Getting rid of one thing a day decluttering challenge Part 5

[StealthNinjaMum]

We’re still here!

For 4 threads a group of mumsnetters have been getting rid of just one thing a day. We’ve been throwing out, selling, recycling and giving our stuff away.

But we're still not finished.

Newbies are always welcome to join us. Just get rid of one thing each day and come back here to discuss your progress and get support when it gets hard.

Previous thread here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3298777-Getting-rid-of-one-thing-a-day-decluttering-challenge-Part-4?msgid=81434878

I’m so behind with the thread! Sounds like you are all doing great though. Slow progress here still so am trying to inspire myself. Just can’t figure out where to start at the moment!

GreenWillow I am fairly confident we also have some dodgy herbal tea lurking, may have a check for that later today if I can put Velcro DS down at some point. He woke up Very Cross from his morning nap and has gone back to sleep on my lap.

Bumblebee two half empty calpol bottles isn’t bad, we have about 4 currently as DD hates the stuff and I’ve bought a wide range of flavours to try to tempt her to actually take some. Hasn’t worked yet!

In exciting news DH went around the house on Sunday filling up a bin bag. I haven’t checked what’s in it but will be going outside tonight for bin collection! I’m planning to add two used up candles to it before it goes.

This thread has helped me in the past so I'm back again to get a bit of help with the clutter and disorganised spaces that have built up these past few months.

I need to declutter, sort and minimalist the following:
DS wardrobe
DS dresser
Our wardrobe
Our chest of drawers
Under stairs cupboard
Boiler/recycling cupboard
Pantry
Medicine cabinet
Photo storage on my phone

I have already sorted paperwork and letters from the pile that has been on top of the fridge for at least three months. Also did a quick sort through the bedside tables.

Along with this I need to find all of my 200 to do lists and put them all in one place on my phone so I know what I need to do. And then some more lists for DIY jobs, Christmas and other general life admin that needs to be kept in check.

Today I am going to post some disposable bed protector pad things. They were meant for night training DC, but they don't stay in place so are absolutely useless. Sending them to an animal charity in need.

Some tights with a hole in (DDs)
Socks with a hole in (mine)

Once the kids are in bed every thong I own... Why? Why? Why? Why do I buy these bum graters? After an uncomfortable day never again

I have thrown away a totally worn out bra.

@FeckingEjit - Welcome back!

Today's item is going to be (is, mentally), that haversack with the holey pocket which I mentioned a while back. It's just too irritating having a pocket I have to remember not to use. Also, I know the hole is there and it haunts me somehow. It just has to go. The bag has stuff in it atm but I'm going to empty it and move it out tomorrow. The decision has been made and there's no going back!

Not doing so well with the list or decluttering. I have just got rid of bits of post and papers and not much else and I am drowning in admin. I'll stay in today and see what I can do.

Welcome back FeckingEjit that's an ambitious list.

I have decided that producing short-term lists or announcing what I am planning to do this week is counter-productive. I just get despondent when I fail to get it done! I am back to telling myself that anything out is progress, even if it was not what I originally intended to do.

I did some gardening on Saturday and filled up the brown bin and a big garden bag. I also did some more work at the weekend on the upstairs landing. I hauled out the stuff stacked along one side, cleaned the area, and managed to chuck some stuff. I found the instructions for Mum's Dyson vacuum cleaner in that pile, so I can now get that ready for sale. We were keeping it for upstairs use, but we have all decided that we don't like it as much as our own one, so it can go. I have a handheld one that I purchased a few years ago for doing the stairs and we can either use that upstairs or haul up the big Dyson if we need to do a larger area. I need to wash the filters of the one to sell, and get some photos done in daylight at the weekend.

I also got some more stuff put away in the loft last weekend, and my black bin bag on the landing was approximately one-third full when it went out with our landfill bin today.

I find the opposite purplefog that generally when I commit to doing something here I do it but I rarely 'finish' an area which maybe I should do. I do find that when I really focus on something it gets done at the exclusion of everything else so it's a balance. I often have a house that's a tip but one super tidy cupboard or drawer!

Today I've done admin, I've also chucked out some more home made xmas decorations. I've put a couple of things for sale on Facebook and done lots of hoovering.

I also found 7 more keys (this is after supposedly sorting them all out about a month ago) and have been running around trying to work out what they belong to. I'm probably going to bin them all.

I have sorted through a box of items which were donated to us for fundraising. 4 pens thrown away. I have a lot of stuff which has arrived and is ready for selling and I need to get it shifted ASAP because there are massive boxes of it everywhere!

GreenWillow thanks for the info about Timpsons. I didn’t know that. There is one in the town that I work. I have a small collection of old keys as I am reluctant just to toss them in the metal recycling skip at the recycling site. In fact I am carrying around a key on my key ring that I have no idea what it is for. I thought it was for a door at my Mum’s house, but it didn’t fit any of the doors at the time we sold her house last year. I think I have to get rid of it as well!

GreenWillow thanks for that information, I have got rid of so many keys recently I wish I'd known it before. As I threw them out I googled key art and there are loads of things you can do with them but I'm not creative enough. I will put the new lot of keys in a bag in the drawer with batteries to be recycled and lightbulbs. One day they'll leave the house!

