Still throwing an item away a day – part 13

[StealthNinjaMum]

One of mumsnet's friendliest corners this is the 13th 'one item a day' thread to inspire and motivate a group of mumsnetters to declutter their houses, gardens and lives bit by bit, one step at a time.

Each day we get rid of just one item and report back. We’ve all got different challenges and problems and it keeps us going to discuss them and work through them together.

Newbies are welcome. It’s not just decluttering, join us in the chat about recycling, organisation, grumbles about hoarding family members and obviously our many successes.

Previous thread here.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3913755-The-decluttering-one-thing-a-day-thread-part-12?msgid=99387987

And for 2020 some of us are also aiming to get rid of 2020 items!

@confusedofengland still an out and that keeps momentum going though!

That is true footprints! The club has now gone so I have a tiny bit more space & a tiny bit more money. Going to see my parents soon & I have a couple of tubs & some poetry books to return.

Last dump trip for a while, I hope. Wet and windy out. Two boxes of rubbish to the dump, two lots of tablets no longer prescribed handed in to chemist, 3 ood food items binned and, in 'user upper' role, I finished off a shampoo and conditioner this morning.
1743/2020

I donated the high chair yesterday and that's the last big baby thing to declutter. It was under the stairs for a while so it has created some space there. I gave all the weaning items to my SIL so she will get some use out of them.
I want to go through my wardrobe before Christmas and do a good ruthless declutter. I hope to keep only the things that actually fit me now.

One eBay item posted.
Small outs (cotton reels, broken needles, a few odd buttons) from tidying up my sewing box.
Have been through tinned food cupboard and noted what needs eating soon (though nothing actually gone).

Looks like good progress is being made.
Had a few small outs yesterday, a cloth which had more holes than fabric, holey socks, finished an eye cream and a few bits of paperwork. Also trying to use up fruit from the freezer we picked/got from FIL so made a raspberry trifle.
A few ins today but all stuff we need.
Seem to have a few admin bits to get out the way again. Really need to get some bigger items out.

I’m really impressed with those of you who are decluttering tomatoes and food. I have been known to attempt to feed us on basil but even on my window ledge I forget to water a plant and they die.

singtothesky which habit tracker app? I didn’t know such a thing would exist. I wonder if I should do something like that obviously I would never look at it

footprintsintheslow that’s a really impressive load of stuff out.

Apart from yesterday’s dream I hadn’t done much but today I went through dd1s two jewellery boxes. About a year ago I decluttered a load of stuff in her room but some ‘treasures’ had gone into the jewellery boxes. Anyway we went throught them together and virtually none of them are ‘treasures’ any more and she’s really embarrassed about her love of seahorses and ponies when she was 5 so I had the double pleasure of really embarrassing her. So I have put aside a whole jewellery box, lots of jewellery in it and also thrown away a lot of fake coins, home made jewellery, bits of plastic, wool, string that were so precious a year ago. Probably 30 bits gone in all? It’s great how receptive dd1 is with chucking stuff out as we’ve been doing it gradually.

I don’t think I’ve posted for a few days. I had a poke through one of my food cupboards and have thrown away some very old lentils, the dregs of an old bag of sugar that had gone very sticky at the bottom, some ancient porridge oats and a jar of mild chilli powder that is so old it doesn’t seem to have any taste/heat anymore. I also found two out of date tubs of bicarbonate of soda, but I’m going to try and use these up for cleaning things.

I’ve earmarked some trainers for disposal, the Spring programme for a local theatre is now in the recycling bin and am passing on a child’s foot measuring device to a friend.

Day 16:

• 50+ pairs of unworn homemade earrings given away on fb free cycle page.
• homemade Bakewell tart gin decanted from four bottles to two.
• bag of books, box of craft stuff 2 storage boxes and bag of soft toys put together to go MIL's
• nail varnishes and care products posted and claimed on fb free cycle page.
• a few items put away in attic
• toddlers shelves and under bed drawers sorted out and empty!!!

Had a bit of a tidy up day. Cleaned and organised the fridge, did the same with the kitchen cupboards. Nothing used up per se but much tidier. Moved things to under stairs cupboard where my stock pile is.

Used up the blackberries from the freezer and made some jam. So that’s cleared a space and we now have 9 jars of jam. Two will go to work for colleagues. One to dparents tomorrow. One to neighbours (in the hopes that next year they’ll pick some berries for me on their dog walks....!)

Emptied out some of my wardrobe shelves. 7 pairs of shorts gone. I don’t know why I bought knee length ones. I don’t like them. They do nothing for me. So they’re going to charity. As are my favourite denim shorts. Literally had these since 2007. But I can’t get them on. Sad face.

No outs today. I put two more toddler coats up for sale on FB, but haven’t had any responses so far. Did a bit of tidying - put away a couple of things that were on top of the chest of drawers, and put away knitting needles from a finished project.

