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

@HungryHazelEyes hope you’re feeling better soon.. I do think not feeling great does not help with the decluttering...

I’ve done a lot of “easy wins” and know I need to delve into things a bit better which will be harder can someone give me some motivation please?

DD decided to go to bed at 10pm instead of 7 last night so that was an entire evening wasted and not cleared up so feel I started today disorganised already.!

I've been AWOL from this thread recently, need to restart.

Old jumper dress which does me no favours--in the charity shop bag today.

Cupboard under the stairs is in a shocking state. Carrier bags, shoes, hoover, mop, tools, spare chairs folded up, all bunged in. I've earmarked tomorrow to tackle it. God knows what I'll find in there 🙄

@bluewavecrashing that sounds like my understairs too - do you think you need to do some kind of lone working risk assessment - check in here when you re-emerge so we know you’ve made it out alive?!

I had a half hearted go yesterday just looking for some shoes and gave up! It's a jungle in there. I'll let you all know when I brave it again, torch in hand

Blue, that sounds like one of my cupboards. I got rid of half the chairs as I suddenly realised we hadn't used them for years.

I've got a pair of oven gloves for the out pile today.

I've also arranged for my 'charity friend' (as I call her - she has lots of contacts) to come round this week, so she will be taking a load with her.

I'm building up to tackle one of my boxes.

Chair on Freecycle being collected on Wednesday, hurrah. HVe discovered a stash of wine (we don’t drink) in a cupboard from gifts people have given us/dhs clients given him which we won’t use and plan to offer them to wine loving friend. I have no idea if any of them are any good but figure she might not mind trying 😁.

70isalimitnotatarget I am getting rid of a handbag whose handle is too short. I googled pictures of Mrs Thatcher’s handbags and feel very much like the wearing a bag on your wrist or lower arm is very 80s. I much prefer longer straps or cross body bags.

So this means I am getting rid of 3 evening bags and one more everyday bag. I can’t be bothered to go to the previous page to see how many bags I had - but I think it means I’ll be down to 13. They all fit on a shelf and look neat too. To whoever said I could indicate when I use them that’s a good idea. I might just stick a piece of paper in them after use because time goes quickly and it might be I haven’t used some in 5 years but it feels like 6 months!

I’ve been in my bedroom again, organising jewellery, tidying makeup, putting all the wires and leads together and sorting out the paperwork that had ended up there. So outs are old paperwork that’s been shredded. I’ve also read about half a book I started reading about 5 years ago. I’m intending to finish it this week to give away.

I've shredded some receipts and papers. I'm heel dragging over my boxes though.

I went through my jewellery box! 3 necklaces and 4 bracelets to go, so I'm not far off the 500 mark!

Realised when hunting for hot water bottles last night (in the drawer they were meant to be in. Hooray!) that I actually have 4 separate stashes of towels, not including two each per person (one on, one off).

I think I know what I'm reviewing next!

Bluewaves, be careful in that cupboard, let us know you're safe, hey?

493/2020

Dropped a bag full of stuff to the charity shop this afternoon.

Running total 300/2020

Last year's calendar is out and a hyacinth that had bloomed and died.

I think one of my next tasks will be the airing cupboard - I'm sure I the top shelf is full of throws and blankets that can go.

I have just binned a jar of jam which was bought an opened on holiday 2 years ago. It made it back to our fridge from the Netherlands but was never finished so it's now been dumped.

44 items from the downstairs 'medicine' drawer.
They included medicine that was out of date in 2004. We moved here in 2007 so they must have come with us already out of date!

344/2020

Im aiming to have done the whole house by the Easter holidays.

The whole house.

I refuse to spend yet another school year, tidying up, moving crap, looking for things and feeling utterly overwhelmed & actually crying because its all too much.

I refuse to tell DD to 'wait a minute' while I clean, tidy, move stuff and look for stuff, when she wants to sit & draw with me or show me her lego creation.

This is our year.

To go to the beach after school, to play board games on the carpet in our lovely lounge and to actually say "what shall we do today?"

SayitBeit

Good for you remember you own the stuff it doesn’t own you!!

There a place for every thing and every thing in its place!!

Well done for starting and for giving yourself a finish date.

Sayitbeit, that sounds awesome - a very inspiring post.

I brought a box of unopened Christmas sweets to work today so I'm counting that as an out for today.
I'm back to batch cooking for the baby and can't find my little pots I had last time for weaning so I have to go and source some new ones.
I still have a bag of items we received at Christmas to sort. They all need new homes.
I am finding it so much easier to keep my kitchen clean as I have a place for everything. My aim is to have a similar set up for the whole house by the end of the year! I have a study which is essentially a dumping ground 🙈

On the subject of bags - I have a hiking rucksack. With two DC 5 and under I can't see it getting used in a hurry but they are not cheap to replace. Thoughts? My plan for Wednesday is to tackle my clothes again.

Keiki - I guess for me the key question would be have you got room to store it without it being a nuisance to you?
If you have I would keep it as it is an expensive item that you may use again.

If you haven't got space and it is going to impinge on your everyday living maybe try and sell it.

Only a few random outs today; three sticky Chewits I’d rather the children didn’t glue their jaws shut with, and a baby hat I chucked in the bin after DP decreed that DS can’t wear it because it has a bow on the side . 135/2020

i’ve just eaten a disgusting gone off chocolate found in my bedroom! I am going to do a tiny bit of paperwork as that’s a problem in my bedroom. Then I am going to have a long bath to declutter some products. And then the usual 3 loads of washing, ironing and putting clothes away.

Ruud- limited storage space is definitely what is causing my question.

I’ve tackled the kids craft cupboard this morning, and found a few more random bits to bring my total up to 200/2020.

• Baby snowsuit
• Small dish
• Pair of holey socks
• Cookie cutter
• paints x3
• 6x colouring books/sets
• Pens set
• Trinket dish
• Box of craft materials
• Assorted sticker sets

I tried to convince the children to find some toys to donate to other children who don’t have as much, but DD (4) looked horrified, so I think I might need to introduce the concept more slowly!

It’s only 11.45am but I doubt I’ll manage much more today!

Hello, can I join you all? Yesterday I decluttered a bicycle, scooter, 2 bin bags clothes and shoes, 6 large bags charity shopped toys and games, toddler armchair, 2 gaming chairs, few books sold on Facebook, a load of empty boxes to the recycling centre, a stack of books back to school and the library. Feeling pleased. Still a long way to go but as I've made a decent dent I'm going to start the one a day idea starting today.

Two toothbrushes (DS) bit mangled and the little peasant doesn't de-clutter so in the bin ( Already bought a multi-pack to go on with)