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=

That’s great that they came

Hi Defender90

Oh, and nearly a year ago now I started working my way through the many many travel sized shower gel and shampoo bottles. Last shower gel one used up in August, but I still have two shampoo bottles to go. How ridiculous is that? A year's worth (I don't wash every day but still) of shampoo in small bottles! I also have a backlog of bars of soap from my nan and due to them lasting longer. I was very good though, and even though I found lots of nice smelling ones at a craft fair at the weekend I didn't buy any. I grew up with parents who always had 20 of everything spare, and to be honest I find it quite refreshing not to do that!

Welcome, @JontyDoggle37! And well done on such a good start!

Well done to everyone else too! I'm mid 'file sort out' (another one) and have a big pile of old insurance docs on the floor ready for shredding. We used to have our house insurance with a particular company which sent a ridiculous amount of paperwork - so many unnecessary documents! Anyway, most of it is now going out.

DP has also finished repairing the oven! (For under £8!) Outs are a lot of dust from behind the oven plus the old element.

I've had a good day, having some work done which had meant having to make sure the room was clear. As well as binning dead lightbulbs, a slightly damaged ornament, a cracked sugar bowl I was using to store bits which have also gone in the bin and some out of date condiments lve also had a good sort through some tins and bowls with fiddly items stashed in them and now found proper homes for most of them.

I've also decided to skip my microwave. It's old, started to go funny on the inside and I barely use it. I'm not sure I'll bother replacing it as I'm loving less clutter on the worktop.

I've just sold another big item of furniture! It is being replaced but I'm still pleased as it's worn and doesn't meet our needs anymore. "Out with the old" and all that!

No outs for a few days due to being away and illness. But this afternoon I sorted 14 items for charity, mainly outgrown clothes. Normally I'd try to sell them in fb marketplace but I CBA now and would rather just donate.

No outs at all today, due to complicated education matters (had to sit in on one of DS3's lessons, as they say he's not engaging. What they actually mean is he's not spamming the chat box with unrelated rubbish), DD has had a Friendship Disaster, DS2 appears to have roaring tonsillitis again because he's exhausted, because the school have quietly forgotten to put in place all of the support blithely promised in September, and DH appears to have some lurgy that meant he slept in the chair all afternoon and went to bed 90 minutes ago.

I shall have to claim an out from Friday when, for the first time ever, I finished a nail varnish and chucked the bottle away! I also found my liquid eyeliner had dried up (you can tell how long it is since I last put real make up on to go out with DH, can't you?) and chucked that out too! Oh, and this evening I finished a bottle of bubble bath for DS3 and I'm taking the bottle downstairs right now!

Thanks greenwillow. Sorry to hear about the car but glad your inspection went well. JontyDoggle37 you're right about getting things off the to do list although I have spent the last few days wondering why it's taken me so long when it was a really simple job. I do procrastinate far too much instead of just getting on with things.

Yesterday I gave the oven a quick clean but I will need to do it properly soon. I sorted through the ebay box. Two things have been listed, the rest are now in the charity bag because I can't be bothered for the little money I'll get for them.

DD was too ill for nursery today so I didn't expect to get much done. I've made a start with the paperwork. A small pile is now in the recycling bin and I filed a couple of bits so now I have a small coffee table that is clear. I think I need to focus on paperwork for the next few days because it's everywhere and it will make a such a difference if I can get it tidied away. I've also got a couple of big baby things that can go so I need to decide whether to try and sell them or freecycle them. I've set a deadline of the weekend to make a decision on them.

Welcome @Defender90! Sorry I missed you earlier; I was a bit behind with the thread. It's good to have you with us anyway.

I got rid of our microwave too, SleepingSoul. I've never missed it and love having the extra space.

Hi all, DH is away for the week so I’m alone with the kids. No decluttering going on at all this week. I’m just staying on top of my house work and surviving!

I will report back on Friday.

SleepingSoul and SandAndSea I don't know how you manage without a microwave- I think ours gets used at least once a day! I would love the space, but I really don't think I could cope without one.

The only outs I had today were the envelopes from mail. I have been more on top of the paperwork as it comes in, filing straight away instead of making a pile that gets filed once a month or 3 months

stealth I'm glad they did actually show up, I hate the waiting game and have been stood up so to speak too many times.

Welcome defender sounds like you've been busy.

Medway I'm sure you'll do fantastically just maintaining the house, don't worry so much about extras this week, you can just keep going once dh comes back home. I don't know how you do it though, I missed my dh when he had to leave for a couple of weeks at a time.

I didn’t miss mine. I loved it when he used to work away! Easy dinners

Good luck, Medway, this week is just about survival! DH was supposed to be away this week but it got cancelled and I'm hugely grateful as there's so much going on!

Welcome Defender, great to see pop up over the parapet, so to speak. Sounds like you've made a great start!

Today I am trying to slow down and see what's going on rather than just lurching from drama to crisis. Hoping I can get some papers cleared from the study - DH has asked for a scrapbook of gig tickets for Christmas and they're all spread over the table next to my chair. I need to just get on with it but it's a bit overwhelming. A couple of tickets a day should see it done if I can just so it in tiny chunks.

Yesterday I did more in the kitchen. There’s a lot more space now that it’s tidier, but very little has been decluttered. At least I have a sense of greater control over things in there. Today, I want to continue with the tidying, and get the table completely cleared of its piles.

Still finding socks everywhere, and have allocated these to a small basket. Paired up some yesterday, which is a form of decluttering, I suppose.

Decluttered - one more pair of outgrown socks.

Quickly checking in. We moved! Into an interim, smaller house. So there’s stuff everywhere. But part. That are some growing piles of Thhings To Go. Addressing Ironinng Mountain, then will see if I I can add to them. And get. Them out

Hooray! Happy New Interim House, Cold! How interim is it? Will you need to unpack everything?

Three books into the charity box already this morning!

Good luck in your new home, Cold!

HungryHazelEyes - We hardly used ours. DP used to use it for puddings but has got used to living without those particular desserts now (I think). I argued for health and space and because it wasn't him cleaning it. I bake and steam puddings when we fancy one now and freeze portions too sometimes. I have honestly never missed it (much like the ironing board).

I only really use mine for hot milk if I can't sleep and the occasional defrost, maybe gets used once a month. I think I'll like the spare worktop more than the limited benefits of having one.

I'm on a go slow today, already had one appointment for DD this morning, then 4 he round trip for a hospital appointment this afternoon. I have managed to bin some birthday cards though, and arranged the return of some equipment DD no longer uses.

Good work going on, well done!

I've sorted through all DS work from year R and binned it all. Took photos of the cutest bits of writing, pictures etc. I have bits of their work all over the house and need to get two big loft boxes to put it all into.

Bluewaves, I'm struggling today (shitty cold, too much time reading all the ways my DC are going to find life hard, in an effort to work out how to help them), so I have just applied your Hot Bath And A Chocolate Orange Cure from another thread. 'Tis miraculous!

Yay for hot bath and chocolate orange!

Hope you feel better soon Willow.

Hi all! Welcome new people 😊

Does anyone else find themselves stuck with large items that belong to other people?! I have two massive baby things that I’d love to give back (having borrowed them gratefully).