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.

I’m still mid eBay marathon. Just put up a bundle of girls summer clothes aged 6-9 months. My daughter turns 7 in a few weeks...

Am I being unreasonable?
I threw a small garden party last night (within the 6 people rule) as it was my friends birthday. It’s the first time we’ve got together since lockdown. Her husband turned up announcing he wasn’t drinking as he’d had so much the night before on an impromptu get together with their neighbours (not a pre planned thing which I would have understood more).
It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if he hadn’t gone on about it-how much him and his mate had drunk.......blah blah blah and the fact he is always a bit of a miserable git with us but clearly able to let his hair down when he wants to. We’ve known this couple for 20 years and she is one of my besties but I think her husband is a bit of a knobhead but would never voice that to my friend obviously.
Anyway, am I being unreasonable to be peeved given he knew I was making an effort for my mates birthday? I did go to a lot of effort and feel he could have held back on Friday, given we were throwing his wife a party last night. My OH agreed with me but I probably won’t say anything to my mate- just venting!!

Jigolo - is this in preparation for the new SmartHub 2 fibreoptic cable that's being rolled out? A new hub that I hadn't expected was delivered to the house last week. Sounds daft, but I felt like crying when I opened it. Much as I love my catch-up and Netflix, sometimes I just wish all the tech would stop changing long enough for me to become accustomed to it.

Hope it's sorted very soon for you.

"A Slob Comes Clean" is available as a podcast. Also "Daily Deslobification" which ran for a couple of years.

This weekend has been mostly cleaning in the kitchen and putting things in sensible places. The roasting tin no longer contains conkers and magazine articles, and is sitting on top of the oven in place of the fruit bowl, which is now on top of the fridge. A dead houseplant is down from the top of the kitchen wall unit, destined for the compost heap. The dishes are washed, soup is made.

Yesterday I got out a dreaded bag of bits. Turned out to be a mix of playmobil, stingray, and thunderbirds. In the end, it was straightforward enough - thunderbirds etc in one box, playmobil staying in bag in the playmobil drawer until I can be bothered squinting at all the tiny bits.

Today was paper on my desk. Going back to Christmas cards, which I was very relieved to find, as I needed someone's change of address. Much less junk mail, and far fewer receipts since lockdown. There's a lesson in there, somewhere. Lots of drawings and wee bits of writing from DGC. Can't part with any of those, but they're no longer mixed in with bank statements and tax returns.

MrsTidy nothing so exciting, just someone at the BT end getting far too gung ho about cancelling things. I think the trial line that was meant to be cancelled was in some way connected to FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) but I might be making that up.

So, this weekend it turns out that even with only intermittent internet i don't clean and tidy. I sit on my bum and do other stuff😢. I am, in that regard, a total waste of space.

42 listings on eBay and many of them are bundles so actual number of items much higher. Sadly, my kitchen Table is still covered in piles of clothes and I have to work at that table tomorrow so I’m going to Have to shove it back in a bag to deal with later in the week when I’m not working. I tried SO hard to get it all done but there Just wasn’t enough weekend!

Have also binned a couple of very sad looking houseplants that were barely clinging to life. I normally have a bit of a blind spot with houseplants and never manage to get rid of them but these two were pretty much dead sticks.

I've not been able to comment on this thread yet, or for a while anyway! Welcome to the newbies 👋

I took a couple small boxes full to the charity shop this week since they're accepting donations now. I have a few things at aside for my SIL, but haven't had a chance to have to look at the stuff or take it with her.

I did manage to pass on a few things to my other SIL for her family and finally was able to give my niece and nephew their birthday presents (March birthdays)

I have had a few ins in my wardrobe, although I have a handful of items I'm thinking I'll get rid of as I don't like wearing them anymore. I can think of 3 things of the top of my head!

Meg you're not a waste of space! Sometimes we need a weekend or so to just relax and do nothing at all. You've got a lot on your plate, please don't beat yourself up.

