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

yule we have a box each for dds with random stuff - once it's full they need to get rid of something to make space. yesterday we did their room to make space for Christmas presents, the dolls house is now set up ready to house the many lol dolls. and I've told them if they start just chucking everything in there again I will get rid as it's huge. got rid of a DC girls house, a bag of random bits and a few other toys.

got a bag of lol balls to take to the recycling centre.

today I need to do my room, the new bed was delivered and took dh 4 hours to put it together!!! And we need to sort the girls clothes both have had a growth spurt!

so drawers and wardrobe have been gutted and I have bagged up 30 items to pop in the clothing bin when we go for our NYD walk later.

I would say almost half of the items I have bagged up are brand new, a handful still have tags on. Bot feeling great thinking about money spent just for it sit there.

running total 30/2020

Also if anyone knows of somewhere to recycle bras, please let me know.

seen details somewhere but now can't find them and I have 8?! perfectly good bras that no longer fit.

www.smallsforall.org/

I send my bras to smalls for all, they’re a charity that send them to Africa

Or Bravissimo take them, strip them down and give a proportion of the scrap value to charity. They also have a freepost address as I recall, so no Post Office trip required!

IWillWear I’ve given up on resolutions. They rarely last. There were a couple I quite wanted to do but the only thing vaguely close to a resolution is I want to get better at not buying or saying yes to stuff. I think we all have so much going on that to add the stress of a resolution isn’t always useful. There’s always more to do and ways to be better. I think just to be more mindful of what you want from life and how you might achieve it is good.

This morning I went through all dds cds with her and have a pile of ones she no longer wants. Some will go in the loft for Ds but we’ll get rid of a fair few too. Only annoying thing is I can’t find their cases (I took them out of cases for taking up less space in her room and for one of those cd cqrrier things) so going to be difficult to sell and not sure if any charity will want them as they are.

PickledLily thank you for the smallsforall link, I have some maternity pants from pg with dd (8 years ago!) that have been sitting in my underwear drawer unworn since my previous pg! I’ll have to see if they take children’s underwear too as never know what to do with dds pants and just throw them away.

YuleAreBeing Try school or nursery for the pants, they may be able to use them as spares for accidents. I got rid of a whole bag that way, also outgrown wellies and coats etc. Otherwise textile recycling if the charities won’t take them: from memory they usually ask for unworn pants

yule nurseries and schools will be grateful for children's pants. they go home never to be seen again usually!! also nurseries or schools might appreciate the cds even without the cases. I know we use them in the preschool I work at and they are all stored in one if those big cases.

I'm at that halfway point where I can't stop as everything is everywhere 😣 stopping for a quick cuppa! I'm loving my new bed, it's ottoman style. I've repurposed 6 plastic boxes from elsewhere inside it and it's all being sorted and organised before I put it away. I've used 4 old boxes from dds kallax they no longer needed in and on top of my wardrobe. again all rearranged and sorted. I've got a bag for life full of clothes/shoes/bags. im going to count in a bit to join in the 2020 things gone in 2020!

Hello all! Finally joining in if that's ok after meaning to all of last year. Today is definitely a good day to start!

Cleared 1 wardrobe:
4 old towels.
7 items clothing.
7 old toiletries - inc 8 condoms BBE this month ain't gonna happen - I'm single and knackered! (Counted as 1)
2 old books

Taken down cards & decs ready for loft. Christmas tree doesn't get taken down, just dragged into big cupboard in hallway complete with baubles and lights still on!

So that's 20 / 2020

Looking forward to cracking on some more tomorrow. Hope you're all having a good day.

Loving the 2020 things chucked in 2020 and am definitely joining in with that. Have been through DS wardrobe and got rid of all 9-12 months clothes, some bits from the cutlery drawer (weaning spoons, calpol syringes etc) and some dried up paints and completed colouring books from the craft stuff.

Running total 35/2020

I've started on the dreadful desk of horror; the equivalent of 2 files has been fully shredded and discarded - old letters, insurance documents, medical appointment letters etc. More again after work tomorrow; I am determined to have a clear desk by the end of the weekend.

I just enjoyed reading (and then chucked out) two magazines that were given to me by a friend and have been lurking in my lounge for months.

What are your thoughts on DVDs? I have a load of my favourite films on DVD - should I sell them/give them away or keep unless I actually feel like watching them again? A difficult one!

Happy new year all!

So today I have been tidying, hoovering and dusting.
Only a few small outs
2 old wires
1 step up stall and 1 bathroom bin (the neighbour knocked and asked if they could have them, I said yes, so a bit less to take to the charity shop)

163+4=167/2020

wondering dvds seem pretty worthless now, I took some to CEX and were 1p each. I've taken them out of cases (thrown away the cases) and have them in big storage file things, each one holds 500 dvds. we have one for children's films and one for grown up films. we don't tend to go out much and we enjoy watching films as a family in the evenings.

