Decluttering one item a day thread number 18 – quickly stashing our clutter in charity shops now we can let people back inside our houses

[stealthninjamum]

Here we are again, still decluttering and still chatting and sometimes getting rid of some clutter.

This is a group of mumsnetters who aspire to live in a lovely clutterfree environment, usually scuppered by husbands, children, dogs and in my house ‘valuable’ bits of twig and stone or origami versions of aardvarks and komodo dragons.

We are slowly decluttering our houses, chatting and updating each other on our slow progress as we go. We only aim to get rid of one a day but often manage more. Newbies are welcome to join us.

Since the last thread charity shops reopened and things got closer to normal. I’ve now invited friends over for the end of June so have a month to get the house ‘guest ready’.

Previous thread here.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/4183135-Decluttering-one-item-a-day-and-counting-down-til-the-opening-of-charity-shops-thread-number-17?pg=38

Decluttered broken things -
Disco lights console from the 90s ie large and heavy.

One pair earbuds

One holey sock.

Three almost completed colouring books into the recycling. DD is losing interest in colouring now as she prefers to draw and DS is not interested yet. Plus there are plenty left!

Have 8 cookery books sorted to send with Zifffit but need to check if we have a suitable box as they're heavy. Just need to get DH to stop buying them now!

Well done on paperwork Stealth and Willow.

Well done Stealth on massive paper reduction! It will be so nice to have a bookshelf of your choice in the (former?) Room of Doom. Have fun DIYing with DD.

Raspberry you have reminded me that all our ebay auctions closed yesterday and now I have to find a way to ship a built lego Tie Fighter to Leeds 😖. Oh joy.

Today I need to start preparing for the sofa bed's arrival on Tuesday, which means chasing the space in the attic / our bedroom / DS3's room. Not entirely certain where to start!

Stealth you are making better progress on the RofD than me. Need to do more there as it will soon be pressed in to temporary 'office' status for DC wfh. Will try to declutter as I get it set up. If nothng else we will back up the v old desktop, screen and tower so that the bits can all go to local IT recycling. That will clear the desk and floor area beside it so DC can work.
Did manage a dump/recycling run yesterday with 12 items - mostly small dead electrical items, batteries and empty ink cartridges and a TV that has stopped working - although DH had already replaced it, and, unsurprisingly the new one is bigger. What is it about men and TV size - I realise I am generalising here!

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately there is still a lot to do in the Room of Doom but when the electrician was in there I wasn’t embarrassed as I would’ve been a few years ago. I also have a big built in cupboard to empty, some boxes, a chest of drawers. The final bits are time consuming and emotional as it’s school work, arts and crafts and disorganised things like pension paperwork. I need to find paperwork so I can sell my car, pay lots into my pensions and divorce my husband. I am dreading the divorce as I know it’ll be a big job.

Today I have chucked out a mug that had a crack. I am going to hopefully build the bookcase and chair for dd1 although our real priority is to help her study for an end of year maths test.

Does anyone else have problems with buying more after a declutter? I do. I'm going to try a three month no spend on clothes unless its uniform and then try to extend it to a year. Most of my clutter is toys and clothes.

Im going to aim to get rid of ten things a day this week. I at least need to get everything clothes wise but into draws and wardrobes before I can then group it and see how much I have of everything. Today I have sold 9 girls Tshirts on Ebay and one boys top for the tag bag. So today I'm sorted. It just needs to leave the house.

My cousin gave me a mountain of bedding so I'm doing that today and putting my daughters clothes on Vinted.

I think I need a rule for the clothes or they will never go either. Maybe two weeks individually, then two weeks as a bundle, then one go on Ebay as a massive bundle with a low start then charity shop?

Really I need to charity shop a load right now to thin out. Will see how this goes I think for a week then decide. Realistically it's too overwhelming to sell it all

Fell right off.

Have just thrown away a bra, and a pair of jeans.

And have used up a bubble bath and a face mask.

Also thrown away some of the dcs artwork.

@IncessantNameChanger

Yes it is soothing to sort that het rid. Its comforting to take some time with more tricky items as then your more when it finally goes.

My clothes pile is horrific. I have about 90 items in my cars boot, 20 onna spare bed and my rooms looks no different! But everything in the wardrobe is grouped into skirts, dresses, leggings etc so the aim will be to rationalise each category until it fits.

So sort and then thin. Anything else is overwhelming. When its overwhelming I chip at it. Once it's done I then concentrate on in / numbers and then seasonal thinning. My God that's all hone so wrong within this pandemic.

I never put things away properly and now in a jumble sale

I did a huge wardrobe cull a few weeks ago and did exactly the same. Things in their type and the. Sorted through them. Eg I had 3 black Tshirts. Just plain black crew neck capped sleeve basic tshirts. Ditched two. Kept one. And repeat with each category. Managed to thin it down a lot. It took all day. But I did it.