Some work papers and a notepad out - will be glad to get back to work to avoid any work stuff hanging about the house and reminding me of what I should be doing!

Facebook groups continue to be a pain - got two bags out yesterday but not without the usual hassle!

Have listed a toy on the selling group and some stationery on freecycle.

Have a good decluttering day!

Welcome kitschplease and foxtrotoscarpoppet.

LaneBoy I hope your dh is OK.

Doughgirl66 were you trying to do an AIBU thread? FWIW I don’t think you were being unreasonable.

MrsTidyHouse I don’t know how you download a podcast but I’m going to try to find out because those sound interesting.

jigoloharmegiddo you have FOUR CHILDREN! I don’t believe for a second someone with four children and the jigolohound is a waste of space. My house is full of unfinished projects but sometimes most of the time I want to sit on my arse and do nothing.

pickedlilly that’s so productive! I always think it’ll be too time consuming to sell clothes (see above point about sitting on my bum most of the time) but also my dc seem to either stain or tear or eat their clothes so lots get recycled as ‘rags’.

Table update - it's gone! But facebook marketplace was quite stressful. If I didn't reply to someone within 8 hours I got a reminder and as I was waiting overnight for the person to turn up I could see my messenger full of unread messages. I then had to reply to them all. I suppose it opens the item up to loads of people but I'm just not used to anyone being interested in anything I'm selling.

As mentioned above, today I will be recycling a pair of trousers with a rip in that belong to a child.

Welcome to everyone new

Nanalisa I'm glad you posted about ebay £1 selling fees, I always miss it. I've listed a few things. Pickled you are doing so well with all the ebay listings.

Jigolo You aren't lazy, you have a lot to do with four kids! I have less than that and it's hard enough.

Sorting and tidying continues...

LO's bedlinen all laundered. Most now sorted into cupboards. The scruffy items will be fine for dollies' cot and making dens. When they lose interest in dens and dollies, I'll have a good supply of cleaning rags.

Tackled a year-old pile of odd socks that was obscuring a pile of pillowcases that I'd forgotten I had. Then sorted the pillowcases.

Decluttered -
Two outgrown pairs to donate
Seven pairs reunited and now in correct drawers
Four odds to rag bag
Two burst footballs

Then I spotted a larger pile of socks that have been on a bookshelf for about three months. They had become part of the scenery. Think I am developing new eyes where tidying is concerned.

I'm a bit behind with the thread. Have been trying to focus on cleaning over the past few days as aiming to get the house into a decent state before I am taken off furlough (likely to be in the next couple of weeks). So not much out other than dust. In a sort of nod to the Flylady system I am trying to get into the habit of getting the washing up put away so that the sink is clear which is making a huge difference to how cluttered the kitchen looks.

That's some impressive ebaying Lilly. I've just remembered I have clothes to list. DH bought me some things as a present but several didn't fit and he didn't return them in time. How often do cheap listing weekends come around?

Well done on getting the table out Stealth.

Definitely sounds like you have your decluttering mojo back MrsTidy. Odd socks are confined in a bag here but think I need to go through it as there's some that have been there forever. DH wanted to check his drawers before I got rid though and hasn't yet...

Hope you are making progress on getting your broadband back Jigolo, hope BT are going to be compensating you for all the hassle!

Just found out I can move at the beginning of July. Need to seriously up the decluttering pace!

I'm in De-Clutter Limbo at the moment waiting for DD wardrobe to arrive - all her clothes are in the small bedroom at the moment .
Once she's filled the wardrobe I can put her heavier clothes in storage/ recycle.

I have laundry waiting for the laundrette machines then they can go in the attic.

Aargh back to tripping over things !

That's odd, I thought I did an update this afternoon. Oh well I'll repeat myself.

MrsTidyHouse I love that you talk about socks becoming part of the scenery. It's so easy for that to happen. Today I noticed a basket with a couple of hairbrushes in and I think they can all be donated to a charity shop. I probably have about 8 brushes and I'm wondering if I need more than 1? I suppose if I threw 7 away the remaining one would just get lost.

