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!

@pollyannaperspective I’ve just decluttered my birthday cards. We do the same. Keep for a week then go.

Will get some space back today as have 2 parties to go to with ds so two presents gone.

Hi, mostly just checking in.
I've started chucking cards fairly promptly too, although I do feel heartless when it's the dd's cards (they don't care).
Today I plan to tackle the play pen of doom...

Another eBay item posted, but more significantly I finished sewing a dress the other day and threw all the scraps away. Before, I would have saved them for something, but they really were too small.

Have also listed another whole load on eBay as I have £1 selling fees.

Day 22:

Lavender bush, 20 strawberry plants, sack full of pots, two saplings and box of seed taken from garden to allotment field.

Some small plastic toys put in charity bag.

Posted a parcel of bras to “Smalls for All” along with some kids pants I’d bought to put in. Another small eBay parcel packed ready to post on Monday and some bits listed for the £1 selling fees weekend. Some old uniform unearthed and put in a charity bag to drop off next week. Yet more socks for the rag bag - beginning to think all the kids have feet made of graters!

confusedofengland I had that treehouse, it was my favourite toy! I am going to go against the thread and say NOOOO YOU CAN'T GIVE IT AWAY --SEND IT TO ME!!!!!-

Oops, strikethrough fail in the last message.

I had a couple of enquiries about things I posted for sale on facebook but no sales. I didn't do anything yesterday. Today is probably going to be a doing loads of washing day and very little else.

Finished up a mascara yesterday.

Enjoying being mostly tidy, most of the time, being able to find things quickly and easily because they get put away each time they're used. Not quite so successful with toys, but insisting they eat only in the kitchen, most messes are clean messes.

The enormous kitchen table is now at adult DS's new flat. I took the heavy pine chairs to the garage for moving on his next day off. Brought in from the shed the old dining chairs which are much comfier with their leather seats.

LOs' school is ramping up considerably its online resources, so the living-room will get rearranged this week to accommodate the pc which I would have preferred to keep in my office. Very much in two minds about this, as I want to cut back on screen time after how much they had during lockdown. Anyway, it'll spur me on to more tidying, sorting, decluttering.

Hi all

I did the apartment therapy decluttering cure recently. Well I started and finished but had a sinus infection in the middle so I'm still going. I used to live in a small flat so I'm quite used to not having a lot of stuff I don't use. But strongly believe it's an ongoing process. So I'm please to find this thread. I've got a few bags waiting to go to the clothes bank or charity shop. And I've made room in my studio/office for an exercise trampoline I recently bought by decluttering.

mrstidyhouse we’re the same, both schools are making us do online homework so I now have two laptops on the dining table and my dining room is a bit like a classroom. I can cope with the laptops but homeschooling just seems to come with sheets of printouts and papers and pens and pencils and then dd2 sharpens pencils and leaves bits everywhere. I think I’ll go mad if either have to properly homeschool again.

I just persuaded dd1 to donate a bag and a wallet so that’s two things gone. I’m also looking at my three dressing gowns wondering whether to get rid of them and replace with one warm fleecy one. They’re all about twenty years old and in surprisingly good condition but one has dirty cuffs that won’t wash. That would be donated as rags. I’m wondering if charity shops would want the others, do people buy second hand dressing gowns?

Welcome plussizejumpsuit. I hadn’t really heard of apartment therapy so I just went on the website. Wow, lots of beautiful pictures of lovely light homes with nice storage solutions. Suddenly my house looks very messy! Oh well it’s nice to have aspirations.

Yesterday I replanted the pot that I’d removed the dead lobelia from with some pretty little violas and put the filthy car through the car wash. Today I am supposed to be cleaning up the final pushchair and listing it and sorting through some clothes but I appear to be sitting around doing nothing at all.

@stealthninjamum

Welcome plussizejumpsuit. I hadn’t really heard of apartment therapy so I just went on the website. Wow, lots of beautiful pictures of lovely light homes with nice storage solutions. Suddenly my house looks very messy! Oh well it’s nice to have aspirations.

I've been using it for about 13 years for ideas. So quite a while before lots of homes and interiors on Instagram. Although yes the homes do all look perfect I do find they have nice practical solutions. And they run a competition called small cool which is great for ideas.

This thread did it’s thing and I felt guilty so have now scrubbed the pushchair and left it to dry, removed all the buckets and spades from the back of the car and washed them and put them away and hid all the the Christmas presents in the Christmas present hidey hole making sure I’ve got a list of everything bought so far.

well done pickledlily I have done nothing today so I'm impressed. You've reminded me that I need to make a list of xmas presents too. I have bought a few and they're dotted around under the bed, in a drawer, in the car, in the room of doom. My most loathed job is wrapping so I should probably start with the Santa presents in case we get another lockdown and I have dc around all the time.

I find having two kids it’s far easier to keep track of what I’ve bought and spent on each if I write it down as I buy.
Been doing it a few years and it’s really helpful to keep track of everything and saves those ‘doh!’ Moments when you find a present you forgot about in about March. I also highlight them as I wrap them so I know what’s still to do and make sure I’ve not forgotten anything and I can see if I’ve bought more for one child than the other and rectify it.

Speaking of Christmas, I do need to grit my teeth and go through exes attic and haggle over Christmas decorations. I know I bought probably 90% of them but I’m sure there will be a battle about it

I’ve had a very lax few days but luckily my DH went through some of his clothes and has made a sizeable pile of things to go. I don’t have a charity shop slot booked, so I’ll try to remember to call them tomorrow.

We’re doing quite well on using things up from the kitchen and bathroom cupboards. I don’t often buy jars of ready made sauce, so they tend to languish at the back of the cupboard, but I’m consciously trying to use them now to clear some space. I have also been baking with my flour and sugar stash and I lit a scented candle from my collection - I often receive these as present or buy them as I like the smell, but am anxious about burning them. Yesterday I chose a candle in a tin and popped it in a big glass vase and it looked so pretty and felt a bit safer.

I’m just finding it a bit depressing - there is so much to do, but I’ve lost motivation and am looking at the chaos not quite sure where to start.

Miaowse I'm suffering from the same. Really having to force myself to do anything and feeling like it's impossible to stay tidy.

I did clear the top of the washing machine today, and threw out some coat hangers. I've also hidden a much loved but now broken rc car to throw out when the kids are asleep. Toys are definitely our biggest source of mess remaining, they get everywhere. I know I should encourage the DC to tidy up, but it's just such an uphill battle that I just don't bother.

@TheGhostofGlumy yes, our house always looks like an explosion in a toy shop! At the minute I’m also battling with laundry as it has been so darn wet for weeks. Good luck with the RC car, do you think they’ll notice it’s gone?

Eventually, but they are used to toys going missing for ages so it won't be instantly missed.
We have an rc train, so they are not completely bereft.
Dd1 is a mini hoarder though, and hates to see anything go.

This weekend:

1x "don't start fires" education book: into the recycling
6x too small for DS pairs of gloves.
Also listed some stuff on Ebay, and even sold something on there.

I binned our landline phone. It won't charge any more and I'm the only one who ever used it.

1x jigsaw puzzle (I didn't enjoy much anyway).

Just about in volume = new LS top + new changing towel I just bought. Truly needed the towel since change rooms closed at the pool & it's too cold now to leave soaking wet.

I am getting rid of something each day but they are smaller items rather than big outs. Today I dumped two sand buckets with broken handles, a handful of small toys from DS room and recycled some old books.