Part 7 of the decluttering challenge - can you get rid of one item a day?

[StealthNinjaMum]

Back again!

A group of mumsnetters have been emptying our homes, gradually decluttering our homes by getting rid of one item a day.

We’re very green and like to recycle, sell, give away and sometimes eat our clutter I’m still alive after the 8 year old gherkins.

Newbies are welcome to join us. We just get rid one thing and come back to update everyone on our progress, get support when it gets hard, and suggest new household systems and ways of doing things.

The most exciting thread on mumsnet. In this thread @SandandSea will tell us what she’s going to do with her big plastic sheet…..

Previous thread is here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3463110-New-home-for-the-new-year-still-getting-rid-of-one-item-a-day-part-6?pg=40

Fair enuf, Woogle and well done to you both.

Well, I've been briefly through a bookcase and pulled out a couple of files. I've consequently, shredded a small pile of papers. I've since been thinking about a particular file and I'm going to try to empty it completely.

A plastic wallet is in recycling.

Talking of bras (as we were), do charity shops take them?

Stealth thanks for all the great tips! I do need to get the kids to help more it’s true. I’ve told the 16yo no chores for the next month though as I want her to focus on her gcse exams.

Penelope great work! 🏆

Woogle how exciting - not long to go! Well done on the painting. I have a shamefully large collection of paint still waiting to be used. I’m good at buying the stuff but it never seems to make it onto the walls 😳.

Willow good luck for the RS exam tomorrow. Did you find Macbeth easy? My daughter has struggled with it. Don’t suppose you’ve heard of Mr Bruff? He does YouTube videos on literature which I know are supposed to be good.

Thanks Raspberry yes - feeling less overwhelmed today. Managed to get rid of a knife block and knives, a bagful of extension cables/aerial wires and a bundle of dvd’s (MM wouldn’t take them) on freegle.

I also have a buyer for a storage chest who’s picking up tomorrow.

Not a lot out but at least moving in the right direction.

My name is stealthninjamum and I own a teapot that I haven't used in ten fifteen years.

flyingsouthwiththeswallows I'm really impressed, do you live on your own? Before I got married and had children I was very organised and fairly minimalist and then I moved in with a hoarder husband (fortunately gone now) and had children who just inevitably hoard. They know we'll need to move to a smaller house and are being wonderful about donating stuff but it's such an effort. You may think you have gone too far but don't you have an amazing life where things like cleaning are done really easily and you can just entertain with minimal preparation?

flyingsouth I think CDs are easy to break so I would do that.

wooglecone make sure you can put your feet up before wooglette comes.

Today's decluttering comes from dd2. She has let me dispose of some toys. I'm going to try to sell them but may just donate instead. She has also tired of Frozen and wants me to get rid of some Elsa socks.

extant76 I'm glad your feeling better today. You say not a lot out but that's still a lot gone and the storage chest sounds big too.

I know what you mean extant, I'm not so bad with not using paint but I'm terrible at other stuff. I have a pot of stuff to make up mortar for a small brickwork job I bought probably a year ago. Another tub of concrete stuff to sort some outdoor bits bought at the same time (and the pointing tools etc to do it with).
I'm definitely NOT worrying about those jobs now though lol.

Just dropped DD at nursery, DH is geared up ready to work today but we've decided to watch game of thrones first

Sounds like productive weekends for all of you. Not here I’m afraid really. Still haven’t been through the random bits box that I took from the blanket box in the bedroom. That’s today’s task.

I have been gradually washing my summer stuff from the spare bedroom wardrobe. I now need to clear space in my chest of drawers to put T-shirt’s etc away. So I think next task has to be the chest of drawers. It’s huge so holds loads.

Kitchen and utility room need a bit of a sort out too.

StealthNinjaMum yes I do live alone.

I widowed several years ago and lost my parents just afterwards. My decluttering started with a realisation that so many of my personal effects actually came from my DH and parents. I was drowning in their memories and losing my identity.

Once started The decluttering just snowballed. I realised I didn’t belong in my wardrobe any longer, it was part of someone I used to be. Similarly with the other things around me. Now I refuse to have anything in the house that I don’t love.

The upside is that yes, the cleaning is a doddle and I am never worried about people just arriving, although the current lack of a Sofa is an issue

The downside is definitely that I spend ages deciding whether to buy something and often walk away thinking ‘mmmmhhhh I dont really NEED that’

Why don’t you use teapots?? I don’t understand! Doesn’t your tea taste wrong if you brew it straight in the mug? And how do you manage without that immediate top up for an extra half-cup?

