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 did manage to forget a big computer monitor that was broken going to the electrical recycling at the dump and dog food cans and dry dog food that were wrong ones going to the food bank collection and useless puppy pee mats ( just soaked through and puppy didn’t care to use them generally where as new ones are good ) going to the dump

I have probably 8 large black bags of size 14/16 work clothes etc that I have grown out of/no longer need because retired now.
Charity shops round here would only take 1 a week which had to be booked in advance.
Any ideas?
Just want them out of the way!

Day 167: haven't read the thread since Sunday so I hope everyone is ok.

Charity bag actually got picked up today and I've done photos and emails. That's it.

No luck selling anything that I've listed as there's so many local free sites giving great things away. Which is great and annoying at the same time.

@YanTanTethera123 try icollecyclothes online. They'll take it all

Out today 5 parcels of eBay stuff mainly ds dress up costumes and Thomas books . I listed my eldest son ps 3 and ps 2 on fb as he wants to buy a part for. His dirt bike so these both sold within the hour
In cookies but we've ate them all so maybe an out?

[quote SleepingStandingUp]@YanTanTethera123 try icollecyclothes online. They'll take it all[/quote]
Thank you! Done 🙂

@stealthninjamum i don’t want anymore children so the baby stuff just sitting there is annoying. There’s also a pram, carry cot, 2 car seats and a bath stand collecting dust in the attic.

I do need the money but listing everything takes too much time and hassle. I’m selling some of my vintage dresses and some of the fancier baby clothes. The rest I’m happy to just give to charity.

Thanks @SleepingStandingUp icollectclothes looks good. I’ve set aside 2 books this evening to send.

nordicmom holy moly that’s awesome. You’ve been a busy bee.

Today I have sold something on eBay so will post that in the morning (but I’m counting it for today).

Four reciepts which were lurking in my bag

Empty sweet wrappers - as above

Three skirts (work type ones which don’t fit)

Two jumpers

Three books of dds

Calpol syringe. I keep finding the fuckers.

I’m struggling with being unable to get rid of stuff - got three bags to go to a charity shop sitting by the wardrobe as we have nowhere else to put them. It’s frustrating.

2021 day 54 update:

General decluttering: Made more progress on the Pile of Paperwork today as I have filed/ recycled credit card statements from 2018 (Sept-Dec), which felt good. I also repurposed a empty tissue box as storage for the pile of receipts that has been building up for about 18 months (going by the dates of receipts at the bottom of the pile), and made a start on sorting through these. I like to check them off against credit card/ bank statements, and once I’ve done that, they can be shredded.

Busy day, but reading this thread made me feel guilty for not getting rid of anything. So I recycled four plastic takeaway tubs. I use them in lieu of Tupperware and have enough left without these ones. Then I also used up two teabags that had been in the cupboard over a year! I'll consider it five items which meets my bare minimum, and didn't bring any new items in. 358 out so far.

Day 54:

318: thrown out an electronic tablet toy thing, it never worked great and is v annoying. I'm not sure it's functional enough for the charity shop tbf.

I've gone through one of the kitchen cupboards and pulled some bits out but I left the on the side so DH has possibly put them back. I'll put them into the charity bag tomorrow and count them then!!

Decluttered - Five holey socks.
About 100 unread unwanted emaails
Fifty items from netflix My List. Still got 500.

Welcome nordicmom you’re doing really well. It must be motivating to know you have to do it before you move house - it’s just a shame it’s so hard to get rid of stuff at the moment.

rooster I would hate having that baby stuff hanging around. I would try to give as much away as you can then just to clear a space. The baby clothes are hard, but I kept a couple.

lazyakita 5 items is awesome, these little things mount up.

Last night I painted a small stretch of wall on my landing. This is the third coat and I haven’t done any since before Xmas so I’m hoping to get the emulsion finished before dc go back to school. Then it’ll take weeks to do the woodwork. I actually love my landing now, it’s so much brighter and I am thinking of getting new carpet when the carpet shops open.

Help meeeeeeeeeeeeee

Hi. I’m joining because I’m a serial hoarder.

As background context, my mother has a huge house full of crap, including finance books my dad used 30 years ago when studying that are now completely out of date (think tax laws and accounting principles that have changed). I also have to hold on to something just in case. I’ve just moved my home office downstairs and now have a desk in my bedroom that I need to get rid of, however it’s covered in all of the mess I’ve managed to pick up from the floor, the drawers etc.

