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!!

On a related note, has anyone made any really great storage/furniture purchases that are helping organise the stuff they keep?

I saw this in a friends’ house and it’s so much better than our billy bookcase that we use , much less mess
https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-fold-out-3-tier-shoe-rack/white/p5191586?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&s_share=jlappios_Y29tLmFwcGxlLlVJS2l0LmFjdGl2aXR5LkNvcHlUb1Bhc3RlYm9hcmQ=

and I’ve just put in an order for some of those Really Useful Boxes with the Clippy lids for toys and medicine storage etc.

I'm just hoping that having the right spaces helps with organising.

Amazing. I really like this bag of crap method. My only downfall is not actually having a place for some of these things…

My other half does this too. Total chaos.

Lol at @LivingDeadGirlUK relationships board… but it’s kind of true

As far as good furniture to store things goes I love our “ larder “ . When we moved here we requested a full-size fridge and a separate freezer from the developer and we lost a whole big cupboard in the kitchen as a result so looked for other storage to put next to the open plan kitchen . Luckily there was this big larder cabinet available in the same range of furniture I’d been buying from Cox&Cox and it solved the problem . I used Home Edit organising boxes in the top shelves like I have in the food cupboards which are tall and deep so needed something.

I got little tiered shelves for kitchebln cupboards so you can see all the spices and ingredients, also a magnetic knife bar keeps them out of draws and off the worktops.

This is what the larder looks like from the outside . It a pretty massive piece of furniture but our open plan kitchen / dining / living area by the garden is big and airy so there was perfect spot for it in this corner next to the kitchen with the chest of drawers that houses the junk drawer that’s supposedly in order , DD school drawer of stationary etc and her art drawer .

The main thing is having somewhere to keep things even if it's just a stack of boxes. If you've got a normal amount of furniture in your home the real issue isn't your furniture though, it's that you've got too much stuff.

I'm finding 5 coat hooks per person is a good number.

One clothes chest with 5 deep drawers in it per person, I've got IKEA. Underwear in top drawer, spring/autumn clothes in 2nd drawer, summer clothes in 3rd drawer, winter clothes in 4th drawer and pyjamas in bottom drawer. Ornaments/photos/tech/lamps on top

Floor to ceiling shoe shelves in the porch

Six boxes and a set of drawers for crafts and they have to fit in there no spilling out

Set of drawers for the bathroom, one per person for toiletries, one for medical stuff that you'd use in the bathroom. All other medical stuff under the kitchen sink

Cleaning supplies, bin bags etc in a kitchen cupboard. Paper towel and silver foil etc in another

Large boxs for blankets, towels and bedding at the foot of the bed in main bedroom

Stuffed animals on beds, toys in boxes

I limited DVD/CD to what fits in a small Kallax unit

Dressing table for all my makeup and hair accessories, drawers underneath for hats/scarves/gloves/swimsuits

"Junk" (it isn't, it's all genuinely useful eg candles, batteries, chargers, tools etc) cupboard in kitchen. These things live there. Nothing gets put in there "to deal with later" or because "it might come in handy". Getting rid of a general junk space was the best thing I ever did. That one junk drawer took me 5hrs to sort out initially!

Important paperwork in a small filing cabinet

Everything else/duplicates is in boxes or piles on the floor/tables etc and most basically needs to go. A few things need to be found a home

The Really Useful Box is brilliant, you can stack them floor to ceiling with no danger of collapse and you can see what's in each one

Got rid of an ancient chopping board. I know some of you wouldn't count that because I've replaced it, but in the past I'd have kept the old one "just in case" so this is progress for me. Not doing the maintenance decluttering is how it's all built up in the first place. Total is 629

Nordic I love how that larder blends in with the room

That looks really good @Nordicmom . I’m wondering if I could rejig things to get something like this in my kitchen. @LivingDeadGirlUK - these are the kind of things I’m thinking.

@IndianSummer78 - thanks that was really helpful. I think your point is right about “normal amount of furniture”, although I think some things are more helpful or fit a space or a house better. Some of our bits have gone from house to house and aren’t helping, others just need me to work out how they are used in the new house. Boxes and limiting the stuff to the space sounds achievable.

I count that! 100% I count that. I am also a “just in case” person and it’s a tricky habit to break.

