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

I have finished the household paperwork! I still have DD’s pension and bank account stuff to go through but as she is 17 I want to do it with her so she knows how to do it.
I have put the dog paperwork in their food drawer in the kitchen but might hook it out and put it in our file box. I have yet another 4” of confidential stuff to burn but want to empty the fireplace without adding more hot ash to it yet so will do it on Friday night.
I still have to sort out my scouting paperwork and also my professional portfolio stuff so it is sitting on top of the piano ready to go.
I was very pleased to get everything condensed into one filing box which fits perfectly in a space on the bookcase which I cleared at the weekend. Although I do seem to have misplaced my diploma certificate which I know I had on Saturday- I just can’t see where I have put it on the bookcase. I’m hoping that having the filing box on an easily accessible shelf downstairs means that I will 1. Stop taking paperwork upstairs ‘to be filed’ and 2. File paperwork as soon as it comes into the house. 🤞

And I must say, I am loving the effect on the house of having kondoed what I have done so far. At present there is lots of stuff out but the clothes (well, mine) will go away very easily, the books live on the bookcase or beside the bed and paperwork is still being gone through.
I am dreading the next stage but I downloaded a checklist the other day and will just work my way through it 1 area at a time until I’m done. And I won’t start it until AFTER I have finished the paperwork!
Am hoping that the work I have done so far will make general day to day stuff less time consuming so that I can quickly whip round my jobs and then get on with the kondoing!

That's quite the spectrum there, GreenWillow!

Gibble - can I ask what checklist you're using please? (I love a checklist...)

greenwillow our dumping ground is the hall. I used to report on a Sunday how many pairs of shoes dh / dc left lying around 3 feet from the cupboard. They seem to have learned and now we have hooks for sports kits and stbexh doesn't leave unopened post lying around the hall is relatively clutter free.

pippistrelle my radical solution to doing all the housework is to get rid of a family member! In seriousness - even before he left - i think my family just prefer living in a clutter free environment and they have just improved (see comment about shoes and sports kits being put away).

Also pippistrelle I am not getting rid of much stuff at all but I still always pick an item. At the moment I have a bag of books in the dining room that's been there about 2 or 3 weeks and a pile of clothes in my bedroom. I actually find now shops don't give away carrier bags I have run out and have to keep going out buying carrier bags to give me stuff away in!

We have hooks by the front door for daily coats and a cupboard for the ones we wear less often and then put out of season coats in wardrobes.

Sounds like everyone is making good progress.

On Sunday morning, after I folded the dry laundry hanging on the airers in the dining room, I decided the floor really needed a hoover. I folded up the airers and moved them out the way, and proceeded to organise and clean a large section of the dining room. The floor was really grotty, with fluff from laundry and dust. That took me a couple of hours, so I ran out of time to do other the things I had intended. I only got rid of a few small things, but intend to do some more work in there this weekend. It has been badly neglected, while most of the other rooms have improved. The textile recycling is now in a large carrier bag - I haven't sealed it yet as I might find some more bits to fill up the space that is left before I get to the recycling centre.

It is paper recycling collection this week so am hoping to spend 1-2 hours sorting out stuff for that tonight.

I have been trying to declutter at work as well. I have chucked out a lot of paperwork from filing cabinets, and am trying to sort out and file the stuff that is lying around. It would be nice to have some clear surfaces!

Not managed to do anything yet. Am struggling to eat my tea actually. Late finish at work and then much time spent shopping and fueling the car so meh!
Can’t eat this tea so I will box it up for lunch for tomorrow and will get my portfolio out and start organising the certificates into date order.

Oh. That was easy! Quickly filed loose certificates in order. Threw out another 3” of vastly out of date stuff- study days from 2002! All competencies for current job filed in work file and file put on bookcase so I can get to it when I need to.
Scouting stuff still to do and DD’s but we need to get her a file.
Now going to have a bath and get an earlier than usual night!

Hi everyone, you’re all doing such a great job!

I’ve fallen off the thread a bit as I don’t feel like I’ve been getting much done and am feeling quite despondent about how much needs doing. I shouldn’t be so hard on myself - with 3 under 4 I guess daily life is pretty much about surviving at the moment rather than getting stuff done. But still.

I’ve ditched an orchid which was neglected for so long that it needed to go! My task for today is to try and create a home for everything that lives on the breakfast bar!

Gibble isn't it amazing how quick it actually is to do paperwork yet I put mine off for years? There is still some to be done but I just can't be bothered!

chloechloe I'm similar, I haven't done much but I at least do one thing even if it's a bit of paper laying around. I didn't do anything when I had 2 under 3 so don't beat yourself up. I think 'just' clearing the breakfast bar will give you a massive boost.

