Getting rid of one item a day thread number 14 – where we extract precious autumn leaves, rocks and twigs from our children

[stealthninjamummy]

Well I never thought I’d still be here, on the 14th thread where a bunch of mumsnetters get rid of one item a day while we slowly declutter and reorganise our houses.

It’s autumn and some of us have commented on our children’s beloved treasures that are coming in like conkers and precious twigs that have been named. This is the thread where we focus on sneaking these things out and getting the house ready for Christmas even if we don’t know what Christmas will be like this year.

New joiners are always welcome, just get rid of one item and let us know. We’ve all different issues and challenges and it’s nice to have a friendly chat with a fellow mumsnetter.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/4003927-Still-throwing-an-item-away-a-day-part-13?pg=1

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

Outs here today: 2 library books returned, 1 puzzle book into recycling as all puzzles had been completed, letters from coffee tables sorted into recycling/rubbish/keep.

Wooly The letter from the school was awful, what awful attitude they have!

I have decluttered many brain cells since having small children. My focus is rubbish. When they nap/sleep, all I do is have tea and chocolate. I'm trying to do courses and keep stopping when the littlest one isn't sleeping through the night.

Sand You've reminded me that I need to tackle my kitchen next. No more outs, have been tidying and sorting.

@IWillWearThatGlitteryWoolly that sounds outrageous about the school. How misinformed and ridiculous of them.

Day 53:
One loyalty card logged onto my store card app.
7 cushion insides given to someone who actually wants them!
1 big bag of hangers to eldest daughter who was desperate for hangers.
3 random bits given to eldest daughter to take back to uni house.
Lots of food also taken back to uni house.

(She is my bubble btw). I'm so paranoid at looking like a Covid rule breaker.

Argh, in the drawer with the envelope of DH’s expired credit cards I also found 5 pairs of sunglasses, also all belonging to DH. Would you believe it, he wants to keep them all, even a broken pair, because he wore them on our last holiday and they were his favourite pair. We have not been on holiday in over a decade.

I did manage to discard a small handful of pens that were dry/running out and added 4 and 0 number candles to the charity shop bag.

@AlexTheLittleCat I can empathise - my child isn’t even particularly little but we have significant sleep challenges and chronic sleep deprivation has such an impact on decision making and motivation.

@EllieQ the Lions club still take glasses funnily enough I found six pairs today to parcel up

Thanks gassylady I will try them!

November day 10 update: I repaired a bag that has been sitting on my chest of drawers for ages - it’s a small gauze bag to put jewellery in, and one of the beads along the bottom had come loose, so I fixed it. Took me ten minutes! Another one of those small but satisfying jobs done.

Had quite a productive day today despite all our aches and pains doing the D.I.Y. Managed a few outs but I seem to now own a Cupboard of Crap! Since my wish for a storage container can't be done I had a brain wave of putting a load of stuff in the cupboard above the stairs that's in DD's room. I promise I'll go through it soon

My outs are:

An old quilt
Sitting room blinds
Empty tin of satinwood
And a shit load of dust!

I have had a few in's though:

Ds1's clothes (Christmas present)
DD's balloons/banners etc for her birthday this week
2 foot warmers (ds2 and dd - Christmas)
Doorstep paint
Sanding belts
Boxes of all purpose filler

So I dropped off the last of my tiny baby clothes to a lady today and I brought a second hand vehicle toy for DSs Christmas which is probably longer than my fat babies are tall!! But that's his presents finished now.

I already brought one of said vehicle but it was bloody missing bits so now I need to sell it on as "sold as seen" to try to recoup some money. Thankfully at £60 new I'm hoping someone with a less pedantic kid will take it off me for a tenner.

I need to give the garage a good sort and get some presents wrapped. Hoping I can get MIL to babysit them until Christmas Eve.

I've taken DSs paintings down off the doors and trimmed them for storage. Throwing away his little paintings is something I'm not yet ready for 😭

Checking in!

I've slept a bit but am now wide awake so thought I'd come on here. I've decided to get rid of a fridge magnet with words on. I bought it with the idea that it would be uplifting but actually, it has the opposite effect. Also, it's not very magnetic.

Hi Greydove and any other newbies! Welcome! Do let us know how your decluttering is going.

Finally bagged up all outgrown school clothes, which had been sitting in little piles for months. Added all the outgrown uniform from last term.

Decluttered a mug tree, random toy, six or seven scruffy children's books, one handbag.

