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

The Schuh deal sounds great, don’t think we have one near me.

been busy running this weekend but have hoovered, changed beds, cleaned bathrooms and cleaned the outside table too.

one too small Dd tshirt into charity box

91+1=92

pile of unwanted perfumes ready to go to care home tomorrow, that’ll add a bigger number

a lot of Tetris with the kitchen cupboards today then I discovered a jug melting in the oven removed it and this happened had to get the steam cleaner out haters gonna hate enjoyed it

@seperatedmum that did make a good mess, bet it was very satisfying to get that sorted. I have sent to charity a pair of unused shower curtains, a garlic crusher that we would never use and some kids shorts, t shirts and sun hats. Not bad overall for the week

@Gassylady the way the gravy landed onto the new sponges as if they were waiting 🤣

Hi can I join ? Desperately need to declutter. I'm good at keeping on top of rubbish, and some clothes purges, but otherwise I struggle.
I've tried the flylady zone method but can still never find time on top of basics - bare minimum as I work FT. DP does his share but still both struggle to let things go.
One question I was thinking about lately - old journals. WWYD ? Not sure I want anyone to ever read them or even read them again myself but then ... could be interesting. Hard to part with ! I have some in the attic from teen years - never read again !

vinorosso that’s good news I’m glad you’ve been able to get rid of stuff.

I haven’t done a huge amount of decluttering, I have found a few more books to go, 2 of dd2s swimming costumes that are so faded they’re going to be rags. Dd2 owned about 8 swimming costumes so I think we’ll get down to about 3. I also found another 8 books.

Yesterday I had a huge tidy up. It’s harder to find clutter just by tidying but I suppose that’s a good sign. I’m also still looking for complete sets of toys to sell / give away. I spent far too long this morning doing some wooden puzzles that are now in the charity shop pile.

i can’t remember if I said that a courier finally collected 44 books for ziffit on Friday. I have about 60 books (plus a couple of CDs) to be taken away by Music Magpie but don’t have any boxes for them to go in so I have a huge annoying pile at the moment. I’ve checked my notes and so far I’ve chosen over 250 books to go this year and I would guess I have packed 200 of stbexh’s books so our bookshelves are looking much emptier.

I also filled the car boot up with bags for my next charity shop drop off. There is a huge amount of stuff in there.

933 items so far this year.

@stealthninjamum does music magpie collect? I'm put off lugging the books to the post office!

Nothing out this weekend but going to get rid of at least ONE thing today.

My one thing out yesterday was a peg.

today im planning on getting things ready for the dump. I thought it was open today but sadly not. But if I get things ready I can probably swing home one lunchtime this week and throw them all in the car and dump them.

will have to be a lunchtime abs otherwise the kids will be with me and I need to remove their car seats to fit the big things!

A bra just tried to kill me. So that’s gone. Bastard wire poking out

I decluttered 100 items last week and all have left the house so I am delighted with that. I am meeting a friend later who volunteers in a small charity shop and have been filling a plastic box for her - two tops, two books, a puzzle, a game, shoes and some random small items I have found this weekend which seem to have no home. We have too much stuff and I need to clear more - little and often is working but I need to get better at getting the items out faster.
I dropped a baby present I have for ages to a friend yesterday and had a lovely visit. I have listed two items for sale so will see if they sell quickly - wish me luck!

Flowers111 I've twice thrown out a pile of old journals. Didn't miss them. For me they're a brain dump at the end of the day, a way of ordering my thoughts and expressing my feelings. They're not supposed to be re-read, by me or anyone else. The only reason they're not thrown out straight away when finished is because I find it so hard to let anything go.

On that note, I've noticed that whilst I'm full of angst about parting with anything, once it's gone I'm fine about it. It's making the decision that's the hard part for me.

It has taken me over a year of thinking about it to get rid of some tatty items from my clothes pile. Yesterday I added my favourite jumper to the bag. I bought the replacement 6 months ago but have been wearing the old one still. Insanity. I now have one drawer that's not rammed full, just one, but it's a start. The bag of rejects is going out today.

Also going out today is a bag of tiny baby clothes to which I added a baby blanket last night.

Maybe parting with stuff is a muscle that you have to keep exercising and it slowly becomes easier?

myleakycauldron I hope MusicMagpie collect because I have 60 books and DVDs to go! I didn’t even check before I scanned them in, I assumed they’d be the same as ziffit and webuybooks. I’ve got some empty boxes so this evening I’m intending to see if I can get them collected!

flowers111 could you read the journals and take photos of significant pages before you chuck them out? I find that when I look at anything I wrote when I was younger I cringe and then decide I would be embarrassed if dc read it when I died! My death is quite motivating (Swedish death cleaning is a thing!) with sentimental items. I wouldn’t want my dc to have to spend too long decluttering when I go.

wildblueandditzy I agree with everything you just said. I don’t know if i have ever regretted anything I have ever decluttered and I have decluttered loads. It really is a habit you get into (unless you’re a hoarder but that’s a different issue.

Swedish death cleaning is such a good concept.
My mum and I had discussed it but not quite acted on it before she died.

I confess to reading all of her diaries in one huge binge, lots was dull day to day stuff, a few insights into how her and my dad got together, and some other bits and bobs. But I haven’t managed to bin them yet. May ask my siblings what they think.

