Decluttering one thing a day - Part 9

[SandAndSea]

Welcome to our 9th thread in the Decluttering One Thing A Day series!

As you might imagine, we aim to get rid of one thing a day (or the equivalent, if we miss a few days).

The idea is that aiming low in this way prevents us from getting overwhelmed. It's also sustainable so helps us to develop effective clutter clearing habits which last.

In reality, many of us have found that once we start, we often get rid of far more than just one thing. (But if we don't, that's OK too.)

Everyone's welcome! We're a friendly and supportive bunch, from aspiring minimalists to full-on clutterbucks! We're also pretty green so you'll find lots of recycling, freecycling, donating and selling.

Previous thread here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3612006-Decluttering-one-thing-a-day-part-8-the-one-where-we-de-tetris-the-cupboard-of-doom?pg=1&order=

\o/ @Medwaymumoffour!!
You’ve done great work and now you have a sorted bathroom. Five minutes a day or every other day will see the bathroom staying sorted. You have your area! Do you have a nice candle & could you have a bath in your nice bathroom? Because you’ve done it for you not ungrateful not noticing people.

I need to start packing the house to move soon & cant really face it.

I brought home from the same shop: 2 tops and 2 pairs of shorts, strictly for around the house only.
Big mistake. Not one item fitted. Boo. Hoo.

I binned a pair of DH's flip flops just now. They are broken and revolting but he still wanted to keep them 🙄

I have some beloved novelty slippers that have a hole in the bottom that need to go. I probably won't replace them.

The Big Bag of Big Bras has gone!

Yes I’m going to declutter on for me, to make my life easier. Sod them all. We are away next week for half term so I’m going to try to impress on dh ( LH lazy husband 🤪) that he needs to be on the same page as me and delegate jobs amoung the kids too.

In the meantime I have bought three lovely tunic dresses today so I can charity shop some less lovely things from my wardrobe.

Penelope - see the not fitting as a win, good excuse to have another look but do try them on. I’m taking back two things to charity shop tomorrow. I will soften their blow by donating some bits.

Right, funny story time. Yesterday my eldest (15) was in a minor boys cat fight and had his jumper slightly ripped and his shirt pocket ripped off. By the sounds of it he was being cheeky but overstepped the mark so in balance deserved it. Is it bad that my first thought was “bonus two more things to go out!” Bad mummy! I did say he was lucky he didn’t get a slap or punch for what he said ( calling another boy a suck up as he is doing other people’s homework for them, so hardly a big deal but never the less no of my ds business).

Also I’m about to have lunch then throw some of dhs stuff away for a warm fuzzy glow. As compensation from his lack of engagement in my journey

Mwwwwahhhahaha!

Medway, I was so sorry to read your post. (And I love the phrase 'ungrateful scrotes'!)

I agree with Cold & Willow - do it for you!

Fuck 'em!!!

(It took me ages to post that so I missed your update.)

Penelope - I've done this so many times! For me, it's been a lesson to just stop and breath and ask myself if it really feels good to buy that thing, whatever it is. I've bought several 'bargains' online, which have turned out not to fit or to just feel bad in some way. My latest was a dress which I'd thought was perfect for Summer, but I just felt crap going out in it. I was going to throw it out but then the cold weather hit and I realised that (weirdly) it's the perfect Winter nightie!!! Usually, I donate things though. To feel better about it, I tell myself that it's my way of giving to good causes.

My friend was so chuffed with the bag of kids clothes I gave her that she bought me a drink. Another win!

Good job there, Blue, and Penelope taking things back. I've been guilty of keeping things that didn't fit, before, because ... well... I have no idea why, actually. Sand, a winter nightie out of a summer dress? Brilliant! I love repurposing like that, it feels so noble and frugal etc.

Not much done here today, due to appointments that took all morning and had a Lidl shop bolted on the end. However, I have got to the bottom of the mending pile this evening (several pairs of M&S tights far too expensive to allow to ladder and disintegrate!) and taken in DS2's suit trousers, so I would like to count them as moving from unloved clutter back to the useful pile!

Apart from putting packaging in the recycling box nothing else. DD and I are going away for the weekend so I have asked DP to take some bags of rubble to the dump (I'm too weak to lift them.. )

I need to join in! House is a tip, and I’m too ashamed to let workmen in :(( It was sunny this morning, which cheered me up no end, and I got cracking in the garage after the school run - sweeping the rubbish up, picking biscuit wrappers off the van floor, etc. Put as much as possible in the bin for tomorrow, and left a pile of recycling to one side for another day.

Finally donated two large bags of children’s clothes and wellies. These had been in the back of the van for a month. A couple of days ago, I found a bag at the bottom of a cupboard, and it was full of the same clothes that I ordered online. How can you forget that you’ve already shopped for two school uniforms?! At least the kids’ll be clean and shiny every day now!

Welcome Tidy2018. Sounds like a great start! Be careful not to burn out which is something I have done in the past. Even if it’s just 15 mins over a day and one thing out, you can slow right down on some days, just don’t stop.

Well I think I had a successful day. I bought some bits but guilt free as each in had at least 4 outs.

Threw some tat of dhs ( very cathartic and possibly evil but meh.. I laughed)

I donated some kids clothes and gave a bag away with a outfit I sold. This has taught me I can feel the pain and it was fine. I know now I can charity shop the rest and not take months listing it on eBay.

