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

Hi everyone, please can I be in your gang?

You have inspired me to start getting rid of things, I can’t promise I will do something everyday, but I’m going to aim for a couple of things a week. Have started well this week and have so far sorted out my pin board, getting rid of some gift tags and bits that were stuck up there because I liked them, and some receipts and proof of postage that I don’t need anymore. I also got rid of some fabric storage boxes that I don’t like, and a my sock ripped when I pulled it up at work, so that’s gone in the bin too! I kept it’s friend as it’s just a plain white trainer sock which I have lots of and they are all loose in my sock drawer so doesn’t look obviously partnerless 😂 if I was a patterned one from a pair the other one would of had to go aswell

Day 140:

Lots of tears here today. Two kids is tough, give me 30 kids in a classroom any day!

Anyway I've just deleted my emails and some photos. That's all I can manage today.

2021 day 26 update:

1. General decluttering: Shredded more work paperwork.
2. Toss app prompt: Skipped all three suggestions again - they either didn’t apply or would have taken too much time to do.

I’m struggling a bit at the moment, as I feel like I’m making no progress. While the daily items are helping, I really need time and energy to tackle larger areas. It’s also so frustrating not being able to physically get rid of things that you have decided to declutter - charity shops, FB selling all on hold round here.

Welcome to all the new declutterers. Sympathies to all the others with kids being schooled at home. More work journals today, yet more holed socks. Also fed up with being unable to move stuff on - have a few more bits on eBay but getting frustrated by the amount of books i would love to pass on.

@EllieQ might be worth a try if she struggles, just someone else to tell her how amazing she's doing and how important it is she keeps working so hard! Or to give him some support and ideas. I get s call fortnightly as DS has an EHCP. Last called I cried and we agreed when I'm on less drugs she can call me and I'll hide somewhere with wine and rant 🤣🤣

@footprintsintheslow your doing amazing to be doing anything beyond sniffing your new baby, don't be too hard on yourself. Those early days are hard but it's even harder with a child (you can't send away all day)

So no idea of I did the right thing re high chairs but I swapped out our IKEA plastic ones for folks down ones that have the soft seat. Looking at them in the today and now I'm worried how long they'll last. Gah. Decisions are hard. So one new in (we already had one) but I've advertised both chairs online and will charity shop them when the time comes.

All the bags I've the weekend are in the garage, whooop!!

167-8: Posted two parcels including realising is sent the wrong wellies, her agreeing to keep them and but the original ones on top so there's a result. It was only as I went to lose the 2nd pair to someone else I realized. Thankfully first lady was happy to have next size up as well. So one pair of wellies and a dress of mine.

Uploaded a ton of 0-3 online, bit behind, the kids are in 18-24 🤣🤣

ellieq I’m glad homeschooling went better yesterday, it sounds like your dd is learning even If it’s frustrating that she won’t write.

Welcome redllama you’ll find that as you get into It it gets easier to get rid of one item a day although as others have said it’s not so easy to get rid of stuff at the moment with charity shops being closed.

Toss suggested I do areas that were too time consuming so I might tidy my wardrobe top shelves. They’re where I used to put up confiscated toys (which get forgotten about) or letters to Santa / tooth fairies which can now can go in the memory boxes.

I have spent fifteen minutes reorganising my two wardrobes.

So far

• all shoes are now in clear boxes on a top shelf
• I am getting rid of one pair of trainers, a pair of high heels, a cardboard shoe box (mustn’t let dd2 see it or it will become a fairy house), a perfume I had confiscated from dd2
• 3 notes to tooth fairies are going into dcs memory boxes
• a spare front door key is going into the bag / draw where I keep keys
• I now have a home for empty plastic boxes on a top shelf. I have them dotted around the house from previous decluttering efforts so can move them
• T-shirts have been moved to my chest of drawers (will fold them up kondo style when dc are in bed)
• two drawstring sports bags have been emptied. They must’ve been in the wardrobe for about two years. One contained branded swimming hats to be binned and swimming lessons badges and stickers to go in memory boxes. There were also three swimming costumes that are probably too small so will go in charity pile.

Best of all I found a box with £60 from Facebook sales that had been pushed to the back. I have been meaning to start bank accounts for dc for ages so I will use this.

Anyway back to homeschooling. It is almost snacktime - am I the only one who has children who are constantly hungry?

@Vinorosso74

My FIL is also a hoarder. I've not been inside the house for some time but whenever I go in I just want to get rid of things. So much could go straight in the recycling....... Thankfully my own parents aren't and are quite organised. Today, I got rid of some paperwork. I've been gradually using up candles and am pleased to see the drawer they were all in now has space in it.

i've been getting through candles at a fierce pace. working from home and have one lit most of the time.

stealth no mine are always hungry too.

on Monday i cleared out the wardrobe and also reorganised it. now all my tops are ordered in sleeve length order. the home edit suggests that you should rainbow order things by colour. which i will admit looks lovely, but i'm yet to do this. i like the sleeve length method.

one thing i did a while ago was buy skinny velvet hangers from amazon (their basics range). and now i can fit way more in the wardrobe.

toss prompt today was jackets. i have unceremoniously ditched an old ripped scrappy waterproof I had kept for riding. but i have a much nicer one so that's been put in its place.