Well done everyone - we are really getting rid of loads this year are we not? Hopefully we will all have loads of space by December 25th for all the uninvited additional clutter that arrives down the chimney in a sack (or is that only my house??)

Oh such a productive week in the kitchen (I think its because I look at it while I WFH at the dining table.

I tidied the 'random everything and medicine" cupboard. And two baskets on my island and most of the fridge. So I have 2 cupboards left to do and then I will move on to what I have been avoiding - my wardrobe. I don't have too much stuff it is just since the first lockdown I have worn different clothes and I really need to reorganise (and I wonder will I ever wear the skinny jeans that are too tight for me again??).

Decluttered a load of emails earlier in the week which took ages. I still have more to do......
I found a load of tea lights last week so we're having dinner with candles each night to use them up.
Got rid of some assorted shoe boxes into the recycling. DP likes to keep them "just in case". To me it's clutter!
I'm trying to think of useful Christmas presents for DD which won't add to clutter. No doubt we will be asked by relatives soon.

Just giving another word of support to glitterywooly that’s just shocking, you would hope those kinds of attitudes don’t exist anymore so it’s horrible to read that they still do.

Welcome greydove have you got any outs?

I’ve just been to Argos (in Sainsbury’s) to pick up a Xmas present and I really had to fight myself to not buy any Christmas decorations or candles! I have just got rid of (well put aside as they can’t leave the house) a tonne of that stuff and maybe it’s lockdown but I just felt the need to buy myself something. Anyway I walked away empty handed which was a good step.

Anyway today’s first out is a top I love which has holes in it. I have some admin to do then it’s another 30 mins in the Room of Doom.

Welcome @StrangeAddiction ‘s Cupboard of Crap!

Had a bag of glass and clothes into the recycling bins last night,and have thrown some old make up away. Have some new make up that my mum has said she wants. Also have some things that need to go back to MIL. Does anyone else end up with things the need to give people, and then they end up sticking in the house for ages as they forget? Lockdown is not helping haha

mattress is going today. new one coming in, but still.

have also ditched a colouring book of ds' and an old shoebox.

4 school jumpers out today
The bottoms of a pj set which now has many holes in. I kept the top as that still has plenty of life left in it.

mattress has gone! and a new shiny soft soft one is in its place. wahooo.

@Annasgirl I was wondering out loud the other day if this will be the year that we get and give less crap... I really hope so.

Day 54:
Two pairs of holey pants.
Three types of funky tea to give to a friend who likes that sort of thing.
1 board game gone to a friend and a bag of bits given to someone I'd promised ages ago but couldn't deliver because of lockdown.
1 pair of anti sickness bands listed on freecycle.

Thanks Miaowse. They are usually pretty good but every few weeks there's a few bad nights. Have you tried a sleep consultant? Or I think there is an NHS sleep centre for children in the north of England, can't remember where.

@AlexTheLittleCat we’ve just been discharged from the local sleep service. We could have stayed on with them but we now have all their suggestions & there is a really long waiting list so I figured another family could make better use of our slot. We have successfully implemented some of the suggestions but sadly no real improvements yet.

I seem to have mostly ins today as I picked up quite a few reduced items at Sainsbury’s. Now I’m playing freezer Tetris trying to squeeze it all in.

The only out I can think of is a tube of body moisturiser. It probably does count as I made a conscious effort to use it up and usually these gift set toiletries just sit unused, gathering dust.

November day 10 update: I got rid of a letter from the council warning us about roadworks in October, and a cardboard box that was holding plant pots has gone in the recycling (the plant pots were put away a couple of days ago). Making a little bit of progress...!

Well the ins outweigh the outs and I blame Lidl. Wrapping paper with DSs favourite show on will wrap up all his Xmas presents and next year's birthday presents plus keep him on paper for when he's playing the presents game. Also tinsel. Two for me, one might end up on a sensory bottle for the baby bit it was so iridescent I couldn't resist and one picked by DSfor having his favourite colours on. A book for DS because it was better than a toy. Treats from the reduced aisle that will see me through Saturday.

Parcels posted and hopefully a snowsuit going tomorrow. I feel irrationally weird it's for one of those dolls that look like real babies rather than an actual real baby but clothes out and a few coins in is the win right?

Got rid of 6 cookery books to the little libraries we have in people's front gardens and want to get rid of the plastic cup cakes but friend who gifted them will notice !!