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

Binned some colouring books today. And moved some things downstairs from my wardrobe which will eventually live in downstairs cabinet (sewing machine and sewing box).

tidied up under stairs cupboard.

todied garage.

DH motorcycle still hopefully being sold and collected next fri, then he’ll declutter more motorcycle gear too .
He went to the dump today so a lot of cardboard and some bags to rag bank etc are gone .
I’m hoping he’ll take a load to the charity shop today or next weekend before we’ll travel but he’s been having long covid symptoms so not up to as many jobs atm .
I folded the laundry mountain today so a few things from it going
-3 DH old T-shirts
-1 pair of DH pants
-9 pairs of DH faded socks all to rags
-1 useless sharpener
-2 old wooden utensils both to bin
-1 unused small gymnastics costume to charity
-1 DD science kit used up from cluttering up her toy box

Back from a few days away, home for a week then away for holiday with extended family.
kids have all been at scout camp for a week, so tonnes of laundry and sorting to do.

out so far:
pair of old running socks
pack of kids socks with holes in
wrecked yoga mat from camp (was only a cheap one I bought by mistake)

also hopefully temporarily out:
one knife from camping cutlery set (tent fellow may have it)

and, more seriously,

my reading glasses that must have fallen out of the car in the field where we picked them up - not holding out much hope they’ll end up in lost property and get posted back but you never know, meanwhile I’ll have to get a cheap pair from Boots today as everything is blurry!

337+3=340

Also out

broken paddling pool thermometer
OOD pool tester set

lots of bugs and leaves from the pool left unattended for a week - even with a cover on!

now need to blitz the chemicals and see if it’s recoverable..

340+2=342

Still going here too

Cleared out the cupboard in DS room. He is only 3 so it's all my junk. Found my degree certificate, hadn't realised it was lost. Bag I thought was full of pristine bubble wrap turned out to be full of screwed up old tissue paper, now in the recycling. At a loss with what to do with some elderly fancy dress outfits bought for a specific party years ago - hang on to them just in case, probably.

All my work has got DH mildly enthusiastic and he's intending to clear out the heap of junk the builders left in 2012 and take it to the tip. We'll see!

Nothing done last week, apart from DH identifying two books to go to the charity shop. Unfortunately these were books in an overflow pile, so it’s not clearing any space on the bookcases!

I really do feel that we are much more inefficient with time than other people, and I’m thinking about starting a thread on here to see if anyone else has the same problem. Not sure about doing it, as the last time I did a similar thread, I ended up feeling very criticised and people kept suggesting tips that we already do, so made me feel worse!

Builders came to check the source of a leak , a small pinhole on a pipe just above the stain in the downstairs loo ceiling so shouldn’t be a big job . Two more visits though just as we’re trying to travel . Then my friend who’s on her car trip in Europe said her husbands got Covid and they’re now coming home early in their own car so I’ll have to cancel my dinner and movie date with her next week I’ve looked forward to all summer since I can’t take any chances catching it especially after last trip just got cancelled due to DH getting covid ( and now he’s still unwell so that’s hard enough as it is with my atm unbearable pain and dizziness ).Oh yes and DS hair salon cancelled his app for this aft , got a new app now for today but at a much higher rate . I feel like this happens every time I book online so next time I’ll call and will write it down to see if it’s the case then I’ll have to say about it !!!! Also sorting out a delivery of wrong storage boxes and a million other issues so I’m feeling like it’s a damn problem after another I have to solve with everything going wrong and I’m sick of it ! Of course we didn’t get rid of the charity shop load yesterday either , the shop was closed grrrr. Now they’re waiting in the smaller car at least they’re out of the house and will go next weekend I pray . Also DH just found out that his friend from work died in the weekend so now he’s depressed understandably .
I did get the under stairs cupboard finally reorganised with 2 more boxes in for sports stuff ( and DH motorcycle gear one out to the attic, a second one from the garage he’ll empty hopefully once the motorcycle is sold end of the week possibly ). I didn’t throw out much since I’d been going through it recently it was just a mess and needed organising and the double shoe rack .
Out :
-2 packets of coffee capsules to foodbank
-1 kids homemade javelin to bin
-1 dd old sweatshirt to clothes bank
-1 dd too small dress to charity shop
-2 pairs of dd small shorts to charity shop and to clothes bank
-1 ds too small trousers to charity shop
-1 old pair of my old uggs

I haven’t got rid of the stained clothes from holiday yet. No idea why? Why am I o indecisive? I need to get rid of lots of dd old uniform at some point too as her uniform changes going from infants to juniors

A few outs today :
-3 of my old pyjama shirts with holes in the sleeves to rag bank
-1 board game to charity
-1 old wooden spatula

Hi everyone, I hope you are keeping well.

After selling a few random CDs, I took a big bag of the rest of them off to a charity shop. Was a bit disappointed I didn't make much on them but the bags sitting about were doing my head in!

I also have a big box of DVDs I need to tackle. Do people still buy these or should I just cut my losses and take to charity shop? I tried Music Magpie but after the initial novelty of scanning being fun, I barely had a total worth sending!

