Decluttering Club thread 2 2022 - trying to reduce stuff a little at a time.

[londonmummy1966]

New thread for those wanting to declutter

Old thread here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/4441273-decluttering-club-thread-20-22?pg=1

Another 13 items gone including 10 clay items made by dc. They took up a whole IKEA storage box which is cracked so that’s a whole box of stuff in bin bags. It does make me feel bad at how much waste we created with arts and crafts. Hopefully it will be the last generation and we can move back to more sustainable alternatives.

I'm sorting through my CDs, which feels like a real turning point in my decluttering journey. They've been in a box in the attic, untouched, since we moved in in 2010 and have survived many previous rounds of clutter busting unscathed. I love music but stream everything digitally. Why then has it been such an emotional pull to get rid of my CD collection? It is the very definition of clutter - sitting unused in a box taking up space and constantly depreciating in value - and yet I've resisted getting rid.

Most of my favourites are already digitized from my itunes days, and I'm enjoying adding things to spotify playlists as I sort too. In time I may even look into digital jukebox software.

It's slightly heartbreaking getting 10p an album when my younger self spent £10 odd of my hard earned part time job money to buy each one. I think this is heightened by knowing that I've yet to think about touching our vast DVD collection! Still, a big box each to ziffit and music magpie will net me around £15 which I may put towards a digital hard drive for backing up music and photos.

I may yet keep a few favourites (it isn't Christmas unless Michael Buble serenades me as I put up the tree 😂) but I need to be strict with myself about putting the ones that the buying sites reject into the charity bag. It's not worth my time keeping them for another pass at music magpie for all of 2 or 3 quid if I'm lucky! I want a neat and orderly home; that and my time is worth more than the pittance I'd get if I were to keep them and try again later in the year.

Hi there. I'm interested in joining you. I had to move out of my flat for 4 weeks recently because it needed subsidence repairs. Even though I had removers packing up it nearly killed me. So much stuff and so much dust!
I have been reading a couple of decluttering books and getting some inspiration.
I think I'm going to tally the stuff I get rid of over August but also the stuff I bring is as otherwise I'll not know how much I am actually reducing.
I'm into generally having less stuff so I have less things to look after.
Though you wouldn't necessarily know this from looking round my flat.

Movers come tomorrow 😱😱😱

Hi I'd love to join in too. It's time for the yearly Declutter. I can feel everything starting to get on top of me - just moving piles around because there are no proper places to put them away anymore.

Excellent going everyone ! I am trying here too .I looked through most of one food cupboard today and a quite a bit had gone old unfortunately. Looking more orderly there now though again.
-30+ packets of old food , recycled the packaging as much as I could
-1 baking item to food bank
-1 of my books finished
-13 of those useless biros that made a mess in DS rucksack, the lids never stay on these ones although the one that made the mess in his bag had broken too he said
-1 busted basketball that is leaking
-2 more packets of old meds
-2 more sheet face masks, I used one yesterday ,the other one that I opened first smelled awful so it went straight in the bin
-1 old plate
-7 old dog toys
-1 old private eye annual
-1 kids book we have a duplicate of
still on the hunt for a boardgame DD will agree to part with , I spotted 2 I definitely don’t want to keep and we never play but I’ll have to check

Good luck with your move @Sexnotgender !

Ooh good luck with the move sexnotgender

I’ve just got rid of 43 bits of crap. Old screws, nuts, bits of plastic, metal while tidying the utility room. I keep my diy stuff in there and couldn’t find a screwdriver earlier to change some batteries. So I emptied all the shelves and rearranged everything and I’m now going around the house looking for all the screwdrivers.

Thanks, we’ve got soooooo much stuff! And that’s with doing a huge declutter. Madness.

Good luck moving @Sexnotgender !

@stealthninjamum & @Nordicmom That sounds like great progress.

Re CDs - we got rid of nearly all of ours a few years back when we did most of Marie Kondo’s steps. Haven’t missed them.

we’ve passed on a small kids size bench to my brother for his little boy. Was cluttering up the porch and just became a place to dump things on the way in or out of the house.

also made it to the charity shop with two full boxes of too small kids clothes and random other items - going to say approx 40 items

plus 3 returns to Matalan that didn’t fit DD that were cluttering up the hallway

plus about 10 dead nerf bullets, loads of rubbish and a broken small bag from DS1’s bedroom.

= about 54
forgot what number I was on, will have to look back and find the last post.

