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

I’m annoyed at myself. Have three hand creams open.

Last week I emptied the large plastic box of sewing stuff I was sorting out. I also sorted 3 small drawers of sewing stuff in the dining room unit, leaving only one full drawer and moving the rest of the stuff upstairs to the spare room. I soaked and washed a stained coat that belonged to my mother and did another washing machine load of her bedding. I found a slightly grotty pair of jeans in the bag of mending and made the decision they were not in as good condition as I remembered, so were not worth fixing. (The zip had pulled out of the material around the fly and although I have the skills to fix them, it would have meant unpicking the decorative top stitching before reinforcing the zip area etc. etc.) The jeans have now been washed and are on the rag pile.

On Saturday I cleaned 3 sets of footwear that are destined for charity. They have been sitting in a bag in the spare room for ages. Two sets are now ready to go, but the third will need a bit more work. Think I will try and get them in the Salvation Army collection bin next weekend.

On Sunday I went through some more plastic boxes sitting on the desks in the dining room. I managed to empty two, packing the remaining bits into one of the smaller boxes. I then realised that it was exactly one year to the day since the new living room and dining carpet had been laid. That was the reason everything had been shoved in these boxes to start with. Why has it taken me so long to deal with them... Sigh!

300: courtesy of Child Z grabbing the smeely room fresher thing I had for Christmas, tipping it over him and then trying to eat the fake Holly. He's a bit obsessed with glass bottles

Trying to clear out the spare room which has basically become a dumping ground for all the cardboard boxes I become unnaturally attached to. So far the following have gone:

• Two boxes
• Seven books
• A load of scruffy tissue paper
• A giant chunk of bubble wrap so covered in tape I couldn't get it off for reuse
• A large pack of post-it notes that don't stick to anything
• Six rolls of tape that also doesn't stick to anything
• Two jumpers hidden in one of the boxes
• A large pile of out of date leaflets
• Ten giant advertising posters (I'll count as one as they were all rolled up together)

Depressingly, although it sounds like a lot, there's so much more to go from that room. 278 item total so far.

There's an extra 15% at We Buy Books this weekend, using code WBBHALF15.

have found 4 pairs of kids shoes to go to Sal's Shoes - thank you to poster upthread who mentioned these. such a worthy cause.

will bag up tonight and will post tomorrow.

when dh goes to get the kids i'm going to sort recycling and get rid of packaging for stuff.

i love a bit of a decant...!!

I’m now looking at the pieces of knitted dinosaur and wondering how long it will take to put them together I’m off work for the rest of the week so should have time to get it done.

@Miaowse We do use countdowns/ timers and I think they help, though it feels a bit tedious!

@footprintsintheslow We used to use a reward chart when these issues started (around the time she turned 4), but things improved so we stopped. Might be time to bring it back!

Not sure if anything will be decluttered tonight apart from pancake fillings

Today has been a slow work day but a decent decluttering day. As prompted by Toss, I went through my socks and ragged about 14 pairs, plus found 2 brand new in packet sets to donate. Then ended up under the chest of drawers and threw out a bunch of IKEA "leftovers", e.g. unused screws, castors, etc. Also found more sewing/crafting bits under there to donate. I think it's about 298 items in total now. I'm going to stop for today as I've round all the decision making mentally tiring. Time for a cup of tea :)

I decided to get rid of two ramekins ( I still have six), a broken mug and I found an empty spice jar that I somehow missed when I did herbs and spices last week. I did lots of tidying and finding homes for things with an emphasis on surfaces.

I have two possibly broken electric thermometers and a cheap camera that was bought for dd1 that we couldn’t work that have been sitting around on surfaces for a few months. Tonight I’m intending to read their instructions to work out if they are broken or not, and move the photos over to my computer.

I’m also decluttering our eggs into pancakes.

@ememem84 that's a lovely idea. I might do this sometime in the future.

@EllieQ I think things that work stop working at some point so it's good to stop using them and then restart or slightly alter according to age. I was thinking of you earlier when I almost walked out of the house away from my two year old!

Day 160:
Emails
Small toothpaste thrown out as it was disgusting
Travel Shampoo used up
Ood medicine taken back to the chemist. They are always a bit huffy when I take stuff back. Maybe they need to fill out a load of forms or something?

