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Original poster

Anyone want to join a decluttering and cleaning thread?

231 replies

QwertyWitch · 26/07/2023 16:07

I want to get my house clean, decluttered and organised before school starts in September.
I started on the shelves in the living room today which are meant to be for some books and ornaments but have become filled with random paper and objects.
This seems to be the case everywhere I look!
Time to tackle it.

OP posts:
Ceraunophile · 26/08/2023 11:55

Hi everyone sounds like some good progress is being made. Realistically I’m still 3-4 weeks away from being able to properly commit to the big sort out but in the meantime I’m plodding on doing little bits here and there. Progress not perfection and all that.

This week the big boxes full of stuff for the charity shop have finally gone, I’ve changed the kids clothes over for the next size up, tidied the airing cupboard, tidied my wardrobe, tidied the dumping ground in the family room and sorted out the colouring/sticker books and kids artwork. Still a few things to be returned to their proper home in the cellar but building materials are currently blocking the way. There wasn’t much to get rid of out of all that other than the kids’ too small clothes and some artwork for the recycling so it seems a big problem is that everyone I live with is really messy and stuff just doesn’t get put away! Eg the kids get a towel out and knock others into the floor and leave them, the iron gets used and sits on the side for a week, the hoover gets used and shoved back in the cupboard instead of in its proper place which then means I go up with a load of clean bedding to put away and can’t get inside the cupboard to do it so just lean over everything and shove it on the shelf instead of doing it neatly. There’s a lesson there I think…

The house is really dusty after our holiday and all the kitchen cupboards need a good clean out so I’m planning on resuming normal cleaning next week (it’s fallen by the wayside over the summer holidays a bit) and might try to work through the cupboards one at a time over the next few weeks.

BranchingOut · 26/08/2023 16:11

@BrutusMcDogface - sounds like you're making good progress.

My boxed up items for the charity shops (leftover from the car-boot sale) finally made it to the charity shops today.
I have also listed the sports shoes on a local group - decided to put them for free to increase the chances of them leaving the premises!

Next tasks:
Sort out another package for the baby bank, although first I need to de-fancify some clothing that had been used as part of a dress-up costume.

We were supposed to be going away this week but cancelled, so I have a useful extra envelope of time in which I hope to do some decluttering.

Is anyone promising themselves that they will do something nice with the freed-up space? Or finding other ways to motivate themselves?

MallardsMoorhensAndLethe · 27/08/2023 01:41

@BrutusMcDogface you'll get there. Keep chipping away at it and you'll see floor eventually.

@BranchingOut I usually do an area accompanied by a 3hr cleaning and decluttering video on YouTube. BeckyMoss is my favourite.

I have spent today deciding where things will go and planning to move some furniture around.

theinnergame · 27/08/2023 10:09

Finally started! 3 bin bags of DD2's cleared out clothes, plus a box of books and bits'n'bobs to a charity shop yesterday. Also managed to get a lovely bookcase ideal for getting the rest of our (dh's) CDs off the living room floor, which will happen today (yes, technically brought something else into house but it really is needed).

3 quite big jobs today (but just dd1 and I home):

  1. Rearrange living room to fit new cd bookcase and get CDs on it
  2. Rearrange shelves in office bookcase and arrange books in there (gets them away from other places)
  3. Sort through my clothes and re-arrange in wardrobe/drawers

And the bonus would be (or tomorrow)

  1. Sort out corner of doom in my room...
BranchingOut · 28/08/2023 15:55

@MallardsMoorhensAndLethe
So do the videos sort of give you instructions or just general inspiration?

MallardsMoorhensAndLethe · 28/08/2023 16:19

branching out it depends who's videos you watch. Some run it through at tripple speed with music playing. Some show you eg a messy area, followed by it all tidied up and a pile of get-rid. Others do it in real time so you can follow along with them, like having a cleaning and organising buddy. Some show each item and explain why they're keeping/discarding. Some explain why you don't need as much stuff as you think you do. Do you want a list of who I follow on YouTube?

BranchingOut · 31/08/2023 07:37

Thanks, yes - always interested in something that might help!

Progress:

Sold a couple of items of clothing on Ebay - haven’t posted yet.

Irritatingly, someone was interested in the pair of sports shoes (Free) on FB marketplace, but then told me they were away all week…

Was just about to list a small item of exercise equipment and decided to ask my MIL if she was interested, apparently she was just about to buy one! Off it went to her.

We buy it one thing at a time; we have to declutter it one thing at a time, on the whole.

