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!

Little progress this week one eBay parcel posted few more bits listed.
@EllieQ I hear what you’re saying I’m currently sorting through last few crates of stuff that came from my mums. I’m determined I won’t leave the shear volume of stuff that she did. She definitely had hoarder tendencies and kept some really random stuff. I’ve just unearthed the letter of recommendation she was given on leaving school at 15! On the other hand there were lots of photos scattered through the house with no indication of who was in them or when they were taken. I will have to bin them but that seems a shame

@SleepingStandingUp

I just brought a rubber brush.

I have no idea how much stair carpet boggins i cleared away with it. It does things the hoover never did

oh god the rubber brush yes! dh bought one a while ago to squeegee the water from our decking. and i used it the other day on the stairs - inspired by a thread on here.

we have a cat. Catface. She is a tabby shorthair. but my god. the amount of fur i picked up. i could have knitted a new cat. (although that would have been gross).

the last couple of days i have decluttered some of toddler ds' art work.

I am only keeping the bits he keeps showing us. i have some frames in the garage (which need spray painting to match the rest of the ones we have in the house), and when this is done i'm going to take the glass off, and pop them on the wall going up the stairs and affix a hugely ornate bulldog clip into two of them. then when the dc do a nice piece of art at nursery, we will admire it, then pop it in the frame for a bit. then get rid.

the first pieces they have done i have kept and will frame these properly.

i have also ditched a pair of holy moly socks, a pair of ds' trousers which he had ripped, and some icky minging bath toys.

I've completely fallen off this thread! I haven't had any major outs for ages which has reduced my enthusiasm. I am still keeping up with an item out each day albeit small items and stuff we've used up so stuff is leaving which is the main thing!

Tip run booked for tomorrow and a bulky waste collection for 16th December - earliest appointment there was!

Tip run will include:
More cardboard - thanks to amazon and online shopping.
The cushions and all the fabric from the old settee, new one comes on Monday.
General bag of recycling as I missed the collection last week so the bin is full.

16th December outs will be:
Fridge freezer
Table
Tv unit
65" tv that has a black bar down the picture on one side (thanks to Ds2 and a ball
Settee frame - needs to be kept outside and needs to be as dry as possible that's why I'm taking cushion and fabric off.

A few in's in the form of Christmas presents for dn.

I try to take something up to the shed or garage or bin each time I do a school run. Today it was the brackets and screws for two glass shelves I don't need atm. Shelves will follow tomorrow.

Brought in from shed - five table and desk lamps that I had forgotten I had, and a disco light. Some from student days, some from Mum's house. That should brighten up the house during the winter.

Ooh i couple of surprise outs and i parcel to send tomorrow of clothes.
Outs were a small candle, a candle glass and a candle guard plus a puzzle book to the charity shop, and a deodorant can, some train tickets and a random piece of plastic into the bin.

Need to catch up on thread but a quick update:

Day 78: clothes in attic
Cds moved to check if they work and sort through. Hoping to get rid of a couple of hundred.
Stereo offered to students and if they don't want it it'll be on freecycle.
Old Humpty Dumpty toy found to be worth a bit on eBay so will be listing that ASAP

Today’s update: I shredded the paperwork from yesterday (did a few pieces every so often as a break from wfh), and went through another stack of online grocery shopping receipts - ripped the address part off to be shredded tomorrow, and the rest went in the recycling. Also put my waterproof jacket back in the wardrobe as we are now in Big Coat weather! We don’t have space downstairs for all our coats (tiny hall with only a couple of hooks), so can only keep a couple downstairs.

No ins today, but I’ve ordered one Xmas present, and bookmarked a few ideas from DD as family will be asking for suggestions.

@SleepingStandingUp o hang the art on a high up washing line in the kitchen so it's displayed immediately and out of the way it f it needs to dry. Then when I need to make room I ditch it in the recycling.

I try and remove any pompoms and sequins and put them back in the craft box. Anything particularly skill full or interesting I pop in a file and date it. It's rare to make it to the file as I don't want to keep tonnes. I have a 20 year old and she has a file that I never look in.

@StrangeAddiction that's really impressive well done you!

Ah, a larger kitchen is the answer 🤣
We did have it displayed on the doors but now the twins can reach quote high, they assumed it was food so i took it down. Trimmed it. And now it's in a pile. Is there a thread naughty corner??

I think for now it'll have to go to the BOX which is in dire need of thinning but is in the garage so is less urgent. Tbf he's not massively into sticky bits and we get paint out not enough so just normal felt pen pics at home

sleepingstandingup ooh there is no naughty corner, i used to offer to wag my finger at people but can’t remember if I ever wagged it!

I just spent an hour painting the landing. A stretch between two doors and above them. I’m now past the point of no return, it will look dreadful if I don’t finish yet I’m now realising that given my very slow pace it could take weeks. I also really regret using a very pale crown paint because it took several coats last year when I painted on the darker spare room. It should lighten the house up though so will be worth it.

I have sold some books and they left the house. Have admin and stuff to do today but am intending to do my usual 30 mins in the Room of Doom.

@SleepingStandingUp We shared cake today, we went for a walk and got some takeaway coffee and cake. I said we could share and he got irate in the queue and kept saying "share,share" .

Strange and Stealth We are redecorating the landing too. It's been done in sections, we had a couple of months break unfortunately, it's been harder since summer finished. It is worth it in the end, so much brighter. It's one of those jobs that has to be done in sections, which means you never start it as it's overwhelming.

