New home for the new year - still getting rid of one item a day part 6

[StealthNinjaMum]

Here we are again!

Little by little a group of mums netters have been decluttering our homes by getting rid of one item a day. Whether we eat it, bin it, recycle it, sell or give it away we are slowly tidying our homes.

Is this the thread where we finish? Probably not

As usual newbies are welcome to join us. We get rid of one thing and come back to update everyone on our progress and get support when it gets hard.

Previous thread is here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3381702-Getting-rid-of-one-thing-a-day-decluttering-challenge-Part-5?pg=1

Slipping into new thread hoping for inspiration!

Thanks Stealth for shiny new thread, just caught up on the old one. Sorry to hear your news, hope ur OK. Stay positive, and think of all the space you'll have.... I've decluttered DH twice but he keeps coming back!

Hi to everyone, and welcome newbies. 2019 will be our year!

Big congrats to your son Gibble, that's an amazing amount to have raised, hope he has a fantastic time

Lovely to see so many new people. Welcome!

I've been going through my mum's kitchen and we now have quite a lot to get rid of. I've also deep cleaned quite a bit of it.

The outs include several blunt knives and ugly, old spoons, some tins, 2 can openers, a pot holder, a tea-towel, 2 ketchups, 1 marmite, a spaghetti container, some ood spaghetti, an exfoliating glove and, hopefully, if I play my cards right, 2 almost dead house plants.

(Some of this was mine or would have been mine in the future so it definitely counts.)

I need to do this!

Cleared a bootful of cardboard at recycling plus 5 bin bags of old clothes to textile bank and some rubbish in the tip. Plastic wrap and bags to supermarket recycling. I’ve also just declutteded the last of the turkey and cranberry sauce into a big delicious sandwich with a hunk of Brie. It’s been a good day!

Just got in from work and DH has been super with tidying and hoovering today. He also put up DDs new wall clock and hooks. My contribution was less but I cleared out the rubbish in the car on my way in, straight to the wheelie bin. and of course not just because I'm taking parents out tomorrow and the car was embarrassing

DH getting me the box of paperwork downstairs now. I'll sort that while he watches football.

Welcome to everyone else new too! The one thing a day thing here is really working for me, small steps I find to be very encouraging so I hope you all find it helpful too!

I’ve been through a drawer full of miscellaneous paperwork. I’ll doubtless need to re-sort it and combine it with further miscellaneous paperwork at some point. But that can wait for another day.

Hi can I join this thread too please? I have found that I have just too much stuff and not enough space for it. I usually find that I am too tired after work, housework, kids to do anything about it but I am off work for 1 1/2 weeks over Christmas and have been super motivated.

I cleaned out all my kids clothing and gave a big bag of things to the charity shop in anticipation of getting new things at Christmas which they did. I also properly cleared out their toys too which was a big job, there were things that were broken, things that there were only bits off and things that they were too big for which went to the Charity shop. They of course got lots of new things for Christmas. I know people are well meaning but its bitty things which I don't have the room for.

I have my DH putting up pictures and fixing things in the house. I have been hoovering, organising and putting things away but are there always things that you don't want to get rid off but you don't quite know what to do with them?

I don't want to live in a show house but I would like to live in house that is relatively tidy and organised with everything having a proper place. Will be following this thread with interest.

This article is interesting:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/30/how-to-get-better-at-decluttering-throwing-things-out-gives-you-time-to-look-after-yourself?CMP=fb_gu

What do you all think about this paragraph:

A lot of my clients have an eBay pile. Most of the time, when I revisit the house a few months later, the eBay pile is still there. So I encourage people to give back to the community as much as possible. There’s no use in thinking, I spent a lot of money on that, why should I give it away? The reality is, you have purchased something you don’t use, so you have lost your money. Why not give it to someone who needs it?

I tend to have an eBay pile that never goes anywhere (and that takes up my headspace).

Stopping for a rest. Just got to put his clothes away. Am very cross because I keep sorting it all out for him into categories and he just can’t be arsed to ever put anything away. And the lies! He just lies about having done anything at all.
His drawers are practically empty and the stuff that is in them is all in the wrong places just shoved away 😬.
Anyway am just decluttering a turkey cranberry and Brie baguette and will have some cheesecake afterwards 😁

I haven't had time to read the thread other than I just saw the quote from humourless feminist about the 'ebay pile'. Yes! That's me! (Except it's a Facebook pile). My Facebook pile is hidden behind the settee where you can't really see it but last year I started to set myself mental deadlines that if something hasn't sold in a certain time period then I give it away. I like to try to sell things so that dds can have money to stop me feeling guilty about getting rid of their stuff. Maybe my new years resolution should be to not have a 'Facebook pile' and to try to sell a thing the same day I find it.

Today I spent ten minutes helping dd1 with her room. It's a mess. I think I mentioned last week we emptied two drawers of her three drawer desk. The third is full of pens and as I type this dd1 is sorting through all her stationery and I have found containers for them. I am hoping we can find homes for things and clear her surfaces a bit. So far we have a bag full of tat that is going to be binned which is progress.

I'm signing back in. I was on the threads in early Autumn but life got busy after half-term. I have carried on getting rid of things in meantime, the playroom end of our living room was looking good before Christmas - currently looks like an outlet of a toy store though. I have a car boot full of stuff to go to the charity shop, which will be taken this week as I need to go to Ikea for a desk and bookcase.

