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

(Creeps back in...)

Hi everyone! I haven't posted for a while but am still here and still decluttering like a goodun!

I'm not going to list everything out this time but I've just counted my items for January and I got rid of 138 which I'm pretty pleased with. (My counting is a bit random though - 1 item can be a cupboard or a business card or 1 wad of papers, depending what's going on.)

Things I'm especially pleased with include:

• 1 big jumper which took up lots of cupboard space and was scratchy. (But lovely in other ways.)

• 1 item of furniture which offered hardly any storage space, replaced with another piece which we already had. We just needed to move things about a bit. It's given us so much extra space and looks much better too.

• Quite a few CDs and DVDs. Now, all my music CDs fit into just 1 small box. It's so much easier!

Since I last updated, I have sold an eBay item. Yay! First one this year. I posted it on Friday. It was a bundle of books that has been on eBay since November. I had nearly pulled the listing the previous weekend and advertised them on Facebook instead!

Over the weekend I washed some more bedsheets that came from my Mum's house. They will be going to charity once something re-opens. I also went through 5 more old local newspapers and put them in the recycling.

On Sunday evening I started going through tubs of sewing supplies that came from Mum's. They had been shoved together in a box when we got our living room and dining room carpets replaced last year. I have emptied the tubs on to the ironing board and sorted the contents into piles, and I am gradually putting things away in the correct places beside my own sewing stuff.

Evening all! So it wound up being about 15 books, 20 DVDs and a jigsaw that I have already packaged up for a hospital that I will post later this week. It will end up costing me about 10-12 quid to post but I really don’t mind, because I know that they will actually get used and I get the feel good endorphins!

I have also put a set of coasters and some crochet supplies in the charity bag and one more dead plant has made it to the bin, plus a really awful towel that I would not even want to give to a dog charity.

I have burnt through two of my excess candles and have two yankee tealights on the go.

I also took a few items of ‘decor’ off my shelves. I don’t know if its a bit weird to do it, but I have been keeping a large box of items that I have removed from their spots and put in a ‘maybe’ box. I like them, but they don’t fit their previous home. My plan is to shop that stash, until I run out of decluttered spaces to ‘furnish’ and then I will donate the rest and only buy in what I actually want and like.

Welcome back sandandsea

While dc had dinner I went through the Tupperware drawer which was the weekends Toss activity. I sorted everything and found 4 boxes with no lids and 11 lids with no boxes which is really, really annoying. I already have a bag from years ago full of lids with no boxes so I probably have about 25 lids now. I guess the missing boxes are dotted around the house storing little bits of toys, other food and crafts so I will put the lids together on the top shelf.

While doing this I did find 8 things in the drawer that could be binned / donated.

Today’s actual toss task is silverware so I’ll look at crockery later.

@Hagqueen - lovely idea to send books and dvds to the hospital. I have a heavy parcel to send to a family member and at the post office the person behind the counter suggested splitting it into 2 parcels would be less expensive, not sure if that would also be the case for you? Also it looked as though sending by courier would be even cheaper. Though maybe it’s better to just swallow the cost and not lose momentum: my parcel is still waiting to be repackaged and sent (from November ish time!!).

I have dumped a big tub of sanctuary body lotion that has a really unpleasant smell on my skin. I’ve had to discard other lotions by this brand so I think they just don’t keep very well.

Oh @stealthninjamum thanks for the clutterbug link. I’ve watched some of her videos in the past but enjoyed revisiting. I think I’m a butterfly and I really liked her SPACE acronym, I think it stands for:
Sort
Purge
Assign
Contain
Evaluate

clutterbug.me/2016/10/take-s-p-c-e-home-organizing-challenge.html

I've sold a few parcels on agreement that they'll get posted when I have to go out anyway on Friday so will count them then.

New toaster is and new laundry basket packaging has gone straight to skip. Which leaves tomorrow.

202: a skirt that's a bit tight and a top that's a bit too fitted

203: a top that's too small for the boys

204: girls dressing gown my niece gave my son which he'd wear but it's a weird material. Will go in charity bag

205: some liners for nappies and some little clothes etc that aren't used any more

206: couple of dummies. Kids don't use them, never really have. Had kept my posh ones just in case.

Thanks @Miaowse - I had already done so! I found a box big enough but it was far too heavy!! I know our local post office has been restricting how many parcels you can send/size due to Covid, so I didn’t want to chance it - they will be going in three smaller parcels. But thank you!

I found Hermes slightly cheaper if you have a local drop off

Got rid of a jar of expired malt extract with cod liver oil (just yuck). I think DH had about three spoonfuls of it when he first bought it.
(2-day streak)

Well Severn Trent just visited as next doors drains were blocked and they've decluttered the blockage we've been trying to sort for week so yay! One piece of house good news 🤣🤣

Thanks @Miaowse I’ll watch that later after I’ve sorted the washing out and done the housework I didn’t do while bloody nagging my children to go to an online lesson rather than play animal crossing.

