Decluttering one thing a day part 8 - the one where we de-tetris the cupboard of doom!

[WoogleCone]

Welcome! This is thread 8 of the declutter one thing a day challenge!

This is just holding the discussion open until @stealthninjamum gets her computer sorted and back in action :)

Everyone is welcome here, new and old. We implore you to join us on our mission to clear the cupboards, swipe the sides and declutter all debris!
We recycle, reuse, give away, donate or just plain chuck it out to help clear our spaces.

If you're new, start with a small mission - can you tackle one small area at a time? Be it a bedside table, a bathroom cabinet or The Kitchen Drawer?
Just one thing a day is all we ask and report back here with your outs for the day, or week at a time. It's very easy to get the bug when you start small and have success!

Will we find any more big bags of change? Can we sell more big ticket items? Will the school books all get returned? Will the happy meal toys ever stop multiplying and just how many books can we say goodbye to?!

Previous thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3525812-Part-7-of-the-decluttering-challenge-can-you-get-rid-of-one-item-a-day?msgid=87790915#87790915

Hope you're ok greenwillow. Would the willow children declutter? Today I got dd1 to declutter her wardrobe to dd2 who is choosing what to keep. So far we have got rid of one t shirt and one bag.

I'm behind with the thread again, sorry!

However, I have been going through my clothes and have quite a few to go out:

2 strappy tops.
4 tunics.
3 dressy tops (1 damaged beyond repair and 1 with tags!).
1 pair black trousers (w broken buckle).
3 bras.

Disclaimer: I've got quite a few pairs of jeans and trousers which are just too small for me and I've decided to keep them. (I'm hopeful!)

And another thing: a lovely cardigan. It's not my colour apparently.

So sorry to read that, Willow. Hope you recover very soon.

@SandAndSea old correspondence - some of the letters date back to the early '80's! I used to be a prolific letter writer. Memory Lane. Have managed to shred some without reading the letters but have saved all the stamps for charity. It was all stored in a very small chest of drawers which is sold - writing case (almost 50 years old) which is held together with elastic bands has also gone. Life is in the way so decluttering is taking a back seat. BUT, sticking with 2 items decluttered daily.

Well done, AbbieLexie! I haven't got to my old old personal letters yet. They are all organised and right at the back of a cupboard, so, no rush but I will have to go through them at some point.

Pair of (holey) undies in the bin, last night (!)
Big bag of clothes to school fundraiser tomorrow.... another bag for charity shop this weekend.

Less than 2 weeks now until the move.
Yesterday... Tumble drier and bread machine. TD was broken, we realised he'd hadn't used bread machine in years.

Lots of little stuff. Sending DH to bottle bank today.

abbielexie two items a day is still good. If you put them in a pile after a month it would be a big pile.

5 children's books in the charity shop pile.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves we are also moving in less than 2 weeks! So now I have my DH join in with decluttering, although he is not as ruthless as I am! It's taken him nearly 6 years of living in our current place for him to agree to get rid of his VHS player and tapes..although I don't know who will take them. Any ideas?
We have boxes of really nice glasses gifted for our wedding that we have hardly used but we don't feel like we can part with.

I took 7 bags of stuff to the charity shop.
I had a buyer for my trainers so those have gone too. I've put a couple of items on freecycle that would save my DH a trip to the dump.

Finding it difficult to get much done in this heat, with a newborn who I am bf and toddler though!

curlyrebel - It sounds like you're doing loads! Could you sell the glasses? I had a box of nice ones which I had kept for years. I finally realised that the fact that I still kept them in the box said everything about how useful they were to me. I sold them via fb.

Today I sorted through baking equipment and other kitchen stuff. DH sorted the garage. We took several boxes of bottles to the bottle bank.

Probably am being hard on myself @SandAndSea! Yes I can see that happening with our boxes of glasses. We could sell them but my DH wouldn't agree to it now . I'd have to do it on the DL!

curlyrebel can you remember who gave you the glasses?is it someone you're still in touch with? I find gifts are hard to get rid of but last year I got rid of lots of nice glasses as I'm sure we had about 80 glasses. Ex couldn't even remember where they came from.