283+54=337

away for a few days now, hope to crack on when we get back as more building bits should be finished.

Thanks livinginabuildingsite I can’t believe how much stuff is going from areas I had thought I had ‘finished’. I have got rid of about 5 bits from my bedroom - papers and a handbag I’ve decided I don’t want.

I have a question about selling more expensive items. I have some electronics I might sell. Usually I take cash for things but my buyer might not want to give cash. So I wondered what is a secure way of taking payment that means they can’t rip me off and change their mind? Personally I’d rather take cash but it’s a lot of money and I wouldn’t give a stranger that much cash either - about £150.

@stealthninjamum , I’d just say it’s cash only to save trouble . We have had expensive items paid in cash every time with no
problem like bikes , DH motorcycle pannier which went for over 800£ I think . We’ve had no problems doing this . I still use cash occasionally so we’re fine with this method it’s good to have some I think not just cards .

I think we have now settled on letting the tiddlywinks game go it’s never used
we agreed to play the Countdown game one more time before it can probably go ( I’ll keep it if DS wants to desperately but I don’t care about it or DD and we never play it ) .
I also have high hopes of the motorcycle leaving soon possibly even this fri , details of price etc should be confirmed tomorrow . Then DH will go through his gear as well and most of it will go I think .
Out today :
-tiddlywinks game
-DD too small shorts that were super tight suddenly but practically new to the charity shop
-a stack of newspapers and magazines from my room to recycling
-1 of my old T-shirts with holes
-2 pairs of my pants both to rags

Thanks nordicmom the electronics are going at the weekend and I’m getting cash. I’m always a bit weary about selling things to men at my home especially as I’m a single mum, hopefully dp or stbexh can be there in the background.

so with electronic items that’s another 18 things going and we’re donating another bloodyDavid Walliams book. I know that a couple of years ago, on the thread, we all decluttered our David Walliams books! I never buy them but grandparents think they make great presents (ie they can be bought in a supermarket with no other effort!)

Total so far is 2102.

turns thread to self I've had the most stressful few days; my phone which was only just fixed went dead the screen anyway on Saturday, I was in the middle of giving stuff away on Olio and marketplace, I couldn't get on FB on laptop for various reasons, couldn't get my banking cos it kept auto filling characters and I didn't want to lock myself out 🙊 tried to use an old phone and even up in account recovery 16yo said it might take weeks 😱 work only use WhatsApp which I couldn't get on with no phone and I'm going away in a few days it was so stressful! ended up getting a new phone yesterday pm and it's only just usable now 🫣 so so stressful oh and my dishwasher is going to the great Curry's in the sky 😮 oh and DD is refusing to go away cos she doesn't want to miss training oh and I've got got a really inconvenient triathlon coming up forgot about which I don't know if I can realistically do 😕 only 2 bundles still to be collected and 1 still up for grabs

2 bags to the clothing bank, it's a start!

DH motorcycle should now be going next week fri , I can’t wait !!!

Out today:
-3 books to community library shelf in supermarket (including Marie Kondo's book)

• a hot wheels car with no wheels
• a pile of receipts.

I'm hoping to have a very productive decluttering day tomorrow and go to the dump.

StealthNinjaMum bank transfer is the only other safe way as a seller to get paid and not have them reverse the payment. But it's fine to insist on cash. I bought my last car cash £1500. To many people its not the big deal you think it is.

Out: faulty iron, bag of clothes, bag of DVD's.

Cable on iron exposed wire casing which was cracked with age. Asked if wire might crack and start a fire or still ok to use. Told fire risk unlikely but it'd probably electrocute me 😱

Just back off holiday. Binned some underwear while there and I think two of DS shorts are now beyound repair as are two of dds Tshirts. Going to wash everything then have a reevaluate of there summer clothes (.again!)

I've fallen off this thread but am back again with the ultimate goal of decluttering enough to hire a cleaner in the future.

I'm going to try and put away half of my sons toys. He hardly plays with them so some toy rotation may spark interest again.

Thanks wildblueandditzy I ended up taking £150 in cash but will remember a bank transfer in future.

So we’ve had a load of old electronics leave the house today and I have bagged up a load of crap for the charity shop, I’m aiming to go Monday.

I havent fallen off.
Still lurking.
But life has overtaken events, shall we say.

Just a quick check in. Lots of kids socks and undies into rag bag some outgrown and old colours school gym kit for there too. Creates a bit more cupboard space in youngest’s room to put away some of the books that seem to be everywhere