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

I have recently decluttered four lateral flow tests and some paracetamol but it seems I have a cold as all tests are negative.

It’s been half term so I didn’t do much decluttering. Dd2 chucked some books and toys out so they’re in the charity shop pile. I also took some old Halloween costumes to the charity shop.

I also chucked out loads of paperwork and a broken plastic box. Also a box of straws. Dd2 has started to drink milk using straws and then making noisy bubbles. For. Hours. I know she can’t help it (autism) but the noise was driving me potty so rather than shout at her I used some and threw the rest away.

Today I found another 13 books to sell on ziffit and I have a pile of dd2s to scan in to see if I can sell them.

I’ve also had a frustrating weekend with people not turning up to buy things. I did actually sell one big toy - but for very little money but I was just pleased to get it out of the house. Tomorrow I’m going to load the boot up with another toy that a friend wants to her toddler

Last week’s decluttering:

• Gift bag from my stash used for a birthday present
• Pair of DD’s old trainers that she hardly wore into charity bag
• Started to sort through the 3-6 month clothes box and put some undershirts in the charity bag (after choosing a couple to keep)

Today’s decluttering:

• Bag of stuff from last week dropped into charity bank.
• More 3-6 months clothes sorted, and various dresses, tops, and leggings put into charity bag.

There was a thread on Chat a couple of weeks ago asking if hoarders had different spatial awareness, as in, did they think they had more space than they actually had. It was interesting to read the responses, which were generally thoughtful and compassionate.

Hoarders Spatial Awareness

I have realised that one issue for DH and I is that once something has been left somewhere, we almost stop seeing it there and registering it as something to be dealt with. So there’s boxes in front of one side of the wardrobe that make it tricky to open the door. When I need something from that side of the wardrobe, it’s annoying and I think that I must do something about it, but after that it just goes out of my mind until the next time I need to get something from the wardrobe. Like a kind of object blindness. Anyone else have something similar?

Got rid of a pile of books.

ellieq I think some clutter can look ‘tidier’ than others. For example as much as I love my minimalist sitting room I don’t see the Xmas tree and presents as clutter. Likewise I used to have a habit of tidying things quickly into a plastic bag and I either throwing that bag in the Room of Doom or hanging it from the back of a door. At some point I removed all these carrier bags and emptied the contents. Some had been there for two years! I currently have ten moving boxes of stbexh in a junk room and they don’t bother me. They’re made up of his books, CDs, DVDs and jugsaw puzzles. They used to really annoy me on our shelves and I much prefer looking at the boxes than items.

have you thought of emptying those boxes on your bed one at a time so that you have to deal with them?

Plastic bag of worn-out socks, tights, gloves etc into the textile recycling bank at the station today. Three bags to take to the charity shop which will hopefully happen tomorrow.

I need to bite the bullet and get rid of the three paper bags which are currently on the kitchen worksurface. I can't even remember what's in them - I think they started off as party bags and have some leftover sweets and plastic toys, and I just kept filling them with other stuff as a way to keep it relatively contained. They've been there for months and clearly no one would miss them if I just binned the lot, but there are some letters and bits of paperwork that do need to be kept, so I will have to go through them rather than just chuck them in the rubbish.

We got back from our eventful trip on Sun and still have a bag to unpack but we had lots with us . We had many things going wrong with a lost suitcase and then something valuable stolen from it when it arrived to us , the cat 4 hurricane, a delayed flight that made us miss our connection to London on return journey but kids and DH did all the activities and I enjoyed swimming although our pool was a bit chilly this time of year . I loved all the nature and the most amazing thing happened on the last evening ;we got to help releasing 800 newly hatched baby turtles into the sea !!! They were the first batch this year and since we left the next day we were incredibly lucky !!! I’m shattered though because of my illnesses. I didn’t do well with the heat and humidity and all the travelling but all in all we had a memorable holiday with DS who’s soon heading to uni and won’t be able to join us on all the trips anymore . We have been busy after we got back with Halloween and DH birthday and just unpacking, laundry and other housework admin and even squeezed in a dentist and a birthday lunch so still no active decluttering but a few things are leaving . Also DH relisted the cupboard .I’m praying it’ll go and I don’t have to try to find a place to donate it to . The Damn lamp is here too . I’ll have to remind DH to put it on olio again grrrrr. Lots more house maintenance jobs should be booked in before Christmas but not sure there’s time for all . Really want to cross things off my lists though . Got a bunch done today more tomorrow ! Also DS now has offers from 3/5 of the unis he’s applied to and the 2 remaining are still doing entrance exams and interviews so he’ll know next y but I’m happy for him although he says he’ll only be happy with his first choice .

