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!

That’s a cool idea em!

I’ve caught up with the thread now and enjoyed reading everyone’s progress! I’ve not managed anything myself lately though. It seems I can either focus on myself (exercise, study etc), or on the house - I can’t get a grip on balancing the two (and that’s without adding in home ed planning which really needs doing now) 🤦‍♀️

I should try and get some sellable home ed books and resources together though for the beginning of term as I could make a bit of cash on FB as well as some space.

We haven’t even been able to get our wardrobe sorted yet as it was OOS, that will make a big difference when we can make a trip there (going with a friend).

Ooh I'm new here but it's a great idea. My youngest is 3 so we're just emerging a bit from small baby/toddler craziness and I would love to get the house a bit more sorted as it's pretty cluttered. I am also rubbish at housework but less clutter can only help with that. Will keep my eyes open for something to get rid of today :)

Ok have found some stuff related to a bank account I no longer have - strictly speaking they're still in the house but they're firmly in the burn pile for when we next have a fire. Also found a couple of baby books to pass to a relative we will see tomorrow.

Today’s out is an old feather pillow. Years ago I remember seeing a housekeeping show with Anthea Turner where she balanced a pillow on her open palm. She said if the sides droop down you know it is time to change your pillows. This one definitely didn’t pass the Turner test

Fell off the thread for a couple of days there. Have kept up with putting a few things aside for consideration. Found a couple of children's old drawing pads. Tore out a few unused sheets, the rest to be binned. There are a lot of completed puzzle books that can go, if I can track them down on the crowded shelves.

Hey new thread 👋🏽 taking a bag of clothes to the charity shop today - mainly outgrown kids summer ones as looking out of the window, they won't need them again this year!

Thank you for the welcome @Stealth this is a busy thread! Just caught up with all the posts, very inspiring. I also have a DH who doesn't like throwing anything away, although he has got better over the years luckily. We've also been on a mission to sort dc's clothes out. We have three dd's, so it's been great for hand me downs. Our method is to bag up the clothes labelled by ages and keep them in the attic. Sorted through a load more yesterday.

Has anyone tried the organised mum method? I was thinking of downloading the app.

The bag with clothes, bedding and some jewellery dropped off today. But my MIL had also given me a huge bag of books and not able to accept those at the moment. Might have to give the book selling websites another look as it is a huge bag (I’ve cheated and left it in the car boot for now) More holey socks to rag bag and some unused meccano type kits unearthed in a cupboard that can start a bag of toys for charity shop. They would be a great gift at Christmas time

Just recycled about 140 old birthday cards! Kept the ones from my parents, kids and partner and the rest went!

Today's out is a big one! I got the buggy board set up on the stroller and gave the big buggy away on gumtree. It was gone within two hours, so that was easy.

Sold mirror on FB, Playmobil & Airfix kit of eBay - all now gone.
Whole shelf unit sorted in office - quite a bit chucked and tidied.
One box of assorted crap out of DS room and in the charity bag.

Got my Mum and DS now decluttering too!

Well done, everyone! And a big welcome to the newbies!

Sparkly, I've done a bit of TOMM and found it useful, though I often went off-plan and did it my way, I think it helped to keep me focussed and organised. I'd say it's worth a go but don't worry if it takes longer than they say, especially at first.

Rainbow - Well done on the cards! I find that sort of thing pretty tough going and still have loads for sentimental reasons.

Today, I finally got around to sorting out my big chest of drawers. My laundry pile is huge (due to the rain) so it seemed like a good time to see what's left. You know, all those items which you never want to wear? Anyway, it's taken quite a while, but I've tried on all the jeans, leggings and tops in there and have the following going out:

2 pairs jeans.
5 pairs leggings.
1 pair shorts.
2 mini dresses.
1 top.
2 holey socks.

At least half of that is going for rags.

The top is brand new! I'm kicking myself a bit. You know when you buy more than one top the same and assume they are the same, only they're not? (Not good of Boohoo and not the first time so I really should know better by now.) I can't even get my arm in it comfortably, so it's got to go.