Two pots of bubbles
A shower gel
Camomile make up remover balm
And have bagged up shoes to post off tomorrow.

Just a few bitty things today so far...

• 3 batteries
• eye mask
• bent paperclip
• birthday card
• a mug sized pile of mini shop collectibles
• paint by numbers kit
• decanted the dregs of two hand soaps into a newer bottle

I’ve also hidden away a stack of Lego cards from Sainsbury’s and a couple of small plastic toys. If they aren’t missed over the next month or two I will get rid of them.

also decanted hair bands and clips for Dd into a pot in the bathroom. All out of their packets.

I’ve thrown two old wierd hairbands of mine. Am working on the use it up currently. I’m using one of those phone wire style hair bands on my hair. And it’s pretty much stretched to the max. But will use until broken. Then move on to a new one. It annoys me to have more than one “thing” on the go/open

Went to Sainsburys this morning and got rid of the plastic bags/packaging. Several ins with all the food and some new gym leggings for me (not that I can wear them in the gym at present).
Sorted some bits out in the bedroom which have gone into the recycling. Binned a couple of soggy tennis balls from the back garden.
ememem84 I have several moisturisers on the go at the mo and I know what you mean!

@stealthninjamum that's kind of you - my DS is a young adult, so the parenting is not too much of a challenge (most of the time). He has been sorting out his room today, so that's one part of the house that looks better.

Like others, I hate things going to landfill, worry about needing something once I've got rid of it, and struggle to get rid of things with sentimental value.

I've discovered someone who wants some of the plastic take away boxes, but need to sort it all properly.

Miowse, I'm always surprised at how long packaging/recycling hangs around when it's such an easy win.

I find it so relaxing to read about everyone's beautiful outs. Is that weird?

Today I got rid of packaging for a TV (was useful when we moved, but that was almost two years ago!). I also finally sent a package that had been ready to post since Christmas. I will not miss the feeling of guilt I had every time I saw it sitting on the dresser.

Also, a bit of storage Tetris in the Upstairs of Despair has freed up quite a bit of space.

@UnlimitedChipsAndSalsa I know! I have several boxes that have been sitting on my kitchen worktop for weeks - I’m planning on filling them for the charity shop but if I still haven’t managed this by the weekend I’m going to recycle them.

I love reading about other people’s items - lots of ideas that can help me find things to let go from my own messy house.

@UnlimitedChipsAndSalsa when we sold and moved out of our apartment we had to bridge the gap before we bought this place so we temporarily moved in with dparents. We put most of our stuff in storage.

The storage/removals guys managed to fit the entire contents of our large 2 bed apartment into a storage locker the size of a regular garage. It was amazing how they did it. Proper Tetris style.

two magazines in recycling.

Decent start this morning: finished a moisturiser, a sample size toner and some shower oil.

Last night I googled instructions and managed to get two thermometers and a camera to work. They have been sitting on surfaces for months while I wondered whether to chuck them out so now they can be put away.

I also seem to have lots of books out in my bedroom so I am going to try to read them.

Other than that I’m not sure what to declutter. I still have loads of crap but it’s all more of an effort.

2 stock cubes... dated 2009
Put too much oregano in this morning's soup recipe (trying to use up the oregano, and yet less than the recipe called for). Edible but not nice... soup making skills can only improve.

My make up trays have arrived! hoorah. so have spent the last 10 minutes trying to fit all eyeshadow palettes in to them and rearrange the top the dresser. the other tray is going in the drawer where the eyeshadow used to live so i can keep that nice and tidy too.

i'm all about the trays/baskets at present. if it fits it stays.

I'm trying to use the "dave ramsey snowball" method on the beauty products. use them up one at a time with the most empty first. (i know dave ramsey is a finance thing, but the method works....)

301: lots of bits of mail etc that haven't been cleared in days
302: packaging and Amazon envelopes
303: half used citronella candle that we won't use.

304: washing liquid bubbles. We have two left.

I need to do a junk declutter later and tidy up the back of the room so it doesn't get trashed every time DS wants dress up clothes.

I started the many pages ToDo book and then T2 got it... Might try and dig out a smaller notebook from the top of the wardrobe. There's not a lack of them...

Used up the last squirt of a DH moisturiser and tidied the now spare bannister rail to the shed for whoever might want to reinstall it when the stairlift is removed.