Out recently :
-1 of my stained pyjama tops
-1 DD old rash vest
-more fishy dog treats
-halloween candy to DH work and unopened packets to the food bank
-3 pens
-1 fabric bag for a fan to rag bank
-rest of the Halloween napkins
-a couple of broken Halloween decorations
-3 pairs of pants
-old stationary and s pencil case
-considering selling 2 new woolly dog sweaters
-DD summer sandals
-my old bikini

I really don’t know when I’ll have time or energy to sort out the damn utility room stuff from the dining room since next busy with all the remaining house maintenance jobs and endless admin and appointments and Christmas and impending birthdays etc on top of the normal stuff . I should also somehow find time for doctors appointments for myself I can hardly move atm .

I have to put this picture here ! They were so sweet !!!

Sorry the picture is a bit big 😁

Another sweep of bookshelves upstairs so another walk to Oxfam books this morning
I did a load of shredding and got rid of a couple of folders too from old house correspondence from previous owners
1 jumper I spotted is out too
Old gym bag out as got new one as a free gift - thank you Christmas bargain thread!

The roofers found a nest in the garage roof that had a long dead squirrel in it. They think the rats have come in the same hole as the squirrel.
My neighbour came round (to warn her re rats in garage as hers joins) and said our garage looked v tidy 😳
As DH and I on a program of doing 20 mins each evening sorting stuff, I'm now making a list of tasks that need doing so we can keep up the impetus.
Those rats have been a blessing in some ways!

I've now set an alarm to get rid of one item a day. It goes off around 8.30 as a prompt - hopefully if I am sat on the sofa I'll at least list something on olio or Facebook.

Today I have binned a few toiletries I don't use / won't be any good for anyone else, put a handful of books in a bag for the chair shop and been through the toy cupboard. Why does my little one immediately find the pile to discard and start rooting through it? Eventually I'm sure DH will come downstairs and 'helpfully' tidy all the to go pile back in with the other toys!

Our kitchen under sink cupboard suddenly smells awful since we came back from holiday . If it’s not the food disposal I’m
scared it’s some dead mouse or something
behind the panel in the wall although we’ve never had any in any of our homes before and this is a new house .

Your holiday sounds great @Nordicmom especially the turtles!

What would happen if I emptied one of those boxes onto the bed to empty it, @stealthninjamum ? The honest answer is that I might find a couple of things to get rid of, but the rest would go back in the box so I could go to bed 😳

One box is full of DH’s paperwork that he’s going to sort, scan, and file someday (I have a similar, though smaller, box). The other has a cloak I made DH for a costume several years ago, which has been reused for Halloween a couple of times, with some other stuff under there (not sure what). Then there’s a bag for life full of stuff that I brought home from my mum’s house, which I need to sort through.

In some ways I’m finding going through DD’s old clothes easier than other clutter, as there’s a definite process and I know that I will keep a few things and the rest can go to charity. Boxes of random stuff feel harder to deal with, as it’s not clear what’s in there and what can be done with it.

In decluttering news, I have contacted a local charity about taking DD’s old balance bikes and mini scooter, and they are interested. She never used either of them much, so I don’t feel attached to them. I’ve asked if they will collect, or if I need to drop them off.

Love the turtles!

I haven’t been doing much at all recently, always seem to be too busy or too tired.

but re boxes of random stuff, the advice from Dana forgotten her surname, wrote the Slob book - is just look. You might think you know what’s in there, and that it will be difficult to sort through, but if you just look you might find an easy out.

I'm not saying it's easy but for a lot of random boxes I don't find it the worst I'd find a lot of "why did I even keep that?" a lot of things on paper I could mostly lose, some mislaid stuff like socks or small books plus rubbish so I'd almost enjoy it 🫣

Lovely turtle picture! Such a shame that us humans have stopped there natural escape to the sea.

I'm going to rejoin you. I have decided to pause / bin off my voluntary jobs to get sorted for Christmas.

I need this thread!

Had a rummage in the Garage this weekend. Goal is to turn it into a storage and exercise space. Chucked out a carrier bag of old magazines and 3 carrier bags of cloth to textiles recycling. Still lots to do!

Outs

Ds ripped his welly boots yesterday
Potential outs are lots of kids shoes which have been out grown. Will do those this week.

I bought some lovely Next boots off Vinted but lost them in my hoard 😰 so I have to tackle the room that has had lots of things just flung into it last month.

