Decluttering Thread 3 - Decluttering on bit at a time

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Just realised we filled up Thread 2 without a way to link to this one, can’t see that anyone else has started one?

I did drop back the borrowed boots, go me!

didn’t tackle the umbrella pot/dumping ground though

Had a productive few days here. DD and DGC are living with us virtually permanently so two new ikea wardrobes for DGC led to a quite a large declutter. Problem is what do you do with it. There are about five boxes of books and tow boxes of toys, a huge bag of outgrown kids clothes and some duvet sets. Charity shops around here are full, you can book a slot at a charity warehouse about twelve miles away but they only take three bags/boxes at a time. Will have to book a couple of slots for after Christmas.
DD did well selling DGD toy nursery centre and pram.
However, there still seems to be so much….

Dahliasrule books can go into paper recycling if you can't give them away. Bedding try an animal sanctuary, they need a constant supply for lining dog beds to make them more cozy, it gets binned not washed between dogs. Any clothing banks near you for the clothes? We have one that's emptied regularly. Or Cash For Clothes places?

dahliasrule I’ve always found book sets always sell well if you have any. Or if you can’t sell them on ziffit or music magpie then you can always advertise them on Facebook or freecycle.

been feeling very defeated again but had some outs I've forgotten and just sent 3 bags of kids stuff next door, not gone too silly on Christmas but we'll see... Nollaig Shona Dhuit 🎄

Of course a lot of ins at Christmas which I don’t mind but am just continuing to work on getting stuff no one needs out of here . No active work over Christmas though although a few things gathered up :
-1 new fabric shopping bag to charity that was a freebie from an online store
-1 scented candle to charity ( see above )
-1 broken gift bag to recycling ( otherwise reusing within family always )
-8 pairs of old school socks to rags
-3 unwanted gifts some to charity
-9 books ( Christmas duplicates , old annuals , books we finished reading )
-2 glass pots to recycling mini Christmas trees were in ( I used last years metal
pots I preferred)
-1 fabric and plastic pouch for a bigger tree ( again used another receptacle I preferred instead )
-1 DD half used science kit missing a part to bin and recycling

not much but it’s all progress !

Hope everyone is having a good festive season with few cluttery ins. Our presents have been minimal clutter which is good. DP needs to bin his chipped Arsenal mug as he now has a new one. We are having Xmas with the inlaws later in the week and their presents for DD have often been more clutter in nature but perhaps this year will be different 🤞

Have to say my PIL were so much better this year (they did an early Christmas with us as away in Oz this month).
they gave the dc each money, an item of clothing and chocolate, then fluffy slipper socks to open on the day itself.
they did give DD a mountain of naff makeup and fake nails etc but it will get used and binned over time.

I managed to reign myself in too, although I forgot to get some bits 🙄 but the Dc seem happy enough.

Ds2 got a new bedside table so I can get rid of his old Thomas themed one - it’s a diy decoupage one made for him years ago, not sure if there’ll be anyone interested in it if I Freecycle it?

Belated Happy Christmas to everyone!

We had a great Christmas from the perspective of presents. As dc are growing up they’re more likely to get clothes and books and practical things than lots of toys. I’ve already put their gifts away and when I’ve bought things like pyjamas, dressing gowns, socks etc I have been able to declutter existing items. Dd2 also got new bedding so I’m intending to get rid of an old set.

I also got lots of things like toiletries that I can use that won’t lead to long term clutter.

I didn't bring much in except food items. All presents were small things. I decluttered a slightly shrunk and uncomfortable pyjama top. I replaced it with a cozy jumper I had hanging around that doesn't go with much else. That felt like a win. New year's resolution: to pay attention to packaging when deciding which item to purchase, I'm sick of the amount of recycling I seem to have and the space it takes up until it's put outside.

I’m currently on hols in New Zealand. But have managed to charity shop a whole load of ds and dds clothes which I brought with me which we’re getting too small. We replaced with less stuff as everywhere we’re staying has laundry. So can get it clean and dry.

I’m impressed that you managed to declutter while on holiday @ememem84 - that’s dedication!

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. It was just us three at home this year, which has been nice, though I’m a bit sad at not being able to see family (due to work/ travel logistics).

Presents have mostly been smaller scale this year as DD didn’t get one big present - some Lego, soft toys, books, colouring book. Mine and DH’s presents were also small - mostly books! Though we don’t have enough space for the toys and books that we already own. Tidying up for Xmas really showed me that we are lacking in space for storage 😔

I’ve been thinking a lot about our clutter issues and realised that the main issue for us is inertia - stuff gets put down ‘for a moment’ and stays there for a while. This is something I’d really like to tackle this year. I also have lots of ‘things’ that I’d like to get done (such as photo printing - haven’t even got a copy of this years school photo), and I’m thinking about starting a separate thread to motivate myself to do one Thing per week as well as keeping on top of everyday tasks. We shall see.

ellieq I agree about inertia being a reason for my clutter. I used to just put things in drawers or carrier bags and I had a ‘tidy’ home - we used to do lots of entertaining so I’d spend more time making guest beds and cooking and shopping. Now I leave things in places - floor, chair, table with the aim of putting them in their permanent home eventually. It means my house is less tidy and has random objects dotted around. I need to be better at putting them away in n a more timely manner!

id join you on a one a day thread.