I've got to be honest, I think there's more to go out, but that's my first sweep in a while and I'm quite pleased.

Shredded some more old documents - probably at least a few inches worth.

I also revisited the old uni essays I kept a few weeks ago. This time I have decided to let go of a few more, but my shredder is sulking so they have not actually exited the house yet.

Got rid of several bags of outgrown clothes today.

Today's outs:
🌻 Kids ice cream maker (used once about 9 years ago!)
🌻 ice cream sundae jars
🌻 chopsticks we never use
🌻 egg cup I had forgotten about and never used - was part of a set given to DD on her 1st birthday, she's now 16!
🌻 napkin holder

🌻 several items of food that were in the fridge and started to grow like an experiment!
I do plan to go through my sideboard today, it would be great to make some space in there for shoes as we always seem to be overrun here in the kitchen (and I don't store food items or anything to do with food in there, more of a craft cupboard catch-all) just trying to find the motivation.

Sorted the wardrobe today in the sense that I managed to tidy things up and turn things the right way round.

Binned some scrappy undies of ds’ have also thrown out some old journals.

Sat in bathroom with dd and while she emptied a box of cotton buds on the floor and managed to ditch some sunscreen, empty boxes for paracetamol and decanted some bubble bath into a new bottle.

Dh also used up some flour and made sourdough and I finished off a bottle of gin.

Went through my diy bag tonight. I discovered I own 3 pairs of pliers and could not part with any of them, but I did bin 1 hacksaw and a number of cheap craft knives, just keeping the superior versions of both. Some miscellaneous odds and ends and some rusty screws also binned. I discovered some wood glue, which is now (hopefully) reattaching the leg to a small wooden coffee table. I will also need a bracket of some sort to really trust it, but it's sentimental so would be nice if I can fix it.

Stealth - I think I've got something similar to post soon and I'm thinking of wrapping it in bubblewrap and then bags-for-life. Could that work for you too?

@southernbelles - I wrote out a whole load of ideas for you and then my PC crashed and I've lost it all! Quick answer: can you get a friend/someone (a professional?) to help sell things and give them a %? Or, what Stealth said and send the cheaper items to charity? Or, do a car boot/garage sale? Just some thoughts.

I've managed to 'out' a few more bits tonight, including a stew from the freezer, a box (!) and I've made another dent in some bath salts.

I've also remembered that I've been hoarding a lovely new duvet set for years which I'd forgotten about. I actually need to replace an old set now, so I can stop shopping for another one. I've cleared a space in the wardrobe and will be letting go of the old set soon.

Found a comme de garçon. Half full bottle at back of cupboard during clear out...was going to throw it out ... Now on eBay and bids at £24... New bottle selling at over 150 !!

Question. Would any of you buy used bedding from ebay? I have a white company set which whilst lovely we don’t use anymore. It’s about 10 years old but in excellent condition.

Am also going to Facebook my dyson (as the shark hoover arrived the other day) and also our tv cabinet (once new cabinet arrives on Tuesday) and our dresser in the bedroom as we’ve ordered new furniture for in here. So when we get them delivered the old one will go.

em sounds like you are very busy at the moment. I would buy used bedding - it can be washed so no issues with that. Sand well done on the box. I have sold a couple of things on eBay so need to package and post on Tuesday. I had hope there would be a £1 selling offer this weekend as we have a few large garden tools to get sold

If I have something that I am thinking of putting on eBay , I look and see if other people are selling the same thing on eBay !, if they are I put it on watch to see how much it goes for, if it does not sell or sells for less then £5.00 then I just don’t bother.

I do a car boot sale once a year with a friend of mine who works for small local charity, one week before I Facebook all our friends to tell them that I’m doing it they arrive on the Saturday with one box each I will take it to the car boot to sell. I have not done one this year because of corona, but last year we made £650 . Any thing that left then goes to a charity shop. Luckily my husband has a van.