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

bower some shops take lightbulbs here as well as the tip. Robert Dyas takes them, our little local electrical shop and a friend told me Tesco have a bin near their batteries recycling point but I've never noticed it.

Feeling very unsatisfied as I am still doing dribs and drabs - bits of paper, children's artwork, the odd book. Today I have found an unopened toy to go to the school Christmas fair and 3 toys which I'll advertise on Facebook.

I thought the thread was about dribs & drabs, better than nothing.
DD is a hoarder. Sympathies for those dealing with that problem.

This weekend I ...Dismantled old car seat for recycling.
Cull of old receipts.
Some more stuff listed on Freecycle & Ebay.
Combined some bottles of lotions & potions (DD's left overs).

Not much clearing going on here ATM due to having a cold and feeling sorry for myself. However, I have finally opened a pack of serviettes which look like £50 notes and have blown my nose on one. It felt good!!

lol @Sandandsea - did you feel super-rich?

I'm clearing out a utility room today:
chucking out crap and cleaning it all (door, window, walls, appliances) with a bucket and sponge (groan) as it is SO dusty (I live in an agricultural area and the dust is made of topsoil really!). Then I'm going to hang a little dust-catching curtain and put up some decor bits. Lastly, and might not get to it today, I'm going to put down some leftover modern timber-look lino which I think will change the room completely as the current floor is just concrete (it was an outside room once - like an old outdoor privvy, but not one). Oh and I have to paint a patch that I couldn't reach last time as it was behind a built-in cupboard - now gone. I'll report back.

@PenelopeFlintstone - Yes, kind of. I've had them stored in a drawer for years, as though we had to preserve them or something. Like keeping your best china for special occasions and never really enjoying it. Daft really. Anyway, it feels good to be using them at last and we had a laugh over it too which is always good.

They sound fun .
The bit of leftover lino/vinyl that I've got is a couple of inches too small! I can patch it but should I put the patch near the door or near the appliances on the wall which is one metre away.. It's a very small utility so I'm thinking near the door because as you walk in you're already looking at the far wall. What do you think?

I can replace it soon - it'll still look better than the concrete in the meantime.

I've just realised you're probably all cringing at my DIY standards but I'm 70km away from a hardware shop and so my standards slipped A LOT after a few years of living here .....

I've done it all except for the painting. I'm chuffed.

Yesterday I decluttered a couple of unused fabric aprons and a potato masher to a bag for charity shop. Also sold a couple of bits on ebay and listed a few more. Unfortunately not going to be able to get rid of any of them today as DC has chicken pox. Definitely slow and steady here. So much more to do. Filled the kitchen with lots of food, herbs and spices from relative's house, but at least that's only until it's used up.

You're right lljkk the thread is about dribs and drabs. I am making myself miserable trying to get the house ready before Christmas and losing sight of how much I've already done and how I also need a quality of life that doesn't involve decluttering all the time! (I have switched from doing practically no housework for about 5 years to being obsessed).

Today I'm going to mainly do cleaning, more admin, washing, put up Christmas decorations (maybe buy a few). My main decluttering will be to sweep some leaves up as my path and driveway are full of them and they keep being trodden into the house.

Penelope I think you're right that any lino looks better than concrete so I'm sure no-one will notice it (or you can put a pile of clutter over the patched bit!)

I only seem to be capable of managing dribs and drabs! And it seems to be impossible for me to declutter in more than one way at a time. Recently I have been concentrating on certain areas of the house, which has been going well, but I have not managed to list any new eBay items or Facebook stuff or collect together another donation for the charity shops!

I sold an eBay item on Friday - the first for a few weeks. It was light but bulky, so was going via Hermes. That got rid of a largish Amazon box and a load of bubble wrap and air pillows on Saturday. I also washed a collection of pet food storage containers that had been hanging round the kitchen. I dried them out thoroughly overnight and packed them in a binbag in the loft. They will be used again - they are just not needed at this moment. That cleared so much space that I decided to tackle the kitchen table. It is now clear for the first time in months, and I now have easy access to do the windowsill behind the table. I'm trying to persuade DP that tools do not belong on windowsills, and have offered to clear a drawer in the dining room to keep the most frequently used pliers, screwdrivers etc. so that the rest can go back in their crates in the loft.

