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

Lovely to see some newcomers here. Welcome to the thread! Please do keep posting.

@Coldhandscoldheart - Don't lose heart! We all have our slower, less productive times. You know, there are charities which will collect. Maybe if you booked that in, it would motivate you a bit more? Could the nappies go to a refuge or foodbank? There are often collection points for the foodbank in supermarkets. (I'm assuming they take nappies.) Maybe you could put them in your car boot now whilst you're thinking about it? Just some ideas.

Anyway, I've done a charity shop run today and binned some random storage containers from my kitchen stash.

I've also done a bit more decorating. I'm finding this a bit uphill atm but I'm pleased I did a bit.

Well done on the holey folder, Stealth! I know how hard it is to get rid of things when you've kept them for so long.

I have to declutter - I’ve just had lots oh (honest) feedback on a thread linking to our house we’ve got up for sale.

Trouble is I don’t know where/how to start so I’m sat down drinking a glass of wine.

DH has said he’s going to try and sell his motorbike (not ridden since before our 5yo was born) and will do a tip run. We can then move a lot of stuff into the garage. I need to get listing on eBay.

I had my second attempt at the main bedroom again today. Managed to throw away some old bits of makeup that were in a state, but I still struggled to part with them.

I also managed to declutter the fridge, and have arranged for all my bags for charity to be collected.

Still have to figure out how to part with some big pieces of bedroom furniture, which I would have thought should be quite easy as I have their replacements already waiting for the space to be put up

Welcome to all the new posters, you have to start somewhere 😬 Hopefully you’ll remind us about some strange corners we haven’t got to yet!
So far I’ve done kitchen cupboards and drawers, several cupboards in bedrooms, bay window of doom, understairs cupboard and constantly chipping away at all the rest of the surfaces.

The last few days have been an epic failure to say the least. No decluttering has been done, the house is really untidy again and I went shopping yesterday and came back with some new cleaning products despite having a huge stash already. Last week was pretty stressful for various reasons and I haven't been sleeping well so I've has no energy or enthusiasm to do anything. I've been up most of the night with DD who just wouldn't sleep (although she's now lying next to me snoring her head off!) so I think today's plan will be to do a bit of cleaning and tidying and hopefully get back on track.

I did do some weeding in the garden yesterday and the brown bin is now full for today's collection. The garden is another big project that we're slowly working on - it was completely overgrown and at least now it's useable so there is some decluttering success there at least.

Hopefully I will be able to report back later with some better progress.

One bin bag of rubbish/broken toys out this morning (before everyone else was awake & dc had an opportunity to declare the contents their most treasured possessions 🙈).

Welcome, @SellMyHouse4me ! I think you just have to start really. Many of us have found it helps to go for easy wins to start with as it gets the momentum going and helps you to practise letting things go. You might find that works for you, or, it might be better for you to start with your main living area. That way, you always have one place in the house which you can enjoy and host. Marie Kondo says to start with clothes and that can work well too. Do whatever feels good to you.

My out today: a grooming brush. It barely picks up any hair and needs to go.

I've just done some more (still uphill) decorating. I think I've finished the filling but I've got to do some more sanding tomorrow. I've hoovered all the sand up and made dinner. The kitchen looks like a bomb site - I'm building up to clearing it.

Out: sandpaper and polyfilla.

Two bin bags of clothes recycling gone plus a breast pump and three carrier bags in the car for the charity shop plus a big wooden unit. Do not technically gone yet, but tomorrow.
The problem is everything still looks like shit.

Welcome sellmyhouse4me I would look for a quick win that gives you instant satisfaction and a boost every time you look at it. So that might be window ledges or perhaps a Table Of Crap. Or if you have a really big item like some toddler or baby items clear a space instantly. I would be concerned that you're ebaying stuff as you might never get round to advertising all of it and if it doesn't sell it'all still be there. When I Facebook sell stuff i set a mental deadline and if it hasn't sold by then I donate it.

I spent ten minutes in the garage sorting out old shelves and stuff to freecycle. Dd2 also gave me a dirty tshirt to go in the rags pile.

Tonight I'm sewing labels onto a few bits of new school uniform. They're not really clutter but the new bits are in a pile on dd1s floor so her room will feel tidier.

I forgot I also decluttered the remains of a chocolate cake (into me) and some mozzarella that smelled distinctly funny (into the bin). Have also cried a lot.
And I still haven’t listed the nappies.