Do schools want age 7-8 pants? I can see they'd want younger ones but not older...

Did well today. Getting closer with dds bedroom. Put some bits on fb marketplace which prob won’t sell but I’ll give them a few days and if they don’t I’ll take them to charity, nothing lost. Also got around £18 atm of selling books and CDs on music magpie. Heading in the right direction.

I’m not counting stuff I’ve got rid of but must be over 200 easily, prob 300. Not sure how to do a total. Maybe I’ll just say 200 and now start official counting.

I've gone through 2 of my 3 bedside drawers. Thrown away a few rubbishy bits and put some unused / unopened items to one side as DH has a "bring and buy sale" at work next week for unwanted Christmas gifts so they can go into that.

Some of the things I've kept need a better storage option but for now they are not buried under clutter! Hopefully further decluttering will free up a more appropriate home.

Reckon I'm at 15/2020

Regarding the pants in size 7-8, I think it’s worth checking with local schools - I read a newspaper article about a school in a deprived area near me and they have a washing machine/dryer on site so they can wash pupils’ clothes for them. Spares would definitely be appreciated in that school.

Happy New year everybody!

So my new year's resolutions:
Continue general decluttering, one a day/7 a week (I will conquer the kitchen)
Find homes for all my homeless clutter
Declutter some weight (any idea on good threads on here to follow? I'm not good at keeping it up.)
Declutter the terrible habit of chewing my nails (booked in for gel extensions next week to break the habit).

Ha! Those last two feature on my list too, Keiki. I'm on the Low Carb Bootcamp thread, because it works for me and I'm grain-free already for the sake of my digestion, so a lot of the hard work is done. Come and try it, if you like. We're very friendly. I'm also trying not to bite my nails, but don't have a liftstyle that allows any kind of proper manicure, so I'm just sort of ... trying. Lost a thumb nail this afternoon while I was worrying about Stuff, so not going so well there.

Welcome, @ChristmassySpice. Hope the desk is continuing @Alkaloise. @YuleAreBeingUnREASTIEable, our infant and junior schools both wanted age 7-8 pants for children that wear larger sizes, and because turning 8 doesn't stop kids skidding over into puddles in the playground (well, not mine, anyway!).

Only a few outs today

• 3 very elderly sweet potatoes that ended up in the crisps drawer and got ignored
• 3 spent batteries into the batteries bag
• the end of the turkey and gammon from the 28th decluttered into a pie
• one of the professional magazines I was talking about last year. I did review it briefly, it caused two separate unnecessary panics and was largely useless otherwise. Still think I might junk the lot.

Decluttering 2020 things in 2020
169/2020 (have decided just to add it all together and have done with it)

Doing a bit more while my bath is running... 18 magazines, 5 old ohp pens, 5 party poppers popped at teatime, 2 empty bottles that have sat in the family bathroom for goodness knows how long.

Decluttering 2020 things in 2020
199/2020

Yesterday I decluttered quite a few things - 2 pairs of socks and a very tatty skirt for the textiles recycling, an empty cardboard box, a mascara I never use because it's really clumpy and a pile of receipts shredded and binned. I also managed to get some more laundry put away although there is still a lot left and paired up some odd socks. I will have to admit defeat soon and ditch the rest of the odd socks I think.

I've started the post-Christmas clean up today and started taking the decorations down and moving furniture back but got distracted and ended up tidying some of the kitchen cupboards. I've got rid of a chipped mug, a few bits of old plastic toddler cutlery (we recently got some metal cutlery for DD) and a spare medicine spoon.

I'm going to keep track of how much goes out this year starting today. I'm not sure I can manage 2020 things but I'll give it a go! So far I'm on 5/2020.

I've just remembered we used up 4 Christmas crackers at dinner time to save them going back into the loft for yet another year.

That makes it 9/2020.

@Keiki I was a nail biter. But regular gel manicures and Invisalign to straighten my teeth stopped that habit (expensive way to go the Invisalign as a nail biting prevention though)

2 pairs of shoes - there is nothing wrong with them but they both make my feet ache terribly and every time I wear them I regret it. Better to donate them and let someone else benefit from them.

I've sorted out some dresses that I should list on Ebay - if they don't sell I'll donate them to charity.

Running total 121/2020

Well for new year I’m going to be more healthy, get my house extension finished and finally be clutter free.

So today we all went for a long walk by the sea, but got fish and chips and went into a pub! Not looking hopeful is it?

I’m going to Costco this week to buy packing boxes. I will make up three, Charity, bin, recycle and just work through my stuff starting with my quilting fabric. Once I box that al, together I will do my dds room and clothes. Then it’s back to one area at a time I think.

I will declutter my handbag tonight. That’s always a good place to restart. It’s so hard while the kids are home so I’m just pottering getting ready to start again. 2020 things out sounds good. I can do 100 on a good week so it’s doable.

I bought more today 😭 fabric books in the sales ( quilting is my hobby)