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=

Yes, Brutus, mostly from my DM! I find in the end I usually have to be brutal and say "either I bring it back / you collect it, or I charity shop it". It does focus the owner's mind somewhat, because they know I'll carry it through.

Hope you feel better soon, Willow.

I've been going through old files and boxes, sorting and throwing various things. A few months ago, I had a big crate of files for all our household bills and most of DP's personal financial docs. I have now reduced this so much that the crate is almost empty!

I've also organised all DP's mementoes into one, orderly box, which still has room for more. (Previously, this was all in chaos and overflowing.)

Today's outs:

An off lip balm.
A broken muffin mould.
More insurance docs, some expense forms, payment slips and school letters.
Some diet info sheets.
A large ring binder.
2 CDs.
6 plastic folders.
5 old show/festival tickets.
Several old greetings cards.
Several old envelopes.
A small bag of soil (returned to nature).

Many thanks to those who shared about decluttering their school/uni work. I've been pondering this and I'm getting ready to get rid of some more.

I've been focusing on paperwork today. I've put a lot in the recycling bin and shredded a big pile as well. So now I have a clear dining table apart from a few things that I need to file tomorrow. It's so nice to see some progress although there's still more paperwork to tackle on a huge pile by the front door. I'm going to try and start sorting that tomorrow.

Two of DS's school sweatshirts have gone into the textile recycling as they're getting a bit small. His uniform is changing anyway when the school becomes an academy so there'll be new uniform coming in soon so it'll balance out.

I'm trying to stop the day to day clutter building up so all the letters DS brought home from school today are pinned to the calendar or in the recycling bin already. It also seems that nobody else in this house is capable of binning empty bottles and the insides of toilet rolls so yet again I have cleared them out of the bathroom and put them into the recycling.

I'm on a bit of a roll. I've boxed up the stereo and cleaned the space left behind. Our advent calendars are going there for now.

I've also been sorting through a bookcase and have a large, coffee-table book, in perfect condition, for charity.

A bag of clothes out to the charity shop today, from my wardrobe rather than the children’s for a change. Mostly dresses that I have either never worn or won’t wear again as my style (such as it is!) has changed.

Have gone through the cupboard where we keep the glasses and children’s cups and weeded out a few things- old sippy cups, random lids, freebie water bottles etc. I’ve earmarked some glass bits for charity, mostly some rather naff tourist tat that DP brought back from various holidays (pint glass shaped like a boot, anyone?) so I’ll have to sneak those out when he’s not looking.

Kitchen continues to be more controlled. Hung four small pictures. Found more bits and pieces to put in the right place, for decluttering decisions later on.

Decluttered - one solidified tube of glue.

Flat batteries now in garage for recycling next time I go to Tesco.

Some low-energy lightbulbs for same..

Tomorrow -
more tidying in kitchen.

Get more paperwork done.

Clear corner of garage of rubbish.

Sweep up some leaves.

Sorted through more of MiniRums bits and decluttered a box of too small nappies/breast pads and various bounty freebies to our local food bank. Used up some tins in the cupboard for tea tonight to create some more space for Christmas food. Also managed to sort out the medicine cabinet and threw out some old plasters.
Still haven't tackled my clothes yet.

Does deleting 6-7 year old emails count? My deleted folder had nearly 700 items in it I've decided to work through a year a night to get my inbox under control (the oldest stuff wasn't as numerous as recent years)

I had a charity bag through the door yesterday for collection tomorrow so I'll put the bag I have to one side out in the morning. Skip run planned for the wkend for some big stuff and assorted electricals.

I have 39k emails in my inbox 😂

Today I have already binned a banana slime toy. It is vile so I'm pleased it has gone!

Blimey, you're all on a roll this week! Yesterday I decluttered some reading I'd been avoiding from the todo list. Today I have paperwork to file, financial stuff to sort out, and I'm going to experiment with taking some books off the bookshelf and see how I feel about the gap. They're more novels I inherited from Dad, I loved them but I've not read one in 20 years... why am I keeping them? They just need dusting! Have also been talking go DH about why we're keeping the physical proofs of our wedding photos when we have both the negatives and the album of photos we chose.

I have an ethical question also - I've been reading this morning about cloud storage being an environmental disaster due to power usage. I can't stop spam emails, although I can unsubscribe from marketing stuff - so is it ethical to digitise photos and documents to make physical space in my house by adding to the cloud?

Willow - I can't answer your question about the ethics but, if it helps, we use external hard drives. I like knowing that I've got everything, as well as the privacy side of things.

SleepingSoul - I deleted over 150 draft emails the other day. They had been weighing on my mind for ages and it felt really good to clear them. So yes, I'd definitely count it.