Junk heap in the garden cleared, two carloads of rotten wood and degraded plasterboard taken to the tip!

Three books sold, and rag bag gone to the clothes recycling.

Bagged up baby clothes to go to a relative that wants them. It's a big help of bags in the hall atm but should be collected on Friday.

All of the charity shop round here are stuffed to the gills and not taking donations- think everyone's having a summer clear out.

If the old uniform is still useable then now is the time to put it in the Charity Shop , people wil be looking for Uniform for the new term now .

Especially PE kit and blazers .
My DD school changed their badge and tie in her Yr 11 , I washed her blazer and took it to a local shop (no point in it ending up in the next county )
I'd had the badge sewn on at a Dry Cleaner/Repair shop , it was in really good nick

Starting to pack for holiday and it’s encouraging me to move stuff about at the same time.

out:
fabric belt I never use
old soap dispenser
old shower hair catcher
about 10 old letters now longer needed
Old to do list/written new one so doesn’t count!

342+13=355

Are any of the DVDs collector's editions or rare? Those might be worth selling.

You could maybe see if CeX will buy your DVDs from you.

@MarthaMayWhovier definitely no collectors editions and not sure about rare, doubtful!

Like the cds I think about all the money I've spent in the last on them or gifts and think it's such a shame. I didn't think of CEX though!!

@DreamloverTealover
I think if you want to clear out your home and reclaim your space as soon a possible then things like dvds , cds , books and cheaper clothes etc smaller items that aren’t very valuable your time and energy are more valuable so just cart to charity anything in good condition , and rest to recycling ,dump or donate on Olio or similar . Only sell bigger more valuable things and you’ll get to the end of the clearing sooner without posting little parcels for the rest of your life for a few pounds and having to deal with people endlessly before it or shipping book piles for pounds ( of course will have to maintain for ever but to finish the actual clear out of large accumulated amounts ) . This is just my view out of necessity really since I’m so unwell and trying manage my life is hard without all these extra jobs that are endless .
Anyway please wish us luck with selling DH motorcycle tomorrow finally ! I just want it gone since it takes up a lot of space and isn’t used ever . He has to empty the garage for building a car later this year and now our garden landscaping has stalled in the drought so no sheds being put up either hence a pile of what feels like 10 bikes in the way too grrrr plus the gardening equipment . Getting a huge motorcycle out of there and the gear to go with it would help plus wouldn’t mind the money . We’re meant to be travelling in a week on Sat and I’m not getting any more packing done in the heat when my aircon is out of action in my bedroom and just dripping on the wall . Haven’t been able to get a date for a repairman yet so DH is looking at it . He’s pretty handy so might be able to do something although after taking the cover off it looks unlikely without possibly damaging something . Also have a builder coming tomorrow morning to fix a leak in the downstairs loo early and he’ll shut off our water too which I don’t like the sound off of course in this heat . So much stuff happening everyday with appointments and kids things etc and these extra problems popping up I can’t bloody concentrate on getting ready I’m struggling with my illnesses as it is anyway . Now don’t feel like going anywhere . When we’re back it’s only a few days and school starts so trying to remember if we have everything ready and both kids still have some work left . Garden stresses me out we’ve already payed a deposit ,and then the developers need to come to paint over various cracks all around the house that happen in new builds . Now they’ve told us early oct so we have some time after school starts to be organised . I don’t seem have time to deal with my health though and GP is pestering me about that too . Feel like bloody loosing it soon . We will buy a portable aircon for me for future but need to look at them before rushing into ordering anything . Now feel like cancelling half the things planned and just doing the minimum and I’ll delegate as much as I can . Tomorrow a camp for DD in the morning I’ll have DH drop off and DS pick-up , the dogs off daycare it’s too hot outside but our downstairs still got aircon in a part of it for him , builders coming , the motorcycle people are meant to be coming hopefully after builders gone ( but they need to come back on two days next week grrr) and the landscaper should be calling all the while DH is meant to be working from home HAH . I’ll be languishing in front of a fan / downstairs aircon just trying not to feel sick . Needless to say no active decluttering but maybe tomorrow one big and some smaller things …

On the plus side we are now running the aircon in my room so it cooling here and not dripping yet . We are trying to see where it’ll drip from and DH might be able to attach a thin tube to direct it to a bucket until a repairman comes . He’s 3 d printed a part to fix a problem with our washing machine before so it’s possible it’ll work .

Hope you can stay cool, and the bike goes!

some uniform being collected today hopefully, but also still need to get some new stuff, maybe after our holiday.

I agree about just getting rid of piles of stuff that really probably aren’t worth that much individually. Think of it as a charitable donation as well as helping you out.
plus, I do wonder about dvds and cds, whether soon they’ll be like vhs tapes and places will refuse to take them? When was the last time anyone actually bought either? I used to buy the DC a dvd each for Christmas but haven’t for the last few years. If we find a film on tv to rent for a few quid I’ll just pay that instead.
and haven’t bought a cd in forever.

got to get on with packing for holiday today, plus get more pool bits in the hope the cat sitter can keep it going for me. Plus old net broke yesterday.

