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 really productive Sunday with the DC out of the house. Around 15/20 games and puzzles given away with bits of bric a brac. Too small clothes sorted for DC1, some binned some listed on Vinted. Also found some unused Lego sets which aren't really DCs interests so listed them for sale too and one sold straight away.
Sorted through gift bags and binned any I wouldn't reuse.
Organised everything much better now so games and puzzles are all together instead of scattered throughout the house and the space is used much more efficiently. Now have a 3 cupboard unit empty in the kitchen!

feel like I did some cluttering today 🤦🏽‍♀️ went through my main drawers put summer clothes in loft. ditto bag of uniform which didn't yet sell safely up there it can easily be retrieved. hung a load of ironed uniform up for eldest DD. I'm going go through younger DDs drawers and to take DS's bed apart soon but given myself a headache so gonna rest. did find some decent aired school coats for spare too and got a load of uniform together, they shouldn't run out the problem is no wardrobes etc. 1 skirt to NDN pile

I've chucked away a load of rubbish from the bedroom tables and windowsils today. God I've got so much bloody stuff and everything is dusty. It's a nightmare :(

I feel like a Duracell bunny that’s finally run out ; just exhausted and so sleepy all day . I still haven’t folded the weekly laundry piles or unpacked the remaining travel bag or done my daily cleaning today ,and just a bit of the dirty laundry mountain since I actually went out to lunch to see a friend I last met in June before my yearly optician that was rescheduled from Sep I spent all sick . Just now starting to feel my throat feeling raspy again after I noticed DS sounding like he’s getting Ill earlier . I had been thinking that for a moment we’re in the sweet spot with none of us ill and getting all the jobs ,appointments etc done .Well at least we have now had our eventful Mexico trip , and I’ve managed my dental app , 4 th covid shot and optician , DS his both university entrance exams and the builders , gardeners , window cleaners etc have been .Even had DH birthday .Diary is full and getting fuller by the minute there’s much to do without Christmas and Birthdays etc thrown in so no time for illness ! Our grocery delivery is 1,5 late so poor DH still has to do that tonight , I’ll be folding laundry late again I didn’t manage to make myself earlier now I need to get it done then I’ll read my book if my eyes stay open . Thankfully I’ll just stay home tomorrow all day so more then .
out just a few items but maybe some clothing soon and old food already
-1 damaged pot
-1 broken laundromat duvet bag
-3 pairs of pants to rags
-1 last year’s pocket diary ( I always keep the previous year’s one to check dates but now last one can go ,I’m getting my next one ready already have lots to write in it )
Oh yes , also decluttering an old pair of glasses , turns out I need a slightly stronger prescription , although only the lenses will go I’m keeping the frames they’re newish .

I finished all the clean laundry folding ,just a few bits to go . Groceries arrived 2 h late but at least they’re in the freshly cleaned fridge now so two things done . Reading a bit then bed …
-1 pair of DH pyjamas
-3 pairs of pants
-8 pairs of socks
-1 DD bikini

Oh God windowsills are the worst! Our living room and bedroom ones are covered in clutter, most of which is DP's paperwork from the office which he never gets round to taking back for secure disposal, plus old newspapers, obsolete charger cables, a random router we no longer need, and YYY to the bloody dust!

tidied carbs/baking cupboard threw out some OOD open items and burnt the food during this ' quick' job. disappointingly bought a recipe book which isn't really my thing too much quinoa too few photos so think that'll go straight on olio. tried to make some space for clothes the other day didn't really work bit discouraged

We're about to decorate our dining room and have chosen a new carpet for when it's finished, so a major declutter is needed! We will have to completely empty the room for when the carpet is fitted so it's a huge task - I'm beginning to realise just how much stuff we have. We made a good start but there is still much to do.

Last weekend I did a lot of shredding which went into six bags of recycling

2 bags of assorted paperwork, accumulated while working from home
during the pandemic, taken back to work
DH has also taken stuff back to work
Bathroom drawers sorted out and various small items binned

Since the weekend:
One leaky hot water bottle to be binned
One pillow to go to animal charity

Hmm, that's not so much decluttering as getting rid of stuff that should have gone a long time ago.

Hoping to finally declutter the wine cabinet I bought in error . It’s due to be collected by the buyer tomorrow but we’ll see .
Otherwise just a couple of things I run into
-1 handwriting pen without a lid
-1 unused hand soap to food bank
-a small pile of mail DH finally got around to opening to recycling

Oh and a dog toy he flung into a lamp and it started melting onto the hot bulb 😳, lucky I noticed , now a bulb that doesn’t heat up in the lamp .

I read many decluttering posts and feel a failure most of the time but today I have a success.

Just a brief background I try not to donate charity shop stuff out of season, as it feels unfair a charity shop should have to store my clutter until they can sell it. But with the cost of living and that we can help (hopefully) with some decent donations I finally managed to do it, at the right time today!

One full boot and some of the back seat of donations (hopefully to help towards a Christmas for others with younger children)

X1 complete toddle John Lewis drumkit, reunited with cymbal, stool, sticks and bass drum foot pedal.

