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

Tip run yesterday....
I found some dance/theatre shoes that DD no longer needs... ebay beckons!

Hello all. Today I decluttered the shoes, wellies, coats and present cupboard. I also put all my little sample size cosmetics in a basket to use up. Three bags to add to the boot for charity...

Gah, I have been so busy with the dc I have barely had time to do anything and my house looks a mess! I have been managing to chuck out one thing a day, I find it's just part of my life now (it should be after two long years!) but I mean stuff like children's socks, knickers, gone off food so it doesn't feel like it makes a difference. I've got friends coming over later so will attempt to declutter a bottle of wine. When dc go back to school I'll be able to start some bigger tidying / organising projects again.

Have parcelled up some old cuddly toys for the Teddy Trust, that send bears to children in war torn areas. Three old Build a Bears going to make some children very happy, hopefully. They don't take every kind of cuddly, btw.

htto://www.teddytrust.org.uk

Last minute prep for return to school impeding efforts this week. New uniform, bags etc being labelled. Old uniform already gone but some trainers and shoes unearthed to go.

I love that teddy trust link so will try and persuade that some of out hoard could usefully be regained.

Ooh, that’s where I am planning that my teddies are going to go, it a one of my next things to tackle. We have millions in my loft as in addition to my own kids’, my mum recently kindly gave me ALL of mine from when I was little

The idea that they will make some other kids happy is going to make it easier.

Not much done today as a friend came over - but I gave her a bag of clothes from my wardrobe! (we like the same sort of stuff).

Today I am mostly sat looking at my house with a coffee...

Emma make a giant enormous list while you have your coffee. It helps so so much.

Not much decluttering today (unless you count the pair of stinky Toms I binned!) but lots of planning for what will happen to rooms and furniture once we move the children round later this year.

Emma - Me too though I have prepared the bedroom for another painting session. Hoping to get another coat on before I lose the light.

More bags of outgrown clothing going out for me. It reduces the general clutter I suppose but it’s not as satisfying as a big ticket chuck out! I’ve got rid of the old crappy split cracked clothes pegs and bought a set of new ones (very grippy) and finally booked a proper bra fitting at Bravissimo so hopefully I can get rid of the old badly fitting ones and ancient nursing bras, ugh

Painting a room is pretty impressive in my book!

Good idea re lists. Am going to make a list of all the other areas I want to declutter and other projects I have been putting off, like the garden! And DDs room.

Not a brilliant day here, but I did manage to sort a bunch of boys’ clothes into another six bags for charity. Four years’ worth which were just sat in my loft. I don’t know why I was hanging onto them!

Sort of decluttered today. Sold a few things on Depop so packaged and posted them, less things in my house now. And I had a good work session where I blitzed my to do list and got rid of loadssss of niggly things that have been knocking around for ages. Cleaners came as well so house is lovely and fresh. It's been a bad day with the kids and my temper has been flaring so just taking a long walk before an Indian takeaway arrives and will settle in to watch bake off. All in all, my mind feels like I've had a good declutter.

Thanks, Emma.

I managed to finish (I think) painting one wall today. I'm behind my intended schedule with it because of having to re-fill, sand etc several areas, like when we put the lights back in the finished ceiling and 2 of them popped a load of plasterboard out, leaving ugly holes. So, it's been slow going but I'm getting there.

I've also healed a verruca! I'm counting it!

I have an unexpected day off tomorrow so hoping to get rid of a good deal of leftover bits and bobs from DS's old room. It was supposed to be my weekend project but I was laid low by allergies and spent my time instead sneezing for England. We've had rain here that seems to have cleared the air so it's all systems go now..

I haven't been keeping up on decluttering as much as I really want to, we have been so busy with other things, going out enjoying the sunshine before it starts to get cold here!

I did have one out last night, I had to throw away a pair of trousers as they seem to be falling apart I really wanted to try to fix them, but they got too bad yesterday (and I'm no seamstress!).

DS has a birthday tomorrow so we'll have some more ins before outs. Hopefully I can make up for that soon.

Hello all, holiday and general chaos of return to school have kept me off the thread for a while. Am intending to get back on the straight and narrow now although my maternity leave is over now so it's gong to be more challenging and I'm quite nervous about all the logistics.

Out today so far, three ringbinders into charity bag and a broken extension socket. I'm currently in the playroom trying to restore order after the holidays although don't think there's much to actually go!

Hope the lists went well Emma, I did the same earlier! And well done on the verruca SandandSea, DD had one last year; they are not easy to declutter!

Right, onwards before I have to collect DD from school!

