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!

Commiserations to any homeschoolers, it really is horrendous for you. I'm a teacher (on MAT leave) and all me teacher friends hate online teaching and just want to be in school.

@SydneyCarton don't speak to me about people not turning up, it's made me murderous the last few weeks!

Day 90:
One dull child's book in the charity bag
Neighbours cards/presents decluttered delivered.

Sciatica getting better by day. Dreadful after 4pm and now for the cherry on the misery cake...I have shingles again. I honestly want to go to sleep and wake up having given birth in 5 weeks.

Before I get any sympathy, I get reoccurring shingles about 3 times a year and I don't get ill but the rash nerve pain is outrageous.

I’ve sold some Duplo today and advertised some Lego and playmobil sets. I bought them ages ago as potential presents but think dc have grown out Star Wars and Lego princess Lego so they can be sold. Obviously if dc saw them they’d want them but for Xmas this year I have been choosy in the Lego I’ve given them.

First day of homeschooling went better than expected. I watched dd at the start of each lesson (she was late for 2 despite me shouting at her) and did some sanding of the landing, Xmas present wrapping, shredding, a few minutes in the Room of Doom getting the things I sold and lots of posting things on Facebook. I wasn’t able to leave to go to a charity shop though so have mountains of stuff to go.

I've just done a Sainsburys order to get the 25% off wine along with some other bits. The food cupboards will be full!
Today's out some Lycoclear headlice lotion which expired in 2016.

footprints This (non) buyer had messaged me twice about reducing the price and I think she was pissed off that I wouldn’t go any lower, so decided to mess me about Hope you’re managing the pain ok

My Tesco app is showing the wine offer as starting on 8 December and finishing 10 December . This can’t be right surely? I haven’t been able to get a delivery slot until 21 December, tho Sainsbury’s has been fine, and I want to get a few bottles of their Pinot Grigio

Leave this here.

I’ve had loads of outs recently but keep forgetting to post. My yr1 dd is isolating so we organised all the toys and sent a bin bag to charity and a bin bag to the bin. Very pleased with that.

Going to organise the fridge tomorrow and I order a couple of lazy Susan’s for condiments as I forget about them and they go off

Into the charity shop bag: a hair clasp, 4 vintage movie poster postcards and two felt decorations.

Into the bin: an AppleCare policy that expired in 2017.

Ground to a halt at some point last week, so just cincentrated on keeping things tidy and getting through each day. Got my mojo back at the weekend. I was up a ladder, reaching up for a box on a high shelf, and it slid off and the contents were strewn all over the floor. A huge pile of newspaper and magazine cuttings from the early 2000s. Reduced it by about half, and there's more that can go. Found prints of wildlife and dinosaurs which I'll put on the walls.

Also unearthed more kids' artwork. Looked at it very briefly, with less attachment than previously. Will take some photos for nostalgia, future ideas, and recycle most.

I am also letting go of a piece of costume jewellery that I’ve never worn and isn’t to my taste. I’ve been hanging into it for years as it was a gift from someone dear to me, but tonight I decided to pop it in the charity shop bag so someone else can enjoy wearing it.

Glad the first day of homeschooling went ok, Stealth

Today’s update: Some more shredding of paperwork I sorted through last week, but no further sorting and no outs. Not sure how much I will get done on the run-up to Xmas, but I’ll keep trying to do a little bit each day!

Oops I fell off and had to hunt your down

5 bags to the charity shop. My poor pushchair gets os creaky under the weight and then I have to extricate it around Sleeping babies. However found out the charity shop of the children's hospice we use in non covid times is open and taking donations despite being tiny so everything else is going there.

Out is a plastic straw that doesn't work which weirdly DS has been using anyway. Odd child. And some freezer burnt bits from the freezer.
O checked it properly before ordering tomorrow's shop as I have a backlog of frozen chicken to get through. We use a rough meal plan so I don't waste fresh

Thanks ellieq the day didn’t end so well poor dd1 was crying missing her friends. She’s normally quite tough so it was really worrying.

I have had lots of messages from people wanting to buy various toys I’m advertising so when not watching dd1 at ‘school’ I’ll be making a list of who should be picking what up and when. I’m also going to go through our rags, batteries and bottles as I can at least get rid of them at the supermarket. I don’t think I have time to park and go to the charity shop so will take the rags to a clothing donation bin. I am also intending to finish the pile of shredding that’s been sitting around for about ten days. Every day I have been doing five minutes worth. It sounds like I’m achieving stuff but feels painfully slow. I had such momentum but can’t keep up with dd1 home. Plus I’m tempted to pull dd2 out of school. Dd1 claims 7 girls in her class tested positive so I’m wondering if we should all be self isolating. It’s such a hard decision, morally we should all be in but I think it’ll kill dd1s mental health to be locked up with dd2 for an extra 3 days. Dd2 has all kinds of social problems and is very intense.