My big aim back in October/November time was to get DS2 into his own room by 1st December - I completely failed on that so I now aiming to make it happen by the end of February.

I’m back family member still really ill and becoming ever frailer but need to get back to it to offset the Christmas incoming😱!
Started by going through the fridge and binning several dodgy looking bits of leftover odds and ends. Also collapsed several cardboard boxes to go to the tip when we next do a run

I’m also returning to the thread. We moved house at half term and I’ve gone back to work so decluttering has taken a backseat. We did get rid of a lot when we moved but we still have a full garage, a full porch, kitchen cupboards that barely shut and piles of random things all over our bedroom that need sorting.

I’ve sorted through a pile of paperwork this afternoon and filed or shredded it. I did a few admin jobs as well that I’m counting as clutter because they were on my mind and I’ve been avoiding them.

I too have an ebay pile! I did list an item this afternoon. I took the photos weeks ago so I thought I’d get it sorted only to find that I had uploaded the photos and written the description already. I don’t know why I hadn’t got as far as actually listing it. It’s had quite a lot of views already so hopefully it will sell. I’m going to make a real effort to get the rest of my pile listed this week while I’m off work,.

Im also signing back in hangs head in shame at failing on last attempts
I did get rid of alot of stuff a couple of months ago i was saving to try and make money from gave it to charity shop and felt better for it.
Since then I haven’t done loads but have done the odd bit like give away a few bits to school fete. I did also sell a few big toys before xmas.
Like a previous poster my house isn’t horrendous on first glance (bar upstairs) but its the hidden mess and unorganised storage that are getting me down! My bedroom is still the dumping ground also!
I did a tip run after xmas with lots of the cardboard and rubbish and recycling which felt instantly better. So now im motivated to try and have a more organised and clutter free 2019.
I sorted through bedding and towels today and have 2 bags of stuff to put in textile recycling. Cleared out the boot of my car so now whatever needs to go will be going straight in there so im less likely to take things back out. The tips not far from my house really so planning to head back there this week with whatever recycling i have.
We can do this i feel 2019 is out time to shine folks :) xx

Very slowly, decluttering and filing paperwork. Crackling netflix fireplace in the background - very soothing.

Office ToDo list gets longer and longer. Quite a good sign really, because it means I'm getting to grips with everything.

I'd like to join in. I can't always post but will read regularly.

I've got a massive pile of cardboard boxes to take to the tip as well as general rubbish that has been sorted out. I'm hoping to get rid of all that next week.

Today, I've taken out a black sack of rubbish from the kitchen bin and a black sack of recycling. My blue recycling bin is full so the bag is now at the side and hopefully next week I'll catch the bin men and they'll let me get rid of the extra bags if I empty them into my bin once they've emptied it.

Tomorrow I'm planning on going through dd's clothes and hang them up as well as throwing out anything she doesn't/won't wear.

I can't wait to take the decorations down on the 2nd, I've already chucked loads of decorations that I didn't want so I know the one that are in use are the ones we're keeping but I just need to find something to store them in in the loft.

DS’s room is now clean and tidy and when he trashed it again I’m going to take away his xbox controllers.
I still need to get in there with blessed because it’s so disgusting in there that it has been breeding a festering swamp of mould and he has anaphylaxis to something (don’t know what) but mixed moulds were one thing which showed up in his allergy screening. He could avoid the mould by opening his window for half an hour a day but he’s just so lazy!
I’m working tomorrow so DH will be tasked with some bits and bobs and then I’m having a large G&T tomorrow Night. In fact, as soon as I get out of the bath tonight, I shall have one tonight too!

My goal will continue to be 7 items every weekend, as I forget to do one thing a day. Any weeks that I get rid of more are a bonus, but I love that this thread is so slow and steady.
I'll also be mindful to not let stuff in, if I can help it.

I am not a hoarder or a clutter hound but two of the family are. However, I have just thrown out a broken telephone, and a flask, which might have been perfectly good, if it had been stored properly instead of being allowed to fester in a cupboard for probably five years or so.

One thing a day is good because once the clutter builds up, it becomes a mammoth task to get rid of it.

Oh PenelopeFlintstone, I like your plan - I'll try that too.

May I join in too?

2 days ago I tidied my bedside drawers. Chucked out 2 bottles of very old perfume and a book.

I had a wardrobe tidy yesterday - only managed to chuck out 5 items of clothing and a belt. Might have negated that in part by ordering a coat on eBay this evening - does it count if it was cheap?

Am going to tackle the hall table drawer tomorrow. I wonder what long last items will surface from there.

I’ve just ordered some storage boxes to organise things in my kitchen and a hanging rail for my kitchen towel, that fingers crossed will fit over my kitchen cupboard door. This seems counterintuitive as I’m supposed to be getting rid of stuff, but I’m trying to be more organised with the stuff I already have and making sure everything has it’s place. If I can get the storage right I hope I’ll be able to keep on top of things.

I just tossed out (into the recycling bag!) the festive Radio Times, a bunch of magazines and some old school letters. Going to have a proper go at the living room table tomorrow, there's so much paperwork on it that there MUST be more to go... I want to start doing the organised mum method but need some serious decluttering to take place beforehand.