I have also got rid of two serving platters from the kitchen. The drawer they were in is noticeably clearer.

I dumped four old cleaning cloths. I gave a book to my niece and she was delighted. Inspired by the ebay sellers I posted a bag and had an offer on it so just waiting for payment. Small outs today but I feel I'm making some progress especially when I come to this time last year.

eBay listings: 51. Mostly bundles so that two 35 litre storage boxes plus a suitcase full of stuff listed. Still an overflowing massive laundry bag full but I’m losing the will or finding the stuff that left is winter stuff that I don’t think will sell at the moment.

A couple outs to report from the last few days. Yesterday DH sold a MX helmet and goggles. I set aside a couple tops I no longer want to wear. I wore them last week to see how I felt in them. Big fat no so both have gone into a bag I've started for the charity shop.

Today I have taken a work shirt over to my previous employer to see if anyone wants it. It's not a comfortable one and had the logo on it so I won't wear it by choice. We'll ignore the fact it's been in my car the last month or so! We have had a few ins as well, but those are replacements for the outs.

Hi everyone (waves),
I am very behind with this thread.

Big hello to all the newbies.

I have lots of outs today.
I managed to sell a baby bouncer thats not been used for 2 years. I washed the cover and wiped it clean. So happy it will be used for another baby.

Also sold 5 stairgates for £15 to someone who had bought a puppy just before lockdown. I am so happy they will be used and they are out of my garage.

I understand not seeing things that don't belong. I'm trying to pay more attention to my surroundings, which works most of the time. There are times I choose to turn a blind eye to because for some reason DH can't find things of they are in a cupboard apparently, like a comb and hand cream. I hate it!

Stealth do you have a specific spot you would keep your hairbrush? Or can you hang it on a hook? I know I have had your predicament before, just with something else. What helped me was putting it in the place I would look for it first, the place that would make the most sense (and then remembering to put it back in that same spot when done with it!)

I'm really hoping to plan a yard sale this summer. Things have relaxed here now in our state, but it's planning it and getting everything back over to our house (we have made more money there than at the storage unit). This time I will donate it all afterwards if it doesn't sell (unless it's a big ticket item I think we can sell still on fb) and even then, I'll have a date it needs to be gone by and then donate it or list for free.

Despite two people out of the house during the day, the house is still a total tip. I finally got to the tip today, with some stuff having been piling up since Christmas! A box of broken small electrical, broken dvd player, useless dehumidifier, a broken bike and outgrown car seat.

I cleared off the top of my bureau yesterday evening. Special stones from DGC are now on the windowsill with other stones, fir cones, etc. Packets of seeds are with gardening gloves and tools. Two pairs of children's shoes that have never been worn.

Tubs of bits from Ikea and other flatpack. I'm amazed any of our furniture is still standing. There are at least two other tubs somewhere in the house, and I'll hunt them down and keep them all together in the bureau drawer. I'm certainly not going to let them disappear without a trace into the garage.

There are several empty boxes and tubs now that I've tidied so much and put like with like. Having things more under control, I can find what I'm looking for and not waste money. That is a good result!

Not much out in the last couple of days apart from a serving plate that smashed when dd dropped it. Annoyingly, serving plates are one of the few things in short supply here but will see how long we can go without replacing it.

A couple of ins too buying some tops for a new job where I will be spending a lot of time on Zoom!

Lockdown has certainly helped with new stuff not coming IN. Without popping to shops in lunch breaks etc now I’m working from home spending has definitely been limited. And it has made me realise how many clothes the kids have compared to what they actually wear so I haven’t been tempted to buy anything new though they will both need measuring for new shoes by now.

Although the plus side of how many clothes and toys they have is I can easily leave half here for when they visit their dad and just take what I actually need as I don’t have space for it all anyway!