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

Another load of books charity shopped and he shredder has a date with my paperwork stash today... Will see how long I can stand it, shredding is my least fave job of this whole process, I dither so much about what I can and can't keep - happy Monday everyone

433Challenger I love the idea of having a cupboard that's just your stuff, and your stuff alone. That looks so lovely!

A small but heartwarming thing out today: mum gave me some toothbrushes and body lotion at Christmas that we won't use (we have an electric toothbrush and I've got sensitive skin), so they've gone to The Hygiene Bank.

@motherwol that's a great charity, thanks for letting us know about it. I had never heard of it. I tend to add a pack of sanitary items to our food bank donations, but to know that a 'standalone' charity does that is very cool.
@keiki 5 days?? You should definitely be resting! But please keep us updated not at all broody and living vicariously through other people

Very little decluttering in my house over the weekend, trying to get every done when you work 5 days again is definitely hard going at times

Another who’s envious of the cupboard. It looks so neatly arranged. You’re even well below the controversial Kondo 30 book limit

Lovely cupboard, 433 !

Well, it turns out I wasn't better after all, as, after Friday's activity, I ended up back in bad for much of the weekend. I'm feeling much better today though but taking it relatively easy. The house is a right mess though with diy stuff littered about all over the place. Since the garden bench is in the kitchen, I'm going to start there and am aiming for one good coat of oil today.

Out: a bath mat and a holey sock.

So, it turns out that treating a garden bench in the kitchen is a pretty bad idea. Apart from all the splashes, the whole house now stinks! On the plus side, I have done it now.

Out: an old can of wood oil, 2 cloths, 1 sponge, 1 glove, 2 plastic containers and 1 boring job!

Congrats on your imminent arrival keiki, how very exciting!! Also much rest is in order for you now, nesting can be done in the form of shouting out job for others to complete haha. Will yours be the first thread baby of the year? I'm due May, anyone else here expecting?

Willow I'm the same as you with hobby stuff, I have boxes of wool, another box of half finished projects, box of tools and my sewing box all in different places. I need a proper place for these things. I'm really not sure I have anything appropriate atm though :/

DD getting over her sickness now but we kept her at home instead of nursery as we're not quite past the 48 hour rule. She'll go for a few hours tomorrow though.

We did however get some fresh air with her today, and nipped to the tip en route so we're rid of two bags of carpet remnants, two bags of plastic recycling and two bags of textiles. That felt good. DH also had a clear up in the conservatory so is looking marginally better im not being mean to him haha it was just that bad to begin with

@motherwol thanks for the link - I’ve got lots of brand new Estée Lauder makeup I get in bags with my moisturiser etc and if I live to 310 i would never use that much eye shadow and I don’t use mascara at all so I’ll take it in.

@433 love your cupboard. I’d like one to be that tidy eventually.

I’ve done a couple of hours in the spare room this evening - that I’ve renamed the room of doom...! I’ve got all the boxes of baby clothes out the cupboard and stacked to start sorting and have actually put some sorted stuff into the gaps and I have some space.... I’m not sure I can part with all the baby clothes in one swoop but I can shrink them..

Good luck with your imminent arrival keiki!

Things sorted last night:

• a book that I got 2 of for Christmas - friend at work wants one of them

- a few tops and vests that my dd has grown out of - some cosmetics I'll never use - finished off a pot of eye cream that I've had for years

Back in the game now :)

Well done everyone - sounds like you're making lots of progress!

Broken laundry basket out and rather crippled wicker basket to the bin pile too

You cupboard is admirable, 433Challenger!

I feel like my progress has stalled. Largely because I was away at the weekend so now I'm catching up with routine tasks and haven't had time for any extra cupboard-clearing stuff.

You have made ne consider our laundry baskets, MrsMezbit: they're old and tatty, and it might be time to invest in something a bit smarter.

Ahh, thanks for the thoughts everyone. I'm not very good at sitting around when there is a list of jobs to do I am pacing myself and going much slower than I would like so hopefully that counts! Mostly on the basis of every time I go up or down the stairs taking something with me. Cleared out another sheet, duvet cover and 4 random sized pillow cases that don't fit any of our pillows yesterday. Managed to take the whole lot to the charity shop too, so pleased with that.

