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

Thanks for being so welcoming everyone

Four bundles of dcs clothes sorted out and put on ebay. Hoping they sell quickly.

keiki About the curtains - things like this I always give away for free on fb or similar. That way they go to somebody who needs them and not in the bin.

Can’t believe you’re back doing anything as yet keiki most impressive effort on your part. Few old bits of costume jewellery for the bin (silver or gold coloured and trashed. Few more magazines/ papers into recycling.

Good to hear the baby is doing well keiki! It’s impressive that you’re back decluttering already!

All I’ve managed today are another pair of holey socks. I swear they don’t make them like they used to!

I’ve made a start on the drawer of doom in the kitchen but can’t really be bothered to deal with it. The problem is that it’s full of “homeless” clutter, which is really time consuming to deal with as it means creating a new home for lots of little things - batteries, random keys which I’m sure will be needed at some point, 9 (!) USB sticks etc etc. There was a really useful post by Clutterbug on homeless items which somebody linked to a while back (thank you!) where she asked where do you keep your batteries!? What kind of trick question is that!? We keep them littered around the house so we never know what we have or where they are and whether they’re new or dead! So next step is to create a home for the homeless clutter!

It just shows how much stuff I have really if I can do that in 20 mins without trying I will need to do it properly at some point.

Regarding batteries, I did them quite a while ago - I got some small stackable plastic tubs and sorted them by new; between half and full; and less than half full. They live in a kitchen cupboard. So easy to find now!

I think it might have been a few weeks since I last updated. Today I had a tidy up of the piles of paper on my desk. I managed to chuck out a pile c.6 inches thick which was very rewarding - and my desk is now usable. Pretty pleased with that.

With regard to batteries, we only use rechargeables that we store in a plastic tub. Used batteries can only go back in when they've been recharged. Have a separate tub for button batteries.

Keiki you're storming with the decluttering and managing to do so much with a newborn 😃 I take my hat off to you!

DD still off today but slightly less clingy. Couple more items added to the charity bag and I also freecycled a bag of baby clothes which have now been collected so that's another bag out of the house 👍🏻😃

I started off thinking this was great idea and for the first week of January I was religiously getting rid of an item a day. Then kids went back to school, I started a new full time job and time ran away.
So now my version is Saturdays 7! I get rid of 7 things on a Saturday(or Sunday ) it’s still the same aim but I’ve managed to fit it better into my life.
Happy de-cluttering!

Chloe, we have a similar Basket of Doom in our (tiny) kitchen! It doesn't seem to matter how often we try and clear it out, it's back within a week or two. I'm not planning to tackle it again until the rest of the house is done and I can find homes for things.

Goals for this weekend-

Sort some more 18-24 month clothes DD is starting to bust out of and add to the bundle to sell.

Look out the baby car seat to clean up and either sell or give away. I know the advice is to always use a new car seat but it's not been in any accidents and seems like a huge waste to not pass it on in some way.

Drop bag off to charity shop as DP will be driving us all down to the shops.

Planned incoming - need to get a couple of cheap plastic baskets from Wilko to store DDs toys in the sideboard.

Bonne weekend to all 😃😃

Squeaky, welcome and hope your ensuing goes well! I sell a lot of stuff for not very much on Facebook, how do you find ebaying kids clothes? My DSD has some nice bits she's outgrown and it would be nice to sell them and she can use the money to choose some new bits.

Ensuing = ebaying! Bloody autocorrect😂

very supportive and encouraging thread. I've had a very good week for decluttering as surpassed my daily target of 2 items. 8 cans of various varnishes all recycled now; All the old painting clothes thrown out - can't fit into them now. Large straw shopping bag in the charity bag. I don't use it because I can't bear the handle but I love it. Other bits and pieces in charity bag. Really helpful that others are doing small bits consistently like me.

Couldn't help myself. Sitting feeding baby on the bed thinking about my wardrobe. Threw out another 3 tops and 3 cardigans that havent fitted in at least 10 years. My problem is going to be getting coordinated enough with a baby to actually get it all out of the house!

