I’m doing the 31 Day declutter challenge

[Sallygoroundtheroses]

I’ve done it before but not for a while. Despite a huge effort to declutter last year, the house is looking a bit chaotic again. So 1 item on day 1, 2 on day 2 etc.

I’m off to find an item…

I'm sure I'll have days where I don't get much done, but there will be other days when I do a lot more. Don't get disheartened, go for an average over the days or a grand total.

Day 5:

Cosmetic bag, jigsaw, old gift cards, leaflets, funeral order of service, postcard, other paper bits, more bits of old crochet, 2 old shower gels, air freshener, craft stuff, fidget toy, book, fabric flowers from my wedding, note book, ribbon, large pebble (!), cardboard corners from picture frames that I kept for some reason, cat proof window nets (got better ones!), decorative tile and a lamp!

So I'm ahead at 78/310

Like someone else said upthread, it's better to be ahead but not get behind! Couldn't agree more!

I'm hoping to join you on Monday but working backwards from 31. I have done this before and I'm quite confident it's doable

5 - returns packaged up and sent off from Christmas

This evening I went round the house with a bag and gathered up 100 small things to bin. These included:

Hair bobbles
A broken clothes peg
Dried up tubes of acrylic paint
A toy car with a wheel missing*
A broken pencil sharpener
A dirty blob of bluetac
Two pin badges
A key to a cupboard we no longer own
A postcard
Three flimsy plastic spoons

Very satisfying and I'm going to do it again at the weekend.

*DC who owned the car is late 20s now so I hope he won't mind.

Day 4 - 1 bath bomb
Day 5 - 2 dressing gowns in the charity bag, I wish they collected when I had chance to sort properly! 2 more toiletry miniatures used up

Couple of bad days with my long covid means I'm taking the wins where I can

90/496

Yesterday - day four- tackled my handbag. Plenty more than four items including a pile of old receipts, couple of disposable masks and even a fabric facemask bought when they first came out and left at the bottom of my bag for emergencies!

Day 6 -
4 out of date food items from pantry
1 bar of soap given to family
1 old shower gel used up and recycled.
21/496

I have had a bit if a scattergun approach, being back at work has limited the time I have to declutter. Hoping to start a more methodical room by room or area plan.

Yes declutter if your phone counts. Anything that clutters your environment be it mental or physical is included.

I went through the medical box.

Yesterday - 5 nail varnishes gone gloopy
Today - cleared receipts out of my purse. Some have been put on expenses claim, others binned. Doesn't feel right to count them individually, so I'll top up to 6 by deleting 1 weeks worth of emails.

I missed a couple of days but back on it today;

12 books of Norm from ds room - he doesn’t want to read again
1 out of date gaviscon
3 school skirts for second-hand uniform shop

I’m on about 21 items. I’ll be happy whatever total I get to by end of January.

I’ve deleted some apps from my phone that I don’t we so I’ll add 10 more to my total, taking me to 96/500.

looking forward to the weekend so I can do a big decluttering.

15 christmas cards, 2 plastic boxes, 1 picture, old A to Z redundant with sat nav and google maps 5 pens total 24 items

Day 6:
Last year's diary
Scented candle I dont use
Old bank login doojit
Half used tube of Bazuka
Paint sample pot
Toy catalogue

Day 7
7 books taken to community book swap.

28/496

Day 6: sorted out toiletries

3 old eyeshadows thrown away
1 lipstick that I never liked
1 First Response pregnancy test (new& unopened) … 4 years since decided to have no more children but still did not feel I could get rid of it
2 eyeliners and 1 Clinique mascara from Advent Calendar gifted to a friend

23/21

I am going to tackle the bathroom cabinets. Then I need to sort out out-grown clothes from my middle child! This challenge has made me start small, so still have a cluttered house - but I am deep-cleaning as I go along as well!

Two IT manuals (generic IT advice not specific models) now gone to charity shop. Two plant pots and a withered amaryllis gone to the shed but I'm counting that as decluttered from house (Shed can be a separate project later in year). Old washing up brush as had two on the go for reasons that are no longer clear. Then 13 more expired food items from another cupboard, plus a plastic refillable container we haven't been refilling. So 20 today, running total 86/500.

500 is beginning to look like a stretch though.

Wasn't sure if the toy catalogue really counted (trying not to include anything that would be normally chucked out as rubbish) so added a small hot water bottle I never use to the charity shop box.

Also got carried away and tipped a bottle of two year old sloe gin that I don't like, so I'm going to carry that forward into tomorrow's total!

Added 6 more to my total, holey socks and pants and used the last of a box of shower steamers, recycling the packaging. 86/310

6 done!

• 2 x eyeliners
• 1 x pickle we don't like
• 3 x things this morning that I can't remember now!

6 - disposable freezer packs that I have kept from food deliveries but will never reuse.

Day 6

21 padded envelopes and a big cardboard box

100/310.

I didn't expect to get rid of so much so soon! Maybe if I hit my target I'll keep going and see where I get to.

I actually got my DS to agree to me recycling some lego cards that have been sat on a shelf for years. I really hope he doesn't claim he didn't want me to later on (not impossible!) That's my best declutter of today's six!

• Ate a chocolate Santa left over from Christmas (it counts!)
• Another phone case into the charity bag
• 9 random stickers and bits of Lego (youngest child is 17...)

26/496 or 26/16, can't decide which way I prefer

Day 6-
2 hangers in supermarket recycling
scrap of body lotion used up
random kids “craft” in the bin
electronic charger disposed of
empty iron packing that was living on my wardrobe into recycling