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

EllieQ please can you elaborate on the regimented regime? My kids are impossible- everyone wants to keep everything. A lot of the stuff they don’t use and I’d like to cull often comes from other people as gifts so there’s a layer of guilt. Knick knacks that MIL comes over and is pleased that we’ve got out on display etc. I’ve got those tendencies myself- sentimental and also anxious ‘might need it one day’ and I’m way over optimistic about the weather, my social calendar, our likely events and requirements so I keep a load of stuff ‘just in case’! But that just in case thing rarely happens..

My tip is the opposite to start small! I always advise you try to do something that makes a space or a difference that inspires you to go further. In my case the first thing I got rid of was jumperoo / high chair / toddler toys and it instantly made the room look bigger.

I’ve also always had an obsession in keeping window ledges and surfaces clear for the same reason. Yesterday they weren’t clear so I decluttered them again.

So far my regimented regime has only worked for DD’s old clothes @BlurryVision - I struggle with toys and everything else! This is what I do for her clothes:

• Sort them by size, then by type, so all the tops together etc. She’s almost 8 and currently in a mix of 6-7 and 7-8 clothes, so I’ve only done this up to age 5-6 clothes.
• I then go through each category and pick one or two of my favourites to keep, and the rest goes in a charity bag. I normally only do one or two categories a day as it feels overwhelming otherwise.
• I end up with a carrier bag of clothes to keep for each age group. Once I’ve done all the clothes, I’m planning to go through these bags and see if I can reduce them further.
• I started last year with age 4-5 and worked backwards to the baby clothes. This made it easier as I was starting at a ‘recent’ age and not going straight to the baby clothes.
• Any clothes she outgrows at the moment go in the ‘too small clothes’ bag, but I’ll leave these until I get onto the next clothes size category.

I’m making slow progress as I only really have time at the weekends, but over the past year I’ve got rid of a lot of clothes using this routine.

Thank you this sounds great EllieQ
I find it’s definitely good to get everything out and see exactly what there is. And strictly categorising it all hopefully makes it seem a bit less overwhelming once it’s all laid out there. Thanks

Dropped a load of stuff off at my local charity shop warehouse this morning - 2 big bags of clothes and knick knacks, a box of toys and a box of kitchen stuff.

Working today and tomorrow but off on Thursday so hoping to make more progress then.

I have got 2 things to give to one sister, a sewing machine to my other sister and 2 Tupperware boxes and a bowl to my mum which I'll take all of over to mum's on Friday...as long a I remember to take them with me!!

Used up a mould spray and as the bottle had a broken nozzle I didn't keep it. Total is 127

Has been a bit of an ordeal around here lately ; another holiday with misery unfortunately I spent it all feeling like dying in bed in Rome while others were sightseeing then just about got back in a wheelchair since at that point couldn’t walk long corridors in the airport , and raced straight to doctors with kids and luggage for antibiotics. Now still pretty ill so mainly in bed trying not to cough all day but I’m now eating a bit and drinking and sleeping a bit more too so that’s an improvement. I was very week and dehydrated and had high fever for days . And no it’s not covid we’ve tested lots of times .
DH had something before travelling but not this bad and kids didn’t get it .
Since I was last here DD got offers to her 2 remaining schools so 4/4 and we’ve now excepted our favourite and released the others . DH and she visited it again unfortunately I missed it twice now since unwell in the summer too . she’s now going to a secondary in 2 y I’ve never seen in person just online but I can visit later . DS has his A- level mocks and was revising on the trip hopefully can get the top grades he’s aiming for although thankfully this isn’t the real thing yet so he has some more time .
Housewise not much active decluttering in all this but we finally did get 3 more yearly maintenance jobs off the list ; gutters , solar panels and skylights were cleaned . The gardener game and the window cleaner should be in this week , trying to get some deep cleaning jobs done although now it’s survival really since it’s mostly all on DH who’s still not ok himself and working from home since I can’t do much . I’ve got to get on with more admin we’ve moved our flight to go see my parents to easter hols from
halfterm which was the original plan although now I don’t want to travel since there’s been all these problems and I was already beyond exhausted before I got this sick . With my underlying illnesses this is a problem .I had already many issues to sort out but now I’ll have to wait to recover from this and who know how long that’ll take .
Im trying to get DH to list the 3 old suitcases next that are cluttering up the dining room and there’s some more that can go on olio too like a lamp and storage boxes ant least and a few dog things . Also needs to take another load to the charity shop .
Oh yes of course because it never ends while we were attempting to get me a doctors appointment ready on return and just get back from Italy our dog had to go to the vet since he was suspected to have eaten a poisonous plant at MIL next door garden . He’s ok but why is it always everything at the same time ?!
I’ve tried to look at my running list and here’s stuff that’s been gathered to go recently:

-2 pairs of DD new tights
-1 pair of DD small shorts
-1 pair DD small shoes all to charity
-1 old milk frother to electronics collection
-1 new packet of Christmas cards to charity
-1 pair of stained pyjama bottoms
-5 DD sports bras
-5 DD crop tops
-25 pairs of DD small pants all earmarked to go as she goes a size up ,suddenly everything is small again and I’m looking for things again even though try to stay ahead on most fronts
-1 DD old skirt
-18 pairs of old socks
-6 pairs of DS old pants , he also needs a cull of them and bigger ones
-DH old gym shorts
-1 my old lipgloss
-4 bottles of olaplex products that really don’t suit my hair
-1 old pencil case
-25 pieces of manky stationary
-3 suitcase bags
-a bunch of DS sew in name labels for school that are about 10 y old ( now that he’s soon graduating it’s an end of an era !)
-another wooden spatula
-more Christmas treats and chocolates finished
-5 old pyjama tops of mine to rags
-2 bottles of old eye drops
-1 finished book

Hoping to crack on more in the attic once I’m better eventually . until then we’ll have to just keep on getting remaining house maintenance done there’s a few more jobs on the list , do some deep cleaning and keep on chucking things away when we notice them . At least we’ve now done the 11+ for DD and DS has his uni offers in too inc one of his two top choices .For him it isn’t over until summer but step by step . This week is the “ non mocks “ he’ll be glad to be done with those !

I'd really like to get a couple of rooms decorated in our house, but to do that a major declutter is needed. I've had a good go at my and my sons clothes and made a fair bit on Vinted this month.

Toys is a real issue as he doesn't play with something but as soon as its in my hand its his favorite thing in the whole world O_o

I've ordered some new pots and pans as ours are a right state, the old ones will be going straight in the bin once the new ones arrive.

Happy to report 2 massive bin bags of adult and children’s clothes and two cardboard boxes of china and glass and ornaments all dropped off to the charity shop today. Phew! I was beginning to think I would never be able to post on here

Decluttered the games shelves. Again.

One pair of too-small trousers to the charity bag and one book to the donations pile. 3 empty boxes recycled because I found a home for the contents. I'm also down to my last two bubble baths, so progress in the bathroom too. Total is 132

I'm bit stuck now because I've decluttered all visible clutter and next step is to sweep through the wardrobe and storage areas again. Those take a lot more time than anything else. So far this last few days I've managed 2 unused coffee loyalty cards from my purse, a small pile of shredding (this I am proud of, going through a bit of paperwork slowly each week) and a small toy - but really need to crack on with the storage areas now!
Total i 141

Feeling a bit conflicted today. I've just looked at the revamped website for our local donation centre. It says all children's clothes must be of good quality and in excellent condition.

Does that mean they don't want supermarket clothes? Does it mean the clothes must look good as new?

All the clothes I've donated in the past have been newly laundered, never needed repaired in any way, eg buttons or split seams, but they were bought in Asda and Tesco. Now I'm wondering was all our outgrown stuff just sent to rags.

Any suggestions anybody?

Should I give away on freecycle and similar instead?

Thanks.

@TidyClutterIsStillClutter I would just ask them, a lot of our clothes are supermarket and way too good for rags so I'd be keen to avoid that myself.
I've even given glued trainers away to friends for example because when children go on residential trips they have to have spare trainers so that's a specific usage for imperfect things.
as you'll see through this journey I give away to
*the school uniform resale
*school parents buy/sell/give
*olio
*marketplace- full of time wasters
*my next door neighbour
*my sister-for the odd specific valuable child wear
*outside my house for bikes and stuff
*only clothes recycling for things like STBXH unwanted shirts

One box of leftover chocolate Christmas tree decorations which we all helped to declutter
A pile of old Tesco online delivery receipts - wish they would move to email
3 pairs of old shoes
3 books

197/2023

Most of the other things I've got rid of don't really count as outs because they've been replaced, like an old baking tray which finally got too gross, a set of bedding which is too scratchy. I decluttered broke a roaster and a pasta bowl, but they'll need to be replaced as well.