Hope you had a good holiday Willow

Had a couple of child free hours today so went through DS's drawers and fished out some outgrown things and took the borrowed ones back to the lender. Also put two bags for charity shop in the car. Slightly too late though, as I was parked on the doorstep this morning!

Welcome to all the newbies, I'm also hoping for some inspiration. Quite a lot has gone here but I'm still waiting for that moment where I can see where I've been! Think my main gains are getting better at chucking the useless things (worn out clothes I'm looking at you! I had 4 pairs of 'decorating' jeans.)

Ha, RaspberryBlonde, I have also chucked out some ‘decorating’ clothes today. I have been replacing the sealant on the shower this week. My selection of decorating trousers are all stretchy tracksuit ones, but the motley collection of T-shirt’s and sweatshirts all seem to have shrunk! Not much good when their job is to cover you and keep you clean. Got rid of 2 T-shirt’s, a pair of shorts and a hooded sweatshirt so far. The paint stained ones have gone in a landfill bag, the clean ones in my rag bag. This week I have also re-sited the alcohol cupboard in the dining room to a more accessible cupboard at the other end of the unit. I poured out 6 bottles of ancient alcohol. Two opened bottles came from supermarkets that have not existed for at least 15 years... well, one of them has not been poured out yet as it was a cream liqueur which seems to have solidified. The bottle has been filled up with hot water so if that doesn’t soften it, it will just go in the bin.

I moved house this week and, although glad I had thrown out plenty of bags in the last couple of weeks, it was clear it was nowhere near enough! We found plenty of things we had forgotten about but just had to pack and bring with us.

Although our house is bigger, we actually have less storage space in our kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. So I definitely need to continue decluttering. I've started to put aside stuff for the charity shop like old belts and scarves.

Today I found a suitcase of DC1s newborn clothes...which is a shame as DC2 is now 3 months old! I want to sort through all DC1s old clothes and decide what to keep, what to donate and what to sell. I'd like my DH to do some more decluttering too...he
still hasn't got rid of his VCR player! Apparently cassette tapes are making a comeback and the same may happen to VHS...

Had a couple of slack days but today's plan is to go through dc wardrobe and have a clear out. I just need to get the energy first!

coldhandscoldheart you're doing fantastic work. You say it looks like shit, please be kind to yourself, every day it is getting a tiny bit better. Because of the clothes you got rid of you'll find getting dressed a tiny bit quicker and each time you do an area there will be an another improvement. It isn't just about making your house like look nicer but making your life easier. Yesterday I met some friends on a picnic and it was so easy finding the hamper, blankets, cups, plates. I am far from finished but I promise it will get easier.

Getting your wooden furniture out will make a massive difference too.

Is there a more visible area you could tackle now that really shows the difference? My biggest achievement is my hall as it creates a lovely first impression.

greenwillow you can keep your clutter for yourself! I don't think I will ever finish decluttering!

Today I'm intending to spend 15 minutes decluttering some leaves in the garden. I pay a small fortune to have my garden rubbish taken away every fortnight yet the bin is rarely full so I am intending to completely fill the bin over the next few days justs spending ten minutes here and there.

Kids wardrobes gone through, some clothes for rag bag and a bag for my friend with younger boys, I'm seeing her Monday so that will be out of the house. Old rug off floor and by back door ready to go to tip.

Actually @StealthNinjaMum I should remind myself about the bits that don’t look awful -like the hall - which I decluttered months & months ago and has now been decorated and is fish and wonderful to walk into.

Wow! Everyone's doing really well!

Willow - I laughed out loud at that! Don't worry though, I've still got more to do.

Coldhandscoldheart - It can take a while to start seeing the results but don't worry, it'll happen! Tears are good to let go of too. It's all part of it. Just keep going as you have been and you'll start to really enjoy the new space.

Decluttered and cleaned the fridge. So much more orderly.

I'm glad to hear that @Coldhandscoldheart it's just lovely to come into a tidy hall. (Mine isn't as some lego princesses and star wars characters have just had a battle). What room do you spend the most time in? If it's your sitting room is there something you could do to make that tranquil? Mine is really minimalist apart from my pile of stuff to sell on Facebook behind a settee but you can't see it!

A question for you declutterers. I was in the garage earlier getting out my broom and noticed our collection of old tiles. Does anyone ever use them to replace broken tiles? Or do we keep them 'just in case' and find we don't use them?. I am tempted to take them all to the dump as they've been there for 10 years and some might be from our previous house! Or maybe I'll leave them until the day we get a skip to clear the garage.