I'm still here, still decluttering. Dc are back at school so I expect I've had the same stuff as everyone else of buying uniforms and shoes, sewing in name tags etc. I have been very run down - a terrible cold - so have just made a mess in the kitchen chopping up veg for a healthy soup.

Anyway I think it's time I made another BigList. I have got a backlog of small jobs (putting washing away, shredding, chucking post) but I think I need a project so I'm going to bet thinking about that. Actually as I type this I'm thinking I should probably just aim to get the PileOfCrapBehindTheSofa sold! My sitting room is fairly minimalist but behind one of the sofas is a pile of stuff that is probably four foot long and two feet high but you can't see it! It was meant to be temporary but has been there for about three years! Maybe I should get rid of it before Christmas.

Stealth, I remember your PileOfCrapBehindTheSofa! It's certainly been around for a while, a bit like my decorating!

Yes, I'm still decorating and dealing with all the fallout from that. I somehow got paint on the sofa cushions so have put the covers in the wash. The cat is now bedded down on the bare cushions so that'll be another job.

The good news is that I'm on top of the laundry and washing up and still organised in amongst the apparent chaos. For example, we've had a couple of birthdays recently and I received the auto-reminders I'd set up previously and I already had nice cards all lined up and ready to go. This feels so good!! Without a doubt, it has come out of all the decluttering.

I've booked a cleaner to come next week which gives me a nice deadline to finish the bedroom and get everything back in place. That's the plan anyway.

I've also just chased up a seller about a faulty product and he's sending me a replacement. It's been on my list for a while and I got a sudden urge to deal with it, so I did and it was sorted easily and quickly. I'm trying to be more aware of this sort of thing, ie that there's a time for things and it really works to move when you feel that moment strike. It's like surfing.

Thank goodness Stealth I thought I’d killed the thread! Hope you are on the mend .

Out today - some abandoned packaging in DD’s room plus a broken pen.

Don't worry, Raspberry, this thread is made of hardy stuff!

Re verrucas, I think the key is to remove the outer, dead skin which stops the immune system from knowing it's there. I then applied clove oil (v cheap on Amazon). It worked really quickly! (I've tried all sorts of treatments in the past - this has been the quickest so far and was pain free.)

I'm embarrassed that you remember SandandSea! Because you can't see it I ignore it - but it is there. I have friends over who have never noticed it.

Glad that you're organised, that's the thing about decluttering, it encourages you to set up new systems and ways of doing things. We've had a few birthdays recently and I have been working my way through the birthday cards and wine bottle holders that are all neatly organised in a drawer. We have some naff generic, floral cards that have been sitting around forever and I get dc to send those to inlaws - that side of things is so effortless.

I've tidied away the washing today and tidied the post pile so superficially the house is quite tidy. I just have a few dull admin jobs on the list. I don't think there'll be much decluttering today - just papers.

Things are still going well with the StealthNinjaBoyfriend. I am regularly decluttering my stocks of nail varnish and beauty products with him in mind.

RaspberryBlonde pffttt. Did you read about my PileOfCrapBehindTheSettee? I still have a load of wood in my car that I put there about 3 weeks ago intending to take to the dump. You will still be seeing me and SandandSea on thread 19!

Forgot to mention ages ago a friend lent me a copy of this book and it cluttered my bedroom for about a year so I skimmed it recently to give it back to her.

www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Life-Admin-Less-Better/dp/0241972493/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&keywords=the+art+of+admin&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1567686986&sr=8-1

It was kind of interesting but didn't really give many tips but it was confirmation of how much admin we all have. It describes people who do admin and enjoy it, who do admin reluctantly, people who hate it and don't do it and people who deny it's existence.

I would say that I was probably a reluctant admin doer but now I have new systems I am becoming a 'Super Doer' (i.e. someone who enthusiastically does it). My ex was clearly a denier i.e. just like with housework he didn't see any value in any admin and denied that it needed to be done. He just didn't care that I was overwhelmed with school forms, trying to get cheaper/ different suppliers, buying a million bits of crap for school charity days or trips. I suppose it just shows we were incompatible from day 1 and that there's nothing I could have said or done that would've made him value me. Anyway I have loads of spare time now that he's gone and I guess another woman can suffer from his lack of empathy and appreciation.

Stealth, it's so nice to read about StealthNinjaBoyfriend and your new, improved life, especially after all you went through with the X.

Talking of admin (and changing the subject a little), I'm finding my nice boxes of filing are working much better than the previous ring binders. They look so much better too. I'd recommend this, if anyone's looking to sort out their home filing. (Especially if you keep too much, like me.)