November Declutter

[PoTayToes80]

Anyone interested in being part of a November declutter?

For me: it’s the lead up to the end of the year and I’m back at work from maternity leave in the new year. I’ve spent half my mat leave feeling like I’m on a constant tidying treadmill and have come to the conclusion it would be much easier with less stuff.

Anyone in? I’m open to methods. Eg 30 day minimalism challenge where you get rid of 1 thing on the 1st, 2 things on the 2nd etc, area per week. Or maybe we just leave it to everyone to do their own thing…

Yes please! Im off for two weeks and starting a new job on the 14th. I have made a promise to myself to make a significant indent on the piles and boxes of stuff that has built up over 15 years of family life in our little house. It has become quite desperate. I am on my own with this as my OH has had a recent heart op and is not able to do much physically but is cheering me on from the sidelines and making regular cups of tea.

A major challenge for me is working out what to do with various categories of stuff. For example my kids grew very fast and skipped through school shirt sizes. In addition my DS is hypersensitive so often refused to wear items of clothing because of their feel. As a result I have about 15 white shirts of various large sizes which were barely worn except to try on. Are these the type of item that would sell on eBay? Is there anywhere else where I could recoup some of what I spent on the items? All ideas are gratefully received.

Thanks in advance,
MmHtFt

I'm in, I have been steadily decluttering over the last few months as we just accumulated so much!
@Mamahotfoot I follow "A slob comes clean" and she suggests not getting hung up on categories- just donate everything thats resuable to a charity shop, and throw out or recycle everything else. It's made a huge difference to my ability to declutter things and actually get them out of my house.

@DinosaurOfFire thanks - I know that this probably is the avenue that I will follow. The only thing is that I look at the cumulative cost of all those purchases and feel appalled .... mostly at my inability to send things back within the time limit. There is possibly £100+ worth of white shirts there. Maybe I should set up a stall outside my house or the local secondary school!

@PoTayToes80 I think Id be up for the 30 day challenge but might try to do it backwards ie: starting with 30 things and working down. I think I wont build up enough momentum to make the difference needed otherwise. Also Im very poorly motivated so need to strike while I have enthusiasm and run out of steam!

Deffo yes. I started the other day in the kid’s bedrooms but still more to do. Haven’t had a big declutter since Xmas last year, astounding how quickly it all builds back up again. Losing the will so need some inspo!

Me!! I did two large bags for the charity shop last night, but have so much kore I could declutter!
count me in!

Brilliant! Let’s do it.

@Mamahotfoot I might go in reverse too, it means it will start to get easier rather than harder.

@DinosaurOfFire that’s my big challenge- actually getting it out of the house rather than in piles or boxes around it! In fact I think my first few days might involve slightly cheating as I might count getting rid of things I’ve already identified as clutter.

My other big challenge will be my partner. He’s not a hoarder, but he considers getting rid of things wasteful if they’ve still got life in them.

Following. Decluttering this week and drowning in stuff!

@Mamahotfoot you could also try Facebook marketplace for the shirts

Oh god I'm in. Massively derailed from my own pre-Christmas purge by covid and a bad back.

I'm in too! Last few weeks of maternity leave for me as well. I've done fairly well at decluttering but I have some stuff hanging about that I've pulled out and not dealt with. It needs to go.

My goal is 100 items in November. (150 is stretch target)

I NEED this. I think I will aim for a bag a day - slightly stretchy term as could be a carrier or could be a bin bag. I think I will make a vinted pile, but most will go to Oxfam, recycling or bin.

@PoTayToes80 thanks that's a good shout re Facebook Market Place. Ive never tried that or Vinted. I think I will do what @lbnblbnb suggested and do a resale pile. But if I haven't done anything with this by the end of the month it will go straight to charity / donate to the local school. Im feeling pleased with myself as have bagged a whole lot of ancient paperwork. It needs to be shredded but I count that as a win today! Also bagged a load of clothes for charity and books which just need to go in the boot of the car so I can actually get them out of the house tomorrow. I need to remember to do before and after pics as I really find it hard to keep momentum. I need a regular team of cheerleaders!

