Decluttering one item a day (and counting down til the opening of charity shops!) – thread number 17

[stealthninjamum]

This is an accountability and chat thread for mumsnetters who dream of living in an uncluttered haven of calm and tidiness.

Bit by bit we are slowly decluttering our houses and keeping our fingers crossed that charity shops will open on 12th April – although we’re also adding to the list of places in the second post that will also take our clutter.

The aim of this thread is to help us get rid of just one item a day or 365 a year. We just report back on our progress and then chat about anything and everything. The thread is for anyone so newbies are always welcome.

Previous thread here.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/4144854-Decluttering-one-item-a-day-and-having-nowhere-to-put-it-thread-number-16?msgid=105205665

I Def fell off the wagon and the thread.

Two parcels out today.

400: maternity dress poste
401: a parcel of a dozen any items posted all the way to the Shetlands.
402: pile of paperwork binned

I'm kicking everyone out tomorrow and having one day to do the living room. Feels like it never quite gets done and then it accumulates cos clutter loves company.

Dc are going through their books and surprisingly I’m the one who can’t throw most of them out. I have moved a bookcase with the aim of selling it. I also have two massive Ikea cube units I am trying to empty. I found a bag of Easter bits in it. It includes Easter bonnets I can take apart and donate to charity and some decorations I might use this year and then throw away.

Day 201: yesterday
16 tuppawear box's given away
1 record player and speakers given away

Day 202: today
6 books in charity bag.

Hope everyone is well or getting well. I'm reading all your posts just not commenting at the moment as life is so hectic with two.

After not managing to do anything all day I went downstairs tonight and cleaned in the downstairs loo , DH study , the utility , hall and the kitchen it took me hours despite DH having done some before going to bed . I completely organised a big utility room cupboard that was a nightmare mess and did a bunch of laundry too then went through the last dry food cupboard and also the freezer . Tonight I got rid of :

• a mop handle
• a few cardboard boxes
• lots of food packaging to recycling
• old food rest of it down the disposal tomorrow when it’s defrosted
• quite a lot of puppy wet food packages to food bank (he seems to be bored of it so won’t eat it and we’re moving on to adult food anyway that’s ok for 4 M + )
• 2 packets of Starbucks nespresso capsules DH doesn’t care for
• a spare old glass cake stand for charity shop I’ve got two new other ones
• a few cereal bowls that have been damaged going to dump I will go through rest of crockery later .
• a lot of wooden chopsticks from take out sushi

I’m half dead now and still need a shower but pleased I made good progress . need to do stuff in the day tomorrow not at night ! Fridge looked quite good so didn’t touch it yet . Dh did the weekly clean when Ocado came on tue I will organise it quickly before Easter food though . I’ve destroyed my right bad shoulder now but when I can I’ll next move onto the kitchen chest of drawers full of kids crap like art and school stuff I think . I think we’ll need another dump slot the weekend after next we’ve got so much cardboard and clothing bank bags by then again I’m sure

Also spotted in the understairs cupboard of doom DD old roller skates which I’m hoping can go soon once she learns to skate on her new birthday rollerblades which she’s getting end of the month and yet another small dog crate I either want to go to DH moms for visits or to metal collection at dump but out of here in any case .I don’t think we need it anymore with the 2 puppy pens and one bigger crate it’s just monumentally in the way even when folded !

Went through the fridge last night and got rid of a lot of dubious bits and pieces. Also turned backs a red cabbage into pickle. We keep getting them in our veg box and I never know what to do with them!

Good luck with the job applications Alex.

Hope the little one is thriving footsteps

Nordic you are doing an amazing job! Hope you get chance to relax and feel better over the weekend

Filled a charity bag for collection today. One of the things they wanted was bedding. Great.

Put out some, 'Freecycle' items out for collection and advised the person collecting that I had put some similar items for them should they wish to collect them too.

Stumbled across a website called, 'A place for everything' it's storage heaven. I'm going to order a first aid box so I can get our, 'lucky dip' first aid box into some semblance of order.

I've also seen some shoe storage for my husband's shoes which looks useful, i.e. not a rack.

Dropping back in to say hello to everyone. I’m impressed with all the decluttering going in! Still no further progress here I’ve had a few very busy weeks at work, so I haven’t had any energy for anything else.

I keep thinking I want to get something done this weekend, but don’t know where to start. Plus DH is ill (not Corona!) so there goes my chance of child free time to really get stuck into something. So frustrating!

I have been reading along but not posting and my outs have been sporadic.

Just delurking to say I got an email from Oxfam about donating clothes by post. Here’s the link:

onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/donate-clothes

I've been lurking on these threads for ages, but I wanted to share a success story.
I'm a natural hoarder, but I've been eBaying like a fiend since January. I've got a hell of a long journey still ahead of me, but I've rid myself of records and pop memorabilia and now I'm £11,000 better off!!!!! Notable successses were a used concert ticket that went for £124, and a poster for the last Smiths gig that sold for £1270.