@Nordicmom thank you for the Olio recommendation! A whole new world 😂 uploaded something this morning and someone is coming at lunchtime.

I’m reluctant to get rid of things like CDs and DVDs because I like to feel I own them rather than are committed to paying Amazon. That’s the same reason I like real books rather than a kindle.

Having said that I probably have got rid of about half of them with my bit by but approach. I usually have a ziffit basket open and a webuybooks basket open and add them when I sell books. It is hard to sell something for 5p that I bought for £9.99 but then the day after the item’s gone I never think about it again yet I do enjoy the clearer space and I think twice before I buy something again.

Anyway other than taking three bags to the charity shop I’ve done nothing. I think I earnt about £220 last week selling items. I am also putting together a rag bag of old socks and other dirty / unsellable garments.

Fingers crossed for the bike sale Nordic

I still buy CD/DVD/books LivingOnABuildingSite I like the permanence of them. When broke I'd bulk buy bundles of second hand ones cheaply and keep the ones I liked. Now I buy specific ones I want and get them new.

Today's out:
🌼 6 DVD's
🌼 pair of threadbare pyjamas
🌼 pair of cushion covers
🌼 finished craft project which became a home for bugs and dust and isn't possible to clean

Ah I still buy books, see them entirely differently somehow!
What about the kids of today though? - none of mine show any interest in buying cds or dvds, even when we browse in charity shops, they will buy books too though.
I think the days of having massive collections of dvds or cds are declining - you can tell as well because those storage towers are always being given away and no one seems to want them. People who have them will probably keep them but younger people probably won’t amass the amount we did. Just my thoughts though.

uniform collected, that’s 7 bits gone.
also found the music stand for the keyboard I gave away, so have messaged the guy about that. Probably won’t go for a couple of weeks though as I’m away from tomorrow.

355+7=362

Wrecked tshirt and holey pants into the recycling.

Plus hair posted to Little Princess trust - shaved head on Monday, much cooler in this heat!

362+2=364

@DreamloverTealover , glad you hopefully had a good first experience of Olio . I heard about it years ago from a friend but only signed up recently . It’s worked very well for us so far . We’ve quickly given away Finnish language kids books, old lego and storage boxes so far . I think it’s excellent for stuff that we couldn’t really take to charity shop or sell but didn’t want to take to dump
either . I’m happy if someone else gets a good use of those things that we didn’t need anymore .
Happy news from her too . My MacGyver here figured out a temp fix for my aircon last night and happened to have right kind of tubing to put on aircon unit to drain the water that was earlier dripping from it to a bucket and it works like a dream ! It’s useful having such an engineering mind in the house !although he doesn’t work quite in that field he does solve other kind of problems for a living 😁. DS also wants to become an engineer so clearly takes after daddy . Second good news is that the downstairs loo ceiling leak is fixed but now they still need to come fix the hole in the ceiling and that takes two visits just as we’re trying to soon travel and prepare for it but phase one is done at least ( praying this was the right thing to fix and no new damp patch later ! I’m a sceptic until proven wrong ) . Third good news is that we did get rid of the motorcycle finally for a nearly the price it was bought for a couple of years ago but it was very little used . I’ll count that as a big uncluttering and getting some £££ for it a huge plus 😊! Now I’ll try to make DH look through his box of gear for it in the garage and hopefully get him to throw some more of it away since he now doesn’t have any bikes left . He’s kept one set of nearly new expensive waterproofs and a helmet in a box with one pair of gloves which are in the attic because he will at some point probably get a different kind of motorcycle again but the rest he can chuck I’m sure . I’ll list them when he does .
So out recently ;
-1 large motorbike 😁
-1 book DH finished
-1 dog chew he didn’t like that came with his toy and treat delivery

Hoping I can join in here!
I've been interested in a more minimalist outlook in life for a while. Mid June I had to move out of my flat for 4 weeks while repairs were done after subsidence.
A company packed up for me but I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that came out of my flat ( and the dust and dirt hidden behind furniture etc) and afterwards just wanted to live in a white box with minimal furniture on castors so it could be moved for easy cleaning! And that was even after taking 6 bags of stuff to the charity shop beforehand!

I'm back in my home now but there has been a long list of problems ( radiator leaking, contractors have to buy me a new carpet cos of leak but still waiting, bathroom of flat upstairs leaked on my newly decorated spare room, lots of stuff damaged by removers so have to repair/replace which is hassle even though they have paid for it . etc)

I'm still not fully sorted after moving back in and am hoping to declutter more as I go.

I have been finding this website useful. The author is the originator of the 333 project.
bemorewithless.com/about/

Have time today to carry on with some tidying/sorting/decluttering

Hope this keeps me a bit accountable rather than spending the day drinking coffee and browsing an!

You all seem to be getting on well. Thank you for the inspiration!