I have my Fitbit verse box (what if I decide to sell it), a sound bar I couldn’t get to work with DS tv (what if I find the right cable), a label printer for when I used to eBay all the time. University books for a course I hated. Sellotape that’s half used (multiple rolls).

And then the sideboard downstairs, I can’t fit anything else I as it’s rammed with cables and cables and more cables.

I just want a clutter free life but I also hate chucking useful things away.

What rules do you all live by?

My Everest

@yorkshiremummyof1 I work on the basis that i keep something if it genuinely has a purpose, or if i genuinely love it.

So using your example above:

I have my Fitbit verse box (what if I decide to sell it), a sound bar I couldn’t get to work with DS tv (what if I find the right cable), a label printer for when I used to eBay all the time. University books for a course I hated. Sellotape that’s half used (multiple rolls).

• get rid of the uni books. if you hated the course then why keep the reminder.
• sellotape - keep the rolls, but make sure they're in a sensible place so you use up what you have before buying new - some people have a wrapping paper station, some people have a stationery drawer.
• cables - if you know what they're for and still use said item keep them. if you don't get rid.
• sound bar - can you sell it if you don't use it.
• fitbit box - do you use the fitbit? if so, ditch the box. if you are going to sell it, then sell it. list it this week.

re the picture - what's in the bin bag?

the table itself could be tidied up somewhat - i'm not meaning that as a dig or anything, just could be better organised and would look less cluttered even if you didnt get rid of anything if you see what i mean.

group like things together. cables, books, paper. and then go through one thing at a time.

also is that a rock on the end of the table? or something else? whatever it is it looks nice to touch. lovely and smooth and a nice shape.

yorkshiremummyof1 I don’t know about rules but I have found that it gets easier over time. I think it’s good to start with a quick win like a piece of furniture that immediately leaves a nice clear space or surfaces or window ledges.

You can expect to play tidy up Tetris in an effort to group things together so you don’t have to throw everything away at once - although obviously your long term aim should be too get rid of as much of it as possible. As you empty a space you will need to find new spaces to put things together and you’ll find things you forgot you had.

I had wires and cables in every room and old phones and cameras in the odd drawer and I have been putting them in the one drawer over the last few years. I have reunited lots of electrical goods with their wires now and I’m getting there. I also label all my wires with cheap tags I bought from amazon and am slowly changing the storage of everything in the house. Last week I put my underwear is in nice open boxes in a wide drawer.

Could you just get a big box for all the cables temporarily and declutter the sideboard / desk area. By then moving stuff around a natural home for the cables might emerge.

I’ve been doing this for years - I had loads of clutter - and it does take time but will be worth it.

[quote ememem84]@yorkshiremummyof1 I work on the basis that i keep something if it genuinely has a purpose, or if i genuinely love it.

So using your example above:

I have my Fitbit verse box (what if I decide to sell it), a sound bar I couldn’t get to work with DS tv (what if I find the right cable), a label printer for when I used to eBay all the time. University books for a course I hated. Sellotape that’s half used (multiple rolls).

• get rid of the uni books. if you hated the course then why keep the reminder.
• sellotape - keep the rolls, but make sure they're in a sensible place so you use up what you have before buying new - some people have a wrapping paper station, some people have a stationery drawer.
• cables - if you know what they're for and still use said item keep them. if you don't get rid.
• sound bar - can you sell it if you don't use it.
• fitbit box - do you use the fitbit? if so, ditch the box. if you are going to sell it, then sell it. list it this week.

re the picture - what's in the bin bag?

the table itself could be tidied up somewhat - i'm not meaning that as a dig or anything, just could be better organised and would look less cluttered even if you didnt get rid of anything if you see what i mean.

group like things together. cables, books, paper. and then go through one thing at a time.

also is that a rock on the end of the table? or something else? whatever it is it looks nice to touch. lovely and smooth and a nice shape.[/quote]
Desk is going into my sons room to be used. Stuff on top of desk is clutter I’ve pulled from various places in the room. Big bag is full of stuff I have already identified that needs chucking out, contents of desk surface are “do I need to keep this”.

The “rock” is actually a physio tool for kneading knots out of your muscles! I use it after long periods of sitting and working.

Cables, I will keep but find a better way of storing them. They’re mainly hdmi cables.