I may be addicted, come to think about it.

Can I join please?
After watching too much episodes of Grand Designs & Escape to the Country on maternity, I’ve become slight obsessed with open plan, minimalist houses...hence my attempt to de-clutter our place.

I am drowning - several black bags later it doesn’t feel like I have made any significant inroads. How is it possible for 3 kids to have so much stuff!? The worst is trying to de-clutter & throw away with them in the house... how?

Just keep going *SaffaQueen’, you will find that it gets easier bag by bag. Eventually you will see the difference.

After a few weeks I found that I questioned everything around the house. Do I really need this? Do I love it?

If not why is it in your home, absorbing your energy?

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows - Can you offer any advice for getting rid of sentimental stuff? I'm stuck on this atm.

Welcome, @SaffaQueen!

Welcome saffaqueen!
Have you seen the Marie Kondo show on Netflix? It was eye opening for me and DH not that he'd admit to watching it over his book

Well we watched GoT, amazing, I've painted 2 door sides, just 1 more to do later. On the third load of laundry and DH has run a clean cycle on the dishwasher, cut the front and back lawns and then cut down a bush. Hes got other jobs that need the drill doing this afternoon for which I'll just watch haha - I'm scared of drills

I have managed to procrastinate by taking a long run!

Getting rid of sentimental items is a problem for me too. I second doubt myself every time when trying to get rid.

I want to watch Marie Kondo but I am scared she might push me over the edge in terms of how organised & clinical she is (if I won the lottery I would definitely hire her to sort my stuff out 😆)!

I've sold something!!!!!!!!

It was a lot of effort for a very small return (about an hour, maybe more, for a fiver). But, it's out and it all counts.

Ah, this is a good thread for me. I am trying to get rid of all the stuff we don’t use. Last week I went over our bookcases and got rid of a load of books and reorganised them all.

Today I have cleared out the built in cupboard in my daughter’s room (it was full of old baby stuff and she’s now 5). I’ve also gone through some old files and shredded several years’ of payslips and bank statements.

Wasn’t it William Morris who said that if you own something, you should either find it useful or beautiful. Otherwise you shouldn’t have it.

Welcome crucru!
You've made wonderful progress so far! I love neat and clear bookcases.

Well our afternoon was as productive as the morning! Between us we got both new kitchen blinds up with only a handful of expletives and THE LIVING ROOM MIRROR IS FINALLY ON THE WALLLLL!!!

About to do my last bit of painting for the day :)

I'm counting the mirror as my item for the day as whilst it's not out the door, it is off the floor and serving its purpose!

SandandSea the sentimental things are the hardest and something I still get stuck on sometimes.

My advices would be;

• I didn’t follow Marie Kondo slavishly, but I did declutter in the order she prescribes. That way you are already quite a seasoned declutterer by the time you get to the sentimental things.

• I also reassured myself that I was in charge. If it didn’t feel right, for any reason, I could keep it until the next round of decluttering (I am now on my 5th or 6th pass through some of these things)

• Then I thought about what the item meant to me. Did I have it in my life as a momento of a happy event, because it had belonged to someone precious to me or because I loved it.

• If I loved it, it could stay.

• If it was a momento of a happy event, did I really need that physical momento or were the memories already embedded. Did I ever really look at it? Why did I need something physical to remind me? etc. etc.

• if I had it because it had belonged to someone precious to me, I really had to challenge why that physical item? What did it really mean? All the physical things we have in our lives absorb our energies. I didn’t need my D Dad Book or Stamp collection to remember him, they just occupied space and needed caring for. I therefore chose just a few really special pieces and let the rest go.

One other thing that really worked for me, was to sell the special things I let go of (the rest went to charity). The money then went to my Grandchildren to support the hobbies that give them so much pleasure. I am sure my DH,DDad and DM, would love to be a part of their lives in this way.

Oh and another tip on the sentimental things. You can always keep a photograph of them !!

Thanks, Flying. You've given me lots to think about.

Been knocked off course for a week or so (family funeral). Yesterday I threw out 2 magazines. Today: 1 unwanted jumper, 1 worn out dress and 1 pair of shoes put in clothing bank. I have half-a-dozen or so newsletters to read by Wed (approx. 40 pages each) - bit behind, but hope I can get this done on schedule.

I still did not do the basket of random bits.

But I did do some other sorting of clothes. I had hung some things on the back of my bedroom door as I couldn’t decide if they were keepers or not. Tried all of the tops on this morning and they all went. And as I was folding up some t-shirts from the summer clothes washing I got rid of some straight away. So another black bag ready to go.