X2 pairs of NEVER used adjustable roller boots still in their original boxes

Scalectrix track, no cars but full track, stacks, controllers, lap counter thing

And then some boring bits (net curtains, window locks, hooks)

This is after last week of finally getting our teenager to part with some great, but young books.

I have the bug now big time.

The big wine cabinet was collected today so another big thing out of the dining room that still needs a table . Both cabinet and the elliptical were costly mistakes and we had to sell them at a big loss as practically brand new but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter . Now we have the space back again and I’ve done very well furnishing nearly the whole big house on a short notice off the internet without being able to see any of the stuff I’ve ordered before hand . Still a few bits missing and more organising left of course . I’ll just have to get on with it !!!! I’m such a procrastinator sometimes but there’s endless amounts of stuff to do always . Feel like nothing else accomplished today but we got more of the laundry mountain done and I dealt with a few admin tasks . I’m now nervous about DD tomorrow’s school interview even though it’s just an informal one online …

remember when I got that plastic drawer unit for free? well like a fool I left it till it's not suitable for indoor use so collection is arranged (for outdoor use) so a neutral day. gave the bathroom a good clean while I was at it FYI bathroom wipes aren't for floor and make it slippery 🙊

Some more outs today, a large frying pan and some plastic tubs with missing lids and rearranged the pan cupboard and some other bits in the kitchen.
Quite addictive

Shelves downstairs are looking so much clearer and starting to see progress - there is still clutter but is more surface level now rather than layer upon layer. I still have 'outs' to achieve / items to sell or charity shop but these are easier to spot rather than overwhelming!

This is just two rooms though, rest of house remains a mess!

Outs today: paperwork, books, and some toys (yet to leave the house). DH is being nagged on some techhy stuff!

the olio recipient hasn't replied again about collecting so that's a bit annoying, so apart from recycling not much out today

Yesterday DH took the two balance bikes and the scooter to a local charity. They were living in the corners of the living room and dining room respectively, so it feels good to have those spaces cleared.

Today I took two pairs of shoes for recycling, and did some more sorting through the 3-6 months clothes - I’ve now done tops and trousers, so only have babygrows left to sort through. There’s now a bag of stuff to go to the charity bank tomorrow.

DH also did some shredding of stuff from one of his bags of paperwork, completely unprompted, which was nice!

I also got DD to go through her collection of conkers and decide which she wanted to keep, so that has been reduced to about half a jam-jar full. Achievements all round!

plastic drawers gone to a new recipient. only some papers and stuff gone today but had quite a nice day and must do an urgent task on laptop so I'll leave it there

Did a ruthless twenty-minute clear of the dining table and binned a bunch of party bags which have been sitting there for weeks - all sweets and cake eaten and just a bunch of plastic tat in them which will never get played with. The DC have all but forgotten they were there, and I have only kept one which DD2 got from school last week so is still fresh in her memory! Also binned some scribbles and OOD paperwork, dried up pens etc.

Still have a small pile of stuff in one corner - mostly puzzle books and a couple of jars of pens and pencils, but it looks so much nicer!

Took down and packed away my Halloween decorations yesterday. So that’s something.

the kids have been breaking toys again so I’ve binned a load and three items of clothing from my wardrobe have gone in the charity bag.

ds broke yet another pair of trousers. So these have been binned.

declutterinf where I can but for the most part now it’s using things up.

Listed some wine/champagne glasses on a whim this morning collection is already arranged 👍🏽 I only wish decluttering actually made space but we've been over this 😕

One bag of previously sorted clothes to the charity bank yesterday. Though like @seperatedmum, decluttering doesn’t seem to clear that much space at the moment!

separatedmum I have just had a run of people not turning up to collect things. It’s so rude.

I have tried giving things away on freecycle like dress up outfits and old pots and pans/ baking trays (usually people like them for preschools or mud kitchens) but no one’s interested so I’ll be throwing things away (the old pans) or donating them.

My car has about four bags of charity shop stuff now so I am going to try to go tomorrow.

I also bought a new car so can shred ten years of paperwork related to the old one. Except I think I have killed the shredder so might have to take that to the dump and then buy a new one. I’m quite gutted about the shredder as I have got through so many and this time I bought an expensive one and it lasted years. I’m very attached to it.

I'm joining today. The mess and clutter in our small Victorian 2-bed terrace is making me feel ill. Its my DH and DC who are hoarders and I spend most of my spare time outside of full time work trying to find some way of tackling it. I'm at a loss of where to start and it's overwhelming. Hoping to get some good ideas on here.

unicorn34 can we help? If you describe your family type/ the bad areas in your house perhaps someone here can help. Personally when I’m struggling I’ll go for a window ledge or cluttered surface so I see an instant difference.

Alternatively I really liked the ‘Toss’ app. It just tells you each day to an area. It made me spend hours on our pencils and stationery.

or there’s the Unfuck your habitat app (called Ufyh) which has a challenge section where you can get challenges to declutter or clean.