Decluttering one item a day thread number 19 – running out of ideas for original titles

[stealthninjamum]

Another ‘one a day’ thread. We’re still here.

This is a group of mumsnetters who are slowly decluttering our spaces and organising our lives, chatting as we go.

We all want to live in a nicer, emptier, clearer more relaxing environment and this is our space to talk and moan about our husbands and children who often do not share our desire for such a peaceful, decluttered haven!

We only aim to get rid of one item a day, when we have time, although often we manage more. Newbies are always welcome to join us.

Previous thread here.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/4259830-Decluttering-one-item-a-day-thread-number-18-quickly-stashing-our-clutter-in-charity-shops-now-we-can-let-people-back-inside-our-houses?pg=1

Incessant that's brilliant, I would love them to go to a good home. If you dm me your address I can send them to you.

mommabear I'm also sorry for your loss.

Thank you ❤️
It's in DH side so slightly easier for me than him but still hard for us all

@Mommabear20 - sorry to hear that - it is tough isn't it. @Gassylady hope that this winter isn't too grim for you and your colleagues.

I managed to clear the final shelf in the cupboard and a windowsill in the girls' room today and take the saleable items to the charity shop. Quite a lot in the bin and a small box of stuff for the 17 year old to go through when she's home at the weekend. I also managed to list a couple of items on ebay but not as much as I'd hoped.

Tomorrow is a pile of stuff in a corner which has been grimacing at me for a while. I'm not sure what I'll do about it as a lot is jigsaws and I don't feel able to donate without checking they are complete and certainly don't have the time to check if they are. Any bright ideas?

First step is to look at the pile for definite, might not be as bad as you think.

You could try just counting pieces? And checking the backing all looks the same.

Out today:
One random plastic box lid
Lots of artwork that we were using to decorate the builders wall

Not exactly out but sorted:
Lots of scout badges sewn onto blankets & shirts, not finished yet

And most dramatically but also not really out:
I can unsubscribe from job websites as I got a job!

Nearly out:
Have sold all the Lego, some to be collected this eve, the rest tomorrow morning.

Out:
One Lego set posted this morning

In:
Lots of Christmas shopping, need to sort and hide before DC come home. Did manage to resist quite a lot, but is making it hard to find things that fit with decluttering. That isn’t just chocolate!

Sorry to hear your sad news @Mommabear20

Thanks for the kind words about the housework thread, everyone! I really regret not mentioning the chronic illness/ energy issues in my OP, as I think the responses would have been kinder. You live and learn.

Very little decluttering here, as ever, but I have a new ‘area’ - bus tickets! I use the bus quite a lot, and as they now take contactless payments, the bus tickets are also the receipt, so I prefer to shred them. I pulled them all out of the receipts pile today and made a start on shredding. It’s something small I can do while I’m WFH, and an easy win.

Oh no! I have fallen off the wagon and bough a stash of second hand kids clothes. I am feeling a bit shit and buying is my standard drug of choice. It's all gone into dd room with Christmas presents. My plan is to leave it there until I can count it and then make way for it. I'm hoping I didnt buy too much. I didnt take note over the last few weeks ( I buy it from the charity shop I volunteer in and a few trips to cancer research).

I'm in a bad place. House looks tidy. I can pass as a non hoarder in the living room. But I'm.crying nearly every day while looking for a secondary for my SEN son. He is only year five. If I was a normal person I would drink myself into a coma. But it cant even get a mental health meltdown right.

I'm.just sad and stressed.

But I bought the most Amazing kids Christmas jumpers in the charity shop so I dont care. Just got to donate last years now....... denial mode "la la la la" fingers in the ears time 🤣

No ones perfect. I must account for it. That's all

Sorry you’re finding it so hard @IncessantNameChanger. When I feel that way I remind myself that everything changes, that’s all we can sure of, and that applied to these situations as well.

Sorry @IncessantNameChanger that you are finding it hard. I have issues from time to time but find getting out and doing something (anything) can help for you (and at least they are the tye you don't have to clear up afterwards...

Not a big declutter today as I've been volunteering at the vaccine centre - so the main "out" was a guy who bad mouthed me for not letting him take his dog into the centre to support his partner - she was getting the vaccine not him - so I decluttered him to wait by the exit....

DH did chuck a load of old wine bottles into the recycling - originally we were going to try and put fairly lights in them for the garden table but nothing worked as the battery packs were too big. I've also listed some of the girls stuff on a local group ad a mother on another thread wants a music book so i;m going to drop it off for her on Saturday.

Incessant- sympathies, I have spells where nothing leaves and crap creeps in, I’m on a roll atm, but it won’t last. And then there’s Christmas…

Met lady in car park after my run this morning and handed over
Playmobil house & bits
Last bags of DDs Lego
Build a bear wardrobe and clothes.

DD now has her target for buying herself a chrome book so we’ll be doing that this eve, then I can hopefully collect from Argos tomorrow.

Meanwhile I’m collecting some horrible history books from dangerously near a Matalan later, so may end up doing some shopping.

Sorry incessant that’s so tough. Finding a school is hard at the best of times never mind when they have SEN. It’s scandalous how we treat kids with SEN. I know hoarding isn’t great but we all make mistakes and so be kind to yourself and focus on the good job you are doing caring for your lovely child in a system that is so stacked against us.

