Decluttering thread 4 - progress rather than perfection

[Pigtailsandall]

Thread 3 got filled up so decided to start a new one - hope everyone can find it!!

The playhouse which my son has outgrown has just gone to a new home and I've also donated 3kg of salt that we would never get around to using anytime soon.

Had a bit of a rearrange of the garage as a friend is coming tomorrow to get a few bits they have stored there and we need to be able to get to them! So I've found a few boxes to throw out while I was doing that.

Oh posted 3 vinted sales as well!

Today I blitzed the fridge since the Ocado order arrived and it’s now sparkling ! I threw out a bunch of old food but now I know what there is in there so I can avoid as much waste hopefully next week .
out:
-a bunch of old fridge food
-1 old sun cream
-1 pair of DD old tights
-1 DS broken school sweater
-7 pairs of grubby old socks

Few small outs yesterday - nursery handbook, a mascara I tried to use up but just hated, a slightly broken storage box, a handful of papers I'd been holding on to, and a plastic kinder egg toy

At 855 now. I need to look through my clothes critically tonight as my friend is organising a clothes swap over the weekend and I would like to take some stuff I no longer love

Mainly housework inc lots of laundry today plus some admin but a few outs as usual ;
-2 old medicine packets
-1 DD finished book
-6 more old bra pads
-1 DS dress up costume is being considered
-a couple of Christmas CDs might go too other than them we have already decluttered all our CDs except DD story and musical ones
I’m folding all the clean laundry later today so there’ll probably be some outs there .

I'm not going to feel guilt about getting rid of bobbly stuff anymore. They aggravate my daughters skin and cause rash therefore 2 school pinafores out and 4 pairs of school tights. School tights from Asda have been awful this year. First 5 pack were okay but shrunk after 6 months, next 5 pack had holes in them as they were sewn patched up in random places. Only realised when one of them ripped whilst trying them on and turning them inside out! 3rd replacement pack of 5 only 3 are left. Shocking quality! We used lidl and Aldi tights last year and they were fine.

Took a bag of 13 items that either were DH's or hadn't sold on vinted to my friends clothing swap which will be in Sunday. Just need to make sure I don't come back with the same number of items!!
Also sold 2 things on Vinted but sales are slowing down. I had £20 credit so withdrew that to my savings account to keep me from spending it

870 items down now

I binned a pair of jeans that fit but had rubbed though at the thigh and I could see daylight through.

I wanted to keep them for decorating but talked myself out of it!

I’ve started! I’m only going to count the things that are actually out of the door here, but I have a big charity bag and a big clothes recycling bag to go tomorrow.

1 enormous Junk mail pile
7 posting return to sender
8 radio times unopened
1 eBay sale sent for posting (and resolving not to bother selling stuff in future unless really worth it!)

total 17

Folded all the clean clothes , sheets and towels and some outs from there . Took me hours but I watched tv while I did it . Sorted out a delivery pile ,lots of boxes to recycling , DH will have to do dump this weekend . There’s a large wooden delivery box from a machine , rag bank bags , recycling etc .
Sent more winter duvets and a bedspread to be washed via laundry service .put the sore ash clean ones away . Read through a couple of magazines so those went to recycling .Still have DD stuff to sort out for next week school residential but I’ll do that tomorrow / sun . After the trip there should be some more outs in the form of ruined old clothes and shoes . A medical appointment and some admin done too . So achy and tired now but at least a nearly clear landing again except for the school trip stuff and DS snow shoes and the costume I’ll need to check.
Out today :
-1 wooden utensil
-1 broken plate
-3 pairs of old pants
-1 pair of DD stained pyjama bottoms
-27 pairs of old socks ( especially DD destroying white school socks now all the time ,they’re so impractical while out playing football etc like she does )
-1 DD finished book
-1 pillowcase with a hole
-1 DD hoodie earmarked to go after school trip
-possibly 1 pair of DD small trousers ,need to get the replacement out of a box in the attic

A cookbook gone to the donations pile today. I haven't touched it in years. I had a flick through it tonight and I'm never going to make anything in it. Total is 636

Another 20 things sold on eBay and posted out. Total now 407.
Would be more if the people who bought collection only items actually intended to collect them 😡.