I also washed the filters on Mum's Dyson... but discovered the brushbar needs replacing so have one on order from eBay. I need to clean the rest of it during the week so it can hopefully be advertised next weekend.

@PenelopeFlintstone - Well done on fitting the lino. I dont know if this will help in the longterm and I know almost nothing about this but I've seen photos of concrete floors painted to look like wood and they looked really nice.

Sounds like an excellent job @PenelopeFlintstone!

It’s recycling collection tomorrow so a bag of batteries and some boxes will go out including the empty washing powder box that’s been sat on the utility room worktop for a month!

I need to start on the cupboard of doom today as it’s where we keep unwanted toys so I’ll be doing a bag for the Christmas toy collection plus one for DD’s school fair. Think there’s also a half bag for the charity shop which I need to transfer to the car. I suggested some more toy sorting at the weekend but apparently DD loves all of her toys and can’t possibly donate any.

@PurpleFrog that reminds me i need to clean our hoover filters. Will add that to the list for today.

Yesterday's list was done and my decorations are up. I love getting Christmas decorations out as there are always loads I've forgotten I have and they are probably some of the few things in the house that give me joy. I bought 3 new ones yesterday which will give me joy next year. I threw out some home made decorations and scruffy ones.

Today's item is some hooverbags from a hoover that died many years ago. I think I have just assumed they are for my current hoover. I'm very 1990s - haven't moved onto hoovers without bags yet (other than a robot cleaner which I love). They are advertised on free cycle.

I sold another two eBay items last night! Not sure what has changed in the past four days, but I haven't had any sales since the middle of October and suddenly three come along at once. All were offers on Buy-it-Now prices, so although I have dropped the prices of these items over the past couple of weeks, they could have offered these amounts previously. Oh well! One hadn't been paid by this morning, so I have left them both for packaging up tonight. I think I will also try to take in a bag to a charity shop on my way to the Post Office - assuming it is not going to rain tomorrow morning. I just have magazines for sale on eBay now. I have dropped the prices on those as well, and if they don't sell they will be going in the paper recycling bin for the next collection in a fortnight's time.

I nearly listed some earrings last night. They had been an unwanted present from a relative. I assumed the earrings were by the person named on the presentation box they had come in. I had taken photos in daylight on Sunday, so decided to do a bit more research before listing. They didn't look like the sort of thing that jewellery designer had on her website. Just as well I checked - when I put a description of the earrings into Google up popped pictures of the same ones... from Claire's Accessories in Canada. Looks like they will just be going to the charity shop!

Today's items include a large jar without a lid and a large lid without a jar, both of which I've been storing for months 'just in case'.

A jar of decorative stones which I'd put away years ago and haven't been used for years.

And, the cat's carrier bag - it's been being untidy in the kitchen for ages. She loves it but I'm sick of seeing it so it's gone.

Just to say, that she has lots of other toys and I will probably replace the bag soon. (Just so you all know I'm a good cat mum.)

Did the Christmas shopping on Sunday and got DD’s birthday presents. Also wrapped a load of stuff for lucky dip for Christmas Market on 1/12. More still to wrap but eating the elephant one bite at a time. DH and I had stomach bug on Sunday so I have had 2 days off work in my pyjamas. Still feel a little grit but back to work tomorrow.

Meant to say, Penelope, your futility room sounds like an epic job- well done!

SandandSea can't believe you stole your cat's beloved carrier bag. Meanie

Gibble hope you're feeling better.

GreenWillow don't feel guilty, it's impossible not to have too much stuff but I buy much less than I use to so it is possible to change your habits. Sorry to hear about the car.

I'm going to have a nice break today. Christmas shopping with a friend and lunch but I am not really intending to buy anything. Today's item(s) to go is a bag of purple Christmas decorations. I don't think I've put them on a tree for about 15 years and only bought them because they were cheap in IKEA.

Sorry to read about the car, Willow and hope you're feeling better, Gibble.

I've been doing out my crockery cupboard so today's items so far are my butter dish (not used for years) and 'that' inherited, serving dish which I talked about some time ago (possibly a previous thread).