Oh, and @IndianSummer78 - your list has really made me see some gaps. We haven’t got a sensible place for my make up or other dressing table stuff as our bedroom is a lot smaller than our old one (trade off with other stuff), we have a slightly annoying arrangement for toiletries etc. I just need to get things sorted and together (Bag of Crap style or something)

You could streamline your products, with multipurpose products where possible, then use a small travel case one each for toiletries and makeup? Stops anyone using your posh bits too 😉

You can also get suction cup baskets for the corners of the tiled walls in the bathroom. They'll hold shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and shaving gel without falling down too often. Could put hair spray, moisturizer, foot cream and face wash in another. You need clean dry tiles, lick and stick, leave to dry overnight then you can load up with products

This is partly why I need to declutter. I'm excellent with storage and I've filled the place up 🤭

@IndianSummer78 - getting a new bathroom put in next week. Took the opportunity to downsize the contents this afternoon.

Another 22 for the bin, some used up long the way

I have a corner suction basket STEUGO Shower Caddy Corner, Bathroom Corner Shower Shelfs, Adhesive Wall Mounted Shower Caddy with 4 Movable Hooks, SUS304 Stainless Steel Bath Storage Shower Organizers, 2 Pack https://amzn.eu/d/aGu2xTr

which has helped massively. It holds all my stuff.

in bedroom I have a huge plastic storage box in the wardrobe with toiletries in it. And make up which I’ve accumulated. On top of the dresser I have a make up bag and a small basket. That’s my every day work through it stuff. When something in there is finished I get something else from the box. We used up all our minis and samples on our huge trip over Christmas.

Ok I'm about to do my 5+5 but not feeling it.

dropped a bag at the charity shop this morning

Two more to go - in the boot of the car. The plan is to drop them in on my way to work each morning. Woop.

Good luck getting your 5+5 done today Incessant.

Over the weekend I did some ‘maintenance/ everyday decluttering’ as I went through DD’s chest of drawers and took out clothes she’s outgrown, so there’s ten items in the charity bag and space for the clothes they do fit her in the drawers. Also moved some winter clothes to the bottom of the wardrobe and will see if they still fit her in the autumn.

Still going very slowly here, but it’s better than nothing.

A box of reading glasses, 10 kids books and a too small costume out today.

I've got a donations bag I am adding to and a textiles recycling bag.

I did manage to start my 5+5!

Also sorted out lots to list on Vinted or donate but I will try to list them and donate if they do sell and I need the numbers

3rd July

Binned
6 face masķs
4 disposable razors
Soda stream

Cleaned
Bathroom windowsill
Bathroom sink
Bath
Bathroom shelf
Toilet sink

Sold donated
Polo dress

that's a good start you've made incessant

Out goes one cardigan that just isn't me. Total is 630

I think my method is going to work as its quite gentle. So I have a pile of outgrown clothes and eyeballing some out of date medication to go tomorrow

@Realfastfoodie that's where the (DKW) 'take it there now' helps, take the item to where it will live, if there's 'no space' remove something that shouldn't be there (preferably actual rubbish or a donate item.) Then go back to where you were working. If you only have keeping stuff there, take something from there that shouldn't be there & put it where it lives...

whatever works for the individual is good! I live @stealthninjamum 's tesco box, but you can end up making more work with a bag of things that need homes.

@Realfastfoodie i don’t have places for everything but I just find a home and if it means moving other things to find a home for them they just get put in the bag of crap too. I tend not to worry about storage in the short term but just grouping things together. I use lots of clear plastic food bags so as I have no storage for things like old batteries or bulbs I put them in a plastic bag, then in my handbag or the car before recycling. I used to find these things just left in a drawer for months kind of tidy as they were in a bag but now they go in my bag or car within one or two days of being used and then to Tesco when I next go.

a lot of our arts and craft stuff is also kept in plastic bags and we have really useful boxes for things like pens and pencils. They all go in an idea trofast unit.

Hi @WinterMusings i was worried about that. This is day 16 of the Bag of Crap and there is a broken tablet that has been in it since day 1. But everything else finds a home within 2 or 3 days. So I suppose I need to stop being lazy and take the tablet to the dump. I think I can fill a blue ikea bag of stuff for the dump including a car seat that’s been sitting around for about two years. I hate going to the dump, it always seems like a big job, but I once timed it and it’s only about 8 minutes from my house so takes less time than going shopping.

There are some really amazing declutter solutions mentioned. I would love a shoe storage cupboard but there’s no space in my hall

i haven’t had time to physically declutter as im working on an ehcp form for dd2 and doing a digital declutter of files and emails. I think I am going to aim to fill the car today and maybe go to the dump at the end of the week. I also have about two bags of stuff for the charity shop. I’ll fill the car with them today.

incessant that’s fantastic, I’m glad your method is working.