More appointments and household jobs and admin getting done here than decluttering but it’s all progress .
Since the last update I booked a bunch of stuff from self care , medical , kids to dog appointments ,booked Christmas activities ,and did a bunch online shopping . I had my 4 th covid shot , got windows washed again ( by a company outside and DH has done 2/3 floors inside ,rest next weekend then it’s time to clean the million shutters ), the decorators came to finish two areas that were forgotten when they painted in the whole house recently, the dog got groomed and DS had his second University exam . next it's their interviews eeeek and he’s feeling very negative poor thing . He’s not an extrovert and thinks he won’t come across well enough . Also changed the 2 remaining duvets from summer to winter age all the mattress sbd pillow protectors and turned mattresses around too . Duvet will be collected to be washed tomorrow .I’ve found an excellent laundry app btw , it’s so convenient . So far just done dry cleaning and sent duvets to be washed . Tomorrow I’ll fold laundry and there might be some outs . Also still got the one bag to unpack other jobs got in the way . I will try to tackle the dog boarding box tomorrow too and get it back in the attic .
Out a couple of things :
-1 unused sticker book to charity
-2 more packets of Halloween candy to foodbank
-pile of newspapers and magazines to recycling
-a few DH birthday cards to recycling but I’ve kept his moms, mine and kids ones they made
-1 pair of DH flannel pyjamas to clothes bank ,he got a few new ones for his birthday this week
-1 DD stained school blazer to ragbank ,we have a spare luckily
-4 grubby dog toys to bin
-1 old Halloween table cloth to bin ,I found we had a new one in the box so I’m not keeping both
-1 cocktail shaker I don’t like DH got from a work workshop to charity

And DH investigated the smelly kitchen cupboard ,took the skirting board off under it and had a look . He thinks it’s not a dead mouse or anything , noticed a slight leak from the area around the food disposal button so has ordered sealant to put around that . we will have to see but it appeared while we were gone, I’ve never noticed the smell before. The drain in the big sink and the disposal one don’t smell so it’s not them and the cupboard’s pretty easy to check .there’s nothing obvious there . I do hope it’ll go away without having to take everything apart ! I don’t need another problem …

Did more organising than actual decluttering yesterday, but did manage to get rid of a few things. I needed to put away my summer shoes, but instead of just shoving them in the bottom of the wardrobe, I took all the shoes and shoeboxes out, and organised them so the shoes at the front included my smart shoes for nights out and my old hiking boots in case we get snowy/ icy weather. I also got my old trainers out to go to shoe recycling.

I reorganised the scarves/ hats/ gloves drawer to put away the lightweight scarves and leave my winter stuff at the top where it’s easy to find.

Went through my sock drawer and put four pairs of socks that were worn through at the heels or toes into the textile recycling bag. Realised I have so many socks - normal socks, cosy winter socks, welly socks - I don’t need any more! I’ve ordered some organisers for the drawer to keep the different types of socks separate (these are drawers in the built-in wardrobe so are quite big).

The charity that will take the balance bikes/ scooter has asked us to drop them off, so I’ll get DH to do that next weekend.

Not much actual decluttering, but I know that my life will be made easier with more organised shoe storage and drawers, so I’m pleased about that.

Decluttered a box of eSalon hair dye which has been sitting around since May. In fact, it was two boxes as I initially started to use an older one from last September, but when I poured the toner into the mixing bowl it had separated into clumps and looked very dodgy, so I binned it and the older developer, and used the toner and developer from the May box. Still have a spare set of gloves, stain guard and shampoo and conditioner sachets for another time.

Two charity shop bags taken last week, just one more to go now, and have started a new bag for textile recycling with some old pyjamas and Tshirts that have seen better days. Bought my 6-year-old some new leggings and tops with the M&S 3 for 2 offer, so hoping to get some too-small stuff out - there's still quite a bit of age 4 and 5 things in her wardrobe.

I have just stopped up dd summer clothes to her winter clothes and listed a fair bit on Vinted. She still has far too many clothes really but it's getting thinned out.

Just going to have a dig under her bed as she has outgrown a few pairs of shoes and I think there are some to grow into under the bed. This is why buying too big to stash away is a bad idea! Mind you my stash is now down to 1/4 of what it was. Since dd turned five she has her own style so I no longer buy pretty things that catch my eye like I used too.

Yesterday I got rid of a shrunken jumper and a stack of old boxes. I also had a tidy of the hall way and threw out some rubbish that had accumulated there.