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!

Have just counted and I have 9 bags of kids clothes and toys to go to the charity shop. They are in the car and will be taken tomorrow morning.

Declutter & Organize Kids' Room | Simple TOY ROTATION System

I should do this! Just need some boxes and some space...

Thanks for the Ebay reminder Purple, I have a couple of things I should list if the fees are cheap.

We decluttered DD's books today. Nothing out as the picture books have gone to DS but it all looks a lot tidier. Otherwise not much decluttering happening as the kids have gone feral and start trying to kill each other every time I leave the room! I'm going to put the TV on in a minute on the hope that will buy ME a few minutes!

I aspire to toy rotation Alex but usually rotate things into the garage where they remain for two years. That reminds me I have a building set out there which needs to come in.

DH has promised to go to the dump this weekend so hopefully we'll have some things finally leaving the house (also haven't made it to charity shop yet!) Hello to newbies and everyone else.

Ooh I’d love to join and get some inspiration

I went into the loft today. I took out a small gift bag of half used Christmas craft stuff. I took out the bits that could be used and binned the rest. This counts as me starting the loft and I shall stick by it.

The loft made me feel a bit sick when I looked in it

Binned today - 2 facial treatment masks that never get used and have gone all gloopy.

I’ve also parcelled up my gown that I wore to my uni ball to post to Prom Ally. A fab charity that provides prom dresses for kids that might struggle to attend their school prom. Thought it might be worth highlighting if anyone has any gowns languishing at the back of their wardrobe

[[https://www.promally.co.uk/donate]

I managed to finally drop off my bag of clothes to the charity shop today!
I need to plan a yard sale with DH, try to figure out the best weekend. There's a lot of work involved but usually can get rid of quite a bit when we have it at our house, not so much at the storage unit.

Today I binned a broken pair of knickers, trousers and shoes. Need to take two parcels to the post office tomorrow. Tomorrow I am also heading to IKEA with a list - a few things may not be permanent but will make the house look better for selling - a proper shoe cupboard and matching lamp shades upstairs rather than open rack and bare bulbs. Contemplating tackling the kitchen tonight but it always gets so late by the time DC are in bed.

Thanks for the good wishes.

I have got rid of quite a few small bits of clutter from the bookshelves today (stuff like dead batteries, bits of ribbon, a very old install disc for an operating system etc), plus a single holey slipper sock and a dead plant that has been sitting forlornly on the kitchen worktop for several weeks.

I’ve also earmarked some more books that can go to the charity shop, but I don’t have a box to put them in so they are staying on the shelves for now.

Not really decluttering, but I finally hoovered the shredded paper and dust bunnies from the study floor and it looks much better.

One pair of DMs sold on eBay and posted.
Two bags of DS uni work in the recycling/bin.

DS has de cluttered a whole set of shelves (in other words, he doesn’t want any of it but I still need to actually chuck/sort it 🙄!

The last lot of books has gone! Apart from the 12.5kg of books I couldn't sell with my usual apps. Bhf still not doing pickups so I'm not entirely sure what to do with those. Lots of companies collect clothes for charity but books not so much.
No new progress today, it's all feeling a bit impossible tonight, both dc slept badly last night and the nap went wrong so I'm feeling broken

Lack of sleep is the worst, you have my sympathies Glumy.

Well, I threw out a load of school craft from the last year, and made a good start on the kitchen. One flask into charity bag and three empty jars into the bin. Lots of stuff stashed away. Happy with progress.

Oh, and another big ish toy has broken so that needs to go to the tip/bin too.

Hello everyone, newbie here 👋

Decluttering our house is something I am struggling with hugely. We moved in last year & this was supposed to be our new start, I was so sure things would be different! Yet here we are still, stuff EVERYWHERE & it feels insurmountable. I've been selling stuff on eBay for a year & barely scratched the surface. I've done multiple charity shop trips, I've given stuff to friends & family. Yet I still look around & am drowning in clothes 🙁 there's a lot of back story to this including various therapies but the important thing is I've mostly stopped buying masses (& I mean MASSES) of clothes. However I'm now in the difficult situation of wanting rid of them so we can enjoy our lovely new house, but at the same time wanting to recoup my financial losses where I can. But the stuff is just hanging round the house & getting me down. I am both a sentimental hoarder & an emotional buyer, hence the pickle I've got myself in!

Looking forward to seeing what other people do!

Ah, I typed a long post and just lost it.
Thanks Keiki tonight was a bit better thankfully (until the 5am wake up). Sounds like you're making great progress.
Welcome Southern, we're in a similar situation. It's coming up to a year since we moved, and we're still in total chaos. I can relate to the sunk cost pain, I shudder to think about what I lost on my books (why oh why didn't I just use the library??) But the way I see it is I bought them to make me happy, now I'm getting rid of them to make me happy. That was then and this is now. I don't owe former me any kind of debt which has to be repaid.
Well done to steming the influx of new stuff, it's hard changing comfort habits.

Welcome mellowww and overtherainbow hows it going?