No outs yet today, apart from cake. I will attack the kitchen again later and I'm making some decorations with DD for Christmas and that will declutter the card boxes. I did declutter some Christmas wrapping, I'm wrapping presents as I get them. I will never be this organised again. I still haven't restarted Flylady and I need to.

slexthelittlecat you’re right about doing it in sections. I am wondering if I can do all the emulsion before dc break up and then doors over Xmas and hope their dad looks after them. The two tall walls will have to be a decorator and I might get him/ her to paint the banisters. As inspired as I am by strangeaddictions new staircase I think it’s a job too much for me.

Anyway today’s half an hour was more shredding, this time birthday cards, and sorting out some Duplo to sell.

I sorted through yet another pile of papers. I got rid of quite a bit and organised the remaining papers for filing later. This prompted me to finally call up to start the process of moving a savings account.

I also sorted through our under sink cupboard which is rammed with stuff. I got rid of a few bottles that were almost empty and managed to decant the last dregs of the washing powder into the smaller tub I keep by the washing machine so the massive box is now in the recycling. I will need to replace it, but enjoying the space right now.

I threw away some ancient value dishwasher tablets - I used one 3-4years ago, realised how crap it was but instead of throwing them rest away at the time (or returning as not fit for purpose) I put them back in the cupboard til today - why??

Annoyingly I also spilt about half a bottle of method anti-bac spray on the floor, on the plus side my kitchen smells great and the patch of floor is very clean

Also discarded - a pair of old socks, empty cardboards boxes and packaging, a few broken clothes pegs and a weird plastic thing that may have been a mirror holder to go in the shower.

Some old books and papers from my mums sorted and into recycling. Few ornaments I do not like into a charity bag with three outgrown kids coats unearthed from the under stairs cupboard and two enormous bath sheets that we never use.

Tidied the last of the bags from the back chair, threw away some old balloon, a finless Shark,a chewed foam X, a few bits of half drawn on paper and decanted the toys around to reduce the size of the storage box. Also culled the soft toy collection in the twins room .

However i then filled bags with stuff for upstairs and I've now got 4 bags to sort now
It feels like o just move stuff around in circles but if the bins are filling up i most be doing something right, right?

Only one were a fleecy onsoe for DS and some Xmas PJs but they're both second hand, one will be worn until it falls apart of he can't squeeze in it and one will be in charity box by January so don't feel so bad

Everyone is doing so well and I'm flagging here.

Day 79:
Photos and emails and I can't really be bothered with that to be honest.
Some too small clothes in attic pile.

I've just had a good thought. I was Xmas shopping on Etsy and was looking at amber jewellery for the student child. When I thought, I've got lovely amber jewellery that I never use so I'm going to gift that at Xmas instead.

Today’s update: Shredded the paperwork that I had sorted through yesterday. I didn’t have a chance to sort through any more paperwork, as the time I had allocated for decluttering (30 minutes while DH collected DD from school) was taken up by clearing up cat sick Thankfully the cat had stayed on the laminate floor, not the carpet!

sleepingstandingup it often feels like I’m moving things around in circles too but I am getting rid of a lot of stuff too so things must be going in the right direction.

I’m beginning to regret starting painting my landing yesterday as what with that and the Room of Doom I have two projects on so the house is a mess as I’m not doing housework. The R of D is the worst room in the house and it’s almost like I’ve found a new job to stop me doing the R of D.

So I’m going to spend an hour painting, half an hour in the R of D and washing / housework.

I meant to say that I never decided on a washing basket but the broken one is such a pain still. So I have ordered the cheapest one I can find in Argos for a fiver as a ‘temporary’ measure. Then I’ll get one I like.

Not much gone out this week, I’ve been mainly organising and a little bit of decorating. I bought enough paint to repaint my whole house and I just look at it and get cross that I havnt done it. I started our front room that has just been plastered so one empty tin has gone in the bin.

Also, I’m going to pass on 12 RHS gardening magazines to my mother in law when I see her on Sunday. My Aunty saved me them and they have been on a shelf in the living room for months and months. I know I won’t read them as I just bought lots of lovely new books to read.

If there was a thread naughty corner I would definitely be in it! Very little achieved this week here too. I've been in the playroom today and sorted out a few things to be put away plus binned a load of 'art' but actually there's not much in there that isn't used. There's over 4 years between DC so they are at quite different stages.

It turns out that the whole of my side of the family is going to be in tier 3 so we won't be able to meet them (and logistics mean we probably won't be able to do xmas bubbles) so have made a decision that where I can I'll order stuff to go straight to them so at least that will avoid some packaging coming in!

Impressed by the people decorating hallways! We did our very small study a couple of months ago and that was a mission (reminds me I must sort the box off stuff I packed away at the time! Needless to stay I've not missed any of it!)

Am intrigued by environmentally friendly tape Woolly, is it any good?

Good idea on the regifting footprints, hope they like it.

Anyway off to see if I can finish uncovering the playroom table. It is so bad that DD had taken to drawing in the kitchen, so I wasn't too nip that pile of clutter in the bud before I become blind to it!

Perhaps reading all these updates about painting will inspire me to re-paint my bathroom. I bought the paint weeks ago but have failed to make any further progress...

However, I’m really very pleased with how much has gone from my kitchen food cupboards. I might do an audit of what’s left (still loads in there!) and do a bit of meal planning for next week. I would also like to make some scones with my OOD milk.