Took the little ones out and they picked a few Christmas ideas out so I also feel confident I will by less presents / toys this year as they want some big box toys. So less bits of random stuff to loose.

All is good. I might not be getting affirmation but my house is getting there. I’m in control, I’m doing well. I can do this

My charity shop purchases did feel really good at the time. They were just what I needed for the upcoming season and I was pleased with myself for buying things only in the correct size, and not to slim into because they were lovely. Or so I thought. And I did actually need them as I'm quite low on clothes that actually fit.
Unfortunately, charity shops don't take returns where I live. I will just have to think of it as a $20 donation to that charity.
However, I really like the clothes and don't want to give them back!! So, I have added to my clutter with 4 pieces.
I'm going to my cluttered house today. (Remember I was able to leave the very rural cluttered house behind and start fresh? It sounds flasher than it is, believe me.) I'll make sure to get some clutter out of there to compensate. Thanks for all the advice.
Sand - I hope you've found some shorter washes on that machine.
Willow - I so admire your home schooling efforts. Amazing. How lucky your kids are to have you as their mum.
P.S. A great new video from The Minimal Mom about why we just can't bear to let things go even when we can't use them. I swear - no connection to her whatsoever but I just love the way her videos address things that make us stall. It's all very well saying chuck that out and chuck this out, but if it was that easy we wouldn't have the mess!
Things learnt by me this fortnight:
Put things in a bag for charity shops and DO NOT look in the bag again because you will want to keep everything again!! "Oh but I could sell that", etc. I remember seeing something that said black bags or boxes and then tape them closed. I get it now.
I didn't want to give the bags of beautiful and expensive dresses to charity but my friend said, "Just think of the delight when someone finds that dress for their little girl". This resonated with me as I'd previously been in the same position.
So I did give them and just repeated that to myself, and guess what? I thought I'd feel the regret but I haven't. Not one jot. This was a bit of a revelation for me. I don't even really remember what was in the bags.

I donated some kids clothes and gave a bag away with a outfit I sold. This has taught me I can feel the pain and it was fine. I know now I can charity shop the rest and not take months listing it on eBay. This is me too, MedwayMum. Getting there, anyway.

"Just think of the delight when someone finds that dress for their little girl".

Penelope - I love this! And such good advice about not looking in the box/bag again or getting it out quickly so you don't reattach to it. (Sorry, I can't remember who referred to this first - was it Medway?)

I fell in love with an earring on Etsy today. It's the perfect earring for me - literally perfect. Except, I don't have a helix piercing! I almost bought it!! I'm trying to be strong. I find it helps to save such things to Pinterest - it seems to 'quench the thirst' somehow.

Welcome back, Tidy!

"Just think of the delight when someone finds that dress for their little girl".
Penelope - I love this!
Yep, it really worked for me.

And another one was from The Minimal Mom - it said instead of keeping clothes that don’t fit out of guilt that you haven’t lost weight, guilt about the money you’ve wasted, etc (both of which resonate with me), get them to the charity shop now while they are still in fashion so that someone else can benefit from the clothes. Instead of ten years down the track when no one really will love them but may still have to wear them. Turn your waste into a bonus for other people, and thereby salvage something positive from the mistake. I love this woman! She really understands the thoughts that hold me back.

All the above is very true.

This year we aren't sending Christmas cards for environmental reasons. I have several unopened packs so just dropped them at the charity shop.

Great progress all 👍
I still haven’t accepted that way of thinking- that giving expensive stuff to charity instead of selling it is ok/good even; we need the money too much!
The book is going down well (decluttering at the speed of life) and I have got rid of a whole black bag of tat from my girls’ room (can’t actually tell though 🙄) I’m aiming to use half term to absolutely gut that pigsty!

I still haven’t accepted that way of thinking- that giving expensive stuff to charity instead of selling it is ok/good even; we need the money too much!
Brutus I tried to sell the dresses first but nobody bought them. They were beautiful age 12 dresses. A mix of party and summer dresses. Department store brands and in perfect condition. Priced at about twenty pounds for all 8 dresses. I had them on Fb and on eBay too. Nobody bought them! I was very surprised.
I think there are just too many secondhand clothes and books about these days.
But I know what you mean; that’s why it was so hard to let go them. I need money too.

Morning! You're all doing an amazing job

Penelope, thanks for the kind words about home schooling, and the pointers to useful ways to approach giving things away. I think I'm moving over to that model, as our foray into Ebay has netter an entire fiver over 27 items, so it's not worth time.

Today's plan (apart from machine sewing DS2's trousers to the seam at the back is properly solid ) is to clean 12 years of a little grease off the top of the kitchen cabinets and store the extra china up there. We will still need it for Christmas / Easter when we are family dinner central, but not day to day.

I think that will have to be it for today as there is also real, actual, paid work to do and half term stuff. Good luck all!

It is ever such a lot of effort for ever so little return, isn’t it? I should try and think of the relief of getting rid of them rather than the few pence I might get. Thanks for the responses!

Willow- not sure which other threads/fb groups you’re on but there is a product called elbow grease which is perfect for cupboard top grease!! Even a few years’ worth (trust me!)