I can't believe how much happier I am both from the thrill of starting to get a proper grip on my life, and of course, from the joy of seeing my bank balance!

It's a £1 listing weekend on eBay, so my plan is to have a cull of my camera gear. There's plenty I haven't used in the past couple of years, and I'm actually looking forward to it going. I never thought getting rid of stuff would feel good!

Onward and upward!!!!

Another one who is back after doing very little the last week or two!

Today, I am working on my dressing area. Really privileged to have extra bedrooms in my home, but this means more places to leave my mess!

I’ve talked before that I am on a quest to take care of myself and my home better and to treat myself with some respect by maintaining my surroundings, this is also stretching out to my wardrobe and things like makeup/accessories etc.

I’m going to be trying out a capsule wardrobe! Of things I love, not things that just fit! So today I want to be truly ruthless, get rid of loads, and then sideline a few items to try out a capsule for a month.

In this process, I’ve started to tackle my eating habits (can you tell I have a lot of issues to unpack - am sounding completely off it ) with a natural consequence of losing a bit of weight. So therefore a few more bits to get rid of. I don’t have smaller clothes so am buying as I need them.

I really hope I have a nice list of stuff to get rid of for you later!

Oh my goodness @Oldandcobwebby that’s fantastic. Congratulations on your amazing eBay successes!

@Oldandcobwebby - How much?? Wow!!!! I think I need to know more about this. Do old tickets go for much? ... Welcome to the thread and well done on all you've done.

Well, I'm still chugging along. Today's outs include another dress, a scrambled cushion and a broken cookie cutter. Unfortunately, I've also eaten quite a bit of an Easter egg. I'm going to need to declutter some weight soon.

@SandAndSea Old tickets certainly seem to sell. My Smiths ones have gone for between £29 and £124. It's absolutely bonkers, but I'm certainly not complaining!

@Oldandcobwebby - That's amazing! I had no idea. I might go through some of my old diaries and see what I can find.

O wonder who wants a Westlife ticket circa 200something

DH must have caught my decluttering bug ; he just finally opened every last bit of his mail and either filed it or is disposing it all (apparently 300 letters !) . I have nagged about it for years ,I don’t know why he can’t stop always collecting a huge pile but start dealing with each item when they come as I always have granted I don’t get as much . A big plus anyway !!!

Out, dummies. I put them out of reach 6 months ago and found them today so in the bin they went.

I’ve been hoovering upstairs a lot more often now we have the 2nd hoover, and still shocked to see how much dust it picks up (I think I prefer the bagged hoover where I can’t see how grim we actually are!)

403: two kids umbrellas used inside rather than out because my kid is odd. Both damaged and bent and generally knackered
404: an d handbag I love but the handle is starting to she'd every time I use it so I get covered in black bits
405: bag of general other rubbish from my general living room tidy
406: smaller bag of recycling rubbish.

The next thing might be a DH decluttered after he came back and complained o hadn't done much and it didn't look much different. I've moved every piece of furniture, vacummed and tidied the toy box, sorted through all the bags at the back of the living room so there was one to go up for each room, wiped down the bathroom, entire the bins, done 5 loads of washing and drying.

He isn't usually a dick.

@SleepingStandingUp how annoying re DH! It sounds familiar in our household too. Why is it always so easy to see the not-done things instead of all the done ones?

Out - grass. I mowed the lawn but found loads and loads of dandelion leaves spouting out. I need to find out the best method to get rid of them.

Wow oldcobwebby that’s amazing! I’m so pleased for you. I looked on eBay for a few things I own (Jason Donovan signed Joseph programme) and they were worthless! I love The Smiths but am too young to have seen them live (although I did see Morissey at a festival once).

Still no progress from me. An old pen in the bin and some envelopes for the ninjaboyfriend who is doing admin.

Exactly Times , it was spotless it's just we have 3 kids so there's still bags of teddies (previously a messy bucket), trays of toys (tidied), the toy box (vacuumed) etc.

Three more parcels today, Vinted has a 99p postage thing so hoping there will be a few more over the BJ weekend.

Doesn't look like we're acquiring too much Easter tat beyond 3 tons of chocolate and sweets

Hi all have not much to report still gathering up the Lego - this alone could take years . Work remains very difficult for all sorts of reasons at the moment so not much mojo for much else. All kids back to school after the Easter holidays so may be able to try harder then

A few weeks ago lots of us got rid of calpol syringes, including me. Well I must’ve missed that I had an old takeaway box with four in so I have binned them and the box. It’s a real surprise as I would assume my medicines cabinet is decluttered regularly.

@stealthninjamum - they MUST be breeding no other explanation possible! They do seem to be one of those things that pop up in kitchen drawers, bathroom cabinets, in with toys. I’m sure over the years I’ve thrown more out than I ever brought in