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

Dh decluttered a box of salted caramel
Matchmakers last night. And some tuc biscuits. Both my faves.

@IWillWearTheGreenWillow you might be right there... I just worry we don’t have room for 3 laundry baskets (I tend to do lights, darks and hand wash/delicates).

I think another problem is that pretty much everything has to be stored in the house. We live in a new build and were told not to store anything in the loft (something about the insulation and the warranty), and anything that’s left in the garage grows mould as the damp proofing in there is non-existent so we have a lot of stuff in the house and not much in the way of built in storage (one under stairs cupboard and a small airing cupboard)

@ememem84 they make salted caramel matchmakers??? I wish you hadn’t told me that...

clettercletter ememem84 I also decluttered a box of salted caramel matchmakers yesterday. I can recommend them.

greenwillow how would you get files off the server to actually watch them? My friend's server can be accessed from his phone and iPad and seems complicated but I have been looking at buying a television for my bedroom and some of them claim to be able to watch things off a usb stick so I wonder I could connect a server to a TV. It's so complicated and I don't want to spend a lot of money on the wrong thing.

Last night I finished reading a book I started reading on holiday about 8 years ago so that's another one in the charity shop pile. I am now looking for another book I started reading about 5 years ago which keeps moving around the house.

@Clettercletterthatsbetter yep. They are divine.

Also. Sorry not sorry.

stealth, DH has an impossibly complicated AV system that enables us to get films and music through the TV. I don't use it at all, one of his New Year tasks is to write a flow chart so I can turn the bloody thing on successfully! I'll ask him how he gets stuff off the server.

Definite plans to get Christmas decs back to the loft today and get the books for the charity shop at least into a box. Maybe a tip run for some garage tat.

Cletter, we have three washing baskets spread across bedrooms. So, our room has the light basket; DS2 has the dark basket; the little basket for reds is in the bathroom. It works for us. But what on earth is the point of a loft if the warranty prevents you using it for storage?

Much planning for back to school today, so unlikely to be any real decluttering.

Re laundry. I have some foldable fabric laundry baskets from Wilko's. When I'm sorting laundry and have a load or two waiting to go in, they go in the baskets so not piled on the floor. Then baskets can get tucked away under the sink when no longer needed.

These www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-laundry-bag-53-x-58cm/p/0333861

Ha greenwillow I'm guessing I wouldn't understand your dh's system either! I have just emailed an IT guy who is always recommended on our local facebook site to see if he has such experience. I have a massive CD rack too and it would be good to get rid of them as well. My other IT project this year is that I would like to organise my photos but that's a really big job.

Hello declutterers, I'd like to join you.
I'm currently trying to reposition a lot of things from my spare room to the rest of the house, and get some things out of the house. I want to get a lodger in there.

My main problem seems to be other peoples stuff. My DP doesn't live here but has an amount of clothes stored in 'spare' room and I have all my items to ebay in there too, plus some of DS stuff he has left behind but wants to keep.

Currently trying to rejig my bedroom storage (limited) so that I can fit DP's stuff in there. so my room is chaos.

Have moved Ebay pile to the living room, and have a small pile for the charity shop: pair of trousers and two tops from my 'decorating and gardening clothes' pile, a badminton racquet and a waste paper bin.

Ok I’m doing my first day of decluttering in 2020 today, at last! So far this morning I’ve filled a large carrier bag full of children’s clothes for the charity shop and 1 bag of paper recycling (old dc birthday cards - why have I been holding on to these?). I really want to clear out the bedrooms today. I’d love my room to be a relaxing haven instead of a general dumping area. I’m now going into my wardrobe, home to lovely clothes I’m 2 sizes too big for :( Wish me luck!

Potentially the bed frame is going today. Listed it on Facebook. Free to anyone that can get it before 4.

Not much done today as OH had contracted one of those mysterious man Illnesses which has apparently rendered him unable to get out of bed because he ‘feels a bit queasy’ no doubt he will emerge later to order takeaway and watch tv once all the work had been done. So I’m doing all the back to school prep and cleaning. I did chuck out a footmuff and rain cover for a pram I no longer have though so still making small steps of progress.

Chaos, Stealth, Willow - Talking of servers for DVDs/CDs... How about getting a small, external hard drive? You could then hide this, plugged in, at the back of the TV.

I've got a buyer (hopefully) coming this afternoon so am about to start getting everything ready for that. (It's another big item.)

I'm also going to take all my Christmas decs down today and put it all away.

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself because it's Sunday (my traditional day of mess) and I'm sitting in my living room and it's clear!! There are a couple of cushions and a blanket which are a bit out of place (because of me sitting here) but that's it! I'm quite sure that this is thanks to this thread.

sandandsea I was wondering if that was possible but don’t know how to get the films on the hard drive or how to watch them with the TV. I do have a small hard drive already that I have backed up two computers on so I might experiment with that. I have been googling and I think my friend has a NAS drive which they connect to WiFi and put things on. The curry’s website says it’s simple le to do but I am not very IT literate.

Sand, I think it is an external hardrive. But I might be wrong. Can you tell DH is the IT specialist / scientist and I am the historian?

I struggle with getting all things IT set up too. DP has finally set up our router which has been sitting around since September.
I had an unintentional clear out of the bottom of my wardrobe-two broken bags and a few random bits binned, 3 items for recycling; 2 for charity shop and some jeans in the decorating clothes bag.
Put an item on Freecycle which had no interest on Nextdoor.

9 outs today from the baking cupboard, mainly decorations and colouring that were a good year or so out of date.

clearly they weren't used so not going to be replacing them.

looking for DS birth certificate earlier and came across 11 years worth of wage slips need to make the executive decision of how far back to keep them.

decluttering in 2020 things in 2020
total 71/2020

That’s inspiring, SandAndSea. I’ve finished on my wardrobe now. I have a pile of dresses ready for ebay and shoes and accessories for charity shop. Also a bag of rubbish and useless stuff for the bin. Feels great, but the more I get rid of, the more I see that needs to be done! Taking a break now for a walk to the charity shop.

Bed frame is gone. Mattress will go on Tuesday. Dparents will take the mattress topper for their spare bed.

Mattress topper is in our car boot ready to take there this evening.

just come across an old broken fitness watch so that is now out too.

total 72/2020

Few more small outs like a knackered remote control car and some paperwork but progress hampered by being alone in charge of two ratbag children whilst his lordship snores upstairs.

Two big bags of clothes in though from a friend. We do a clothes swap as biggest pickle passes anything like dresses and tights her brother won’t wear to friends younger DD and her eldest is a boy who passes stuff down to the littlest pickle so I do get rid of a lot of stuff to her house too! A lot of this is school uniform though so I have to think of where to store it sensibly as the little pickle doesn’t start school until September 2021. If I put it in the attic, will I remember to bring it down again?

tiddledpink I have 30 years of payslips - surprisingly they don’t take up much space. Previous posters on the thread suggested we should just keep p45s, p60s and maybe the March payslip. The reason is these posters knew people who weren’t entitled to a pension because they couldn’t prove they’d paid Into the system and the government didn’t have adequate records on them.