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=

Continuing with outgrown clothes

Sunday’s Out - two school cardigans,
One pair holes school trousers
one cardigan

Expect to finish the uniforms today. Tomorrow at the latest.

Medway- you are amazing!!

I’ve done nothing for a few days but will start again today and hopefully bump up the numbers.

Vinorosso- sorry for your loss

Nettleskeins
I have been agonizing over a mattress type dog bed which has been peed on and vomited on but is impossible to wash (too large) and has all the stuffing ripped out (by dog) It is one of three dog beds we have currently, so I've taken thick cover off to reuse, and I am going to bin the inners, but feeling rather guilty about it.
Why? Why Do you feel any guilt at all? I struggle with chucking useful but random items. A shredded dog bed that has pee and vomit in it is not something I would struggle with getting rid of.

GoodGrief you are so right. But still, at the time I agonised over the waste of the stuffing (could I reuse it for soft toys, a new mattress, handmade by moi, should I repair it?) as it was a relatively new purchase (4 months before) Now that is gone, I don't think about it at all!

Today I am decluttering an encylopaedia and a home crafts book (from 1970's)

Since the bookcase went out of the corner of the tv room, the room looks so much lighter and more spacious. Small bookcase, books have found a place elsewhere. Storage can creep up on you and box you in!

Can I join please?! My house is one big cluttered organisational mess. We have the fantastic combo of too much stuff/not enough storage space/a baby, so packed to the rafters. We had an IKEA trip this weekend to buy a few storage solutions so need to start decluttering and organising.
Will send most stuff off to charity, but try and sell a few bits. Do people find eBay/Facebook/gumtree the best for selling?
Been reading through the thread and it's inspired me so will start sorting once mini Rum has his afternoon nap.

Hello RumRumRum - if you look through this thread you'll see that we're all a bit disheartened when it comes to selling our stuff, even though a lot of us would like to.
I haven't quite given up though

Two thoughts -

Even things that are obviously 'rubbish' to others can feel hard to let go (me and newspapers). Its not always rational, rather emotional - such as a feeling on responsibility not to waste things.

Selling things - I've given up on this, now just try to find places who may want to use anything in my discard pile - nursery and school are offered games, spare hats/coats etc if no one else needs. Even socks and pants for nursery as I'm sure they get through a few pairs in a week and don't always get them back.

Anything else goes on freagle or to charity shop.

That way I feel like everyone wins - I get rid of things and obtain space, and someone gets something for free/low cost who might need it. I have benefitted massively from friends giving us stuff from older kids or charity shops for good as new clothes/games/books over the years so more than happy to pay it back.

NCT sales can be a good way to de clutter - slightly faffy to register and mark up all your tickets etc but you get lots of people who are the right market for baby/toddler items.

Usually with ours, you can collect your unsold items at the end or donate - a women's refuge or refugee project would take away a van load. Another win/win. We might make £50 to £100 and the items all get rehomed!

Some towns/villages have toy swaps/toy libraries/sling swaps too. Worth asking if they want any items no longer in use at your house.

Today's outs:
One bike helmet (sold on facebay)
4 cardboard boxes for school project
3 items of clothing sold on facebay

I have quite a bit of success selling on Facebook/marketplace, and its free. I just listed 2 items at the weekend, and both have gone today, and I got £40. Miscellaneous things and clothes go straight to the charity shop, but I find toys and games usually do well in the run up to Christmas. I have learnt from past mistakes, not to agree straight away to let the first person who messages me have the item, as sometimes they have then said they can't pick it up for a week, or have messed me about, so my first response to people now is "when are you able to collect?", and then go with whoever can collect at a mutually convenient time for me.

I've managed to sell and post one teddy bear that I had on eBay. eBay for me hasn't been very successful and I don't think I'll bother again.

Also was a toy farm which I have given to a friend for her niece.

I can't wait to wrap up the Christmas presents I've been collecting all year so they will all be "outs."

Today did not start well, when I got to the checkout at Lidl at 8.30 with a weeks worth of shopping and discovered I'd decluttered my bank card somewhere stupid. I think I left it in Tesco on Saturday, so they'll have shredded by now, but I've cancelled it anyway.

This afternoon DS3 and I spent another 15 minutes in his bedroom and have another big box of books and toys for the toy bank. That inspired DH to look in his wardrobe and now we have a bag of rags (for shirts with mangy collars) and a box of good stuff for the charity shop. He has been expressing delight in having a row of shirts in his wardrobe where he loves all of them and they're not too squashed to wear.

These are great steps forward, but (wails) why doesn't my house feel clearer ?

Today (after joining this thread a while ago but not chucking anything) - a bin bag full of DC's old clothes and school uniform and, a smaller bag of toys in good condition - both to charity

Monday - for donation - three pairs outgrown ankle socks

Getting tired of these socks, lol! I’ve found so many over the past week, and in so many weird places. And all laundered. On bookshelves, behind toys, in a shoebox in my office, all over downstairs.

All the jerseys are washed, nearly dry. Ready for trying on tomorrow.

Lost the tv box remote. Happy days!

Willow - I have thrown out around 1000 items and it’s still a hot mess here. Try taking before and after photos?

Like when you loose weight, you don’t see it day to day until you try on a old dress to find it swamps you now ( yes, I can wistfully remember that - I need to declutter fat next )

Re selling, I think it picking your battles. FB makes more money but brings more people mucking you about.

I am happy to sell as it’s a nice feeling but I don’t want it to hold me up.in the time I can photo and list things I could be donating ten times more.
So a bit of both but possibly not great to get stuck with selling. I am aiming to be able to sell out grown kids clothes at the beginning of their season but I must do that mass declutter first.

