Decluttering one item a day (and having nowhere to put it!) – thread number 16

[stealthninjamum]

Once again this tireless group of mumsnetters are decluttering our houses by getting rid of one item a day. Of course this year I’m just piling the stuff behind the settee because the charity shops are all closed but luckily noone’s allowed to visit me to see my clutter mountain.

This is an accountability and general chatter thread and newbies and old hands are always welcome to join in the conversation while we keep working on our houses making them clearer, organised, and clutter free.

This year some of us are trying to get rid of 2021 items and some of us are working through the Toss app that tells us what to get rid of each day. Then we report back on the thread with an update.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/4105255-The-countdown-to-Christmas-but-still-decluttering-one-item-a-day-Thread-number-15?pg=1

Some information on getting rid of items that have been asked about on previous threads.
If anyone has anything to add to this list could you please highlight it in bold and hopefully I can update this post for the next thread.

SELLING THINGS

Ebay
Facebook sales sites
Shpock
Gumtree
webuybooks.co.uk
musicmagpie.co.uk (for CDs, DVDs, Games, Books, iPhones, Games Consoles and LEGO)
ziffit - for books, CDs, DVDs and games
Sellitback
Zapper
GAME / CEX for phones and games and electronics (CEX in particular)
Apple Store credit or recycle old phones.

TO GET RID OF THINGS FOR FREE

Freecyle has a good app called trashnothing
Olio is a site for giving away food and other household items.

Charity shops. Some will collect which really helps if you’re just starting to declutter and have a lot of stuff to go.

Animal shelters like towels and carpet squares and sometimes bedding and duvet covers.

Homeless charities will often take warm clothes and coats, especially in the winter.

You can advertise things on Nextdoor

Some council tips have a place to drop off quality stuff to be sold.

Some charity shops will take rags if you label them as ‘rags’, this could be materials or clothes that are too scruffy or dirty to sell or donate to someone. Also some councils will collect rags (but you’ll need to contact your council)

Supermarkets are getting better at recycling. My local Tesco has recycling points for batteries, toner cartridges, glass bottles, books and and light bulbs. My local Sainsbury’s has razer blades.

Bras. Oxfam shops take bras and so do some smaller lingeries shops. Bravissimo do a scheme whereby they send good bras to Africa and strip down those that are too old for parts as well as donating 70p per kilo of bras to MIND. Also smallsforall.org take brand new knickers and good condition bras and send to Africa

Some charity shops will now arrange collection of clothes and other things – these are some links depending on your area.
www.heartuk.org.uk/other-ways-to-give/clothes-recycling

www.bhf.org.uk/shop/donating-goods/time-for-a-clear-out/donate-your-items/arrange-a-free-collection
(BHF also collect toys, puzzles, books, CDs, DVDs as well as clothes)

www.mariecurie.org.uk/donate/charity-shops If you live near a shop

www.icollectclothes.co.uk/
Also someone on the thread has recommended the Vinted app to sell children’s clothes

Nurseries and preschools will often take old toys, games, books, craft sets and/ or stationery. They might also take clean (obviously) underwear and clothes to keep as spares for when children have accidents.

Foodbanks take all sorts of food (if it is within date) and sometimes half open packets of nappies.

Rymans take old pens

Oxfam take old phones

John Lewis also have a make up recycling scheme:
www.johnlewis.com/our-services/beautycycle

And a small number of Boots stores www.boots.com/boots-recycling-scheme

IF YOU’RE HAPPY TO PAY FOR MORE BULKY WASTE

Clearabee have been recommended to get rid of more bulky garage – type waste and Hippo Bags can be bought from some DIY stores.

Also www.clearwaste.com is apparently a site to get quotes from registered waste disposal firms (but none of us have used it).

If you do use a company to remove this sort of rubbish (eg a man with a van) please make sure they have a license and are officially registered. Too many dodgy people offer a cheap rubbish disposal service on facebook and just flytip. You are liable for their flytipping.

This gov website tells you who has a license Waste carriers, brokers and dealers environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

I'm going to join in properly this time as a declutter is in order and the previous threads have been very inspiring. Some days I'll only do the one item, but I got off to a decent start today with the following things all packed away in the spare room for donating to charity (whenever the shops reopen!):

• 3 cooking/baking books
• 2 brand new/unused cereal bowls
• 4 ramekins
• 2 brand new retro style flour storage tins
• 1 brand new flour sifter
• 1 nice cake tin

I also chucked a bunch of well past sell by date food. I now have three whole empty shelves in various kitchen cabinets! If I don't count the food items, I'm clearing out 13 things today. I'll try to aim for 2021. I definitely struggle with general clutter, not aided by my OH who hates getting rid of things.

Place marking for Monday. Monday is the day.

I've read a few of these threads before but I've never joined in. I think I might start tomorrow. Still have some old Christmas decorations at top of stairs because I didn't want to keep them so didn't want to put them in the attic. I'll bag them up in the morning.

I thought I’d be much better at decluttering this weekend as we’re doing a mammoth tidy so the estate agent can come and take photos tomorrow, but....I’m not. Really need to get my arse in gear today.