By next weekend my DD new bedroom will be finished and I'm hoping to find lots of things to get rid of while we're putting the room together.

Well done everyone, you are keeping me inspired!

@PissedOffNeighbour22 - it’s really tricky the eBay/vinted thing, I’m wondering how much it’s worth selling things, versus just getting rid!

@IndianSummer78 - books and especially cookbooks are a bit my downfall. I love them. I love how they look.

@Nordicmom - this is the kind of decluttering I aspire to. Tidying and sorting things properly and decluttering as you go.

I’ve been thwarted by the charity shop being closed for the coronation. So the only things that have left the house are rubbish and recycling but it does include a big bag full of plastic recycling bits.

@Realfastfoodie I’ve tried to make it an every day habit but no one else here cares really. I’m the only committed one but I don’t have a choice really since I don’t want to be drowning in crap we don’t need .I never want to have such volumes of stuff to go through again like I did from several years worth when DD was small and I was too busy and tired to do it regularly . I was also keeping things for a third possible child for ages in our old house . In those days it was a struggle to just keep the everyday routines going let alone to do the holidays , birthdays etc extra things so decluttering , bigger house maintenance projects had to wait. Now things have changed , the kids are older and we’ve moved several times . I have the time but not the energy or the strength with my many health problems so it’s all stop and start here . My family think I have ocd with my tidying and cleaning ( believe me I don’t they are just lazy little pigs 😁) and that I want to throw everything away which I don’t ,I just don’t want to live in mess and filth! I have horrible memories of the piles in the past after emptying the attic contents into the topfloor to look through for instance plus DH standards are so much lower than mine that when I’ve left things more up to him it’s gotten awful and I’ve then had to clean and tidy it all so I swore in this house it’d have to be daily maintenance and me being the sergeant major directing the troops and checking up on things everywhere since I can’t trust the others. Other than for a couple of boxes left from our move ,and the storage locker we don’t have anymore ,in the attic ,I’d say I’m now doing maintenance . Im trying to remind myself how much better things are here than they’ve been in the past when ever I feel bad about it . It’s never going to be perfect alphabetical order here, im far too tired for that and would rather do something else with my time .I just want it relatively clean and at least visible clutter free . We’ll always have cupboards that will need organising again and the house maintenance jobs are never ending in this bigger house it seems. my list is still long after doing so much since last July it’s depressing but today DH has gotten a ceiling lamp hang up and is putting up shelves in the shed before the new garden furniture arrives to store it’s cushions, has written to the developers about obtaining replacements tiles for a damaged hallway one , and I’ve finally managed to order more garden furniture and the dining table .also a trolley table for the dining room arrived so progress is being made . My to do list is always so long that I’d love to forge on full power and cross off lots to make me feel less anxious about it but I need DH to do things off it more and he’s always too busy or not here . I’m quite regularly thinking that living in a small flat by myself with minimal possessions would be nice .
After moving to the bigger house and because of my illness and the lack of DH time and energy we do now have a few people helping with some regular jobs but still no weekly cleaner which we’ll need latest when DS goes to uni since then he’s not helping with that . We have a window cleaner monthly everyone here uses , a gardener twice a month and someone picking up DD from school in the aft since I don’t drive . Because of my pain etc problems friends are saying maybe I need someone daily but I can’t imagine that atm so I do things as much as I can and take pain killers and rest . It’s infuriating not to be able to do as much as I want though when the mood strikes !
Anyway I do what I can atm and hopefully my health will be better in the future !
Happy decluttering all !

Felt really unmotivated today but forced myself to go through some clothes trying them on and I'm getting rid of 4 pairs of too small jeans today plus one piece of lace I used for something. Total is 641

RealFastFoodie if you've gt a clear area of your home, such as a porch with hardly anything in it or a spare room with nothing on the shelves or in the wardrobe, you can use these areas to store things you're selling because they're not impacting on your daily life. Otherwise if they're stored on the sofa, dining table, piled in a corner of the kitchen/living room/bedroom I find it's best to let them go if you can afford to. Obviously if you're totally broke and need to sell then it is what it is. Generally though I've found more can be saved by not purchasing things you don't need than by selling bits here and there for a few pounds. The time it takes to do the ads and deal with the messages I'd rather use for decluttering. Depends on your priorities. It really goes against the grain for me to not try to sell things but it's been one of the most freeing things I've adopted