Maybe it’s like stages or phases? First you deep clean then you sort doing regular weekly cleans. So In decluttering terms I’m deep cleaning so selling is now high value of quick wins but come maintenance stage I will look into selling more things because it will less urgent / volumes to sell?

I didn't get to the storage unit today, but did have a productive day at home. I caught up on laundry, including ironing! As well as general wiping down surfaces to clean.

Outs today were 3 black bags of leaves from the yard, and apparently one mouse that I found (outside), killed by either a cat or our dog. First one I've seen in the 13 years we've lived in this house!

Dh was looking for his workout shoes tonight and was surprised to find so many he doesn't wear anymore as they are too worn out. He still hasn't thrown them away though, but when he buys a new pair (this week sometime) I'll encourage him to toss the old ones. That should be at least 3 outs, possibly more!

Back to the grindstone today, and trying to get all our charity outs to their final location, not just the boot of my car. Medway, you are so right that you don't really notice decluttering until one day there's suddenly No Stuff. My DM resets herself with these things by going away for a weekend and coming back with fresh eyes, but I don't have that option.

This month's long-term resolution is to declutter and take time for me by sewing or knitting for half an hour a day. I did some embroidery on material for a blouse yesterday, so that hopefully next summer I'll have an item of clothing I love, that fits, and less in my sewing stash! On Friday night I finally started learning how to knit socks. Both these projects had a place to live before, so I'm not making any more clutter using them up, as long as I can force myself to put them away neatly each time I finish a bit.

I'm wondering today about children's books. We have some Classics (Alan Garner, Nina Bawden, that sort of thing) that I loved as a child but on DD has ever read. DS3 is a Difficult Reader - perfectly capable, but hard to find things he likes, like DS2, who turned out to be wildly dyslexic with ADHD. DS3 has similar distraction problems and reads best in very small chunks or via graphic novels where there's lots going on. So the books could go out, but I feel so guilty about the sheer expense. Ditto Modern Classics by Charlie Higson, Robert Muchamore etc. I read them alongside DS1 and we loved them, but why retain them now? The again, DS3 is too young for them yet, so maybe...

I’ve ordered some new bras, as all of mine are disintegrating. So as soon as they arrive, I’ll finally be able to get rid of 4/5 old ones.

I’ve really lost my decluttering mojo recently, so am in awe with how much you’re all managing to get rid of! I think I need to take photos to see the mess with new eyes, as I’m pretty sure I keep walking past stuff I could get rid of, and I’m just not paying attention.

On decluttering, I think our brains readjusts to the new space very quickly, so you don’t realise how much you’ve done, until you see an old photo, or remember how difficult an action was that now seems like second nature.

Just sold a near perfect board game on facebay.

I have a box of Wedgwood plates in the loft. Need to bring them down to sell and put Halloween stuff away that's hanging around. There's not too much stuff in the loft luckily--I've always tried not to dump stuff there. Definitely a few toys though that can go.

Only small things out here. A small broken toy yesterday. Today a cap I only wore on holiday but never liked-looks a bit manky now. Couple more things in charity bag. Am finding having a bag on the go useful as once it's full off it goes.
Discovered we still have a stairgate. I should measure it before advertising it I think.... Might ask for £5 and if no luck can go for free.

Gosh! Everyone is doing really well.

Since I updated last week I have sold 3 items on eBay, which have now all been posted, so a couple of boxes have gone as well as my items. We had the boiler and central heating service done on Wednesday. I had re-stacked the stuff in the spare room a couple of months ago, so it didn't take long on Wednesday morning to lift the remaining stuff from the landing and loft floor that was preventing the engineer reaching all the radiators and hot water tank. I am always worried that an engineer will trip on some clutter in the spare room and bring down an avalanche of bags and boxes.

I took Friday off work again. I had intended on sorting out some more stuff for selling, but I had found a crate of DP's paperwork in the spare room, which I reckoned I could get rid of quite easily, so I went through that instead. I suspect it was all taken off the coffee table in the living room and hidden upstairs last time we hosted Christmas dinner for my mum, my sister and her family. (Just looked back at my email and that was in 2014!!) Anyway, I removed all the paperwork from their envelopes, and collected the bank statements, credit card stuff and insurance stuff in separate piles. The bank statements are now neatly filed in a ring binder, and the old ones that were there shredded. DP went through the other piles and the old credit card and insurance paperwork have also been shredded. There is still a small amount of miscellaneous post in the bottom of the crate that DP still has to look through, but I am almost there. While I was on a roll, I went through his mail currently piled on the coffee table (presumably late Dec 2014 to present! ) picking out the obvious statements for filing, so that is looking a bit better as well. I remember posting a while ago that I had asked DP to deal with his piles on the coffee table. Sigh!

I was saving large cereal boxes for disposing of shredded paper, so I have filled around 5 of these, ready to go out with the next paper and cardboard collection.

Well done @PurpleFrog. I detest and despise paperwork and actively avoid it. DH is sitting me down to do some tomorrow and I'm dreading it... No debts or anything to worry about but I just loathe it! So that will be my out tomorrow.

My niece visited today and was looking for toiletries, hats/scarves etc for a collection her scouts are doing for homeless people. I decluttered two sets I was given last Christmas, some shower gels, five hats (new), three scarves and some hotel toiletries. It was an unexpected out today as I don't get much done during the week. It feels good to get things out that are useful to others.

I almost had a hernia taking my three bins of donations to charity today. It felt amazing! So lesson learned is one carrier bag as I sort it. I feel so positive today and can see so many I can tackle next, rather than feeling overwhelmed by the task in hand. Each pile is a new opportunity