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!!

Bagged up half a dozen bits for the baby bank, but they won’t get out of the house for a few weeks. Will try to find a bit more before I take them.

I need to find another quick win, like the medicines.

@IncessantNameChanger - actually quite like your 5+5. Mine might be 5 declutter + 5 put in the right place. Like a mini bag of crap @stealthninjamum !

realfastfoodie It took me a few years reading and thinking about decluttering to get me into the right headspace for taking action. I used to not be able to get rid of clothes until they had holes worn in them even though I'd already purchased the replacement. I kept every tiny thing that could potentially be used in a craft project. I've come a long way. I'm quite panicked and out of my comfort zone with how ruthless I'm being lately, but I know I'm making the right decision so I'm rolling with it

Managed to start sorting out the spare wardrobes and so far I've found 11 items for the fabric recycling and my mum has taken 11 items.
Total now is 541.

Just waiting for my eBay items to end and there'll be more out by the weekend.
I've sold a piece of furniture too but as usual the buyer has disappeared now it needs collecting 😑.

I think it's nice realistic number that could make quite a dent in a week. Even if just did the windows and windowsills they would all be done in a week. Wish me luck! Five things back to their home is a great idea. I might do that as well

incessant 5 sounds a doable number and it should make a difference. Whenever my house gets messy I like to clear the surfaces.

It’s day 11 of the Bag of Crap and I’m finding less stuff to put in it. We have loads of drawers and cupboards and I have probably gone through the ones I use most often now. Today I am debating throwing out four herbal teabags - it seems a waste but I’m not that keen on them. And I am probably going to get rid of a container that was a present.

A dress and a pair of trousers in the charity bag. Woooo

its almost full so need to drop it off.

two pairs of the dcs shoes binned. These will be replaced soon

One dress that's too tight and a stained blouse going out today. Total is 618

Mini kids clothes sort - a few for the loft, a few for the baby bank. It all counts as none of them needed to be in our way!

For the first time I’m successfully doing a one in one policy on dc clothes. I bought new underwear and removed the old before I put the new away. It’s not proper decluttering but I’m pleased that we won’t get to the situation where each dc has a huge drawer of knickers in a wide range of sizes most of which don’t fit.

Great job @stealthninjamum - stuff like that helps, I think, almost more than the big declutters.

a couple of last minute bits for my June total - managed to find homes for two things that we don’t use:

1 pot sudocrem (sensitive skin, can’t use)
1 half bottle fabric conditioner (needed to swap brand)

159 total for June
438 total

A hard day today tackling blazers. I'm so attached to these! I've got 2 coats, 2 jackets and 2 blazers in a "too small really but I can't bear to part with them" pile 🤦 This decluttering business is difficult. All these items it's because they represent my past, having been bought for the me I used to be. Some outs today though

Small pile of ribbon I'll never use 🤷
A magazine article I was keeping for reasons long forgotten 🤔
A jacket 😢
5 blazers 😭

Total is 626

Well done @IndianSummer78, those declutters are hard! Few years ago I let go of a coat I wore clubbing for nearly two decades - the memories attached to it were enormous. But it was in terrible condition and I was never going to fit into it again...

I took 6 pairs of too-small kids joggers to the nursery yesterday for spares and threw out 3 bottles of condiments from the condiment cupboard and gave it a good scrub. What a way to spend a Friday night 😅this morning deleted over 100 photos of mainly clothes I'd photographed for Vinted - counting that as one out.

Need the give the house a good clean today so will almost certainly find some crap for my crap bag

Total is 1050 at the mid-year point.

Well done @Pigtailsandall!

Just 6 jam jars for me today. But I did give a couple of bigger toys a big clean and pop them up in the loft. And washing and sorting the new baby stuff from the loft. Not doing such a good job of getting rid, but a few bits for the baby bank…

Gardening this afternoon, which is kind of decluttering!

Thanks pigtails, that must have been hard. One thing I'm noticing is what poor condition so much of the stuff I've kept is in. My criteria for what's worth keeping has definitely been raised.

