Decluttering one thing a day part 10 - the countdown to a clutter free Christmas

[StealthNinjaMum]

It’s the 10th thread and we’re still here!

We’re a group of mumsnetters who aim to get rid of one thing a day to develop good habits and gradually declutter our lives.

Newbies are welcome, those of us who’ve been here for some time have all seen dramatic improvements in our homes, the way we organise ourselves and even mental health. So if you’re new just check in and update with your progress and join in the general chat about recycling, housework and ways to be organised.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3711883-Decluttering-one-thing-a-day-Part-9?pg=1

@alkaloise we have an ottoman bed. I wasn’t convinced initially but it’s ace. So much storage. And it’s hidden away nicely.

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts and 2020cominatcha - it's always lovely or much loved things that get broken in my house too. So annoying.

Alkaloise I think you are right when you say storage is key. The only tidy organised room in our house is the utility -two years ago we kitted it our with Kallix units and sorted everything - it has actually remained tidy and organise because everything actually has a place. Our previous method was to just dump everything in there meaning that nothing could ever be found and the whole room was grubby and unorganised.

I've just added more to the removal pile

15 more items of clothing - they either didn't fit or I didn't love them so they never got worn.
2 cardboard shoeboxes that I was carefully saving for a shoebox emergency (one was so old the shoes are long gone)
Another box of Yankee Candles in a scent that made me sneeze and feel headachy
5 lots of toiletries that are ancient and well past their best.

If I have the time I might sort through a couple of kitchen cupboards later and throw anything that is out of date and put aside things for a food bank donation as well.

My aim is to clear 2020 things from my house in 2020 - approximately 6 things each day.

Running total 79/2020

Storage is absolutely key, as long as you stay on top of it. A couple of years ago a bedroom shuffle freed up a Trofast zigzag unit that I put in the bathroom temporarily for want of anywhere else I could stash it until DH could get it downstairs. It's been brilliant! Towels, bath products, toilet roll, hair dye, cleaning stuff etc all where I can easily stash them and keep an eye on how much we've got, a top bit for a plant and the Basket of Bath (soaps, travel shampoos etc to use up) and a spare cube for the dog to hide in!

Definitely reviewing the Wrapping Stuff today so I can get it back up into the loft with the Christmas hats and decluttering the middle of the kitchen table back into its storage space.

It appears I'm also decluttering DS1 when he goes back to Uni on 10 January. As he was stepping out the door to a party last night, he said "by the way, when I go back I'm properly moved out. I'll be back for the Easter weekend as a guest, but I don't live here anymore". He is not even 18 and a half and I am far more hurt than I have any right to be.

Today I have taken down all the Christmas decorations and put them back in the loft. Normally they hang around for a number of days until I lose my shit with the OH and he finally outs them away so I thought fuck it and did it myself. It’s a bit perilous as I’m very short and i have to dangle out of the loft to reach the stepladders but nobody died and it had all immediately gone away neatly rather than all over the loft upside down so I’m co spidering it a major win.

I’ve also had a message from someone who wants to buy one of the double prams. I don’t need TWO doubles so assuming they turn up I’ll be £50 up and my dining room will look less like a pram park. I’m on a roll so watch this space!

im so upset about my tea pot, been looking out for another for the sugar for about a year now so back to square one needing 2 pots!!!

I put our bed on the free sites today, having a new one delivered tomorrow (after 10 years) it's ottoman style so should be more spacesaving in our tiny room. ours has been collected now plus a throw I've been meaning to take to the charity shop.

Seems like everyone is full of busy!
DD's room is painted. Waiting for paint to dry then can put it back together. She's off for a sleepover tonight so that helps us.
Got all the Shopkins. There's over 50 of the little buggers and a case. Is £20 asking a bit much? I don't use Ebay so would be Gumtree or Nextdoor.
Got a buyer for another item I was going to Freecycle. Decided to advertise it for £5 and had an immediate really that's going on the 1st.

*response not really

Ememem I will give it a try and report back.

Good progress today. 2 big bags gone to charity. Sorted dds hair bands and jewellery and got rid of over 50% of what she had. Still lots to do but it’s progress.

Oh, and I’ve also put some bits on Freecycle. No interest yet but it’s one step closer.

Wow everyone seems so busy! And welcome to all the newbies! It's been slower progress here. Yesterday's item was a pair of DS's trousers that he refused to wear because they were uncomfortable. I can't remember who mentioned a capsule wardrobe for children but that's definitely what I need to work towards with DS. He's got far too many clothes considering he spends so much time in school uniform. We do often get given clothes for him from friends whose boys have outgrown them but I need to be much more ruthless with what we keep.

No outs today so far, just more things in. I picked up some skincare and make up that was on offer in boots which is part of my resolution to spend more time on me and take more care of myself. I also got some Christmas wrapping paper in the sales but I was careful about what I bought so I won't need to buy any more next year.

I'm thinking about taking all of the cards and decorations down. We're approaching the anniversary of a significant and rather traumatic bereavement so it feels a bit odd having them up still. But then I don't want to spoil things for the DC. But also I'm getting tired of the clutter. I don't know what to do so I think I'll go and find something else to declutter and then decide about the decorations later!

4 binbags of plastic wrappers, wrapping paper etc to the tip today. I used brown recyclable paper to wrap presents (with nice ribbon) but nobody else in my family did so I had loads to get rid of!

Tomorrow the tree is going. I do love it but need some space and normality back!

Wrapping stuff sorted, this year's cards down and processed into labels for next year. Just having the cards down makes the living room feel freer, but I'm keeping the tree up until at least 2 Jan because I love the lights. 5 Jan at the latest, as school starts the following day and it'll get off on the wrong foot if the decorations are still up!

