The decluttering on thing a day thread - part 11

[StealthNinjaMum]

We’re still here.

After 10 threads my house still isn't tidy!

So join me and a lovely group of mumsnetters who simply get rid of one thing a day and report back. Gradually we’re developing good habits, reorganising ourselves, often improving our mental health and having friendly chatter along the way.

So newbies are welcome, just check in with your news and join in the general chat about recycling, organisation and housework.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3760076-Decluttering-one-thing-a-day-part-10-the-countdown-to-a-clutter-free-Christmas?pg=1

ALSO many of us have set a target to get rid of 2020 items this year and will report on that.

I'm feeling slightly frustrated at the clutter which is mounting up yet can't go anywhere! After decluttering both dds wardrobes I spent half an hour moving winter coats around and putting scarfs and gloves away. I have decided to donate a coat/ cardigan thing I have which I never wear because I have a similar one that I prefer.

Unusually for me I have thrown out food - pickles in this case that went off 5 years ago, cranberry sauce, horseradish sauce - and some beer that probably belonged to exdh. I'm getting really annoyed by my bottles and have put them in the car but I have heard that bottle banks at supermarkets have been roped off so we're not allowed to use them. Not sure if that's true, might drive past when I do food shopping at the weekend.

I have also filled my garden rubbish bin and am intending to start filling the garden bin bags I bought a couple of weeks ago. I am enjoying the garden and there's a dead bush I intend to get hack up today or tomorrow. Well I think it's dead not a gardener

@eenymeenymineymo that sounds like a great start. It is so good to see one part of the house organised - it inspires you to start somewhere else. And the clothes part is a great way to start because it is the one area where everything is your decision.

I'm finding the nice weather really helps me because I open the window in the room I am in and get stuck in.

Good luck and keep us updated on how you get on.

I've got another old and sentimental thing going out today. It's a hand-made bag which a relative gave me when I was a child, so I've kept it for many years! I haven't used it for a long time now and I'm no longer in touch with the relative (who was never even that nice to me). I'm not sure why I kept it, but I've realised that it doesn't spark joy for me now so, it's going.

I've been having one of those late night tidy-ups. Consequently, I've cleaned and sorted 2 kitchen cupboards and the kitchen side, which all now look much more spacious. I've cleaned and tidied some of the bathroom. All the laundry is folded and the rack put away. I've emptied/washed several jars and packets and scrubbed the bread boards so they can be put away, rather than being left on the side. I've also almost finished the dried apricots which have been hanging around for ages. (I would have finished them but didn't want to push it.)

After all that, my outs are just 1 empty vitamin container and a salt packet.

Finding it hard to declutter as all the tips are closed. However, I have bottle bank and clothing bank at the end of my road so I was able to sort out the kitchen cupboard and throw out old jars, etc

I think the tips will be heaving when they reopen and charity shops overrun with donations!
I'm going to get DD to go through some things at the weekend and see if we can use some stuff up in the next few weeks. Chalk drawing is proving successful so am hoping we can work through them.

Vinorosso Tips and charity shops will be so busy, imagine the queues for the tip. I'm trying to sort everything ready to go when they reopen.

Is anyone else decluttering today? I’m on a cleaning mission at the moment but will hopefully be tackling the bathroom cupboard (which is overflowing with stuff) later...

I'm not feeling very motivated to declutter as most stuff can't actually leave. I am focusing on finding things we can use up! One bonus is nothing is coming in except food but that is getting eaten.

I feel like I'm stopped decluttering (other than me eating older food from the freezer and store cupboards) but I'm tidying - not that anything looks tidier. I have put some charity shop books and clothes in the garage and moved categories of things together. I have washed a couple of winter coats today to put in a wardrobe until we need them again.

Obviously as fast as I tidy my dc mess up the place so it all feels a bit neverending.

Hope everyone else is well.

We're doing OK here, thanks, Stealth. Hope you are too.

I'm not doing as much as I feel I should. However, my outs this weekend include:

A very worn bike cover.
A much-needed, amateur, at-home haircut.
Another 2 frozen meals used up from the freezer.
Some financial admin sorted.
Lots of laundry and dust.

I've got a pair of trainers with holes in to go out too, but, I'm still wearing them because they're so comfortable. I'm also not sure where the shoe bins are now.

I've got 2 boxes out in order to go through them but I haven't got round to it yet. Hopefully, that'll happen soon.

We are doing fine, Stealth, all things considered. I am starting to get into some sort of routine. I have been busy with work, and everything takes a lot longer than it would if you could pop along the corridor to look at something and discuss it.

On the home front, I cleaned the fixings and feet for the incinerator and we fitted them and put it back in the garden store. The flattened cardboard is neatly stacked there as well. Our plastic/cans and landfill bins were both emptied on Friday, so that is the double-bagged maggoty mess away for good! I had a slight panic on Thursday as the bin calendars had changed again, showing only the landfill bin due for emptying on the Friday. That was on the council website. However, when I looked at the Council facebook page it stressed you should look at the bin calendar on a Sunday, and that was the bin rota for that week. What a muddle! There were lots of unhappy people commenting. Anyway, the current calendar says we get paper and cardboard done this Friday. Typical - the last rota showed it wouldn't be done for the foreseeable future, hence finding somewhere to store cardboard. So, I am hoping to sort out more paper things this week. I will leave the bigger bits of cardboard in case I do want it for raised beds.

I have done quite a few sessions in the garden over the past week. I am hoping to get things under control before the weeds really start sprouting. I have also emptied a box of stuff that was packed up from the living room before the new carpet was fitted. After much thought it just went back where it had been before! I still have empty space in the dining room storage unit. I have put back all the obvious stuff, but need to decide what is going to live in the remaining sections, and get it done.