I'm considering doing something I can't really do. The container concept. For my coats/cardigans/jackets/blazers. I can't do it because I always want to keep everything. I have too many though. I've been seriously considering looking at the available space and slimming down my collection to match. Instead of considering each one and thinking if I want to keep it, thinking I've got room for X amount, which ones do I like the best and losing the rest. So they're not all crammed in. The thought makes me feel a bit panicked TBH 🥺 but it's not like I even wear them all, so I know I'm being silly

One too small babygrow for today. This has been moved between the keepsies pile and the charity bag for a week because it's cute, but it doesn't fit! So out it goes finally. Total is 627

@IncessantNameChanger glad your meeting with the helper was good I love your idea of the 5+5. I would have found that quite useful at the start when there were lots of easy wins to be had. I have this week put aside 5 items of clothing for the charity shop bag. Kids have generated lots of holed socks again but not yet replaced so I’m taking that as six outs until they are!

Well, if evicting snails count as decluttering I must be able to add 60 to my total!

I had reached 50 last time I posted. I've been focusing on clothes and sorting through something every day.
1 skirt with tag still on
6 t shirts
1 pair slipper socks
3 dresses (this includes the two from last week)
5 cardigans
4 jumpers
4 shirts
3 jackets
1 hoodie
1 really nice top that I'm just too old for
1 lovely floaty dress that will never fit me again
The last two things were difficult but they need to go. This has made only a small dent in the clothes but it's a start and when they leave the house tomorrow the total will be 78.
I've also rediscovered and will be bringing back into circulation
1 huge black jumper from Cos which will be great for the winter.
1 grey cardigan/jacket thing
1 skirt which I remember being too big but now isn't...
And one more dress for the fabric box. This could save me money!
@IncessantNameChanger you're right about doing a little every day. I've set a daily 30 minute target and tell myself as long as I do something it's all going to add up eventually. It's going to take a while.

Brought the laundry in and decided to donate one top that I don't like the length of the sleeves. Total is 628

This week's eBay sales are now posted out. 18 items of clothing, a baby bouncer and one large item of furniture.

Unfortunately I don't have my next batch ready for listing this weekend as I've been too busy at work but I'll put on as much as I can.

Total is now 561.

I'm getting fed up of all the various crap stored/left in stupid places. I hurt my leg quite badly yesterday on tins of paint I couldn't see due to all the other stuff piled on top of them in the hallway. I need to find time to sort it out as it's both annoying and dangerous. Let alone how embarrassed I am by it as it's easily noticeable to anyone when I open the front door.

I think it's time to consider giving away the baby's travel system. It takes up so much room in the house. Plus we will be able to get the huge spinning car seat off the dining room floor!
But it's so damn convenient having a flat pram base in the car boot compared to the huge pushchair 😕

I hear you about clutter getting in the way, I'm constantly having to move things or brush past things. We can also never find things, my partner has bought a 3rd spanner set this week as he can't find the other two!

Slow plod here but stuff IS going. Some old Christmas stuff chucked, baby hangers donated, and a part for a strimmer that wss wrong passed on.

@LivingDeadGirlUK we have the same issue with tools. I'm fed up of my DP spending longer looking for tools than it takes him to do the actual job he's using them for.

I can't believe I live like this now. The main reason we moved was so we had enough room for all our crap. I don't think we realised just how much stuff we both owned in our separate houses. I used to be so organised and tidy in my 20s.

I have someone collecting some furniture today and I'm so embarrassed by the state of my hallway.

Yes, @LivingDeadGirlUK and @PissedOffNeighbour22 - I managed to push for a massive binning of excess tools and left over paint etc when I pointed out to my other half that he kept so much stuff that he could never find anything. Like you, it’s the duplicate purchases that drive me mad!

And because we live with clutter, I spend too much time looking for things, I also just lose things for ages.

Thank you for reminding me why I’m doing this!

We have too many tools, it’s mainly screwdrivers. Because children’s toys need them to change batteries, at one point we seemed to have screwdrivers in every room and yet whenever a toy’s battery went you could never find the screwdriver.

Thanks to the Bag of Crap I have rehoused all the screwdrivers to the utility room. Luckily dc no longer have lots of toys that need batteries so it won’t be a problem anymore.

My partner spent a whole day looking for the spanners, in the process he has displaced loads of other stuff throughout the rooms in the house. I tided up the kitchen and used it as an excuse to throw some stuff away, but yes its really annoying!

Urgh, I don't want to steer into relationships board territory but it turns out the spanners haven't arrive, its actually another set of Allan keys?! So he still doesn't have the tools to fix our sons bike and is going away for a week tomorrow.

I suggested he ask the neighbor to borrow one so the bike can actually be used before next weekend to be given much huffing and puffing...