MallardsMoorhensAndLethe · 31/08/2023 19:33

I've PM'd you branching out

Ceraunophile · 31/08/2023 21:00

I’d be interested too @MallardsMoorhensAndLethe , I find videos useful when I’m lacking in motivation

MallardsMoorhensAndLethe · 01/09/2023 00:11

PM sent Cera

BranchingOut · 03/09/2023 17:23

Thank you for the PMs.

A teeny bit of progress: the sports shoes were finally collected.

FB marketplace can be such a slow business if you are giving items away...

I am now tackling a storage box of school items that has been overflowing since pre-Covid. The box itself has been emptied, washed and is sitting pristine on the side, waiting for the new school year to begin. But I am now left with the pile! My approach is to sort into categories and then tackle a category at a time.

theinnergame · 03/09/2023 21:47

Decluttered dd1 back to Uni 🤣 can now see floor in her room and have 2 bags of charity clothes and two bags of "not my stuff" to check

BranchingOut · 04/09/2023 17:27

Two jumpers posted today, via Ebay.

I do always quite enjoy putting the empty hangers back in the wardrobe, as a fleeting representation of what was decluttered!

BranchingOut · 04/09/2023 17:29

Well done @theinnergame

Do you find that she helps you with general decluttering these days now that she is a young adult or vice versa?

theinnergame · 05/09/2023 19:07

Hi @BranchingOut - not really sure. My 3dd vary in their decluttering abilities and it has varied throughout their lives. I wouldn't say I'm looking for help - they look after their stuff and I look after mine and dh keeps everything he has ever owned and brings home more 🤣

MallardsMoorhensAndLethe · 05/09/2023 19:25

I cleared out under the bed and the car today.

friggingnora · 07/09/2023 16:27

I've been on holiday but back to decluttering and cleaning this week. I've just done my cast iron hob racks with oven pride. Was a bit nervous they'd be ruined but they came up beautifully and they were revolting before.

I've also washed all the feather pillows on our bed. Less successful as one exploded in the washing machine and clogged up all the pipes with feathers. The other three are great though.

I do need to tackle some of the piles of papers though Confused

BranchingOut · 09/09/2023 21:26

Progress: a fancy dress item went to the charity shop. They were slightly bemused, but hopefully someone will want it!

theinnergame · 09/09/2023 22:03

Another daughter decluttered off to Uni... definitely the way to go 🤣 Seriously though, gives more scope to get clear of stuff.

BranchingOut · 16/09/2023 09:08

Finally got another parcel of children’s clothing off to the baby bank.

Reorganised several kitchen cupboards and took a few table-decoration bits to the charity shop.

I tried on a top yesterday morning but came to the conclusion that it wasn’t ever going to work for me, so I took it straight out to the car for the charity shop. I have come to the conclusion that it is better just to take in individual items if I am going past than to save up a bagful. However, I arrived on the dot of 5pm, so the lady studiously ignored me through the door - can’t blame her really!

Next jobs:
Ebay list some more items
Get that top actually to the charity shop
Book for a Mum2Mum or NCT sale

theinnergame · 17/09/2023 01:00

Well done @BranchingOut

I removed one bag of clothes to charity shop, one of clothes and one of shoes to charity bins, and two cracked storage tubs to tip. Also washed a huge amount of old school uniform to be able to send to school.

BerfyTigot · 15/10/2023 06:00

I need some motivation to declutter.
I had a go at it a few months ago, but left a massive pile of stuff to eBay, stuff to go to charity, recycling etc.

So now I've got disheartened as I still can't use the space. And while I know that it's more sorted, it still looks cluttered.

So today I am committing to getting rid of some of the cardboard.

Anyone want to join me in committing to a small achievable goal?

Clettercletterthatsbetter · 15/10/2023 10:54

I’ll join you @BerfyTigot ! I need to do a bit of a house reset today - declutter a bit, list some things for sale, get on top of the laundry pile…

theinnergame · 15/10/2023 11:11

Yes, I'd like to join today! I have already decluttered wardrobe contents, now have two piles that I have forgotten the criteria for that need to be put away or recycled so that's todays goal. And if that lets me rearrange the furniture in the corner of the bedroom I will be even happier!

BerfyTigot · 15/10/2023 11:32

Oh good! That's 3 of us to motivate each other. I have actually started ( although I'm also dealing with a wayward pup who wants to chew they cardboard 🙄)

I don't know why I procrastinate so much.

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