I have finished my to do list other than look up my pension contributions. It was mainly admin. I just need to do food shopping then I'm going to go back to the room of doom for the first time this week. Its not looking like its going to be done before xmas.

I didn't manage to get any more bags or boxes to a charity shop last month. I had some Halloween stuff I was going to donate - oh well it can wait another 10 months or so! One of the local charity shops I frequent has just posted the following on Facebook:

"Due to the volume of plastic from kids toys and games that end up in our bin because of parts missing, we are no longer accepting kids toys and games, we all have to do our bit in stopping plastic going to landfill...."

I'm really not sure I understand their reasoning... surely even more stuff could potentially end up in Landfill??

I always meticulously check any games and toys to make sure everything is there before selling/donating... which reminds me, I still need to get hold of a meccano piece before I can advertise a set. Another job for this weekend.

Forgive me Ladies for I have sinned... well, I have some stuff on order. Trying very hard not to add to our clutter but I hated my bedside clock radio & I covet a decent long sleeve cycling jersey (so some purchases have followed). May need some new officewear, too (I hate dressing smart, so this is a chore in several ways!!) I Have some things lined up to list on Ebay, though :). Gave away a big bag of fabric this week. Some days, I feel like I'm on top of a garbage heap & slowly digging down, slowly reducing.

I've temporarily slowed down a bit and have actually had a few things come in today but it's an improvement overall so I'm still counting it. (This makes sense in my head.) I've bought new seat pads for the dining room chairs and they look so sooo much better! The 4 old ones are going to charity. (I'm resisting the urge to make them my garden seat cushions.

I've also bought a sink tidy. This side of the kitchen is usually very clear apart from the kettle, mini compost bin and washing up stuff. I've been toying with the idea of putting all the washing up stuff away but have decided that this would be far too bothersome. The sink tidy has made the side look much more streamlined and pleasing to the eye.

I've also bought some fancy 'on trend' shower cleaner and have already wizzed round with it. I kinda hate myself for giving into the urge to buy this though. Time will tell if it's worth it or not.

Bag of clothes to charity shop (perfectly ok, but outgrown by DC )

I need to declutter the pots/pans cupboard.
I have a tall pot with a filter lid that rarely gets used , it is good for veg but only to cook a tiny amount (which I'd probably just steam anyway) or spaghetti (but I cook penne pasta mainly , and it goes in the big saucepan) ...I;m trying to talk myself out of keeping it.
Also got one of those semi hemisphere cake tins ( ) I have no idea WHY I thought I'd need this ?

I need a new frying pan so once I buy it , the old one can go.

I have sorted all the items for the lucky dip and separated them for wrapping. A friend is going to do some tomorrow and another friend is going to pick more up on Monday to wrap.
I now need to list some items on Facebook to sell so we can regain some space in the house!
I have also decluttered several hundred pounds by hitting some bollards in my new car at work last night. My excess is £375 😢

I pulled about 6 items of clothing from my daughter's hell hole bedroom the other week. She's away again for the night and I'm in there again tidying up and I've just found the things that I pulled out last time She's quick!!

Sorry to hear about your car Gibble.

I haven’t been here for a week or two but have been trying to keep up. Several large items cooker, dishwasher, kitchen units out. Lots of wood which will be kindling for the next year or so. New stove arrived but told them to take packaging with them. Will be decluttering when new units arrive and I have to chose what goes in. School books I burnt and kept other half for quiz nights we like to have our own pieces. Anoyther sock! Newspapers to school for painting on. Threw out some spices.
Clean bathroom thoroughly and have some plastic bottles. I have been putting half used ones by shower so they get used up and out.
Also need to do knicker draw.

Where do you put light bulbs? Lidl take batteries I see.
Seems like you are all getting on well with the decluttering and it does focus you when shopping. Off to de clutter a few rashes of bacon.

Sorry to hear about your car Gibble, the hassle of getting it sorted is also frustrating (I did a similar thing last year).

But annoyed with myself as had sorted a bag of old nursery uniform to give to a friend who I was seeing yesterday. I left it in the hallway so I would remember to give it to her but then DH tidied it into the cupboard under the stairs. Out of sight out of mind...so it’s still there. It’s about the 4th time it’s happened and she’s so polite she would never dream of reminding me I said she could have it!

I have however chucked three out of date bottles if calpol/nurofen and an assortment of junk from DD’s room. She has a bad habit of taking a shine to random bits of junk mail and hoarding them up there. I’ve also sneaked a couple of unloved cuddlies out (as in she has never once please picked them up) for donation to the school fair. No doubt she will buy back just as many though! I’m also putting together a parcel for the toy bank Christmas collection, mainly baby things but possibly some from the regift pile if they have been there a while. I need to sort 3 birthday gifts in the next fortnight so some may go to that.

Thanks for the key tip GreenWillow, we replaced our front door recently so suspect there are some of those keys still lurking and there are definitely some other unidentifiable ones the people we bought the house from left.

Otherwise it’s the usual keeping on top of stuff. We’re lucky to have quite a lot of storage space but I just feel like we don’t need half of the stuff in it!