I am still slowly doing my wardrobe and trying to do a 'one in one out' with my clothes but more is going out than coming in. This morning I tried on sports gear and it fits so I don't need to bin it but I might look for some nicer workout trousers to throw my existing ones away. I am also wearing makeup every day and getting through my blusher and various body lotions I got for xmas.

I just decided to focus and worked wonders! Ages ago (maybe a month?) I emptied out the school work boxes of doom and shredded lots of dd1s stuff and put things in neat piles to sort through again. Well I ignored the piles and have been living around them. Today I set a timer for 30 mins and did lots of dd2s stuff. I found lots of old arts and crafts stuff to chuck out and a big bag of xmas cards from about 5 years ago. Lots gone - but there is still lots to do. I found more dd1 arts and crafts stuff and might ask her what she wants to keep - she doesn't seem that sentimental with her own stuff so will probably throw out more than me.

Managed to get a bag out to the charity shop today although it's been ready to go for ages so probably doesn't really count! There's another one that's half full so will aim to fill that next week. There are a few heavy things such as gigantic cereal bowls we never use that I need to remind DH to drop as they'll be tricky to manage with the pram.

Chloechloe I am full of admiration for any decluttering you fit in. I have a 5 year old and a 7 month old, so just the baby during the day and I find I spend most of my time firefighting!

You're all doing really well! I have flopped a bit. A few days ago, I had a burst of energy and decided to bring some of my boxes of doom downstairs to sort out. Sadly, my enthusiasm died off before I did very much and they are still downstairs, hogging the dining room table. I have today started on our main bedroom, which has been badly neglected. I've cleaned about a third of it and now have loads of stuff piled up on the bed.

Urghhh!!

I've just come on here to groan before going back to it.

That all sounds great, Willow .

I've thrown out some off food and have another cat toy for charity. I've got washing on and drying, and food in the oven. Once that's done, I'll be back to the bedroom mess.

Willow, wow! You’re a busy lady!
Someone asked what checklist I was using and I was so excited to report my outs that I didn’t link the checklist despite having copied and pasted it. My apologies!
Here it is
www.neatlittlenest.com/konmari-checklist
I haven’t done anything today as I had Cubs this evening- although I did award some badges so a stack of badges went out- yay me 😂!
I need to do some actual housework tomorrow evening and then I can continue to get rid of stuff.
Komono next 😱

Yesterday's success was emptying out 3 old purses of foreign currency and putting everything other that Euro & USD in the charity pile. Also found an old pair of glasses and planning to donate to charity via boots. Next step will be getting it all out of the door but that'll have to wait until DH or someone else can help me as am now pretty much too pregnant to move!

@IWillWearTheGreenWillow thanks for the tip off I will give them a call before going to check. If that fails then I think there's a separate glasses contact lenses bin @ my local tip so I'll have to save them for the next visit. My refusal to put anything usable in the bin makes this process so much harder!
I think I've found someone to collect 2 drawers full of old stationery, craft materials and paint which is a huge win. Plan to use the drawers for hats & gloves which will free up space in the chest of drawers for baby clothes. Very satisfying! Well done everyone else for all your achievements!

What a great update GreenWillow. I am so much more organised and tidy than I was a year ago but my tolerance to clutter has gone down. So whereas we used to have about a two foot high pile of post now we have two inches and it is Really Bothering Me! But it will only take a few minutes to deal with.

Today I am going to chuck out a few more bits of arts and crafts. I just have a few minutes before I collect dc.

Helped a friend today and she's got rid of a very full, black sack of clothes, which was very satisfying. I've left her with homework.

I'm decluttering another jelly mould (bit torn, it's a nice one, but I've never used it) and a jumper.

Had a productive day by my standards yesterday, have finally overcome my perfectionism and went through a couple of inches of the papers on the desk. Was able to put quite a lot straight into the recycling bin (mainly envelopes!j and have another pile to shred. Actual filing pile is quite small. Also sorted out a couple of bits of my clothes to go although sadly not in time fir the school collection.

GreenWillow sounds like amazing progress. We should use our pretty wine glasses more, they only usually come out at Christmas which is a shame really.

Plan for today is mainly family activities but will maybe try to find another 15 minutes for paperwork....

4 pairs of DC’s trainers out yesterday. 2 binned, 2 passed on.
DD dyeing my hair so that’s an out. Then I’m going to empty the ash out of the fireplace and set the fire ready for this evening. Then I’m going to do my scouting paperwork as I need some cheques.