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

Another mental week in work. Chipping away at some old insurance etc paperwork found a pile of paper bank statements that need to be put in this years tax folder but I check online each month anyway. Have a big pile of torn out articles to read that I keep ignoring 🙄

Finished a can of shaving gel , which I’m not going to replace immediately so counting as an out. I tried using my conditioner bar as a shaving lubricant and it worked pretty well so might try that for a bit and look at buying a shaving bar.

We have no glass/plastic/other recycling collection for a couple of weeks now, apparently due to circumstances beyond the council’s control , so the kitchen is full of bags of recycling and there’s even a big sack out on the balcony . Fortunately normal rubbish and paper recycling went yesterday but I hope to God normal service resumes next week.

I do have some ins coming, a sweatshirt for me and some pants for DS (although he is still reluctant to part with nappies) but should be able to balance it out by going through his stuff and chucking most if not all of the 18-24 month stuff. He’s 2.5 now so the 2-3 year old things should be fine.

I have a

WASHING MACHINE THAT WORKS

That’s brilliant news Sleeping

2021 day 57 update:

No decluttering today, just didn’t have the energy. Been trying to figure out a way to make more space in a living room cupboard for DD’s toys, but it means finding space for the other stuff in there (packaging and padded envelopes), which is tricky.

Yay sleeping!!!

I’ve been a bit lax the last couple of weeks, but I have:

Sold 3 items on Vinted, two of which I am very sure I would not have sold on ebay.
Sold two items on eBay, one of which has been hanging on there for months.
Got rid of two carrier bags of glass at the recycling.
Got rid of two small broken electricals.
Thrown one duvet that I could not clean properly after a pet had accidents on it.
Ditto to a duvet set.
One extra flat sheet that was so old and worn.

I have my clothes recycling - four carriers worth, in the boot. Unfortunately the banks were overflowing and I will not dump. I drive past a couple of times a week, so once emptied I will dispose.

Most importantly for me, I have been decluttering my debt. I’ve got a credit card and a loan, the CC is coming to an end of its 0% rate at the end of May and I have, as of today, got £1100 left on it. I’ve managed to pay almost £1000 across two pay packets and my online selling and I feel motivated to sort it before the end of May. Then I can tackle the loan (£2400 left but making a regular payment of £135 pm that I want to double at least) and similtaneously build a fund for some essential house repairs.

This weekend, I want to assess what I have for icollectclothes, list a couple of items online, and clean my kitchen.

sleepingstandingup finally! Great news about the washing machine.

I did a bit more landing painting yesterday. If dc go to their dads this weekend i am intending to finish the emulsion. Think I started in November. Then it’s just the glossing which will be a big job.

I will also tidy the house as once again it’s a mess. Tidying used to produce clutter but it’s getting harder as I’ve got rid of so much. Anyway I’m sure I can find one thing.

In - new shoes for Dd

Outs:

5 of dds dummies
Shoe box
Some minging bath toys

Recycling crushed into the box
Bins emptied
Laundry finally put away.

Great you have a washing machine sleeping!
Hagqueen well done on the debt decluttering. I finally cleared all my credit card debt this month. Sounds like you're making a good dent in yours. When mine got under £1000 it seemed more manageable.
Online food shop coming today so there will be several ins! We have used up a lot of cupboard stores over the last couple of weeks. I'm going to run the freezer stocks down in next week or two so I can clean it out properly. DP has a habit of freezing things and forgetting about them so we'll see what's hiding.

👏👏👏🎉 sleeping Well done to all who are still chipping away at it and those managing bigger chunks too. Found a couple of no longer needed cables/chargers to go to the tip when we can next book a slot (newly introduced as a neighbour discovered when he got there!) to take with the enormous quantity of cardboard boxes

@Vinorosso74 thank you! I have buried my head in the sand for too long - the debt is not massive comparative to my income thankfully but in all honesty, been down to poor money management rather than any big emergencies. The concept of saving for big purchases has been lost on me - but I don’t want to continue in this loop of debt repayment and taking on more debt once its down to a low level for something else. Once I break the cycle properly, I know I can maintain if i put some effort in.

I’m going to head off to the post office shortly and since I have posted - got two items in my charity bag, one more carrier of clothes for recycling and chucked one dog coat that my dog has outgrown (she’s destroyed it so not good enough for rehoming it). The sun is out and I feel good!

Good news about fixed washing machine and de-cluttered debt.

Steady daily outs of the usual detritus that comes through the letterbox. Big achievement of the week is that the shed is finally sorted, tidied, and last of the rubbish (5 cans of dried paint and 2 flourescent light fittings) taken to the dump yesterday. Next outside task is a store that has many stored boxes of stuff! Started on it last summer and am determined to get it finished this year. Will start on this at the end of the month as 4 bikes are due for charity collection and will free up space to move stuff about.