Working on my beauty product hoard currently. I have waaaaaaaaaay too much stuff that I’m not using. So must use up.

The two things I’ve got rid of today are samples. But every little counts.

It's very eye opening seeing things grouped together. I have 14 pairs of black leggings

incessant you’re doing so well. Everyone has different areas that they find hard and it’s great that you’re doing yours.

To answer your question I don’t find I buy new things after decluttering unless an obvious gap appears when I’ve grouped thing s together. So in the case of clothes if I sorted all my cardigans out I might realise I need a black one or something, but it’s all more organised than it used to be. I’m used to declutter and find things I’d never worn and had forgotten about. Now I probably know everything in my wardrobe.

Today was a good day although I will be watching some YouTube maths videos to help dd1!

We made a chair and bookcase and put all my files in the new bookcase. The Room of Doom is a complete mess again as I shoved papers all over the floor. I’ll organise it next week.

I also found 13 books that can go, half of them are big hardbacks.

polyannaperspective are you expecting your dc to homeschool again or be isolated? I’m desperately hoping I don’t have to homeschool again, I can’t use my dining room because I’ve still got the laptops and classroom set up but I close the door on it. I really should tackle it soon.

Decluttered into paper bin - instruction booklet for ancient ghetto blaster that was binned years ago. Also best buy car catalogue from about ten years ago. Some LO scribbles that they agreed could go out.

@IncessantNameChanger

It's very eye opening seeing things grouped together. I have 14 pairs of black leggings

Depending on how often you wear them I’d personally cut that down by half.

stealth it is a post university DC returning home for a while before sorting out renting in somewhere far more metropolitan than our rural backwater! They have a proper job so need somewhere sensible to work.

incessant you're doing so well. emem84 is right, you could start by getting rid of half the leggings?

I've shredded/ thrown out enough paper to fill a large paper recycling bag. Lots of personal letters gone, my childhood vaccinations and weigh in cards from the 1970s, leaflets. I have also taken a folder from the new bookcase and started to shred bank statements from the 90s .

I also shredded a letter from two people I had never heard of who live at number 55a thanking me for a bottle of port! I have been looking at this racking my brain as to who they are, it had my name on so must've been aimed at me. It looked hand delivered so I assume they were / are neighbours at some point in the last twenty years but I have no idea where 55a is!

In the past week we didn’t get much decluttering done as I suspected due partly to the multiple meals out for my birthday which were greatly enjoyed , it’s been a while ! We did in the end get about 25 admin and other jobs done and that’s important too .finally got our boiler serviced in this house and boiler in the old house is been seen to today , gardener booked here hopefully on Thursday . I got Wimbledon tennis tickets for the boys after 4 h of virtual queuing then they’ll have F1 at Silverstone the following weekend which was DS Christmas present . DH did another dump trip and took the rest of charity shop stuff away on sat . Around here they’re still happy to receive donations not turning people away which is great . This week we’ll take DD leaving presents to school for her class mates then it’s her own party followed soon by another she’s going to so that’s another 3 boxes out of here . All this frees up a lot of space . I scrubbed ground floor pre MIL yesterday’s visit before and after our birthday / Father’s Day lunch out and my DS did the top floor tomorrow need to do the first floor but today it’ll be admin and laundry . We did the under stairs cupboard finally on sat so I can cross it off the list ! Then it’s just a few kitchen cupboards and drawers before I’ll go to top floor . I might ask DH to bring me DD wardrobe contents before that . I know there’ll be a bunch of too small ones I’ll try to just donate not save as I have been before . We didn’t find much more to go out from the under stairs cupboard after my initial removal of too small tennis rackets etc . Out recently :

• motorcycle gloves ( one of DH collection of 4-5 pairs )
• kids knee pads
• broken hockey stick bag which is being replaced
• 2 pairs of unused boys shoes to charity shop
• 1 pair of flip flops and 2 broken trainers to bin
• a pile of DH magazines and mail from the study to recycling
• DH ski coat with annoying zip to dump clothing collection ( not sure if I’ve mentioned this )

-Earmarked to go DH fleece if he lets me replace it

• some old games kit of DS hiding in the under stairs cupboard to clothing collection
• a dog frisbee
• also old food from the pantry
• a few more bits to rag bank from clean laundry pile
• boat cleaning sprays to MIL house

Can’t remember anything else right now

Here’s the newly decluttered and organised but cramped under stairs cupboard (of doom no longer ) . We boxed things up as much as we could and I had two more narrow long wire baskets left from the utility room I used but I didn’t label boxes now maybe in the new house garage storage i will . I’m looking forward to more space for storage in it ! Neither current or old house have garages so the new double garage will be a vast improvement!

have collected a few more books from dm's house to add to my reading pile. these will go to charity shop once finished.