I’ve not had a great week. A combination of being busy at work, having a horrible cold and family birthdays (meaning stuff is coming into the house rather than leaving it). Hopefully next week will be better.

Just a few bits out today:

• A used-up moisturiser.
• A notecard from an elderly friend. (It wasn't a special one and I knew if I kept it, like I usually do, I would end up keeping it for the rest of my life and I've just got to stop doing that).
• Several measuring cups.
• Some receipts and ood vouchers shredded.

I've also had a tidy up and washed a door mat.

Hey everyone

Nothing from me today, was at work early and I only just got home. My nose is fizzing, I really really hope I'm not getting ill.
Early night for me! This is definitely an occasion I'd love a glass of wine!

I'll toss some recycling before I head upstairs to feel better about the house haha.

I'm another one nursing a horrible cold. I almost didn't bother today, but then I needed to go to the supermarket and decided to see what I could take to the charity bins there. So 5 mins later I'd sorted out a bag full of Wii games (we haven't used the Wii in a good few years), some dvds and a couple of books. They went into the books/dvd bin. And as I was leaving the house I spotted a handbag dd1 left here as she doesn't use it, a dressing gown that's too small for dd2, 2 pairs of trousers that are too big for me (as I've lost a small amount of weight, but have just moved down into the smaller size) and a couple of pairs of shoes that are also too small for dd2. Those went into the clothing bin. So that's 2 large carrier bags gone.

It's still quite easy for me. I've got a LOT of stuff that can go. I'm nowhere near clearing out cupboards or anything as I'm still clearing the surfaces. But I can see progress!!! And I'm thrilled with that progress. I might take the Wii (doesn't work properly) and the dvd player (won't open, has a dvd stuck in it, lost the remote 3 years ago) to the tip tomorrow. I'll have a look round to see if there's anything else that can go while I'm at it (I think there's a duvet and a few cushions that can go).

Oh and I gathered all the loose change from around the house and put it into one of those coin star machines. There was about £15 in coppers, so that paid for a takeaway for me and DH tonight so neither of us need to cook

Sounds like everyone is doing well at the chipping away today. Some old flyers for museums etc into recycling. A plastic parachute man thing into charity bag and yet more socks with holes in for the rag bag.

May I ask where you donate your rag bag?

Checking in here to say well done everyone and I'm back to decluttering after a gap of some months.

I've been cleaning out cupboards in the kitchen and discarding a few bits plus any out of date food.

My real issues are in every other room but for today I'll settle with a streamlined spice box.

battenburg I find out of all my items, children's clothes bundles and individual branded clothes sell the best (and very quickly).

Declutter ed a side table full of toys and old sky boxes/routers. Sold the sky stuff already, decluttered toys to toy storage and will be donating the table itself tomorrow. Pleased with that

I'm also slowly working on eating our way through the freezer with some 'freezer surprise' meals so that I can clean it out and stock it back up with food we actually want. That is a work in progress though

Ooh forgot to mention that I have strangely sold six items today, including the bundles I listed yesterday

There is a collection point for textiles at the tip and our oxfam charity shop also takes them. I label the bag as rags and tell the staff to so they don’t waste time sorting through it

I like the idea of Saturday 7 chocolate - I think it’s important to find a method that works for you.

I’m looking to start selling baby clothes too battenburg, we have 3 under 4 and too much stuff cluttering the cellar. I think I’ll try and sell the more expensive nice stuff and give away the rest. Although selling bundles like sailor suggests also sounds like a good idea. I struggle with working out how much to charge for P&P. The amounts people charge vary so much.

Regarding car seats, I think there are plenty of people who would take it second hand as they’re so expensive to buy new. It’s a terrible waste to get rid of something that can still be used. I do think the guidance is very cautious and impractical - we’ve taken our car seats on holiday by plane and they’ve no doubt been thrown around by luggage handlers but there’s been no way to avoid it.

Get well wishes to all those with colds. It looks like DD2 will be off nursery next week with bronchitis thus hindering any decluttering attempts.

This weekend I’ve got rid of some coloring pencils that can’t be sharpened any more and dried out play dough - the stuff never lasts!