I’ve just given a neighbour a stripey bag full of boys clothes. Whatever comes back I’m taking straight to the charity shop - maybe tonight!!
I said on here that I’d take a week to try to sell them but although the trousers looked good a lot of the T-shirts were showing some age.

I've ticked off 2 jobs which have been hanging around for ages: hand-washing a delicate cuddly toy and converting some foreign currency. I had to go to 3 places before I could get the currency changed but got there in the end.

More file sorting and I've got another pile of financial docs for shredding!

Since last week I have put the pale blue jeans in a pile for the next textile recycling bag, along with 2 pairs of knickers I have managed to rip by putting my nails through. I have taken 3 large flattened cardboard boxes to the recycling site and filled 2 prepaid bags with coffee pods for recycling. I sold another eBay item, so that is another small Amazon box and some bubblewrap out as well. I had a poke around the dining room and bedroom to try and find some things that have gone missing. I didn't find everything I was looking for but am a bit further forward. I got 3 more lots of stuff on eBay on Sunday, however instead of sorting out some larger items to sell locally, I found another crate of DP's paperwork in the bedroom and made a first pass through that, chucking at least 2 inches of paper and envelopes. (The shredder is needing to be emptied again!) Last night I washed a school jumper covered in dust that I found in the dining room that had missed a previous charity bag. I'm determined it will not be left lying around again.

Sand - I still have to decide what to do with my Mum's stereo. It is sitting on the landing taking up space. We don't have one ourselves, but in reality we don't tend to listen to music in the house as the TV is always on. I'm not sure if that will change in the future...

I do feel good for sorting out some digital clutter! Interesting question on the ethics of cloud based storage. Not something I'd thought about but I'm also an external hard drive fan.

I have had the bag of charity stuff collected and deleted more emails and shredded some old paperwork today so far.

Our microwave broke about 4 years ago and I love having the extra space in the kitchen. The only time I miss it is when I do a Christmas pudding and then i just put it in the pressure cooker. The pressure cooker is only used once a year but at least it fits in a cupboard and you can't see it.

Still slowly going here, I have sold a few toys this week and just put some summer children's clothes in the charity pile, I'm sure they won't last another summer. I have also decided to donate a cardigan which I love but I wore it the other day and decided it didn't really suit me. I think on another thread (in style and beauty) I once described my love of cardigans and how I think you can't have too many so this is a hard thing to get rid of!

I've also done lots of washing and put it away promptly and the sports kits for next Monday are clean and hanging in the coat cupboard. I love days like today they don't happen often.

I might have to try the hot bath and chocolate orange trick!!

Many things achieved today!

• 357 emails junked from my personal account.
• Drivers updated on my laptop so it stops whingeing at me.
• Updated Microsoft Office so ditto.

- 30 emails filed into correct folders from work account.

• Advent calendar and 3 pain au chocolate for Advent Breakfast posted to DS1 at Uni.
• final, dismal, "support your child with learning difficulties" library book returned.
• novels of Dad's I won't read removed from bookshelf.
• client 1 work complete.
• DD's physics lesson reviewed, to see why she's having such trouble. Turns out the teacher is just whizzing through slides and shouting at students who ask to slow down or clarify. Shitogram to online school composed (I'm paying £400 a year for physics, I'd like it to actually be taught).
• VAT on bill clarified for DM
• Christmas family visit agreed, written in diary and PUT DOWN because I'm not dealing with it now!

More to report later, I hope, but that's it for now!

Purple - All I can tell you is that I almost got rid of our stereo on a number of other occasions and wish I'd just done that years ago (if DP had wanted to, which he didn't - he kept changing his mind). It's the mental load which gets me most, even more than the dusting, as I've never been happy with it. And that was a stereo which had a place! You mention that yours is on the landing, which makes it sound like clutter to me. How do you feel about giving it a proper place? If you can do that this week and use it, maybe keep it for a bit longer? If not, I'd pass it on. How does that feel to you?

Wow, Willow! You're really flying high today!

I've got some more outs:

Car insurance docs.
Another book.
Some magazines.
Some candles.

You are all doing very well! Someone took the stairgate yesterday-got messed around by too many people. Still have item for sale so think I may need to advertise it elsewhere.
I don't really have any other significant outs
Day to day clutter is being kept on top of (apart from DPs post) and am slowly getting organised for Christmas. Might have to get wrapping to use up the paper!

I went through some old paperwork earlier and managed to dispose of a stack about 4" high.

I've also listed a couple of decent toys on FB to try and sell.

And I finally put a set of solar powered fairy lights that don't work in the pile to go to the skip. Ex kept promising to fix them as he was the one who cut the wire but it'll never happen.