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

Really good progress @EmmaEmerald and @Bottl ! Great when you find your groove. I chucked out some random cr*p yesterday when cleaning, including two "useful" boxes I'd been hoarding, and a very dead poinsettia which I thought might come to life. DH is going through his papers today so hoping for a big pile.
131 at the mo.

So today all my sorting mojo is gone
one day I hope for consistency. I did nothing before I went out, now I'm back and just want to laze about!

busy after work till Wednesday so that's the next chance to do stuff unless I get off my arse tonight even for an hour....any cheerleading welcome....

Go for it @EmmaEmerald - 10 mins or 5 items for the bin/recycling/chazza pile!!

I think I've finished for the day.
Managed to take enough clothes out of the second chest of drawers to fit the other half from the first set but the whole lot needs going through again - that's a job for another day when I either need summer clothes or if I lose 2 stone and need smaller clothes - neither are likely any time soon

Going to make a plan for tomorrow and maybe even write a list!!

Bottl it was tidying up I had to do

I did some keyboard practice instead. it was fun though.

might have to set the alarm early tomorrow!

You’re all doing very well 👏

first week went well, didn’t manage to do much else though.

DH and the DC part demolished the old shed, and we got lots of into the skip today, suppose it all counts as 1 item though once we get it all out.

think one holey sock went into the ragbag.

583/2023

Sounds like you made the right choice

I can just about still play one of my grade 5 pieces from nearly 30 years ago...in lockdown I managed to play it all the way through without any mistakes...I'd been trying to do this for years and years and from memory because the book it was in was long gone!!

Oh wow
I'm learning from scratch. It's an experience! I have headphones so no one suffers the noise except me. I still have trouble with beats, rhythm, melody, tune. So....very basic indeed!

Clearly I'm better at giving the place a tidy in one spurt..but I need to learn to pick up after myself. I couldn't figure out what to wear for lunch and the discarded options are still in a heap on the bedroom chair.

Aw, that's great!! Ds taught himself to play on YouTube (or some other online wizardry!!). Just one piece of music that he played over and over and over but it was incredible...he has a much better ear for music than me.
Beats, rhythm and tune are also an issue for me - if my piano teacher heard my version of that grade 5 piece she'd be less than impressed

At least the clothes are on a chair - mine would be all over my bed and then I'd end up chucking them to the edge of the bed when I wanted to get in it

Ive been going through Lego and playmobil and put more up for sale. I’ve been going through drawers and cupboards collecting instructions for them - they were in dc’s bedrooms and the playroom and the Room of Doom and I’m shocked at how many Lego sets we have. I have really spoiled my children. We have at least six large boxes of Lego. There are some sets that are quite intact so shouldn’t be too hard to make and then sell but I think this is going to take a couple of months (probably years) but is one of the final areas of decluttering.

I found a couple of ‘outs’ while tidying - sports socks that dd1 doesn’t use any more, an arts apron that dd2 used to wear at school, and an old school rucksack.

Good luck with the Lego and Playmobil!! There's quite a lot here too and I wouldn't know where to start with the Lego. My childminded children play with the playmobil so I'm happy to let that stay but it would be nice to reduce the amount of it a bit.

3 items into the charity shop box this morning.

Going to focus on the kitchen for the next hour or so

A too small hoodie
Too small swimming trunks
Old thermal top
A slime maker kit one of the girls got for their birthday last year which was all gunged up
A plaster dinosaur egg which has been hanging around various spaces since before lockdown - I broke it apart and took out the small plastic dinosaur inside. Still counting it as an out because the dino can be put away neatly in a box with all the others, but the bloody egg was just taking up space.
Ten bits of old DC clothing, mostly tights and pants
Two pairs of outgrown trainers
One old muslin
One old pram blanket

170 +19 = 189/2023

Thanks bottl I was going through our big tubs of Lego and it looked like there were some kits that were nearly intact so hopefullY I’ll be able to sell them but it is a big job.

I spent the day clearing surfaces and doing tidy up Tetris. I ended up moving a load of books from my bedroom and post and Christmas cards from everywhere. I stupidly jammed my new shredder and then spent half an hour with a thin screwdriver removing bits of paper from its blades to get it working again.

Lots of papers have gone and I found another rucksack from our old school so that’ll be recycled. I’m quite pleased with my work, lots of stuff has been moved around and the house - having got cluttered over Christmas - is much clearer again.

Taking two jigsaw puzzles to dms tonight. I’ve finished them and she needs new ones.

had to buy a few bits in dunelm today serving spoons and two small bowls.

Following on from the squirrel/rat in the garage impetus, I now have the new aim of getting rid of stuff for a house move. Not until late 2025 but it will focus my mind. New home will be smaller probably and I'm not accommodating DH's collections of stuff or DD's unwanted and unloved things.
So we will be back to the 20 minutes a night routine of looking at things critically.
DH is going to look at cd's tonight and I'm going to do my jumpers

Outs - 3 paperbacks and a jigsaw
- school prospectus and joining papers (doesn't sound much but a whole pile in a crested bag🙄)
- a few lipsticks

Can I also say that my garage ended up with so much space that I hoovered it!! 😂😂

Can I join please?

Of course you can 🙂

One babygrow into the charity bag. Total is 126.

Weekdays are busy for me but I've tried to declutter by using things up. So far in the last few days:
A bag of peanuts we've had languishing for ages in our pantry
One sample body scrub
Sample face balm
A sheet mask (was a gift and I'm not very into them anymore)
Pile of nursery artwork
2 pairs of DH holey underwear

138 items.

I emptied my email inbox! I was trying to figure out how my settings got changed. I've been getting spam emails in my inbox, it was supposed to send those to junk. Everything except my safe contacts should go to junk. So while I was there I sorted my inbox out, everything went into folders or got deleted!
I also think I fixed my settings as nothing has come through on my phone since I logged on on the computer. Phew.

Oh, also the underwear I was wearing. It had a small hole, which got bigger, so they went out too.

ive seen a post on fb from the st Vincent de Paul society I think. Suggesting instead of giving up something for lent we give up some things. So 40 bags to charity (of whatever size) in 40 days.

im definitely going to get 40 things out of the house.

@eememem84 that sounds inspiring!
So, can anyone give me any 'top tips' please? I had a very deprived childhood. I now have a biggish but rather cluttered house. I understand why but I still find it hard to let things go (I've recently emerged from a marriage where I was mocked for this) I want to start but I'm overwhelmed.

That sounds like a really good idea. Most of the stuff I get rid of if donated to charity, so I could aim for 40 things.

Welcome @medianewbie ! I think we all gave different reasons for holding onto things and why we struggle to let them go. Mine is partly time and energy, plus sadness over things that didn’t happen in my life. I’ve tackled it by going for ‘easy wins’ first (like my wardrobe) then having a very regimented routine for more difficult things (like my daughter’s old clothes). Is there anything you could do that would be a quick win?

My tips would be start small. Pick a drawer. Or a cupboard. And sort it out.

take 10 minutes. Set a timer. And go.

I usually start with bathroom cupboard (while the kids are in the bath).

if I’m doubt I throw away a calpol syringe. 😂