I have tidied up some of the Xmas decorations but I’m mainly focusing on tonight has dds have a friend coming over for a sleepover. Just need to tidy up and buy food.

Oooh @ememem84 New Zealand is my favourite country I’ve ever visited out of about 40 so far . We’ve only been once 20 y ago on our 8 m around the world post University trip but we spent 6 w there and went to pretty much everywhere on both islands and did all the activities from tandem skydiving to learning to fly a helicopter to seeing penguins and albatrosses in the wild . It was just a magical , beautiful, interesting place I’m waiting to take kids back to one day ! Do you have family there ?

Yes - mil lives here as does Bil and his family. Dhs wider family is also here (aunts and uncles etc).

when we’re done here we’re also going to perth for other bils wedding. A nice long 7 week trip.

@ememem84 enjoy your long trip ! Once you have school age kids it’s hard to do them unless in the summer holidays !
We went to Australia from New Zealand and spent about 2 1/2 months there and saw lots of that country too inc Perth . Also on the travel list with the kids . My cousin is in Brisbane and I have lots of friends all over Asia we’d do a stop over on the way . I’ve got to try to get a bit better before any extensive travel I can’t do it now , 2-3 w max atm .

@Nordicmom the dc (3and 5) are missing a month of school and nursery. But it’s all good. We’re very lucky we can do this I know.

No doing that later so it’s a good opportunity now at the younger age . Mine are nearly 18 y old who’s applying to universities waiting to hear from 2 still and then has the actual exams left later , and a 10 y old doing 11+ with the 3 more schools exams left in the next 2 w , talk about stress !!!

@ememem84 that sounds a wonderful trip. Enjoy and excellent work on decluttering while you're away!
Today is decluttering food. ILs are over for Xmas get together. Buffet food is out the freezer, I finished a bag of flour and a sugar baking a cake.
I was thinking of trying to use up what we have in freezer and cupboards but last time I did that was early 2020 so I'm a bit reluctant to!!!

Oops name change fail. Last post was me

sometimes I wonder if I have a place on this thread or more accurately that I'll always have a place on this thread because I'll never be done 😱 yesterday I cleared 2 bags of rubbish and recycling out of DDs room there was lots more filtering In could've done checking every single Pen/make up etc but I'd already been an hour and a half today we've had an Olio in now I've got my frequent headache so not much more will be done today. Christmas ins were very moderate considering it's 4 children

am going to make a conscious effort to declutter more in 2023. I think because we did our house renovation this year and got rid of a whole kitchen I peaked.

when we get back kids clothes need sorting as do their toys. And the attic. Not all at once obviously. But in time. I’ve established that the dc need less clothes now because of school. They wear uniform 5 days a week so we could easily get rid of a lot of clothes for them.

there are toys they’ve outgrown. So should really send off to new homes (duplo - they both like Lego now).

separatedmum I was on the first thread - I think this is possibly the 23rd or 24th. It is never ending but I’m in much more control. It does get better.

More everyday decluttering today. I went through dd2s wardrobe and we removed 16 items for the charity shop. A couple were gifts that she didn’t like. I have tried to tell her it’s ok to throw away an unwanted gift straight away but she has to hold to things for about a year before she can do it which is good, I know it’s easy to hold onto gifts for much more than that - in fact I have started to use some toiletries dp bought me for our first Christmas together four years ago. I have decluttered loads of toiletries but couldn’t use the ones from him. That’s stupid so I’ve also started on a shower gel and hand cream he bought.

I might see if dd1 will let me go through her clothes now.

I think it was this time last year I first joined the threads so thought it was time for 10 mins of reflection.

Once you compensate for the chaos of Christmas my house is somewhat better. The kitchen and bedroom are less cluttered. The bedroom is actually a really nice space and I've managed to keep it like that for the majority of the time.

Other spaces are no worse, although the Office of Doom is still, incredibly doom like.

In 2023 I would like to make the Living room a space we really enjoy being in, and that isn't just taken over with kids toys etc.

We certainly have managed to develop habits that have stopped us accumulating so much stuff, so that is a real positive.

I’m also planning on really organising our huge cabinet. And sorting the garage to make it less of a dumping ground and more of a useable space.

id love a sink in there like a proper laundry room. We have our washer and dryer there and it would make so much sense for a sink too. Houses here in nz have sinks in laundry. So that’s just a thought I’ve had.

Yes , sink definitely useful with washing machines . We do in our utility room which I just wish was a bit bigger but am happy to have …