I did a big de-clutter during lockdown but now the house has somehow acquired a new layer of stuff that doesn't fit into previous storage categories and I don't know what to do with it eg new wedding clothes, partner's new hobby clothes, new books but I already weeded the existing books, presents in new categories, folder of paper due to new health condition, ongoing new projects, etc etc. So it's all new fresh stuff but it's kind of created a new surface layer of clutter as there's no storage for it.

I'd like to join also please as I'm so fed up with seeing clutter everywhere. I got rid of a bunch of stuff last weekend (still lots more to go though). I listed about ten items on vinted and have sold 3 of them so far. I also gave away some bundles of clothes, shoes and unused toiletries via our local Facebook buy nothing group. I find this the easiest way of getting rid of things as you can ask people to pick them up from your house- I tend to just put the stuff on the front porch just before they arrive. Or if you don't feel like giving them your address you can meet in a public place. I am really strict with no-shows as they can be a problem - I give people one chance to pick up and if they don't I'm on to the next person.

1/11: slight issue as I don't seem to have any big black bin bags, will buy some on way home tomorrow. But I have collected together library books that need returning and have used some carriers to bag up some old folders etc to go in the bin. So still quite satisfied!

Ive just had a look at aslobcomesclean.com which seems really helpful and wondered if anyone else has any handy decluttering resources. I quite like to listen to a podcast or audible book while I work on stuff. Also if you have any interesting links to podcasts on things other than decluttering do post a link too. Cheers

I am determined to declutter this month and have decided to post a couple of embarrassing "before" photos in order to keep myself accountable. At the end of the month I commit to posting "after" photos. If anyone else is up for this it would be great to see your photos and progress also?

And for full disclosure, I have already started decluttering and gave a way a bunch of stuff in October so this is actually better than it was. For me it's definitely psychological- as a child I didn't have decent or enough clothes and was bullied for it (among other reasons). This is the effect of that. I also have a million coats, lots of bags, around 100 pairs of shoes, etc (not pictured)! The ikea kallax is full also and I have several suitcases of clothed under the bed, too.

I am determined to declutter this month and have decided to post a couple of embarrassing "before" photos in order to keep myself accountable. At the end of the month I commit to posting "after" photos. If anyone else is up for this it would be great to see your photos and progress also?

And for full disclosure, I have already started decluttering and gave a way a bunch of stuff in October so this is actually better than it was. For me it's definitely psychological- as a child I didn't have decent or enough clothes and was bullied for it (among other reasons). This is the effect of that. I also have a million coats, lots of bags, around 100 pairs of shoes, etc (not pictured)! The ikea kallax is full also and I have several suitcases of clothed under the bed, too.

Morning!

Today is slightly a cheat day because I had some of this stuff in piles but I’ve now got it packaged up and in the car ready to go to charity shops/ friends etc. Car might also be cheating a bit but seeing it’s out of the house I’m counting it! Plus I won’t be able to do drop offs every day.

The grand haul today is 99 items:

6 chopsticks
1 wine stopper
1 meat thermometer
1 red vase
10 glasses
1 candle
1 seasonal wreath
4 pieces of odd camping cutlery
70 baby clothes/items
Baby bouncer
Playmat
Baby carrier
Changing mat

That takes me through days 1-3 of the minimalism challenge (backwards) and a bit of day 4. I figure I might not always be able to be consistent each day, so will try to stay on track of the total instead.

Sorry i absolutely can’t be arsed to count the individual items but I have just filled 3 charity bags with clothes, shoes, books and teddies.

going to sort out the sideboard today as well, and have 3 coats to list on Vinted which are outgrown but as new. I usually give absolutely everything to charity but with bills going up, I think i should at least try with the coats first.

@ScrambledOrPoached Ah counting schmounting, let’s do whatever works best for each of us! 😀

@Catslovepies I didn’t think of before and after pics! Might take some on some of the other days.

Todays efforts! Feeling better already!

I've made some progress today! Two unused items to charity shop, 1 item into recycling, two items into bin. Various other rubbish gathered up and out of house. Also did some re-organising to make space for surface clutter. Feeling better already! So at least 5 items gone and others pending.