The decluttering one thing a day thread - part 12

[AlexTheLittleCat]

For StealthNinjaMum

We’re still here.

After 11 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/3799710-The-decluttering-on-thing-a-day-thread-part-11?pg=1

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

Three bags dropped off - almost forgot the one with the bedding and money boxes. Wardrobe cull was very satisfying not quite a full on Kondo but still a good effort. One jacket had a dry cleaning tag from 2010 clearly hasn’t been worn in all that time.

glumy sorry if you’ve already said but how are you scanning your mangas. That’s an impressive amount of money.

I climbed on a ladder and chose about a dozen mugs, bowls and ramekins to go. I washed and scrubbed my silicon bakeware. It is better so I might not chuck it out yet.

I also managed to drop two bags of stuff at my favourite charity shop. Feeling good about that. Also dc have agreed to donate quite a large toy.

No outs apart from returning some Tupperware boxes to MIL. Haven’t tackled the paperwork yet, it’s just too hot to do anything!

I got an appointment on Friday at 3pm to take donations to charity shop.
I can hardly contain myself.
I am appreciative of finding somewhere, don't care had to make appointment.
Many of ours opened briefly and then either closed or stopped taking donations.
We are in local lockdown though with another week I believe.

Ditto with the paperwork, I was supposed to do this today, but it's just too hot.
My pile is not so bad luckily as tend to keep up with it as we have had a business.

It is too hot to do anything major here. Binned two pairs of sunglasses-one broke and another I've had for ages and don't like anymore.

Stealth it's quite an involved process to maximize profits, I have 3 apps I use. Ziffit and We buy books generally have the best prices, and don't muck you about. Music magpie will often take things the others won't but typically pay less and will cancel an agreed trade without warning if you take too long. I scan a stack into we buy books and Ziffit, compare prices and then cancel off the unsuccessful bids. Leave the trades open until you've scanned everything as there is a £5 minimum trade value. At the end I scan everything unsold through music magpie to see if I can shift any more. The books no one wants I store until the next round as scanning a few weeks later will give a different result. Most volumes go for less than a pound, but I get sporadic £5 ers too. Honestly it's not worth the effort unless you have a large volume to shift, but for me it adds up. Since I stated I think I've made around £400. Nothing to what I spent on them to begin with, but money is tight right now so I'm grateful to be able to recoup a little bit. Worth noting that it's the manga which pushes my totals up, less of it on the market presumably.

Stealth I got behind with FlyLady again. I need to do the kitchen too, it's great timing.

I've done some DIY, it's too hot for all this.

glumy that sounds exhausting - I had hoped you had found a website that just easily paid you lots of money that I hadn’t heard of. I have tried those websites but they never want to give me much money and I’m always too lazy to go to the post office with the tonne of books needed to make £5.

alexthelittlecat flylady seems to have changed changed since I last followed her. I’m pretty sure she used to serve tasks like tidying Tupperware and now it seems to be then same list for the kitchen every day but yesterday was organisation day and today is non procrastination day. I still like being told to do the kitchen because I have actually got rid of lots this week and I thought I was pretty much done with the kitchen.

Today I am actually going to stop procrastinating over about 8 admin jobs. I’ll do 15 minutes in the kitchen but I’m also intending to spend 15 minutes in the Room of Doom as I expect Flylady doesn’t have one! The Room of Doom has random stuff in it and I might put it into bags to put in the car to get rid of when i go past an open charity shop.

Stealth they send a courier, it's a massive part of the appeal for me. Sorry there's no secret website though.

Glumy I was imagining you scanning individual pages for a detailed eBay listing Your way makes much more sense! Clearly manga is valuable stuff. I did try those websites last week for some kids non fiction books best any of them offered was 35p most seemed to be 8p. Didn’t think I’d ever get to the minimum trade. Have managed to regime a musical instrument and associated books they will be out tomorrow. Old letter rack and pencil pot into the charity bag, some old mugs repurposed for the pens and pencils.

Rehome the instrument obviously 🙄 Retrieving the mugs/pencil pots makes me realise I need a good sort out of the mug cupboard generally.

Oh no, Gassy, I've written Ebay off as too much work, lol.

Ooh what musical instrument?
I just sold my old Edgeware wooden clarinet, only bought it for £100 a few years ago and sold for £225.
It depends what it is but some instruments gain value, usually old second hand rather than newly made recently.
Not an authority, but know a bit and can point folk in the right direction if anyone needs help.

Also a clarinet suitable for a beginner and is going to a friend who wants to take it up as a stepping stone to a saxophone

Ooh, now I can help with saxophones when the time is right, honestly. We buy, service, sell, keep some and teach.
So glad it's gone to a good home.

I'm doing nothing today, can't even summon up the strength to wash up, it's so flippin hot.

Nothing here today either, my plan is basically to feel sorry for myself until the rain arrives to clear the air.

A benefit to 45 mins in the shed of doom wearing plastic gloves is I now have the softest of hands through the sweating away of dry skin!
Successes:
finding some vases etc that I don't want so now in the charity shop box,
some aprons to go to a household collecting bin,
some books that need an air and I will offer to school,
a box of bits of toys, games etc that will go straight to the dump,
and some serving dishes that will be cleaned and added to the kitchen.

Aiming for a charity shop drop Thursday am and have a dump booking Friday lunchtime. Hope it might be a touch cooler by then!

1292/2020

Dev that is very kind to offer to share your enthusiasm and expertise. My friend is a serial enthusiast who always researches very thoroughly buys the best. Then loses interest! At least this way we have passed it on to be useful and they have saved a bit of money. Most importantly it’s out of the cupboard 🤣 I would not be at all surprised to get there tomorrow and see a saxophone has already been bought TBH

TADA!! Sick of shoeboxes and shelves, but..... I got the stationery finished!! And The Big Table is cleared! I found rulers with inches and no centimetres, slide rules (which I love), ancient propelling pencils. Also much that I can use instead of buying.

I put one of each item in my own desk so that I don't need to rummage through cupboards and boxes for a pen or scissors.

I think the next category for me will be literacy and numeracy workbooks. Along with phones, which are cluttering the kitchen table atm. After that, electronics and online resources. I know I have more than I need of that. But not sure what I've got.

Think I've turned a corner on this.

Just checking in so I don't fall off the thread! Too hot to have done any decluttering. It is feeling a bit fresher today though.

Our local charity shop is only accepting donations Monday to Wednesday so hopefully will manage that when I have a few days off work next week.

MrsTidy that is great progress. Always good when you can avoid buying new.

Well done mrstidyhouse it is always lovely to finish a job.

Well I had really good intentions yesterday and did nothing. Ironically I failed to follow fly lady's advice and stop with the procastinating.

The only thing I did was spend ten minutes in the Room of Doom. I have been just chucking things in there over lockdown and I grouped a lot of things together to make it easier to sell or give to a charity shop.

I am now going to make a big list of things to do and I'll actually do it.

I need to catch up with the thread, Stealth it sounds like Flylady is easier to follow now.

I've been watching The Secret Slob videos. It's motivational, but as she's Canadian and they have much more space for building houses than in the UK, they have much bigger houses. Her house is huge with a million drawers and cupboards. No wonder she can organise it easily!

Declutter and Organize every Cupboard in my House! | ULTIMATE CLEANING MOTIVATION! | Part 1

alexthelittlecat no she isn't, I hadn't been reading the tasks of the day and now there's a child task too! I think she has so many adverts and so much text that I miss things when I view it on my phone. That said it has been enormously helpful because I have cleared out a couple of bags from my kitchen and I am going to get back into it.

This is the flylady crash course video: