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

I went to the tip today and got rid of a few bin bags of broken toys and a broken garden chair.

I have got another 16 items of clothing ready to go to charity next week. A few more things listed to sell.

Not able to do much really while I have my son off school due to a covid case. But on chugging away. I think moving the boys clothes over into next draws next week is going to be a bit easier now.

Finally found a friend to pass on our baby car seat. That has left a big gap! Some other baby things going to one of my oldest friends when their new one makes an appearance. Got rid of some books and dvds to music magpie and ziffit.

Still no decision on storage unit…

We’ve had a storage unit since the fall before we moved here so for the last 18m or so . It was the only way to sort out our last house . I went through stuff like kids clothes and organised by age ,labeled and off they went out of our way since it was a huge mess after pulling out all our attic contents . Also have things like a bugaboo buggy there and boxes that I’ll have to weed through consisting of kids school work and art . I’ll only want to keep some off those in the long run but at least it’s neatly contained for now . There is nothing random there at all just organised labeled boxes and once we move we’ll probably give it up ,we ‘ll have so much more space and an attic room I plan to store stuff like that in . I can then go through them at my leisure . Not yet ready to give away all the kids clothes or this buggy but little by little I am able to let go more than I have before . I think I am now starting to accept that due to my age ,illnesses etc we won’t try more ivf anymore and adoption wasn’t ever on the table anyway . I’m struggling with two kids and now a puppy already being quite unwell so that it is probably enough for me . That baby fever and yearning is getting less the older I get definitely . It’s like I’ve moved onto another chapter . My DD is only 9 so I have many years of her childhood ahead of me still even if my DS is soon leaving home for university. He’s got A levels left so won’t be long now and it makes me sad already . i’m mourning his childhood being soon over but trying to think about how much fun we’ve had and how many experiences we’ve had together and places I’ve seen with him and we’ve definitely made the most of it and spent so much time together . I was always home when he was little and he only went to nursery on two aft so it was full on .

And finally we’ve gotten the garden tidied today by a professional after not managing to get gardener in last y at all so that’s a big job off the list . In the last week also had our boiler here serviced and old house boiler fixed and leaving presents taken to school etc . I’m really happy we are ticking off this many since normally it’s a struggle with DH so busy. If tomorrow’s new groomer , DD outdoor go kart party on sat when it’s meant to rain , her school sports day on Monday ( same possible rain ) and puppy’s neutering on Tue all go to plan I’d be amazed . I just want to get through them . Just said no thanks to offer to go see our new unfinished house in the rain on sun . The kitchen and bathrooms are in next they’ll start painting so I’ll go there once that’s done rather I don’t want anything extra to do on the one day we now don’t have something. I am nervous about our little doggy’s operation and recovery . I know it’s a routine operation but still prepared for a week of an unwell poor dog …

@IncessantNameChanger something that helped me with the kids clothes was having a basket or bag sat at he bottom of their wardrobes for outgrown stuff. when ds' is full i sort through and pass stuff onto dd. when hers is full it goes to charity.

That's a good idea ememem. Clothes are my hoard so find something that works. I have had a bin bag on the go on the landing for about a year, which looks messy so I sorted that into hand me downs and charity today. So that's gone. I will try a bag in the wardrobe.

I have washed a lovely kids dress which has a random stain today so that's another possible out.

I'm not feeling it still but I'm doing it and that's all that matters

I’ve just deleted 400 photos/videos from my phone. Still have about a gazillion more. But. It’s a start.

Emails tomorrow.

Joining in if i may !?

I have tried so hard to declutter . But just end up miving things around intead !

But last week i was spurred on by 2nd year uni dc coming home .
I had the garden " done" = 12 bags .
Shed emptied ..
Long gully area ( dumping ground) next to downstairs toilet emptied .
Re otganised ..and room for dc's uni suitcases .

I had a " man with a van " do 2 visits to clear it all .
Sooo satisfying !
House is still a mess !

But i am in the middle of doing the airing cupboard now .
I have charity collection booked un a few days .
Struggling to get rid of the " children " quilt covers ... but i know i must .
Ds 's are . 20 /18/ 16 !!

I am terrible for " oh it might come in useful as an emergency " type of person !!

I am gonna need alot of support !!😂😂

Welcome bizzey it sounds like you have already made amazing progress. Well done! Did you take any before / after photos? I find they help when it feels like your not getting anywhere.

Could you keep 50% of bedding for now? Not all the hard bits have to be done at once, plus you can keep things as long as other things go, more to more easy category.

I'm a proper hoarder. I dont want ever want to be documentary worthy level hoarding. If something is emotional I find I either leave it or I can sort it three days in a row. So I might think about it and touch those items a few times on successive days then it either becomes clear it needs to go or I can face letting it go right now. So maybe the quit sets can go yet but the fitted sheets can. The more you do it daily the easier it gets.

I'm watching Hoarding no room to move and forcing myself to accept that everything those hoarders say is something I can relate to.

I might need it one day - have I needed it in the last x time?

Someone could use this- who? No one probably

I will use it for x - so why is it still sitting there then?

I had a professional declutter tell me someone a while ago. Landfill is landfill whether it's in your house or in landfill. It's already landfill. It goes into rubbish sooner or later.

On that front nothing in or out today. I ha e tried to wash to lovely items of kids clothes but they are stained for good so they are earmarked for rags once they dry out

@Incessantnamechanger thank you for the welcome and your kind words .

I am torn about the quilt covers .
A) i did not know they were in there !

B) they are in a better condition than the " adult" quilt covers i moved onto !

I know the charity who is collecting from me sorts it out .
Some sheets are not really usable ( old / yellow type if things ) . .but they send them to animal charities ...so i am happy with that .

Ds has blitzzed his room as well knowing we can sort it out .

Luckily..my mum has a big loft so sentimental stuff can go in there... ( 10 mins up the road )

We are having a breather at the moment ...he is going out to get an ingredient for a cocktail he wants to make !!

@ememem84 If the loafers are still useful, is it worth dying them to cover the mark?

Animal shelter type of thing ..not animal charity .

Ok...does this sound good ..
I have put in bag ..the " child " quilt covers ...
Flat sheets ...that i was given ...all bed are against a wall ..so even fitted sheets cause me a oroblem !.

Kepping some pillow cases. As they can be used as protective cover type thing underneath.

2x3 single bed stuff .
2x1 king bed stuff.

3 single beds
1 king size bed

Welcome bizzey you’ve made a great start.

I’m similar in that I used to think ‘what if I regret getting rid of it?’ But I have been done this for years and I honestly cannot think of anything I regretted getting rid of. I rarely ‘finish’ an area the first time. I get rid of a few bits and then return to it a few weeks later and it seems easier after a while. I would say if you had forgotten about the duvet covers then you should probably get rid of them.

Just seen you’re update, they’re going? Well done.

I’ve had a busy couple of days mainly doing admin. But also my decorator came yesterday and whizzed through the stair painting, it looks amazing. He’s coming back tomorrow to see what it looks like dry but to me it looks done. I am so happy with my landing now.

Outs include more papers, some receipts, some pyjama bottoms and shorts that have lost their tops.

Sounds good ,you are making progress bizzey, it’s all a plus and an improvement to how it was before ! This is what I tell myself when I’m having a hard time and feel like nothing is getting done .
Gardener visited this house garden yesterday and it’s looking nice and tidy for the summer now . I think we’ll just do a little trim again in the fall before moving out ( there’s no lawn but a few trees and bushes in a box end of the patio garden and a climbing plant covering the fence all of which he cut back a lot ).
Been doing more admin , laundry and cleaned again downstairs after sorting out all DD clothes earlier in the week but I still need to dust in the first floor and clean rest of the bathroom in it . Also have to fold the clean laundry pile . Now our puppy’s got a pretty horrible cough so everything is going wrong here , we’ll have to see if he can have his operation next week or not . Had to book him the vet for tomorrow morning and cancel today’s grooming which is annoying since he’s got some awful matted knots on his legs we can’t untangle ourselves from being in the rain and roughly dried at his doggy daycare a week ago also it’s 4 w from last grooming next w so we really wanted to get it done before his neutering on Tuesday . Tomorrow afternoon is DD go karting party outside luckily forecasted good weather here . Mon her sports day then it says rain so we’ll have to see . I can’t decide if the the cough sounds like a kennel cough or allergies or something else so we’ll see what the Vet says . We’re recording it incase he doesn’t do it at the vet so they can see and hear for themselves . I have a bad feeling the op will be postponed …
Needless to say nothing out today so far except recycling but maybe some from the clean laundry pile I’ll fold later . Anyway I’m happy with the big load from DD clothes sort out on Tuesday , that’s enough for this week !

You are all do wellcoming , kind and lovely .
Thank you .
So nice to feel that i am not alone in this silly world of hoarding!

Congrats on your landing Steath! When we hired a decorator and an electrician to sort things out in our old house before selling it it was a revelation what a good job they could do on our yellowed skirting boards , walls , stairs , crumbling plaster around the ceiling spotlights etc . We’ve had so many builders in fixing things in various homes and not always well that it’s very satisfying when someone actually does their job well like yesterday’s gardener !

You really are not bizzy alone

I really should take photos !!

I’ve taken after photos for myself to keep me going ,not before …

nordicmom I’m so glad you had a good experience with your gardener,

I can’t tell you how happy I am with the landing. Apologies for people who have been on the thread a while and heard me say this several times before but I spend most of my time making the house ‘less bad’ by decluttering so when I do stuff that actually makes it nicer I get such a buzz. What with the landing being painted, new lights and bookcase last week my house has become so much nicer.

bizzey I regret not taking before photos. Also someone once said it’s easier to spot clutter in a photo than real life as you get used to living with it and I’d agree. I used to ‘tidy’ things by quickly putting them in a bag and hanging that bag somewhere ‘temporarily’ thinking it looked neat. Of course that bag would then stay there for two years because it blended in!

I forgot to mention that I got a phonecall yesterday. I took a broken camera to a shop to be fixed and he said the parts are no longer available but if I wanted they could sell it on eBay. It’s sad but I found the box, case and wires for the camera in different parts of the house and the camera had been in a kitchen drawer for about ten years so I’m just pleased to have finished another long standing decluttering job. I have another broken camera which I’m going to take to get fixed next week.

[quote sueelleker]@ememem84 If the loafers are still useful, is it worth dying them to cover the mark?[/quote]
I thought of that. But. They’re all scuffed. And I’ve not had good results dying shoes before. They were cheap anyway so I’m not too bothered about just binning them. They’ve had their time.

Not much out today. Packaging for things and that’s about it.

Although have used up a toothpaste and some bath salts.