I found another 14 things in the Tupperware drawer so that’s 22 gone. They were mainly old lids from ice cream tubs, old takeaway tubs, a handle from a cake box I decluttered about three years ago because I lost its handle and a couple of bendy straws. The Tupperware drawer looks so organised I know I’m going to open it lots to admire it.

sleeping I’m glad you’ve got some good news. It must be a relief to have a blockage sorted.

Thanks, Stealth!

Since posting, I've found myself another lady who collects stuff for a local charity (my previous lady is having a break from it) and she is apparently happy to take my stuff and store it until it's needed. I'm thrilled! My current pile has been growing in one of the bedrooms since before Christmas. I'm tempted to take out all the discs and books, just in case I can get some money for them. I might give it a go for 10 minutes just to see. Or, I might just box it all up and be done with it. I'll see how it goes.

Not feeling well today but thanks to having my challenge thing I still found three things (an unwashable cuddly toy that has pen on it, a crap toy car, and a random leftover bit of baby clothing) and also sorted a bucket of magnetic toys. Still shattered but glad I did those things even though it is the teeniest drop in a fucking massive ocean 😂

I definitely agree it’s good to just tidy stuff even if you don’t get rid. A lot of our clutter is stuff we don’t want to get rid of - bits of various toys the DC do play with etc. But when it’s all over the place it gets in the way and makes it harder to declutter other stuff. I really need to get and stay on top of this!

Sand get WeBuy or Ziffit on the app and wizz through them. I think you only need a fiver for them to collect.

Stealth would have been nicer before I played in it at the weekend 🤣 but yes, v happy.

Sing could you get some storage boxes to put the kids toys in? With lids. That will stack. Well done on doing anything whilst you're feeling poorly

207: broken sand / water table

208: a dress of mine I like but has a hole and a small bleach mark

209: some more not needed plastic boxes from Lego at Christmas

210: coat hanger that's broken

My skip is full and well worth £155

That’s good news Sleeping!

2021 day 33 update:

General decluttering: Shredded more of the paperwork I sorted at the weekend.

Nothing else I hate the way I have so little free time during the week. It’s work, walk at lunchtime, more work, short rest afterwards (which I could use for decluttering if I have the energy, but I usually don’t), spend time with DD, one of us cooks dinner, then one of us does bedtime while the other clears up downstairs and does the dishes. Then DH and I have about an hour together to relax/ watch TV/ read until bedtime. I feel like I should have more time, but I don’t.

Tonight’s dinner used up a jar of herbs and 4 tins from the cupboard

@UnlimitedChipsAndSalsa that sounds rank interesting

Went downstairs to make my breakfast and spent two minutes admiring my Tupperware drawer.

I didn’t do silverware yesterday so I’ll look at cutlery today. It’s a good job I’m behind with Toss as today it presented me with tools (done), bathroom cabinets (done) and CDs/ DVDs which is too much hard work on a school day.

singtothesky I hope you’re feeling better today.

a couple of hairbands gone today - i have a load with the metal bit in them but it pulls and rips my hair when i try and put it up in to a pony or my favoured messy dragged through a hedge every which way bun.

have ditched these because i have a ton of the ones without the metal bit. and some of those phone wire squuirly ones. which are ace.

also decluttered the hair from my hairbrush and have given it a bit of a wash.

Two meltdowns so far today, I feel like going for a walk and never coming back.

Instead I have calmed myself by decluttering a photo holder and one of those metal stick toys with a wooden bird who taps his way down. Both were on the playroom window ledge so that’s looking better.

(The meltdowns were dc - not me - in case it’s not clear)

Sympathies @stealthninjamum - DD’s tantrums make me want to run away too! Hope things are calmer now.

Thank so @EllieQ both dc were playing up and I had to confiscate a gadget so there will be tears until I give it back - Friday after school.

Main decluttering has been food. We are on meal number 4 now.

Glad the drains are sorted SleepingStandingUp.

Hope the rest of the day goes better without any meltdowns Stealth.

I find Hermes cheaper for heavy parcels too.

I dream of someone coming to take all my stuff away! I have a lot of things that are slightly useful but I wouldn't buy them now. Soup making gadget that I have never used, it is supposed to make it easy. I have three pushchairs . One I use for littlest that is big and easy to push. Fold up one that I used for nursery runs with oldest, littlest is not in nursery so it is not in use. Another from a friend that is easier to push that the nursery run one, but keeping both just in case one breaks . I have been decluttering for years and it is much better than it used to be, just not enough storage.

Tided some bed linen, hoping to do more later on.