I haven't been on this thread recently as I have been so busy I haven't really had time for decluttering but I used up some cosmetic samples when I was away over the weekend and binned a travel size cleanser I don't like. I also threw away a pair of shoes yesterday and was pleased with that as they were suede and quite damaged but I would usually convince myself that I would still get some use out of them.

433 what a beautiful cupboard.

Ooh wooglecone congratulations! Two lovely thread babies.

How do you all store bread? Stbexh bought me a bread basket years ago for our wooden anniversary. It takes up a lot of space on the work surface and I'm wondering whether to get rid of it? I don't dislike it and it's functional but I have to move it every day to wipe crumbs around it and that's annoying.

Today I found one book to go. I have been moving furniture and cleaning behind it. Also put out 7 massive binbags of crap - mainly papers went.

Today’s items two old photo frames for the charity bag.

@StealthNinjaMum - I got rid of my bread bin some years and have never missed it. We just keep it in a cupboard. I've been moving away from having things on the sides, in favour of having more space and I love it!

Nothing out today as far as I can think but I've been working on my goals for the year so feeling a little organised.

Oo! Also, we had a leak in the cupboard under the sink. It was right at the back but I noticed it straight away and it was easy to deal with!!! Having clutter free cupboards is FAB!! (Sorry if this sounds like showing off, it's just such a difference compared to how it used to be and I'm not over it yet.)

Probably about 3 years ago a friend gave me my Christmas presents in a kind of wooden crate thing. Since then it's been used as a combined fruit and bread basket.

On clearing stuff back in tonight I have binned two pairs of shoes (broken, holey but saved in case needed for 2 years not worn), several dried out tubes of silicon and paint brushes, lots of packaging and coat hangers. Also found 4 more tins of paint for the tip and started a new charity shop bag with a couple of hats and a jacket I'd forgotten I had. I am not unpacking a load of unnecessary clutter back into the house!

Here's a question.

What do I do with my wedding dress? It's been in its black bag for the last 6 years. I tried initially to sell it but had no biters on eBay or Facebook. The shop I bought it from used to sell Preloved but it closed down the year after my wedding so I never got chance to take up that service.

It wasn't cheap, could certainly do with a few ££ to help towards savings but no idea how to go about it.

Anyone know of any companies that deal in second hand?

I feel your pain on the magimix GreenWillow, I have a mini one which is similarly temperamental in terms of every piece needing perfect alignment. Have just about got the hang of it after a year.

Have cleared a cupboard with a low hanging rail so DD can hang up her own coats.still need to sort through the stuff that was in there but should keep the hallway tidier.

Snow day here today so doubt much decluttering will be done! Everyone sounds like they’re going well still. Good luck with the imminent arrival Keiki, is this your first?

greenwillow I have a 20 year old Magimix and I love it but I don't use it very often. When you're cooking in bulk it is OK, I used to chop up onions, cheese and herbs and have enough in the fridge to last for about a week and a half but I don't cook as much these days so it's not worth it. It is left out on the worktop but takes up less space than the breadbin.

So I think the bread bin has to go. It's painful as it was a wooden anniversary gift from stbexdh. I always thought it was too big but loved it because it seemed a thoughtful gift so I guess like him it has to go! I removed it from its home to see what the space looked like and it makes a huge difference. I have no obvious place for bread but I suppose I'll find somewhere.

No real plans to declutter anything today - things will just turn up as I'm in a room. Maybe I'll clean the oven as we have lots of oven cleaner under the sink. Feeling a bit inspired by sandandsea

I finally got DH to tackle his clothes! One black bag of motheaten jumpers is going to the textile bank, and one bag of tatty t-shirts is going into the shed to be rags for his woodworking projects. There's probably one more bag's-worth of stuff that hasn't been sorted yet, but it's baby steps.

Today, returning a coat I bought online that's too big - annoyingly they've sold out of the smaller sizes.

Woogle could you try relisting it on eBay/Preloved to see if there's more interest this time? Google throws up a number of bridal shops that resell dresses so you might have better luck emailing them pictures to ask if they're interested.

@IWillWear, I love your description of the differences between you cooking and your DH cooking; that sums up DH and me pretty well too