Ememem, I’ve been bad at continuing the reading marathon of my remaining books (22 I think ) after doing 3-5 a month this y to begin with . I’ve reduced them down to what I definitely do want to read but that can go after . I now have 3 Sunday news papers to read first DH brought from the old house they still go there but then I will finish the current book that has 500 pages . I’m often far too tired for book reading so stare at the tv or internet instead .
I’m itching to get going with DD clothes but can’t face her whole room atm so was asking for DH to bring the clothes down to look through instead ,hopefully he has time to later .
Poor doggy still looking miserable but he did eat breakfast . No walk in this rain feeling ill though . I’m hoping he soon perks up .
Our old house boiler job is done . Cost hundreds but they came and did everything in one day inc replacing the part on the day so we’re happy about that after the original new boiler installing company let us down repeatedly so it took a year to get it done ( it took DH ages to move on to booking these reliable but expensive other people I told him to book ). Our new gardener is now confirmed for thu . Really want it done it hasn’t been since before we moved here ( no grass ) and the bushes and trees in a raised box in the back of it have gone wild now and desperately need a trim ! Hoping to maybe then just have a little tidy up before we move out .
Also threw out

• a broken shower hose but it got replaced

nordic time is not my friend when reading. two dc under 4, and literally no time to sit and read. and by the time i do have time of an evening i'm usually so shattered that all i want to do it sleep.

but i have a stash. and i will get through them. i ambitiously said i was going to read 24 books this year. have so far finished 2.

I have got rid of about 50 things in the last two days but I feel so despondent. Not sure how things have got so bad in 16 months 😭

I only really need to thin out clothes, toys and paperwork to make a massive difference then tackle my food cupboards which shouldn't be more than one days job.

Just feel like I could slap myself as I have been acquiring things that I thought I needed but didnt as they was already lost in my disorganised mess.

I'm feeling the urge to go off on random tangents as well. I need to do the boys clothes and my clothes and only that. Maybe I need to chunk it all out.

I'm going to stick.hard to not buying any clothes. Maybe put that money aside in a tin. Pre covid I would wonder around the charity shops once a week. Im on a ban now 😂

@IncessantNameChanger

I have got rid of about 50 things in the last two days but I feel so despondent. Not sure how things have got so bad in 16 months 😭

I only really need to thin out clothes, toys and paperwork to make a massive difference then tackle my food cupboards which shouldn't be more than one days job.

Just feel like I could slap myself as I have been acquiring things that I thought I needed but didnt as they was already lost in my disorganised mess.

I'm feeling the urge to go off on random tangents as well. I need to do the boys clothes and my clothes and only that. Maybe I need to chunk it all out.

I'm going to stick.hard to not buying any clothes. Maybe put that money aside in a tin. Pre covid I would wonder around the charity shops once a week. Im on a ban now 😂

That’s what I did. I banned myself from buying unless I needed to replace something. And if at lunchtime I wander the shops and see something I like but don’t need I transfer the cost to savings.

Out today: pair of yellow espadrilles which whilst comfy as hell are battered and squeak.

I spent yesterday morning going through our big tin of colouring pencils which would no longer close. Think despite covid rules DD must be bringing them back from school. Anyway I binned a big piles of ones which were only an inch long, plus some dried up pen and a sharpener which broke while I was sharpening the ones to keep. The tin closes now!

I've just got a big bag of baby things out to sort for hand me downs. Will keep some favourite ones for now but hopefully will get a fair bit out.

I'm also on a buying ban unless to replace something specific.

I have just got rid of 13 items of my clothing. That was painful 😭 I have three bin bags for charity tomorrow and will start on a rag bag for the tip tomorrow. Ds has come home in ripped trousers so they can kick off tomorrow.

I have a massive Primark style bag of kids clothes to sell, so as that overflows it can go into my weekly charity bag.

Surely if I just even chuck ten items a week until Christmas and buy nothing it will get better?!

Off to check my Santander wallet to see how much I was spending on clothes to divert to my tin

@IncessantNameChanger

I have just got rid of 13 items of my clothing. That was painful 😭 I have three bin bags for charity tomorrow and will start on a rag bag for the tip tomorrow. Ds has come home in ripped trousers so they can kick off tomorrow.

I have a massive Primark style bag of kids clothes to sell, so as that overflows it can go into my weekly charity bag.

Surely if I just even chuck ten items a week until Christmas and buy nothing it will get better?!

Off to check my Santander wallet to see how much I was spending on clothes to divert to my tin

Good job. It’s a start. And it’ll make a difference!!!

Xxx

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Just catching up on the thread.

Nothing done here as had my second Covid jab on Saturday and felt so rough on Sunday and had loads of work on today.

Aiming to start tackling the loft of doom tomorrow. There is so much stuff up there it’s feeling really over whelming. I don’t know where all this stuff comes from.