Starting to plan a chase-the-space book purge so we have more space at the top of the stairs. Need to review the books up there and find somewhere for the homeless clutter DS1 has abandoned there. Once reduced, I want to move the bookshelf out of the living room up to the top of the stairs. And to get that I need space on the shelves in the study for the living room books...

Some proper outs today - an old pair of gloves that were more lining than glove (had new ones for Christmas); a broken umbrella (bought a new one before Christmas, couldn't find the old one to chuck out!); a desktop calendar that doesn't fit anywhere. Serving the end of the beef from the 28th for dinner and decluttering bits of fridge!

Need to manage a couple of ins in the next day or so, I need a diary to manage homeschooling through, and one for work. Possibly also going to look for cheap but attractive boxes for DS1's bits and bobs he's left here. Lidl usually obliges.

No progress here - however I am hoping to finish a book I started on holiday about 8 years ago to put that in the charity shop pile.

I also might have just bought 10 Xmas card (70% off in Waitrose) but I wrote nearly 30 this year so I have fewer than I started with. I'm struggling not to buy things in sales. I will probably order towels as we need some but I have a desperate urge to buy things like coasters and serving platters and placemats. I rarely entertain these days but love having nice things. I will resist but it's hard.

I was given a new book I want to read for Christmas, but my bookshelves are totally full. I’ve decided on a ‘one in, one out’ policy so have put an old book I’ve never read but don’t fancy on the charity shop pile. New book goes on the shelves in its place!

Ok, so I've been lurking on this thread for a while and I think I'm ready to be held accountable for the decluttering! I've got a "days counter" set up on my phone now so I can keep track too. More likely to do nothing for a few days and then suddenly clear through lots.

Today I've mostly "prepared" things for going out. My work has a battery recycling whatsit, so all our duds are in a bag waiting for me to get them out the house. Ditto stamps. Had a failed attempt at recycling cat food pouches earlier in the holidays (terracycle said we could drop them somewhere but actually the info was out of date. Awkward encounter with a fed up person working there) so they're sitting in the hall waiting for Plan B to materialise. Kettle has superglue on it in the hopes that it doesn't need to be chucked (they don't make it any more and I'm fussy with my tea. Will check eBay for a replacement).

Today's outs: 5 magazines (is that 5 or 1???)

I've been a lurker on this thread but feel like I need to join properly to make me accountable and get properly stuck in if that's ok?

I'm a bit of a procrastinator so lots of baby things that should have been sorted just got shoved in the loft etc but am really keen to get on top of it now.

Good start over the weekend as donated 2 big bags of clothes, a storage box of toys and books and 3 bigger bits of baby equipment to a friend of a friend who really needed them. Can't really see the dent in the loft yet but it's a start!

Ooh and another bag of outgrow clothes to the charity collection point today

@midgetjen great minds think alike! Hi fellow un-lurker

I’ve been really good with the sales this year. I usually buy the kids an absolute heap of clothes for them to grow into over the year but I looked in their wardrobes and they already have loads including a ton of stuff I bought in the sales last year still with the tags on they haven’t grown in to yet so I sat on my hands and didn’t buy anything.

As PP have said, my eldest is in school and spends most of her time out of school at gymnastics so she really doesn’t wear a lot of clothes and yet she has loads including a load of brand new stuff waiting for her to grow so I’m determined this year to not buy more unless it’s necessary seasonal stuff like shorts (assuming last years don’t fit, she’s tiny for her age and skinny so usually stuff lasts her quite a while!). I’ve got to stop buying ahead in sales to the point where I’m storing 2 years of clothes waiting for the kids to grow when there are sales all the time. It’s ridiculous and it’s filling my house up. No more!

Just heading home after visiting family for a few days. Will take a while to tidy away all the presents and sales acquisitions although one of my resolutions is to declutter weight next year, I needed a few bits to wear now and a new style. Bought a few real quality things I'm really happy with. Will sort through the wardrobe again next week to make space. I expect when we get back the tree will have decluttered it's needles onto the floor. Will probably take that down at the weekend and put the decorations back in my joyfully tidy loft.

I feel like you need a hug, IWill (hug)

Welcome to all the newbies!

@RuudGullitOnAShed I’m going to join you in your 2020 things out in 2020. I did it in 2017 and just made the target.

I don’t think our house has 2020 things I can get rid of but I’m prepared to be surprised!

Today I’ve found 23 things to go out, without even trying (!) so that brings me up to 80/2020 (giving myself the between Christmas and new year period as a head-start!)

@Clettercletterthatsbetter - I did start to panic earlier and wonder if I actually have 2020 surplus things but upon reflection I'm sure I do and they need to go.
I've started before the new year to try and get a head start as once I'm back in work I'm sure it will be harder.

I also need to not replace them with more unnecessary stuff as it becomes a pointless circle of stuff out suiff in.

I've also sorted out a book, a bag, some unused (not to my taste) toiletries and some old electrical charging leads and a broken laptop which are all ready to go.

I've sorted out some more clothes but need to make a decision about whether to charity shop them or put them for sale on Ebay.

My aim is to clear 2020 things from my house in 2020 - approximately 6 things each day.

Running total 85/2020

@Ruud I’m with you on not replacing things. I’m not counting anything that is replaced, eg. I threw out my old purse because it broke but I replaced it with a new one, so that won’t be counted. But I will count kids outgrown clothes...not sure why I’m allowing myself that double standard! Perhaps because I’m trying to reduce the size of their wardrobes, so overall they should have fewer clothes. I’m also not counting consumables like toiletries, unless it’s something that won’t be replaced, like a needless beauty potion, as opposed to something I’ll re-buy like soap or shampoo.

Haha hello back @mumniscient

I love the 2020 things in 2020 idea...my husband is dubious we have that many things but I think he will be very surprised once we get going!