@SydneyCarton 😁

I got rid of 2 breastfeeding/babyfeeding leaflets, 3 plastic containers with no lids and an old notebook. Excited to see how far I can get without cracking open the storage boxes.

147 now.

I have decluttered the under stairs in kitchen pantry to be an actual pantry not a dumping ground leaving kitchen cupboards for pans and crockery. It's not big but it's plenty for us. Shame I don't have a before pic.

I can't do bit at a time it transpires I do big sweeps. But slowly I am getting rid of all the stuff we just don't use.

@TidyClutterIsStillClutter I would say supermarket clothes are perfectly acceptable as long as in good condition.

I've not been as productive as I'd hoped today but have chipped away at several problem areas.

Dropped off 2 eBay sales to the parcelforce depot and have a big pile of paper for recycling - including a couple of years worth of receipts for my self assessment which are now over 7yrs old (10yrs old, to be exact!!).

I have a pile of stuff ready to take to my mum's tomorrow and a gift bag for my friend's birthday which I'll drop off to her first thing.

I've cleared the windowsill in my living room which has been covered in so much clutter for such a long time. My challenge is to keep it clear!!

I like your pantry frozendaisy

One magazine read and recycled.
Total is 133.

@frozendaisy I wish I had a pantry!!

Also think supermarket kids' clothes are perfectly ok and they have really cute prints sometimes too! I bought lots from Sainsburys and they often looked like expensive dupes. I'd ask though - I used to give bags of baby/toddler clothes on local fb groups and that worked really well

I listed an extra frying pan we'd had kicking about for ages on freecycle and someone came 45 minutes later - result! 148 items down now.

frozendaisy I love that it’s so organised.

tidyclutter I’ve seen on TV that lots of people donate awful stuff to charities - dirty underwear, torn clothes, smelly clothes. I think the charity are probably just emphasising that they don’t want someone’s old period knickers without saying it!

I have been doing Lego, playmobil etc. Also lots of shredding. Feeling a bit frustrated that I always seem to fix on one thing and then the rest of the house looks like a bomb’s hit it! So today I’m just going to have a half a hour tidy, do my usual Friday tidy of the car and then more toy organising. Nothing is actually leaving the house and I have about 5 boxes of books to go to I might organise the ziffit courier.

@frozendaisy I also love your pantry!! And I find I do things in fits and starts. Often things pile up and when I eventually get around to sorting it out realise the majority can be recycled/binned.
My biggest problem areas are where things that have been sorted to keep but don't have homes (because I have too much stuff in a too small house) and end up being stuffed into a cupboard waiting for the magical day when the house gains an extra couple of rooms .

I feel like I've had a bit of a shift and things I've kept for sentimental reasons are no longer holding any sentimental value - eg my rather large kitchen table which was in my family home when I was a child. It's quite useful for when my childminded children want to do craft after school and I can just about fit 8 adults around it at Christmas but the reality is, it's squeezed into a small 2 bed cottage and an extending table would make the room look a lot less cramped.

I've also almost decided to let go of my grandma's chest of drawers that I emptied last weekend. Not 100% sure yet because it's a very sturdy piece of furniture and once I've cleared more of the annoying clutter, I may find a good use for it

@Bottl I'm all for finding a use for things 🤷🏽‍♀️ re-deploying them as I call it 🤣 if I genuinely like the thing. my dad was a ninja for this I seem to remember him vaulting over our garden wall to ask the neighbours for a door they'd just put out which he put to great use as an attic door if only STBXH had been so motivated around the house
out rubbish and broken gaming headphones

I actually got some stuff off the premises today, one big carrier bag to charity shop, one bag of craft bits to local playschool, one bag of kid's clothes to friend, 3 carrier bag full of rubbish (decluttering rubbish old kid's trainers with holes and no grip left type thing) it must be some sort of spring is coming effect!