A late night and early morning flurry means 4 dc clothes out tonight and a pair of shoes on Vinted already in the Hermes system thanks to morning walk. Have to say I’ve found the vinted app much better than marketplace for clothes and I like that they pay postage and you get a label. Just have to remember to factor packaging into the price.

@Hagqueen amazing work on the debt!!!

Also add to my outs list a bowl which Dd dropped and smashed.

And all my stress. I’ve been up to the stables for a couple of hours. So am poorer cash wise but after my ride am richer mentally. #iwantapony

12 more ebay parcels packaged up and ready to send. Although I clicked something different and now I don't have the option to print instore only at home. So got to go and get some printer ink annoyingly.

I used up a couple of cellotape rolls, empty bags for life and reused packaged. Determined not to buy any unnecessary packaging materials. I used leftover napkins to pad out the DS consoles in the box and some bags leggings came in to put little bits together and used a couple of cereal boxes to post in.

Listed 5 computer games on Facebook. Moved a clock into the selling pile.

Opened a stack of letters that I've been avoiding, got to tackle some phone calls today. Have missed a some credit card payments and have been worrying about it so need to get the courage to ring up and try to sort it. Big amounts, I didnt realise how much we had on there. A few big expenses and some illness which meant time off, it has mounted up. Then my landlord has decided to put the rent up by £50 a month today starting in April so got to find space in the budget for that. And I missed a letter from housing benefit so they've stopped it until I send off a form. Im not having a good day today 😔

Extra expenses means I really need to up my selling to fill the gap in the loss of income and rise in bills!

Other outs:

A carrier bag of rubbish from the car
Box for stacking cube toys
Some matting
Jumper for charity shop - hand knitted by my great aunt. Very kind but it’s awful.
Plastic gin glass

I've got a few things done this week, but not as much as I hoped.
Out of date medicines taken to the chemist
Cheap jewellery in the charity bag
Deleted some pictures from my phone to free up some space for it to back up. Still work to be done there. Also got some general admin done at the PC which was useful.
DH took the pile of used batteries for recycling.

I will look at the www.lovedbefore.london/ webpage as we have a bag of soft toys, including beanie babies, in our loft, which do need to go. Thank you to the pp who suggested it.

Well done to those who have cleared their debts!

Cleared out shed with DH. Pile of stuff for next tip run, such as broken garden toys and outgrown car seat (7years old and been in the garage over winter, so wouldn't be happy to pass on now).

Got a couple of handbags I never use so going to try them on Vinted.

nocutsnobutts I’m sorry to hear things are tough, I hope you get it all sorted.

I have been good today and I have been bad. I actually finished painting the emulsion on the landing which was a big job. I put my two prints back and I’ve always admired them but they actually belong to stbexh. So my naughty bit is that I found the artist and bid for for two similar prints on eBay. They were only £16.99 but are being watched by other people so I might have to pay more. Anyway if I get my prints I think they’d look nice in the dining room although I suspect they will sit on the floor for three years.

So no actual decluttering done.

@ememem84 thanks!

Clothes mostly deposited at clothes recycling bank as it was unexpectedly empty!

Also deposited a broken no7 mirror and some glass jars.

Pulled out loads of papers from the side door of car, threw loads, filed others and got rid of a couple of other bits of paperwork.

Decluttered a plug adaptor and a brand new puppy collar.

At 4am I couldn't find my ipod. Hunting for it I tossed out about 10 scraps of pointless paper. Also remembered some 'identifiable stuff' (kid related) that I listed on facebook give away page & someone will collect on Monday coming, so that's good thing.

I've literally spent > 2 hours today listing or organising stuff on free sites, Ebay, plus more to do with descriptions. Some of that is volunteering so not my own decluttering, but it's all progress.

Radox bath foam gone. Yay. One more space in bathroom cabinet.

I really don’t understand how I miss some clutter. I went to the utility room to see if I had sugar soap, sandpaper, brushes etc and found instructions to fit a curtain pole I must’ve put up in 2010. I have been in that room hundreds of times and even emptied every drawer and cupboard last summer and still missed it. That is now my one item to go today.

I’ve taken to spending Saturday afternoons pottering round the house and decluttering as I go.

My regular walks to the garage for the big bin or my charity shop bag are racking up the steps. This morning I did an hour of power around the house and got rid of most of my stuff for the day.

330: the baby has a big bum and has split the lovely dungarees that I love so we're not friends.

331: went through DSs drawers in twins room so basically untouched for the last year lol. Thrown away lots of papers and half drawn on sheets of paper and little colouring books he's too old for.

332: Thrown out a picture frame from a picture one of them pulled off. Needs to be replaced at some point as they're for hand drawn pictures of cthulu's wearing Big Bang t-shirts.

Washing machine is so QUIET it's crazy 🤣 and then my loo broke so my house is doing really well ATM 🤣