@stealthninjamum if decluttering snacks was an Olympic sport we would have two contenders for gold....! Well done on all your organising. Are you finding that it is all starting to come together for you now in certain areas?

iceisnice yes it is all coming together thanks. I have tonnes of storage in every room so I used to shove things away in a drawer and have a ‘tidy’ house but it’s only now that I feel everything has a home and as I go through drawers I am rehoming things as well as throwing stuff out.

A parcel of baby clothes sold so that'll count tomorrow.

Yeah mine can get through a ton of snacks but will impressively leave half a packet or one or two if he's full. We've bribed homework with jellybeans and jellytots today. One for each piece of work.

I'm looking at the sideboard in the upstairs landing and deciding of I could do without it. And then do I skip (old, top marked and scared) or see if someone would want it to do up? We also possibly need to get rid of a small book shelf on DSs room.

And an ottoman there's no room for that houses the towels but where else do towels live?

Love this thread and would like to join :)

DH is a hoarder. I used to throw out 3 out of date food items a day when I first moved in but he got all panicky and built a shelf so high I cannot reach it even standing on a chair. So I lost heart.

I am off to see what I can throw.,... [on a mission]

@ememem84 I also have the skinny velvet hangers in our 'everyday' wardrobe. They make a big difference. Ours came from around 3 different shops and I have managed to break some of the cheaper ones while trying to swivel the hook... then discovered that the hooks on these ones were fixed. I should look for some more to replace them this year.

I sorted all my tops into colour families a few years ago. It is not quite rainbow order, but all the dark blues are at the beginning, and the blacks near the end, just before the whites. This has made quite a difference as I no longer grab a black top to go with my black jeans, then get to work in daylight and find that it is navy after all!

In the past few days I have continued to sort out paper for the bin collection this week. I have gone through 16 old local newspapers looking for relevant articles and photos to cut out and keep, and I have also broken up and wiped 3 empty washing powder boxes that had been sitting around on the work surface.

I forgot to say that I hemmed some thick fleece fabric at the weekend to make a dog blanket, and I have started to wear a pair of outdoor trainers/light walking boots that I have had sitting around in their box for almost a year. Although these are not outs, they have put things into general use that were previously in storage, adding to the clutter.

I would love to join this group. I have empathy with the OP as my excess clutter is living in my car taking up the whole back seat. I am rarely going out so it works well but dread having to deal with it all when I do!

Out- a storage drawer set sold on Facebook

Still debating about getting rid of some photo frames I put for sale and had loads of interest but now suddenly feel attached to 🙈

The battle continues!

@purplefrog ah yes the fixed hooks of the hangers! i worked that out the hard way!

Am absolutely going to rainbow order my tops (and then put them in sleeve order in their colours.

outs today:

two bags of baby clothes for friend and her brand new 2 week old muhcny scrunchy baby waby. i'm desperate for a snuggle. but covid restrictions.

and also a cushion which i had made as a gift for them - this only arrived today but took it straight round.

Another productive day and I foresee the next couple of days as the same because my two DD are refusing to pick up their toys..... been like this pretty much every day for a month now. They have been informed that Mummy is going to have a good clear out of their stuff and they are not remotely bothered . Anyway, back to today:
5x books
2x woven Halloween loot bags
1x twistable pencil
Some baby clothes gifted but are too small 7.5lbs baby? No chance of master ice being that small (sob, my uterus is shuddering at the impending challenge ahead!)
2x kids magazines recycled
1x brand new bed sheet utilised as material for cushion covers for DDs room.
1x cushion
1bag for life
15 CDs
4 DVDs
1 wooden box
1 mascara
1 photo album
Photos shredded that were blurry or boring (battleships?!)
Photos sorted for brother and sister
1 ball
4 toy cars
1 happy meal toy.
Also decluttered half a bag of ice... craving is bad today.

@PurpleFrog just colour coded the wardrobe. blacks and blues are separate from each other. just so i don't make the "is it navy/is it black" mistake.

i love it.

@ememem84 Glad to have been of help!

Hi, can I join please? I Marie kondoed a couple of years back but clutter appearing. I think I'm going to enjoy this.
An old jewellery box went in the charity pile today.

A productive day for me today, lots of things gotten rid of.

A thermal mug, dried out pens, a reusable water lid with no bottle (why did I keep this?), an old ice cream tub I had washed up to be used as Tupperware, some fabric I was saving for a project that Is actually really thin and not what I want, some old kindle and iPad boxes have been broken down and recycled, some scarves in the charity box, lots of crap nail files in the bin, some old rubber stamps and ink pads from my crafting supplies, and lastly 4 seasoning packets which were out of date or I didn’t like.

Feels like a good start to me!

Great job @RedLlama I saw a “hack” a while back re the iPhone boxes. To keep them and use them as baskets for drawers. I had one so repurposed it in my “beauty” drawer in the dresser in the bedroom because two nice baskets just wouldn’t yet fit

Ditched all the other boxes though.

I would love to join as just started reading Marie Kondo and I have way too much stuff to ever manage a tidy house.

Some things feel hard to get rid of so move with us for years - Old computers and broken phones my worst id love to sort and don’t know how.