I found a sixth child's book to add to today's pile.

curlyrebel I would be inclined to advertise the video and tapes on Freecycle. Amazon has some for sale from about £20 but I imagine you want them to go quickly. The only other place you might take them is somewhere like CEX. I went in there today to look for second hand tablets and was amazed at the old electronics they had on display. I didn't see any VCRs but I wasn't specifically looking.

@StealthNinjaMum yes you're right - freecycle probably the best place for the tapes and player. Or if there's no interest my DH can take them to the dump.
Yes we are in contact with people who have given us them but whether they would remember is another thing!

@curlyrebel I always find it harder to give things away when I know who gave it to me but if you think they won't notice then get rid of them.

The exception to that rule is my ex father in law who on hearing my ex was leaving said 'don't let her throw away large, hideous decorative item we got you for Xmas 12 years ago.' They had remembered every bloody present they'd given us and assumed I'd throw them away in spite. As it happens ex hated that item and had been happy with me taking it to a charity shop after giving it pride of place on the fireplace for over a decade. That's right, over ten years of a hated item being on display, just to be polite! Anyway I scoured the house and made sure every bloody present they had ever given is in ex's flat including a massive wine rack that takes up far too much space and various prints in horrible frames and a mahogany clock that never suited the more modern style of our house.

Sorry that turned into a rant! In other more positive news my new boyfriend does housework and stuff and we swap recipes. It is so lovely having a man who folds and hangs a towel after having a shower.

Fallen off the thread for a bit, but managed to swerve the double danger points of DS’s first birthday and Amazon prime day without taking onboard too much extra crap - phew! Lots of people gave money or clothing instead of toys, and the biggest thing (a ride on toy) is from my in-laws and will stay at their house. We bought a new microwave as the ten-year-old one we had finally gave up the ghost, so one in one out, and a cheap fan which is a godsend in this heat and quite tall and narrow so doesn’t take up too much space.

I’ve been chucking out some old knickers , more bags of children’s clothing, odd bits and pieces, nothing huge but just chipping away at the general pile. I think the mini trampoline on the balcony has reached the end of its days so will get DP to do a tip run with that and the old microwave and some old plants. I’ve got two weeks off in August so will try and sort through my clothes - I found a favourite pair of shoes this morning that I love but haven’t worn since I first got pregnant as they’re too high and I’ve got out of the habit of wearing heels, so I think they’ll have to go

Stealth - It sounds like you're much better off without those in-laws (and their presents) and I'm just loving that you've found a man who does housework. He sounds like a keeper! Mine does quite a few things now but it's taken many years to get there.

@sandandsea I didn't mind doing the housework, being a stay at home mum I expected to do most of it but his lack of respect for me created jobs. For example he wouldn't take his shoes off and so trod dirt into the house almost daily which I'd have to hoover when I had toddlers in the house.

Anyway I haven't said what I got rid of today. It's my brothers birthday and he's coming over this evening. I have used up some of the spare paper gift bags rather than buy new ones.

Day 1 and its too hot to tidy. I've put away some living room things but nothing sorted out or thrown away.
How do people get stuff done in the heat?

Not sure Namechanged, certainly very little being done here. Not helping is the fact that DS is very grumpy because of the heat and his current hobby is learning to climb stairs so I can’t take my eyes off him for a second!

Well done on the low clutter 1st birthday Sydney, we have managed likewise with mostly clothes although we did get one large toy that we already own. Need to decide what to do with the duplicate. Most people we know are past baby stage so may hang on to it for the toy bank at Xmas, but that’s quite a way off.

I’m sure I have decluttered things in the last few days but my mind is blank on what they are! Will be back if I remember.

Not much out today but strangely, I have reached the end of a few bathroom things all at the same time. So, today's outs include: 2 toothpastes, a conditioner, a hair dying kit and a shower curtain (which will be repurposed).