The countdown to Christmas - but still decluttering one item a day. Thread number 15

[stealthninjamum]

Thread number 15 of the ‘declutter one item a day thread’ and this bunch of mumsnetters are still decluttering our houses slowly by getting rid of one item a day.

It’s always challenging at Christmas for declutterers, as we fill our house with more presents, food and children’s toys. This thread should give us a bit more accountability as we keep plugging away slowly while we making our homes more organised and decluttered.

Obviously Christmas won’t be the same this year and the stealthninjahousehold won’t be having any visitors but I’m still keen to spend the last couple of weeks making my house a nicer space to spend time in.

Newbies are always welcome. We just get rid of one item each day and report back on the thread.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/4053749-Getting-rid-of-one-item-a-day-thread-number-14-where-we-extract-precious-autumn-leaves-rocks-and-twigs-from-our-children?pg=1

Ditched a top of dds which she wore to nursery today. It got stained beyond saving. So it’s been binned. Not even going to bother washing it.

[quote Iceisnice]@Inthetropics sounds like that was a really good method for you, I will try it out too. We have a lot of stuff in the house that we just don't use.
I went through my books (had over 70) last year and got rid of almost all of them. Now have 4 books including 1 from this Christmas and is something that I really wanted. I am finding that my mindset is changing due in part to my mother dying 2 years ago and unfortunately she was an accumulator. I had no idea how bad until it came to sort out her stuff.
We (my sister and I) did 3x sessions of approx 7 hours together and it took that long to clear her bed (of clothes, this is without the clothes that are in the cupboards and wardrobes) and her make up. We have ground to a halt (even before covid) because my dad doesn't want anything else to be sorted through.
The other reason is that my mil died earlier this year and although she didn't have tons of things she had a lot of unfinished projects that she just never got around to starting or completing.
I don't want my kids to have to deal with this stress when I have gone.[/quote]
I've only managed to answer you now. I really empathise with anyone who has to deal with sorting through a loved ones home, especially if they were an accmulator. My MIL is an accumulator and i see the impact it has on my DP. My FIL's died in july and the accumulation's got worse since then. So i can only imagine just how hard it must be to deal with the lost of a parent and have to also be dealling with sorting their posessions. DP frequently says she'll probably never have any of her childhood photos as they are all lost in the accumulation.
Your decision is quite a sensible one.

Updating now or i'm afraid i'll just forget!

Yesterday i had a row with DP at the end of what should've been a lovely day and didn't declutter anything because i was just too upset. And had a few ins... a set of 3 towels, a new bedspread and 2 pillow covers. Also 2 more bras. All desperately needed stuff.

Decluttered some frozen food but that doesn't count even though it was delicious!

Out: 3
In: 8

Morning y’all happy 2021!!!

Outs today:
Just finished a box of Earl grey tea. Have about 7 more (of 160 teabags) as I bought them on subscribe and save. So can now decant a box into the tea caddy and make a bit more space in the stash!

The kids helped me declutter the last of the Christmas cake for breakfast. Also going out today are all the Christmas cards.

@inthetropics I count consumables only if they are not being replaced or if they have been hanging around for ages. If I used up the deodorant I use every day but was going to buy another to replace it straight away then I wouldn’t count that, but if I have 6 more in the cupboard waiting to be used up then I would count it as an out. Hope things are better today between you and your DP.

I use subscribe and save too @ememem84 but think I might pass on the multipacks from now on as I don’t have space to store 8 double packs of kitchen roll or 6 bottles of dishwasher rinse (both things that are taking up lots of cupboard space at the minute!).

@Inthetropics hope today is a better day and you don't declutter do under the patio.

DH just decluttered a pair of my socks into the bin as they'd got a hole in the heel. He was a little to pleased to do it as I'm always sorting and binning his socks as he's skanky and will wear them to their final threads!!

Maccies in means a duplicate book but we're putting it aside to exchange hopefully next time. Not sure how that works on a paramedic but that's what she said to do. Otherwise I'll charity bag it, they're nice little books this time

So 1:1

De-cluttered the tree outside for disposal and took down the cards. For the first time ever, as a result of steady sorting and de-cluttering these last few months, I will have all the Christmas decorations, tree stand etc in the same place ready for next year. Result!

Well my room of doom equivalent is the garage.
Tidied the clothes to sell pile and put a few bits in the donations pile Inc 4 hooded towels
Sorted the craft box, brought in glitter, pretty tape and some angels to make for beads, charity shipped a pile of crafty bits and threw a few half empty bits away. One box empty and room on the shelf.
Decanted coke and beer out of boxes onto shelf.
Sorted the box of wrapping paper, thrown away 3 small bits left on roles and tidied the rest.

However we have NO room in the bin and no collection til Monday.

I'd say altho individual items would be higher , I'd count it as 5 outs. Does garage to house count as ins? I have space for it all. Maybe one 2 - one for my cupboard and one for kids cupboard.

6:3
Out:In

Oh and DS and I used up half a box of rainbow Cake mix (green and blue used previously) so
7:3

Spent a bit of time clearing out various boxes like the mask basket and DD2’s little book box, why do they end up so full of other random crap?! No major outs but found various bits of rubbish and recycling especially in our room which still has an air of Christmas prepping chaos about it.

The declutter for today was some cardboard packaging, odds and ends of plastic wrapping, a tub with no lid, a hessian potato bag wwith a large hole in the bottom, and a cracked cork place mat. So basically rubbish.

I'm keeping the house much tidier and cleaner, but I seem to have lost the ability to identify excess stuff for donation, etc. Expect it's a temporary response to stress.

