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Decluttering Thread 5 - Slowly Does It

1000 replies

Pigtailsandall · 29/07/2023 12:41

We filled the previous thread quickly! I'm still in the middle of my annual leave and working through my old sentimental items so I need to keep the momentum going! It's taking ages.

@incessantnamechanger
@EllieQ
@nordicmum
@IndianSummer78
@Realfastfoodie
@nordicmom
@CornedBeef451
@thingshavegottogo

@stealthninjamum
@pissedoffneighbour22

Sorry for anyone I missed! Hope you find us!

OP posts:
declutteringonedayatatime · 22/08/2023 22:08

I have had 2 pieces of furniture leave the house as well as two full bags of rubbish.

Well done to everyone so far.

Realfastfoodie · 22/08/2023 22:29

Your system makes sense to me @IncessantNameChanger. Trying to sell a bit but also not getting hung up on every last bit.

Good job on the furniture @declutteringonedayatatime and the box of misc stuff @tallsmallmum.

declutteringonedayatatime · 22/08/2023 22:32

Realfastfoodie · 22/08/2023 22:29

Your system makes sense to me @IncessantNameChanger. Trying to sell a bit but also not getting hung up on every last bit.

Good job on the furniture @declutteringonedayatatime and the box of misc stuff @tallsmallmum.

Thank you. A little bit at a time.

How are you getting on so far?

Realfastfoodie · 22/08/2023 22:52

@declutteringonedayatatime - So far, quite well, over 1000 since I started counting in May.

This week, feels like absolutely nothing… I have a bulky waste collection booked for the end of the week so that should be moving things forward. I’m struggling a bit with selling of some bigger items, just cutting the prices now to try to offload. We have building works at the moment so half the rooms are out of action, things are just intrinsically extremely cluttered! But it is making me go through more stuff…

IndianSummer78 · 22/08/2023 22:59

tallsmall is that his way of obtaining free bedding for himself when he moves out? New bedding now out of joint funds then he moves out and takes old bedding with him?

Third I don't sell now. I'm over it. I don't use apps or web to give away because of the no-shows and general hassle of it. I've made my peace with it. Clothes, shoes, bags, belts etc, as well as blankets towels and all that stuff, goes to the clothing bank. I go at night so I can easily park, it's only 5min drive for me and I think they rag anything they can't use. Clothes useable or not, small electronic items broken or working, cardboard, paper, plastic, metal is all recycling by the council here. Anything that doesn't come under either of those two categories is either given away to friends or binned. I'm time and patience poor but doing ok financially, so if I can't make £50 minimum from it I'm not selling it. I find selling or taking to charity shops was slowing me up as well as increasing my stress levels. Things leave the home as soon as the bag is filled up now. I find it much easier this way

Realfastfoodie · 23/08/2023 09:50

Right - today’s target is to get rid of one piece of furniture, and make a pile of books to give to nursery. Might manage a few charity shop bits too.

Realfastfoodie · 23/08/2023 09:52

@IndianSummer78 - I’m still trying to optimise where I give away, but I think we could all do with a bit of your pragmatism! I think I have to recognise that finding somewhere suitable for things to go is good enough, I don’t have to aim for perfect.

Angelmonkey · 23/08/2023 09:52

Quite a lot of ins this week as ds had a birthday! Still lots of outs though - puzzles, games and clothes from the children’s cupboards, some finished activity/colouring books and a lot of scrap paper from dds art drawer. 2 books of things taken to the charity shop, and a bag of clothes to a friends son. Working today but aiming to tackle another area of dds room tomorrow

IndianSummer78 · 23/08/2023 11:01

RealFastFoodie I think selling is for maintenance decluttering. When you've cleared the excess and you've room to store the odd thing until it sells.
Time to place the advert (if you haven't reached maintenance decluttering yet I think the time is better spent on clearing the excess).
No urgency on it leaving the home, so a bit of messing around from buyers is more tolerable (when you need things to leave so you have room to get on with the next phase of decluttering, selling slows you down)

A while ago I tried to sell a nearly new coat, from a current collection still sold in the popular high street shop it came from. It was a little too small. Couldn't even sell it for £5 on Facebook (the only app I had at the time, I've since deleted it). That was when I started focussing on just getting rid

Especially with the kerbside recycling here. The majority of things are made from one of those materials.
It does feel sort of wrong putting almost-new books I've read once into the paper recycling but it means the book is gone as soon as the decision is made, unless a friend happens to be there and wants to take it.
I've put old mobile phones, broke appliances and obsolete tech into the electrical collection. If it's in full working order I stick a label on it just in case anyone wants it for personal use or the rubbish tip second-hand shop.
Plastic toys, small containers and DVD cases into the plastics bin and bin the DVD disks (because I'm not sure what they're made of!).
I forgot to mention glass, they take that too, so glass vases can go there as well as unwanted drinking glasses.
I'll break down a picture frame if I'm getting rid - the glass to glass, the back to cardboard, the picture to paper and the wood to the bin. Again, feels kinda wrong, but I don't have time to search for someone who wants the cheap print in a cheap frame for £10.
Worn out saucepans and unwanted cutlery can go to metal recycling, chipped crockery gets binned.
There's also plastic bag recycling and battery recycling at the local supermarket.
Usually though, I'm using the plastic bags to bag up the donations for the clothes bank. Wrecked clothes for kerbside recycling also have to be bagged up so even the small bags from online orders are useful there. I don't bother washing these clothes for recycling first.
I've gone over to rechargeable batteries so when the last lot of non-rechargeable ones are gone I won't have to worry about that any more