Trying to get back to a routine, if only for me. Have an ongoing plan for sorting the spare room - just like an elephant, one bite 'a day'. The contents of various cabinets etc are mainly DH's and he is some way off getting upstairs at present (recovering broken leg) so my aim is to sort in small chunks. Also, have to pick my moment to ask DH what he wants to do with stuff. Once I have cleared two drawers tat will be one unit empty and it can come out of the room. that will let me move the dressing table in to the space meaning we can get to the window.
After leaving a small bookcase of DVDs, PS games etc for the other 3 adults in the house to review, I now have the start of a new Charity Shop bag - 43 discs out.
664/2020
Stay safe and well.

All well here Stealth. I’m waiting to find out if I will be furloughed at work which would hopefully have a positive impact on the state of the house!

Used the kids bath time today so do a bit of sorting in the bathroom. Have binned some ancient mascara and got some empty shampoo bottles which had been adopted as bath toys into the recycling. Otherwise, progress is very slow!

I discovered yesterday that I feel so much better when the house is quietly productive, rather than lying around in its metaphorical pyjamas.

So, yesterday, I did little bits of cleaning and clearing that got lost over the Easter holidays - wiped out the cutlery tray again, which seems to grow crumbs every week, and emptied and decommissioned the in-tray in the kitchen. It was just encouraging us to dump stuff in it (post, random papers, things with no home etc) then sliding gently into the dog's bowl when I wasn't looking. I've now cleared everything to where it should be and am really enjoying having that bit of worktop back. This does mean that post has to be dealt with immediately, but that's a good thing.

What this has shown me is that I need to Sort Out My Workspace. My desk is a Victorian escritoire in the corner of the living room with a bookshelf beside it on one side and the stereo on the other. I end up piling things up on the turntable, which irritates DH as the stereo is his pride and joy; but I have no space for Work In Progress and I'm going to have to address that. The bookshelf is full to bursting with work volumes / files too. Time for a cull?

IWill you made me laugh out loud at cutlery tray and their amazing ability to attract crumbs. Thought exactly the same about ours earlier. Still only a couple of minutes to sort it this time, also found myself (re) rearranging the utensils storage again. This is definitely displacement activity to avoid other more challenging areas.

I discovered yesterday that I feel so much better when the house is quietly productive, rather than lying around in its metaphorical pyjamas.

Love this image!

I’ve finally cleared the bathroom cupboard and got rid of lots:

• some old diagrams of the new bathroom from when we had it done
• some old painting and decorating stuff
• old floor tile samples that we rejected
• spare tiles for the bathroom (these have gone into the shed)
• an old bucket
• an old bath mat that belonged to the previous owner
• an old bin we no longer use
• an empty bottle of drain unblocker
• a rusty old shaving mirror that also belonged to the previous owner
• some screws
• an old bit of piping
• bits of builders rubble and dust

The cupboard is now clean, neat and tidy with spare toiletries, cleaning stuff and towels all grouped together on their own shelves rather than just randomly shoved anywhere. I also found a lovely bottle of bubble bath that I didn’t know I had - I will be using that for a relaxing soak tonight!

I was hoping to finish the bathroom and sort the spare bedroom today but it’s looking unlikely that will get done before the baby arrives now. Still - every little bit you can do is a step in the right direction and it’s good to know I only have two rooms to go!

Three other outs were an empty bottle of perfume, a pair of lids from two candles that we used up long ago and a candle that was burnt to the bottom.

Excellent job there, Wondering, particularly if the Small Person is imminent. How long do you have to go, if you don't mind me asking? (I know you've said before, but all the days merge into one know and I have no idea when I am! 😁).

Yay! I found you all again. Fell off the thread about 20 pages ago but I’ve caught up, everyone is doing so well!

wondering7777 that's so productive I'm jealous!

I am in absolute chaos here trying to homeschool dc, cook extra meals etc. Luckily my council are still collecting all forms of waste but I do have a pile in the garage now for charity shop / dump when it opens. Anyway I need to go now and sort out washing, I have the biggest pile I have ever had and as it's warm weather I have to do ironing as I have a couple of linen trousers I've been wearing.

Willow I have desk envy (not the clutter bit, obviously!)

The last of the cardboard in the garage went with recycling this morning. Also out one pair of socks which dramatically failed at the heel yesterday!

It's home school chaos here too Stealth. I have been lectured at length by DD this morning as I am not doing things the way her teacher would. We have given up for the day and are outside enjoying the sunshine!

wondering7777

Well done!! just keep going you never know you might get it all done!! my first baby was 12 days late, and I think first baby’s are often overdue .

All this hard work you have done over the last few weeks will make the next year much easier for you.

Please don’t forget to tell us when the baby comes.

A better day in my decluttering efforts. I went through some bathroom cabinets and removed more medical products. The ones that have gone off will go in the bag in the car (that I must've put in two months ago) to be recycled at a pharmacy and the in date ones will go in the kitchen medicine cabinet. It's annoying that I can see I probably have 3 calpols that I don't need because I bought some before lockdown in case dc get ill. Also I have more plasters than I thought, including a couple of Octonaught ones I thought I got rid of years ago. I will be using those as dc will be too embarrassed!

While doing this I moved some makeup and toiletries and stuff about. I found some hair removing cream that must be 10 years old. I might try it when we leave lockdown as I usually have my legs waxed. Hmmm, maybe it's 15 years old?

I'm actually mortified at the age of some of the stuff I had but I have lots of bathroom storage and cupboards I rarely go in so my bathroom itself looks relatively tidy.

Octonaut plasters, Stealth 🤣🤣?

I have decluttered the end of the pastry from pie at tea time into jam tarts. That will have to do for today!