I have done next to nothing this week decluttering wise but I have just posted ten books to incessant, gone on two parenting courses, and chucked out some stickers.

Three colouring books gone today. Took them into work (as we left the house grabbed them so I could sift through that at lunchtime) and ripped them apart. Took out all the good pages. Binned the finished ones.

Also this week have used up a shampoo and conditioner. A night cream.

Have binned a holy moly pj top of ds’ (trousers still good so keeping these)

And a whole load of cardboard.

I’m just about getting rid of one thing a day. Today is one of those hard, rigid hair bands that goes over your head. It presses on me and gives me headaches so I haven’t worn it for years.

Don’t think anything has left today.

Dd got her new laptop.
I bought some Christmas bits in the range.
Plus a couple of bits from Matalan yesterday.

Have found a home for my old worktops as one of the builders wants them so that’s something not in the skip.

I’m not managing one thing every day but I am managing a few things every few days.
All the eBay stuff went on Tuesday, I took another bag to charity today. A couple of bags of clothes went to charity earlier this week.
I’ve also taken some photos of the next lot of eBay stuff.
We had an estate agent around to value our house yesterday so the thought of having photos taken is extra motivation!

Didn't manage to get anything done yesterday but have done slightly better today as I sold some of the girls' things and the mother collected them pretty promptly. I also took another bag of stuff to the charity shop. One of the regular volunteers 9 year old granddaughter was covering the donations box so we had a lovely chat about how she liked to help people who weren't as lucky as she was!

Thank you @stealthninjamumtealth for posting the books it's so kind of you and we will make good use of them.

Things have imploded today. The eldest two have gone with dh to see fil. Told them to pack. No clean pants!

So that thing I never do, you know sitting around drinking tea, watching daytime TV, scratching my bum? Well my REAL daytime jobs didnt get done, so no underwear.

Late collection both little kids and got my ecg timing wrong.

So a bad day I think. Still everyone is still alive so I'm winning! Ds18 boxers all washed on a quick wash 🤢 but I put disinfectant in so surely that's good enough.

Little two have disability play group tomorrow so I'm going to tackle dd rooms of dumped clothes and tackle the boys beds.

I think the wheels always fall off after half terms and holidays for me. I need to prepaire for them better

We all have days like that, when you wonder why you got out of bed!

I have at least allocated the next box for charity and put a few bits in it. Not left the house as such but out of sight and out of their previous homes.

🍷 time!

Sometimes everyone alive is as much as you can manage in a day @IncessantNameChanger. I feel for you on the school search, a family member is currently dealing with the same albeit for a primary place and it is so hard.

I tidied up my wardrobe yesterday and threw away the packaging for some shower gel, it was in a gift box so taking up a lot less space now. Also got rid of a bottle of cough syrup that was several years out of date.

We've got quite a lot on this weekend so not sure what else if anything will make it out of the door!

You have my sympathy @IncessantNameChanger choosing schools is hard enough without having to factor in specific needs too. Don’t beat yourself up we all fall off the wagon at times, important thing is to get right back on that horse! I confess I am thinking of my own relationship with food as I type
Progress here several small lego bits listed on eBay and a few sales made already. More shredding to do but need to empty shredder first and we have run out of the recycling bags. Thinking i will do bathroom drawers again they seem to refill like the magic porridge pot!

Bravissimo have a donation bin for old bras! They then make a donation for every kg of bras to Coppafeel

I could do with throwing out all of my bras I think, but the shop I used to go to shut down, prefer going into a shop for them but may end up with primark just for some cheap ones soon.

Out
Borrowed sleeping bag returned to owner

Hoping to finish paint stripping old wardrobe today so we can get on with repainting it, then sorting out DDs clothes.

Slowly finishing off the girls' room - a few still wrapped jigsaws to the charity shop and some more things offered to local mums group - hoping that they will be taken as they offer ways to occupy children when the Christmas holidays arrive....

However the corner of doom with the unwrapped jigsaws is still looming!

Much better day today.

I counted my room of impulse charity shop kids clothes and the damage was 58 pieces of clothing! Only 8 out 😢 I would say my previous good work and mega clear outs saved me as there was a space for everything but a pile of clothes did fall on my head while I was gathering the kids Christmas bits. It was the decluttering gods dishing out my karma 🤣 I mutted my disgust at my own doing

House is calmer and cleaner. My eldest kids room no longer smell of entitlement and teenage but fabreeze and is clean and tidy.

Just got to tackle the massive pile if Christmas jumpers / tops and dresses for decluttering ( another flash point of wanting to keep it all)
I think the kids have underwear now too.

I must admit I did do some putting things that look and smell fine back on hangers for a second wear.

I can take the kids out for a treat tomorrow relatively guilt free. No need for the kids to wear bin bags on Monday. Crisis averted 🤣

I only fasted until 2pm.today but also feel a bit better I think for it? Only ate when I was hungry. feel a bit more normal for that

Sounds like you had a good day @IncessantNameChanger
I sorted through some unopened post and junk mail today and finished my drafts for eBay.
Apart from that it was mostly tidying stuff away - all the summer coats - and getting out my winter boots. If I ever need them! With this mild weather my boots don’t seem the right thing to wear at all even though it’s nearly December. I think I could get rid of some of my old shoes to charity too.
Started filling the charity bag again ready to take next week and stopped myself buying two secondhand books on eBay! I don’t need them. I can order one of them from the library anyway.