So as the puppy steals anything on the floor I had to get rid of the hat box - that’s become the dog toy box. Got sick of waiting for dh to get a picnic basket out of the loft to use for hats & gloves so have used the one that was full of craft supplies.
It was full of felt and material that came with a magazine for making a patch work blanket have kept the felt but all the fabric is going for recycling. I feel bad as paid for the magazine but I don’t know which bits went with which issue to know which pattern to do and I’ve had them for 4 years so have decided to get rid.

I’m sorting of the spare room at the moment as the bed was piled high with stuff to stop the dog getting it. Found a bag that was for stuff to go downstairs so while ds was playing yesterday I sorted that out and binned as couple of bits of paper work.

Think my count is 3 out.

Posted the above on previous thread by mistake. I’ve also remembered I found some old wires for things we don’t have anymore so it’s 4 out

Can I join in please? I am trying so so hard to get rid or use up but it's barely making a dent. Also finding nobody on my local Facebook free pages wants anything... presume everyone is doing the same after Christmas?

4 socks/pairs of socks out yesterday for Toss. Pleased to see I can edit this as DD2 has loads of pairs I need to go through. Today’s prompt was car boot, but we don’t have a car so I’ve deleted that one and got underwear, which should be good for a few pairs of old pants. Also rejigged the shoe cleaning stuff and got rid of some bits, plus a dented plastic carrot from the children’s play kitchen. DP is in a rare decluttering mood so I’m trying to encourage him while it lasts.....

Tomorrow’s task involves the entire house.

I’m starting with my wardrobe. Then will be packing things in the attic. Then moving onto paperwork. And then if I have the energy the garage.

Although maybe I should start with the garage and move up to the relative warmth of the bedroom.

Welcome “weaselwomble I haven’t managed to sell or give much away either, I assumed everyone’s too busy homeschooling and / or not wanting to come into contact with someone with covid.

Welcome noraephronsneck and welcome back everyone else.

I had a good day, i found 10 books, another 3 towels, some holey pyjamas to go and I have started to read a novel which I will add to the pile.

Hope you have a productive big day, ememem.

Today was more filing and shredding. I also found a Calpol syringe to get rid of, which made me feel like an official part of this thread.

Welcome, new people. I'm rather new myself and using a very flexible definition of "one item a day", but the ruthless declutterers on here are inspiring, and I feel like I'm slowly building to that. Thanks, everyone!

Not a great day today, but I did get rid of a cardboard box to a friend who needed to post something (happy it didn't go to waste), plus a book and a broken pen. So three things. There were no new additions at all this weekend, so that's a win. I'm up to 16 items out :)

Signing in, will try and keep up better this time and actually join in the decluttering! Love the title, thanks for new thread

And thanks for the new thread, Stealth!

Today I got 7 parcels to the post office for eBay, 4 returns for online shopping (all baby clothes so I feel less bad!). Out has gone 4 bath toys, some fake flowers (though I've kept the vase), a used up face cream, and and a Debenhams beauty card as they are no longer running it. Hoping to get more out tomorrow. Have been adding lots to eBay, just hoping people buy it all! Have started keeping a money diary again, hoping this will keep me from buying things I shouldn't

Out: 9 used/expired tubes of prescription ointment - outside packaging recycled and the tubes put aside to go to the pharmacy for disposal. I also chucked an open packet of gauze as it was looking quite dusty.

Thanks for the new thread Stealth! Hoping for a better day today with less grumpiness all round.

Thank you for the new thread Stealth! Hope everyone has a really productive day, hope you achieve all you need to on your super decluttering day @ememem84! Don't forget to have a nice treat at the end as a reward.

Thanks ice

I’m just having a coffee and then am starting.

Garage first.

Finished up a hot chocolate yesterday.

Dm has brought me a bag of stuff from dsis: some body shop toiletries (not my best smells but will use anyway) and a cat shaped lamp for dds room. I knew about these so it’s all good.

Newbie brought in by that great title. This last weekend, I finally finished clearing out the stuff we've been "decluttering" by piling on top of the storage unit and fridge, sorted out the trash from the donateable and put into categories for different types of toys and clothes -- and now they're sitting in clear bags back on top on the storage unit...

We're a bit snowed in at the moment so my plans for getting those out are a bit pushed back, but hopefully I get some of the rubbish that's been lingering in the cellar tossed out today.

Just place marking as well I'm decluttering is Weetabix into babies

ememem84 that sounds really ambitious, fantastic!

In homeschooling hell again. Toss told me to do jackets again and I realised I had put ‘0’ in last time while I was considering whether to put a zip on my coat. I wonder if Toss is going to just keep repeating my 0s. If so that’s annoying I like to go back to the historical tasks and add to them and have a new task every day.

So I’m not sure what to do today. I might see if dc have any jackets to go.

Thanks for new thread Stealth.

Today I shall mainly be decluttering my limited reserves of patience as DS is at home because of the snow (roads too dodgy round here to get out and up the big hill to childcare.)

bibabbles welcome! I am trying to be positive in that I have two mountains of ‘clutter to go’ that are signs of how much I’ve achieved- but when I hear the schools might go back after Easter I assume it means that charity shops will open after that so it means three months of clutter mountains - while my drawers and shelves are looking visibly emptied and more organised.

This morning I went through kitchen drawers and am throwing away some broken chopsticks and a piece of string.