I have half a bag of stuff from mum’s house left to sort through, and today I put away my old barbie dolls that I brought back for DD - they’ve gone into a bag in the bottom of the wardrobe for when she’s a bit older.

I have cleared out some wine glasses that haven't been used in years. I know there's more I don't use, but can't bring myself to get rid just yet. I did have to clear them away because I had some ins - 4 huge margarita glasses and 4 Mason jar glasses. Although I think I got rid of more glasses total.
I need to go through my shoes as I know there's some that have seen better days, and I also need to get rid of some tarnished jewellery, thank you for the reminder Stealth

After not doing much over the weekend I had another poke about in my box room last night. It's looking so much better now, I can walk in and open my draws! There are a few bits I can't shift out, like the crates of books, but I'm managing to clear enough space that I should be able to get my coffee table in so I can relax in the evenings without having to look at toys. I posted some make up brushes on gumtree, waiting to see how much of a headache all the collection shenanigans are. I also cleared one kitchen side (again) so assorted bits of recycling out.
I got an offer on a signed book I posted a while back. It's pretty low, but it's been weeks and it's not selling. I need to decided if I want to prioritize getting rid (it's a huge hard back) or store it in the hope of getting it's value one day. I bought it signed rather than meeting the author myself, so not hugely attached that way. Still though, I don't know.
..

I broke a wine glass on Friday so that counts!

Wow good work everyone I’ve an arm injury so frustratingly at home for next couple of weeks but able to do very little.
I too am intrigued by the idea of a habit tracker but would probably not use it regularly 🙄
glumy surely books are like houses only worth what someone will pay. In your shoes I’d reclaim the space. Often find I agonise and dither for ages then once stuffs out I can barely remember what has gone

Went through some paperwork and lots went in the recycling, also had a sort out in the kitchen.

Sing I'm also intrigued by the habit tracker.

3 bags to charity bin today.
Didn't do anything over weekend so catching up now!

I prioritise getting rid over selling. Can feel frustrating, but I think living in clutter costs me in happiness. And I think biggest savings are from changing my mindset and habits and not buying things I don't need.

@TheGhostofGlumy you might have already done this, but you can check abebooks to see how much the signed copies are going for. I checked on a couple of my signed copies - one is listed for over £100, but another signed mass market paperback is going for less than the cover price. Might help you decide whether to hold out for a better offer.

www.abebooks.co.uk/

Bin bag of things into textile recycling. Need to see which charity shops are taking stuff. I don't have loads but would like it gone!

I cleared and cleaned a small area of the kitchen and in the process got rid of lots of old padded envelopes. I was keeping them to re-use but I rarely post things so they tend to accumulate. I also found a box of v posh chocs that are a bit beyond their expiry date. We will tuck in as I’m sure they will still be tasty.

Also out a bag and the school branded sunshine hat my child had for infant school. He hated that hat so I was not at all sentimental about it!

ghostofglumy I came on to say that I think a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and you could wait forever and not get rid of a book at a price you want. If it’s a big hardback it’s great to have the space.

I have done a massive tidy and so far only decluttered biscuits, scraps of paper, receipts and broken biros. I did put a few bits of stbexhs in the garage which tidied the hall. They were in the utility room originally. I’ve also had interest in a car seat I put on freecycle.

Thanks @Miaowse, I've just had a look. There is one comparable copy on at £45, which agrees with my ebay research. I originally put mine on at £35 as the spine is faded and the corners have been folded, but after weeks of relisting on the easy price thing it's dropped to £16 (I stopped paying attention while this happened). The offer is for £10, after postage I'd get 5.
It's a good point gasseylady makes about only being worth what someone will pay, but even so it's disappointing. I've made more selling my Japanese novels on ziffit.

I sold a pair of children's wellies today, so that is an out.

I have also sorted through DS1's wardrobe & got rid of items that are too small, although these will go into the loft for DS2 (& eventually DS3), so not an out. One pair of pyjama shorts have lost their elastic, so these are going into my rag box instead.

I've also been given lots of things - a mask & a shirt by a friend, some jam & porridge sachets by my mother, so these rather cancel out my outs 😬

Hi, can I join in? I was on one of the previous threads last year.

I'm determined to have a much less cluttered house this Christmas. I have been making reasonable progress over the last few months, but can't see much impact yet - so having a thread where I can be accountable and record some successes would be good.

I have sent one eBay item off today plus a box containing an online shopping return. Also, finally managed to hand a bag over to the charity shop - the boot of my car is full of bags I filled during lockdown. Now the shop is accepting donations again the plan is to get rid of one bag every time I pass by.

I'm about to go through a pile of papers, most of which will be heading into the recycling bin.