@stealthninjamummy I hope your DD1 is feeling happier today. It’s been such a difficult year, sometimes the emotions come out of the blue. I have the same concerns about school but my son loves his school and gains such a lot from seeing his classmates. He’s in a specialist school so at least the bubble is quite small.

I have an expensive clarins moisturiser that smells weird. It was a present but when I use it I find the lingering smell very unpleasant. I expect I kept it for too long (keeping things for good - I’m learning my lesson about this). I think I’ll throw the cream away, but it seems like such a waste.

It's such a hard call Stealth. Is there any way to seperate them so I've helps you and I've worked at the table then swap kinda thing?
So far we've avoided having a bubble pop but the closet we get to birthdays (including Jesus's) the more nervous I get.

@Miaowse what is the clarins moisturiser? i really hate the smell of beauty flash balm. very olive to me.

took a present round to a friend today so that's something out.

was bin day today too but i don't think that really counts does it? (Maybe at a stretch>>>!)

@ememem84 it’s a pot of multi active day. I have a pink pump tube that is lovely so I think the pot is just old and perhaps gone off? I have a friend who works for Clarins so she gives me stuff to try but I am not good at remembering to use it! Also it feels too good for me as I’m a total scruff.

Thanks miaowse she seems better today but it’s so hard. sleepingstandingup we’re waiting for an assessment for pathological demand avoidance syndrome for dd2 so if she was at home she wouldn’t study for me and if she decided she wanted to be with her big sister and I tried to separate them she would most likely have a screaming meltdown. When I had a husband around each girl could get lots of attention and things just worked. Since he’s gone I think dd2 is scared of losing me and her big sister and she is very clingy and follows us around a lot and demands attention. She is very loving and affectionate but sometimes I need space without a child who is nearly my size climbing on me.

Anyway today I sold another toy I’d found in the Room of Doom. I’ve made £70 in the last ten days on toys and books and have someone picking up Duplo tomorrow and Xmas decorations on Saturday.

Oh wow, that’s a worthwhile amount! Well done.

My son has an autism diagnosis but the associated anxiety comes out as very controlling behaviour /PDA traits so I empathise. Hope you don’t have to wait too long for the assessment.

Thanks miaowse she certainly is very controlling, and dd1 just doesn’t understand that dd2 can’t help it in the same way someone who is blind can’t just see by ‘trying harder.’ The waiting list is months, delayed by covid.

I’m pleased with the money, I’m sure I’ve made about £100 since the start of lockdown 2.

I have hopefully got someone to collect some half used arts and craft bits later.

Think I’ve slid off for a few days because work has been busy - lots of sickness to cover 🙄 Two old mats for under high chairs/covering floor for crafts found, washed and starting the next charity bag. Few unopened artists pads to give to a friend put in a bag so I can leave them on he doorstep as she doesn’t have a letterbox.
You have been lucky so far stealth our firth isolation between them ongoing at the moment. Christmas presents for distant family posted.

Oh and I forgot finally listed the remaining playmobil. Quite a few views so hopefully it will do well

Thanks glitterywooly I didn’t see your last post as we cross posted. Thanks for your support, i know you have a large family, it must be such hard work dealing with everything. I’m preparing for a battle as my local authority doesn’t like to support kids with Sens.

I’ve also got a problem with duplicate files. I tried to move files from stbexh’s computer to mine and it made copies. So I tried again and it made more copies. Like you I could just guess the copies by their names but I have been spending the odd 10 minutes here and there checking them all and deleting duplicates.

Anyway craft stuff picked up. I didn’t manage to get stuff to clothes bank / bottle bank so that’ll be tomorrow’s job.

Just a quick post to update. Will catch up with reading the thread no doubt in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.

Day 91:
Toddler art recycled
Cut flowers in compost
Emails and photos.

Today’s update: more shredding done, meaning I have finished shredding/ recycling all those online grocery shopping receipts! Got our veg box delivery today and the invoice was shredded/ recycled straight away instead of being added to the Tower of Paperwork.

No other sorting today, though I have packaged up a present to be posted tomorrow, so that has used up some bubble wrap and a padded envelope. Also wrote a few Xmas cards.

I posted DD’s old bed guard for sale on a parenting FB group at the weekend, had a message from someone who was interested, so I replied with our address and that they could collect anytime as I WFH, and haven’t had a reply since. Really annoying