14 small perfume bottles to the care home, out of DDs room finally.

nothing else done today though, as still had work.

92+14=106, got past the 100 mark!

@ememem84 Lol at the bra 😂

Got rid of a load of good quality clothes and shoes to the charity shop. I’m being utterly ruthless with my stuff.
Sold another £150 odd of stuff on eBay, got tonnes to send at the post office tomorrow!

Went sofa shopping for our new place, so excited!!

Ooooh @Sexnotgender what did you get?!

I’ve just sorted recycling for the morning. And am going to have a wardrobe rummage in a bit. On a mission to wear something different to work tomorrow (that I haven’t worn for a while) so will rummage and tidy whilst I do that.

lunch out with a client on weds. So need a “smasual” outfit for that.

www.sterlingfurniture.co.uk/search/go?w=phoebe

Basically the top 3 on the link, got it a kind of charcoal grey.

Nice! Looks lovely!

livinginabuildingsite that’s interesting what you say about your mums diaries and that’s one of the reasons I want to declutter. I have mentioned on this thread that a few year’s ago my mum decluttered and gave me a load of my childhood items. I wish she’d got rid of them at the time because I have now struggled to get rid of them and all you do (by not decluttering) is pass the decisions on to someone else. So I found it hard to get rid of all my childhood teddies and some toys. In fact I still haven’t finished because I tried to find dealers or museums for them because now they’re old I don’t feel I can just throw them away!

After my last post I packed up four boxes of stuff for music magpie and organised the courier for Thursday. Dd1 saw me doing it and agreed I could now get rid of her ten captain underpants books. About a year ago she wasn’t ready to get rid of them.

Im so pleased that my dc are great at decluttering now - 3 or 4 years ago I’d be on this thread moaning about them!

Stealthninjamum I am a bit of a hoarder due to growing up in poverty, that's the problem. Also I have regretted some things I decluttered in the distant past, thinking I'd never need them again and selling at a loss, then having to go out and repurchase a year or two down the line at full price. Which is galling when you're broke.

As a child I inherited some things from my grandparents, which my mum decluttered to me essentially. A mantle clock, some artwork and some ancient books, because mum knew I was interested in this type of thing. As a teenager with no thought for the future and a hoarding mother, I ruthlessly decluttered the lot as I had nowhere to put them. Of course now I'm an adult with my own place I wish I'd kept them [ sigh ]

But it's rare now that I miss anything. I need to find a balance between being too ruthless and taking too long to get rid.

Been out and about at the weekend so not much achieved. I've gone round and made sure every item that needs to goes in the rubbish and recycling for the week has gone. Cleared a couple of jars out the fridge this morning which had hardly anything left in them and had been there a long time.
DD appears to be growing again so no doubt that means some summer clothes will be too small.

Yesterday I got rid of some redundant sticker books and an old 'cleaning' tooth brush. I need to focus more on specific areas so going to set a timer this evening and force myself to do at least 10/15 minutes somewhere.

Got rid of about four plastic bits of toys (eg a Paw Patrol dog’s helmet), boots that belonged to a Frozen Anna doll.

I made a Lego set that can be boxed and sold.

I also took all the stuff in my boot to a charity shop. I am thrilled that this stuff has gone. And also I’ve arranged for 60 books / DVDs to be taken by Music Magpie on Thursday. I have four boxes sitting by the front door.

Hello, can I join you?
I’ve been busily cleaning and decluttering for about a month. I’m gutted that I didn’t think to count the items. So far, we have filleted the kitchen, with 1 cupboard left to do, organised the garage, although it still has loads of stuff. I’m working my way thru the drinks cupboard, and we are halfway through the shed. Which is going to become my botanical haven, possibly. I’d had a boot full of old books for a long time and they have gone to the book bank. I’ve made a start with the bathroom. We have pledged to buy no more soap, shampoo or conditioner until all the half used stuff is gone, and it is very satisfying. Also trying to buy only what I absolutely need. Every tidy throws up stuff to get rid of.
I am inspired by you all to try selling stuff. I never have really. Just concerned that it could make more mess. Has anyone found that?
I seem to have no system at all for storing shoes and bags. I don’t have huge amounts, but got nowhere to put them, beyond an overstuffed unit in the hall. I guess I-need to tackle my wardrobe.
Got a teen who should be off to university this Autumn, and her room is a cornucopia of books clothes, makeup soft toys and stationery. Also got a totally disorganised adult returner Ds who wfh, and too many animals. Feel like there is no room to breathe.

@ememem84 - love the concept of a killer bra - I always feel like I've had a full work out by the time I've got my sports bras on for a run.....

Went through the drawer with my pjs in and decided that I only really need 3 bottoms and 3 tops so a bag packed to take to the charity box in tk maxx tomorrow. I've also got a new food processor as the old one is on its last legs so I went to the cupboard that has my small kitchen electricals to discover that DH has filled half a shelf with the empty jars from bramley apple sauce.... just why?? Several empty jars now in the recycling.

Today's out: a bag of books donated and some ancient keyrings thrown away.

I must be making some progress mentally because I keep seeing things which I think I could maybe get rid of in the future, like I'm thinking about them in the back of my mind. And I kept the keyrings last time even though they're old and battered, today I saw them and thought why?