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=

A pair of once worn brown suede boots gone to charity
I wouldn't wear brown to anything I wanted to be a bit dressed up for and cba with a 3inch heel for day to day

Brutus a hot bath and a chocolate orange is life-changing when it's all going wrong.

More tidying, still controlling the mess. Feels good.

Decluttered - flat batteries went to Tesco recycling box today.

Still haven’t caught up, but just saw @Bluewavescrashing Banana slime sounds utterly grim, well done!
I managed to take a bin bag of clothes to the recycling, without going through it again & taking things out, just picked it up, gone.
Broken sledge to tip.
There’s still a chimnea and some pans in the car waiting til I have time to get to the charity shop.
BiL came & collected some furniture we don’t have space for at the weekend.
I got my haircut - not been done for, I don’t know, a year? And it’s important to do things for me too.

@sleepingsoul. If you want to fix them, it’s actually very easy, just strip down the wire ends, twist together and tape. But if it’s a point of principle, don’t do it!

Just checking in - planning more books out today, but also adding more to my reading list, I want to revisit the Clive James TV reviews that used to make me weep with laughter as a teenager .

Today's outs will be recipe books. We never use them and I need the cupboard space.

The banana slime was indeed thoroughly grim! I lobbed it into the bin with glee 😂🍌

Finally got rid of some dead batteries yesterday. Attempted to take a useless duvet to an animal charity, but forgot they were closed on Wednesdays. Now I have to try to remember on Monday.

@Coldhandscoldheart thank you for that, I didn't realise it was so simple! Lying git made it sound like it was complicated to do. Might retrieve and fix them in that case. I had loads of messages about the toys I listed so got them being collected over the next few days so think it balances out.

I'm trying to decide what to do with a toy farm I've spent a fortune on, adding to bit by bit over time. DD barely plays with it now, it's taking up loads of space, know I could sell it and get decent money but part of me thinks it'll last for a very long time. Do I pack it away in the attic for future generations? I was already planning the same with Duplo and Lego, as did my mum (those and Sylvanian Families) What sort of kids stuff have you kept/ plan to keep for future use?

We've only kept books so far and will keep some lego. I've passed toys down to cousins though.

3 reasons for decluttered joy today:

1. I've realised the bottle green school cardigans can be used to sew Christmas decorations with DD = free craft activity (we have thread and sequins already)

1. I just reached into the freshly sorted out kitchen cupboard to get a clean tea towel and there were no piles of crap in the way (old lunchboxes, broken water bottles etc)

1. I found a jam jar and a pack of sweets whilst emptying the cupboard = jar of sweets for school fair as requested by PTA

1. A large item now fits into my bedroom cupboard thanks to a charity shop run earlier this week to clear space

1. DH has been spurred on by my efforts to decorate the kitchen, finally! He has asked me to buy paint!

I love this thread!

5 reasons then! Whoop!

Sleeping soul - kept Lego (now passed on) but scalextric didn't age that well in storage.

Demoted clothes and in process put 2 pairs of boots, a pair of jeans and a jumper into charity pile

@SandAndSea - I really can't decide what to do about the stereo - which is why it is still on the landing. I made noises about offering it on Freecycle when we emptied Mum's house after it was sold, but DP said we should keep it ourselves. Instead of ignoring it for another year, we really should have another conversation and make a final decision. It is one of those mini stacking things without a turntable - we do still have lots of CDs and audio cassettes.

By the way, Sand, I am slightly envious that you were able to help your Mum declutter earlier in the year. My Mum was brought up during the war and kept everything in case it came in useful. I am still going through her things, over two years since her house was emptied. I have got rid of all the easy stuff - mostly clothes, kitchen stuff, books - the things that don't hold many memories or value. I have so got many things left that I'm not sure of their history - it would have been nice to have been able to go through it all with her, finding out about the items. Since she is still alive, but with advanced dementia, I do feel that I have to do the best thing possible with all her possessions as they are not mine.

Purple - My mum used to keep everything too and was pretty resistant to me helping her for a long time. This has changed over time though, thankfully. It was a slow realisation, helped, I think, by wanting to continue living independently at home. She has fallen over on nothing so her home really needs to be super-clear and organised. It got me thinking too - I'm sure lots of people with a clutter problem could be helped by spending time with elderly people.

How long have you had the stereo now? What's stopping you from setting it up somewhere? At least then you'd know for sure if you used it and it would get it off the landing.

