have also sold another eBay item. This means as far as selling goes, I am down to just 3 items listed on eBay, so my plan is to sort out more things to list/advertise this weekend.

I binned some more magazines last night, and intend to sort out more this weekend. I also want to make a start on collecting stuff together for the next Charity drop-off, as the "holding box" in the hall is now almost empty.

Bit more paperwork shredded or scanned. Two more eBay bits posted and I have gathered up two more boxes of bits to list. Still have tackled all the crap in bedside unit. Keep opening a drawer then closing it quick

Nothing out today but I did tick a significant bucket list item off my list, which makes 2 this week, so I'm quite pleased.

Newbie here - this is the thread I need to join! Have not moved house for 20 years and it shows. I have also been seriously ill for a couple of years (now finished treatment and starting to get back to normal). It is fair to say that the housekeeping, never a strong point, has gone south and it’s time for a new regime.

I look forward to reading the threads and gathering ideas from you all for where to send stuff. A big part of my clutter problem is my extreme reluctance to put anything at all in a bin destined for landfill. I need to find strategies for getting stuff to leave the house in an eco-friendly and constructive way

This morning I got all the magazines that had been stored in the garage into bags. Half of them have been dumped in the paper recycling bin at Asda, and the other are in the back of the van while I take a break.

This is huge step forward for me, mentally. Someone in "Hoarding: Buried Alive" pointed out that no-one can benefit from learning out-of-date information. This has stuck with me, and freed me from some of the guilt of wasting the money in the first place, and also losing interest or not having time for it.

I'm still keeping my Dad's railway enthusiast magazine from the thirties though :-))

@Kokoloco - Some ideas for you:

I would put it all in one place, such as the dining room table.
Then clean the place you're planning to store it, such as the bathroom cabinet or make-up bag.
Then put things back in order of when you plan to use them, starting with your favourites. What I mean is, you might be in the habit of using something you don't really like, so don't put this back - you deserve better. Also, don't put back anything which you've had 6 months+ and haven't used yet. (I've kept one small bubble bath as I hardly ever have baths but want this for when I do.)
I would also clean everything before putting it away. (Bin/recycle old make-up as it's probably filthy.)

As for your issue of spending money to look good. Maybe reassure yourself that you're doing your best and it's good to try new things sometimes. You've also helped to provide jobs for people. (Say whatever works to yourself.)

You might be able to sell some of it - I find getting money helps me to get rid of things. You might also be able to donate some to a women's refuge - such a good cause - again, this might help ease the process for you. Or maybe you could have a party and give some away to friends in a party bag?

Long-term, you really don't need much. One small make-up bag works for me, plus a few bathroom products. I also use natural, kitchen products such as olive oil and coconut oil (great for removing eye make-up).

Hope this all helps.

@Kokoloco - Also, make sure all your family and friends know not to buy you any more. (Important with Christmas coming.)

@Tidy2018 - Well done! I used to struggle throwing out mags and papers too and they take up sooo much space!! It's liberating to clear them. I'm really pleased for you.

Sandandsea - thank you, yes it feels great! The final boxes of garage magazines are at last in the paper skip, and I feel so much lighter :-))

I had a good rake around in the garage when I got back from the skip. Lots of little bits and pieces in old ice-cream tubs. They're destined for the now empty magazine shelves, for someone to sort into Ikea and non-Ikea bits.

I found two unopened Lego sets and brought them into the house. Also an unused toilet seat and lid. Some serious tidying needed!

Storm damage all over the garden. But it's easier to fix now that there isn't years of weeds and rubbish under it.

I sold (& posted) some skating items on Ebay.
Tidy2018: those mags may be worth something. I'd research whether to flog them on Ebay.