Welcome southernbelles. Like you I had wardrobes and wardrobes of clothes but in my case I have a biggish house with lots of cupboards so it was easy to forget them. Anyway they were all different sizes and when I finally lost weight I started by throwing out the larger clothes I didn't actually like (when you put on weight you end up buying anything just because it fits), and the old smaller clothes because I suddenly realised that twenty year old jeans were old fashioned. In terms of earning money how much do you think they're realistically worth? If you have designer clothes or higher end high street then they might be worth something and you could possibly put cheaper clothes into a bundle. So if I were you I would start with the designer clothes that give you the most money and do them in one go. I used to buy clothes from ebay when I was losing weight and if I was interested in one I would always look through the person's shop to see if they had a similar taste to me.

All the above advice comes with a disclaimer that I have never sold clothes - but I have bought plenty!

I have a question about ebay. I have never done it because I'm too lazy to do trips to the post office however I have a 1980s board game that is now quite rare. I don't expect to make much money from it as it's not in great condition but I'd like it to go to someone who likes it.

So assuming I sold could someone advise me on how best I would package it? Imagine it's like a trivial pursuit type size.

Anyway today flylady suggests I do car, handbag and I think it was clear a dressing table. Well I cleared all my surfaces monday. I now have one Bag of Crap from the surfaces and need to put them all away today or it will be a big bag just sitting next to my wardrobe for the next few weeks years!

Yesterday I put a torch in the discard electronics pile. It hasn't worked for years so I don't know why I haven't just thrown it out before.

Yesterday's ours were another holey pair of socks (seems to be an epidemic here at the moment!) plus a broken head band. DH Is currently packing the car to go to the tip so there will be more!

Welcome southernbelles, there are quite a few on the thread who have decluttered clothes so hopefully there will be advice.

Thanks for the link Roxy, I have a dress I wore as a bridesmaid a few years ago that would work as a prom dress. Have been wondering what to do with it!

My DD is just the same Stealth, I would have hundreds of 'special pictures' if I kept them all! I keep a few but most are sneaked into the recycling bin.

Sounds like a tricky one Jigolo. It's not easy when you can see people would benefit from help but won't accept it.

Good news here as the shopping delivery man has just told me they will be accepting bags back from next week. That will free up half a cupboard!

Raspberry I've tried toy rotation before but one of mine hunts them down and pulls everything out again. I need to hide them away out of reach. The toys, not the little one

Meg That's great about your house, you've done so well! Your FIL's house sounds difficult, it's hard when someone doesn't want to change things.

Glumy Sorry to hear about the lack of sleep, that's tough.

Stealth Can you pack the board game in another box, with bubble wrap or paper protecting it?

Welcome southernbelles

@southernbelles and @GlumyGloomer That’s what I’m really hoping to avoid. We are planning to move but we are not ready yet for a few reasons. I’m really trying to use this time to sort through stuff. If I can get stuff out of the loft then we can put boxes up there, the house will be easier to tidy for viewings etc and I don’t want to pay to move things that we are never going to use.

It’s hard though but I keep telling myself ‘that will be 1 less box’

Hello everyone.

May I join in with your declutter? My house needs a good sort out. Definitely the loft. DH doesn't throw anything away

I try to take stuff to the charity shop fairly regularly. I live in walking distance to our town so often drop off when I'm on a walk to get the DC napping in the pushchair.

One issue I'm coming up with now - baby clothes. Toddler DS and baby DD so different sexes. Most of the outgrown clothes go in a labelled box and in the loft. DD is outgrowing the 0-3. So far I've started packing them up for the loft... Probably because I've not ruled out a third. Even though I think realistically, DD is probably our last baby, but I haven't made peace with that!
Stuff that gets ruined at nursery by DS gets turned to rags, but generally he doesn't ruin much as he hates getting dirty 🤷

The older size clothes that wouldn't get worn by DD also go in the loft... They probably shouldn't, but I can't help think that I might have another DS.

I think I need to ponder on the baby clothes. What do you all do?

I've recently started working on a drawer a day everywhere else and have decluttered the chest of drawers in our room. I could do with upping the ante though.
Going to declutter under our bed today. I know we've got some blankets/sheets/pillow cases that haven't come out of the box since we moved into this house, 2.5 years ago.

Got the last of the books out! I found 2 more apps, sellitback and zapper. Not good money makers but do at least shift stuff. Zapper will literally take everything as stuff they won't pay for they take to recycle. I made another....£12! Better than nothing though.

Hi @ComeOnEileen11. When I found out dd2 was a girl I was so happy because I could reuse the clothes, lol. I'm sure I'm done now, so disposing of outgrown clothes as I go. We don't have a loft though so all the sizes between the girls are just in vac bags in dd1's wardrobe. Not the best long term solution but I can't think of a better one right now.

Re the kids artwork. I’ve bought two ridiculously ornate frames from the charity shop. I’m going to spray paint them and then also spray a bulldog clip and glue it into the frame. Frames on the wall and then when the dc do a piece of art it will go in the frame for a bit. Then “filed”