Purple - Sorry, posted too soon... I understand the difficulties with dealing with your mum's things. It's not easy. If she'd been able to age without getting dementia, maybe she would have naturally detached from more of her stuff? In a way, dementia forces this detachment. My mum doesn't have dementia but I think there's something about becoming elderly which has helped her to detach from her clutter. She knows she can't take it with her and it's not going to help her eat or shower or keep her safe. A lot of her friends have died now. Others she can't remember. Consequently, more and more of her photos and sentimental items have become pointless to her which makes it a lot easier to get rid of them. As does realising that certain people haven't visited or called for years. At the end of the day, all those things we treasure for years are just things and mostly, ime, pretty useless. That said, we both cried quite a bit as we were decluttering. It was a grieving process.

How long have you had the stereo now? What's stopping you from setting it up somewhere? At least then you'd know for sure if you used it and it would get it off the landing.

I know you're right! I'll aim to do something with it by the end of the year - either we set it up in the living room or we get rid of it. Of course, if we decide to keep it, I'll probably find that it has stopped working.

Purple - Why not sooner? (No need to answer me.)

Purple - Sorry, posted too soon... I understand the difficulties with dealing with your mum's things. It's not easy. If she'd been able to age without getting dementia, maybe she would have naturally detached from more of her stuff?

Thanks @SandAndSea. Maybe she would have asked us to help her get rid of things, I don't know. I have things like a tin of old family photos (pre-1960s), all jumbled up, and apart from a couple of photos I have no idea who anyone is. I think the passage of time will let me see things more clearly. I really should revisit some of the stuff I have kept and make sure it was because I really want it, and not because I just couldn't face dealing with it at the time.

Purple - My mum's told me that she still has photos of people I won't know and that she's planning to get rid of them. I could ask to go through them with her but the fact is, (in my mind) they're not my people. If they were, I'd know them. Could it be the same for you?

Ah, I'm so sorry it's hard helping elderly parents declutter, Sand and Purple. My DM came over today for lunch, I think she was looking for someone to worry at about a letter from the bank. It was nice to see her, but hard work, and I'm still more ill rather than less. She has plans for more decluttering before 13 December, when my DSis arrives at hers for the weekend, which involve moving furniture and so will need DH and DS2 this weekend.

I did get some books to the hospice bookshelf in Tesco today, and a couple more bits and pieces to the toy collection. Hopefully I can clear enough low-down bookshelf to be able to put some boxes of photos on there from other shelves and get rid of visual clutter at eye level!

Thanks, Willow and well done on all your decluttering efforts! Sorry to read that you're still feeling poorly.

I'm looking around and seeing a lot of mess and jobs to do. I've got it in mind to tackle a box of sentimental writings today/tomorrow. Some time ago, I brought quite a few boxes downstairs and piled them on the dining room table, where too many of them have remained. This needs to be dealt with! Posting for accountability.

@sleepingsoul one of my hardest things to do has been getting rid of children's toys but I think I realised on an earlier thread that I would be surprised if my primary aged dc had children in the next 20 years so it would be a minimum of 20 years of storing them and moving house with them. All I am intending to keep is some playmobil and some lego. I sold some duplo and a wooden farm. With regards to books I buy a lot second hand cheaply so will probably redonate them one day and buy from scratch if my dc have grandchildren. I'm an old mum anyway so they might not even have any children while I'm alive and then have to sort through a load of crap! The important thing is that I have given them a love of books and if they have dc they'll be able to go into a charity shop or library and will be able to choose from literally hundreds of books I read to them as a child.

@purplefrog I bought a cheap cassette player to record cassettes digitally on my PC - it cost about £10 or less. I had it for about 3 years and in that time I only recorded one Horrid Henry cassette onto my PC. If you really think you are going to listen to those cassettes buy a device like I did and get the stereo off the stairs. I guarantee you won't actually listen to them! I have now given away my story cassettes.

Today I went through a bedroom drawer. It had a few old receipts in it including a gift receipt for my xmas present from exdh in 2012, some loyalty cards for shops that have closed down, a NT membership card from 2014. It also has the box from my iPad that I must've bought in 2011/2012. I am wondering whether to chuck that out. I can't see any reason to keep it.

Today's outs - 3 unfinished and forgotten craft projects.

Getting rid of toys is hard! DD went through some soft toys in the summer and we got rid of some to a second hand toy shop once I put them through the wash. Books too....
Today's out some holey socks! Finished some wrapping paper on a birthday present which went in post today.

Fuck fuck fuck. DD just had a major strop as I chucked out some pictures from the kitchen. DH is completely siding with her and having a go at me. I told him bluntly that if I stopped decluttering the house would be full of crap. She is tired and emotional which is why she's kicked off. In fact DH threw some of their pictures away recently but somehow that is OK. I'm pissed off tbh. I love their paintings but they have been on the wall for 5 years and it's actually nice to get some wall space back. Rargh.