@footprintsintheslow I don't know if sepsis is more common or just that the awareness campaign is more effective. I agree with you that it is terrifying.
Yesterday's outs were 30 and they include; 18 unwanted and dented Xmas decorations (gotta love a 2 year old...!) An odd sock and some silicon sealant remover from 6 years ago amongst the many other varied things that were disposed of. Ins were a baby bouncy chair and a k@rcher window vac because our windows get super condensated every morning from October to April and it is cheaper to buy that then new windows @ the moment!

@inthetropics sorry to hear about your fil and all the additional stress for both your DP and yourself.
It is a shame about the photos, the only ones I have were given to me by my grandad. I, like your DP have little hope of salvaging any from my parents house.
I watched the minimalist documentary the other night and told my DH I was envious of the worktops in one of the contributors house. DH said that they were nice but nothing really special, I had to inform him that it wasn't the colour or style I coveted but the fact that they were completely empty. DH looked at me with a very concerned face .

Happy New Year decluttered! Checking in for motivation as I really haven't achieved much this week apart from using up freezer food rather than go shopping.

Ddog is hassling me to get his tea so I will try to find some outs in the kitchen.

@Miaowse I do the same, regarding consumables. I used to have an obscene stash of toiletries that i've been using up for a few years. Those i count as properly decluttered when i finish with them. Frozen food i'm not sure, though. We have a small freezer in our fridge, not an independent one, so it's always filled to the brim and we feel somewhat accomplished whenever we eat something that has been lingering there for too long. I know, very glamourous life, indeed! I just don't feel i should count those as decluttered because we freeze meals all the time. Oh, and DP is lovely yet impossible at times.

@SleepingStandingUp DP must be kept as she cooks delicious meals (she's a chef) and the cats love her . I'd say garage to house only count as ins if the stuff that lives in the garage are meant to be going away and you've had a change of mind. Doesn't sound like it, so i'd say they're not ins. When i started decluttering and had a lot to go i'd count a pile of books as one out but now that i've already decluttered a lot, i count each book as one item. Do what works for you the better.

Today i found a few miscelaneous items to declutter and make up for yesterday ins. So i'm saying goodbye to a book, 2 shirts, a 2020 wall calendar and a slight torn bra. -5 items

Out: 8
In: 8

@Iceisnice Thanks. I'm sorry for your losses too. It's shit, isn't it?

Regarding the photos, DP is trying to "steal" some from DMIL whenever she goes there, but she couldn't find any yet and is not sure if she ever will... If she asks for it, MIL says she wants to keep them but we know this means they'll get damaged due to mold/dirt/insects, etc.

Day 115:
🎄Christmas tree gone out of house and planted in dads fields.
🎄all indoor and outdoor Christmas paraphernalia ready to go in attic tomorrow.
🎄emails and photos.
🎄bag of bits to go to dads shed taken there today.

Found a couple of outs today: two tops of DS’s which have some small holes in them, so into the rag bag. I’m crossing my fingers that the textile bins will still be operating 😬

Also reorganised some bathroom bits and chucked out/used up leftovers and last bits in the fridge. I should have a proper look through to bin any OOD jars but I can’t be arsed today. Treat Waitrose shop coming tomorrow courtesy of my mum plus a more standard everyday one from Sainsbury’s so I hope there’s enough space for it all

Happy new year to you all!
I haven't done much at all these last few days, but tomorrow will be 'A Big Day of Tidying and Decluttering' I am determined...

Can anyone recommend an app for iphone which stores all your loyalty cards? I want to get rid of all individual cards from my purse.

I like the look of the Stocard app - has anyone got any experience of it?

@Inthetropics bugger you'd best keep her then,

Sorry Mog no, i have a few on seperatly - Tesco, Boots, Starbucks etc.

Also just added a baby's plate where the plastic is starting to peel, Santa trousers and three pairs of tights where the crotch to wasit measurement does not take account of the fact i'm fat, despite clearly being in the right size.

Why do tight makers think fat women have the same gap between waist and crotch as skinny women?? And we're more likely to want high tights than skinny women so they don't roll down our fat

Today’s main item is a large fitted sheet. It’s very nice soft cotton but is too shallow for our mattress so pops off. I’ve put it in a bag for the charity shop.

I’m making a stew with some meat from the freezer and using up some very past their prime carrots that would otherwise have ended up in the food bin.

I’ve made some progress on decluttering over the past few months, thanks to the support on these threads, and I’m determined to keep going through 2021. My aims are to unpack the last three boxes from my mum’s house and find spaces for everything; go through all the clutter hotspots round the house (a long list!); reorganise my wool storage so I can see what I’ve got; and start sorting through all the baby/ toddler clothes/ equipment as we won’t be having another child (due to medical/ age reasons, which I have found hard). I’m going to do daily updates to keep me motivated.

2021 day 1: Yesterday I bought two new bath towels, so today I added the two towels they are replacing (which date from the late 90s as I took them with me to university!) to the textile recycling bag. DH asked why I hadn’t bought the full set (as the colour matches our bathroom exactly), and I am tempted to go back for the smaller towels and flannels. At the age of 40-something, it would be nice to have lovely matching towels

I also signed up for the Toss app that @Miaowse mentioned, and today’s prompt was socks, so I put two pairs of slipper socks in the charity bag - they were presents a couple of years ago, but I’ve never worn them as they don’t have enough grip on our laminate floors. More space in my sock drawer for the cosy socks I got this Christmas!