Right so if I organise the sideboard, then I’d be able to house some of the desk stuff.

The sideboard is atrocious, but I think I can be brutal with that. I’ve put baskets In the drawers so I’ll dump all the contents out and start again. I know the bottom drawer actually has these little shelves I bought from b&m that I haven’t yet put up on the walls so I will take those out and if I haven’t put them up by the end of the week I will freegle them.

I shall report back...

@stealthninjamum

yorkshiremummyof1 I don’t know about rules but I have found that it gets easier over time. I think it’s good to start with a quick win like a piece of furniture that immediately leaves a nice clear space or surfaces or window ledges.

You can expect to play tidy up Tetris in an effort to group things together so you don’t have to throw everything away at once - although obviously your long term aim should be too get rid of as much of it as possible. As you empty a space you will need to find new spaces to put things together and you’ll find things you forgot you had.

I had wires and cables in every room and old phones and cameras in the odd drawer and I have been putting them in the one drawer over the last few years. I have reunited lots of electrical goods with their wires now and I’m getting there. I also label all my wires with cheap tags I bought from amazon and am slowly changing the storage of everything in the house. Last week I put my underwear is in nice open boxes in a wide drawer.

Could you just get a big box for all the cables temporarily and declutter the sideboard / desk area. By then moving stuff around a natural home for the cables might emerge.

I’ve been doing this for years - I had loads of clutter - and it does take time but will be worth it.

I have a basket box thing that I’ve used for years to house errant cables so I’ll whack them in there.

One of my issues is I love tech and tinkering with things like, automating my house lights with motion sensors or building a pc with leftover parts to run as a media server. So I’ve been holding on to lots of oddbits from machines etc. But I’m off to spend an hour with the sideboard and a few big bags. The living room and my bedroom are my main task for this week and that’s before I start on my DS room!

I’m the opposite, I’m a technophobe but despite that still have lots of gadgets and lots of wires. I was going to throw some away but realised that some cost about £20 to replace so have that fear of throwing away something I might need.

I would avoid your ds’ room until you have done the desk / sideboard / cables. You’ll just create an unfinished mess in every room and it’ll demotivate you!

agree with Stealth on this one. get one space/room done first before moving on to the next. it'll give you the motivation to deal.

Well that was too bad. An hour to do the living room drawers. I haven’t done the bottom drawer as it has picture frames, the old router, the basket of cables however I do now have 4 small baskets and 1 big basket in each of the other two drawers. I’ve organised it by, sellotape, batteries, tools (mini screwdrivers etc), WiFi plugs and bulbs, then big basket has incense and candles. Next drawer down has oddbits (tape measure, NatWest card machine etc), tech components, pens and pencils, wall fixings and cable ties and big basket has paperwork and manuals etc. Bottom drawe has old router basket of unworried cables, picture frames, a dog puzzle thing, all the old Amazon echos, Christmas cards. That drawer requires sorting. I now have a clear dining table, and had one basket left over to put my work notebooks in that’s on the window sill behind my desk.

Now it’s time for the desk. If it wouldn’t be allocated to a basket downstairs, then I’m putting it in the maybe pile.

What do people do with old school bags and lunch bags? They are pretty manky... Can they go in textile recycling?

@Yorkshiremummyof1

Well that was too bad. An hour to do the living room drawers. I haven’t done the bottom drawer as it has picture frames, the old router, the basket of cables however I do now have 4 small baskets and 1 big basket in each of the other two drawers. I’ve organised it by, sellotape, batteries, tools (mini screwdrivers etc), WiFi plugs and bulbs, then big basket has incense and candles. Next drawer down has oddbits (tape measure, NatWest card machine etc), tech components, pens and pencils, wall fixings and cable ties and big basket has paperwork and manuals etc. Bottom drawe has old router basket of unworried cables, picture frames, a dog puzzle thing, all the old Amazon echos, Christmas cards. That drawer requires sorting. I now have a clear dining table, and had one basket left over to put my work notebooks in that’s on the window sill behind my desk.

Now it’s time for the desk. If it wouldn’t be allocated to a basket downstairs, then I’m putting it in the maybe pile.

do you need to keep old router and old amazon echos? could you sell/regift/get rid of somehow?

today i'm tackling the toy box which lives under the chair and gets filled up with random shite.

i have a bag for charity which i might fill up today and drop off later on today/tomorrow.