Nordic I get it. My ex was so messy and happy to live in filth that whilst my peers were dreaming of bigger properties than our average small semi's, I was so sick of the constant cleaning and tidying while he sat around doing nothing that I was dreaming of a cozy flat with nobody else in it. My criteria for the next man went further than the usual looks/personality/solvency attributes to no smokers/drinkers /snorers/people who "can't see dirt"/lazy people who don't tidy up after themselves. I couldn't bear to go through life like that again. Glad you're finally seeing progress in your home now and can breathe again

You've done really well with the selling PissedOff. I hope the new bedroom can be a peaceful decluttered haven for you

Thanks @IndianSummer78, I think you are right about not spending money being as good as making it, at least if you are lucky enough to not be totally broke. I think I will be keeping selling to a minimum. Even the charity shop bags take up space!

@IndianSummer78 I have to give DH credit where it’s due ; he does work very hard full time where as I don’t ( I’ve always been the one home with the kids who are now older (DS 18, DD11)) ,and also has always done some childcare , cooking ( nowadays does it all really because of me being more poorly but we don’t cook from scratch in the week normally ) , laundry ,cleaning and we share admin . His student room was very messy when we met I should seen the warning signs ,I do remember being shocked although he wasn’t expecting me to come over then . Our standards are very different and he either doesn’t see it like me or care about it because I do know he can do cleaning and other domestic things well if he wants to . He’s a good cook and very handy at diy for instance and his cleaning can be good too if he bothers to make the effort . Kids don’t care though although DS likes order like me but he doesn’t care about if it’s dusty or dirty . I feel like I spend my life nagging and picking up and cleaning after everyone and doing laundry and looking after the dog and doing admin. I need to find an escape ! Less stuff has helped shd in this bigger house we can all have space which is nice . I probably just have to give in and get that cleaner to do the weekly tasks . I am just not good with strangers in my house …

@Realfastfoodie Selling has been worth it for me as almost all my decluttering so far has been through selling.
It's just annoying with collection only items as no matter how many times you state collection only, people just ignore it. Usually they don't even bother to tell you they've made a mistake.

I'll be listing more this weekend if I have time as it's reduced price listings. I do think I need to work out a time limit for things to sell though as otherwise some stuff hangs around for a long long time.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 - sounds like you are really good at it! 😊 The time limit sounds like a good idea, and @IndianSummer78’s suggestion of a dedicated (small) place for them.

I also used olio/ local freecycle type groups a lot when we moved house, and the no-shows can be a nightmare. Sometimes I put a price on them just to avoid the time wasters! Olio is a bit better for that.

@Realfastfoodie I use a spare bedroom currently but it's heaving with stuff and unusable. It'll be renovated hopefully by next year for my baby to move into so I will have to reconsider how much stuff I'm able to hold onto until it all sells.

I really hate seeing how much money I've wasted on all these things so like to get something back so I don't feel so bad about it.
We've never had much money so it's quite disheartening seeing how much money I've wasted over the years on clothes/shoes/dvds/books etc.

I'd love the house to be clear enough that I'm not embarrassed to let people in. It's truly awful and much worse than when we moved in 2 years ago 😓

@IndianSummer78 I'm sorry to hear that. It’s very hard moving house and with a baby too. We couldn’t move for boxes for weeks!

But try not to let it get you down - I bet your friends and family will just see the love, and the fun, not the mess! I remember when we moved house about a decade ago and it was basically a building site still, but we shoved our stuff in and one of our friends said “Ah, that’s lovely, looks like home now!” and it really made me realise no one else cares as much as we do!

You are so right about the lesson in decluttering about buying things. Sometimes I look at things and wonder what on Earth I was thinking?! Every time I get rid of stuff I try to resolve not to buy any more stuff! But I also get unduly attached to things that have lived a long and happy life (and now have holes!)

Very impressive you’re doing so well with sales, you must be really good at it as I think there’s an art to listing!

Sorry that last reply was for @PissedOffNeighbour22 !