Gold and silver jewellery I sell at one of those cash-for-gold places locally. Cheap stuff goes to the clothing bank donation bin

Toiletries, makeup and cleaning products I use up even if they're old or I don't much like them. As long as I'm not allergic I don't see the point in being precious.
Any kind of soap or detergent will clean the loo or the floor.
Shower gels you don't like can be used as bubble bath.
Soaps for handwashing and any moisturizer can be hand cream.
Conditioner can be used to shave legs if it's no good for my hair.
Any perfume smells better than BO on cleaning day! So a quick spritz when I break for food makes me feel more human.
Your face doesn't disintegrate if you use old makeup, as long as it's not separated or growing mould it's fine, I think.
Too dark bronzers make good eyeshadow.
Lipsticks in the wrong shade can be dabbed on cheeks and blended out with fingers as blusher instead.
Useless concealers make ok foundations, just put in the middle of your face and blend out so their slightly-too-pale-ness is less obvious.
Even rubbish nail polish lasts the duration of your day out.
I wear a little makeup daily, makes me feel good and uses the stuff up. I have no makeup skills really, it's just 5min of me-time at the start of the day to remind myself I'm human before I start rushing round doing all that needs doing

I started decluttering at the beginning of this year. I found it difficult at first deciding how/when/where to part with things but I feel I've found my groove now

One empty box from this morning's reorganization efforts. Total is 1145

declutteringonedayatatime · 23/08/2023 11:29

Realfastfoodie · 23/08/2023 09:50

Right - today’s target is to get rid of one piece of furniture, and make a pile of books to give to nursery. Might manage a few charity shop bits too.

You can do this! @Realfastfoodie

My target for today is to downsize my sock drawer and my Snag tight collection. It is so easy for both things to build up.

IncessantNameChanger · 23/08/2023 12:23

I totally agree that carefully trying to sell and take everything to the charity shop is for the maintenance stage. As long as I'm binning minimal amounts I just want things gone.

Not much so far this week. Dd slip her crocks then when I was debating if they could last the rest of summer, ds trod on the back and ripped the bar off.

Two of dd saddles into the bin!

6 tops sold on Vinted. I'm going to try to enjoy the last few days of the kids being off.

IncessantNameChanger · 23/08/2023 13:07

Saddles? Sandels!

My car is at the dealers for a service and MOT. It's a hoard on wheels. I was decanting the crap into dh car at 11pm. I hope it passes.

I'm about to post things for Vinted. Just doing a few things every day is so satisfying. My house will be very different by Christmas.

tallsmallmum · 23/08/2023 13:08

@IndianSummer78 ha ha he's moved out already but who knows what's he's thinking lol

stealthninjamum · 23/08/2023 19:51

@IndianSummer78 is that in the UK? You’re so lucky, part of my problem is that my area’s kerbside recycling is minimal. We can give away some plastic (not all types of food packaging), paper, tins and some cardboard. Obviously we have normal household waste and food waste but I’m one of the only people I know who goes to supermarkets to recycle batteries and bulbs and charity shops for most other things. I have to take electrical items to the dump which I hate doing because the men who work there inspect what you’re throwing out. Most people I know probably throw the wrong sort of waste in with their household because they can’t be bothered to go to the dump. I can’t say I blame them. My house is big so I can dump them in a spot and they don’t get in the way - although the old bag of wires is really annoying me even though it’s in the playroom.

Yesterday I took two bags to the charity shop and today I have filled another two charity shop bags and put them in the car for the next time I go into my nearest town. Today I finally recycled lightbulbs that had been in my car boot for ages.

Realfastfoodie · 23/08/2023 20:01

Realfastfoodie · 23/08/2023 09:50

Right - today’s target is to get rid of one piece of furniture, and make a pile of books to give to nursery. Might manage a few charity shop bits too.

Well… I failed at this list. I suppose I did make a pile of books, but I didn’t take them to nursery.

Accountability. Will try to do them all by the end of the week.

Realfastfoodie · 23/08/2023 20:25

Doing so well @stealthninjamum 👍

IndianSummer78 · 23/08/2023 20:34

Yes Stealth ninja I'm in UK. It's a good area for recycling collections but they don't really want to collect basic rubbish, it's every 3 weeks and our wheelybins are tiny

Some more outs, too small jacket and shirt, a pair of stained babies booties. Total is 1148

Pigtailsandall · 23/08/2023 21:02

Be kind to yourself @Realfastfoodie you are v pregnant!!
@IndianSummer78 could you put books by the roadside? Not sure if I suggested that before but around my area lots of people do this and they go fast (I do pick them up myself too....)

Only outs today were an old lampshade which was quite bulky, and an almost-empty cleaning product I hated. 1430 now. But I bought a robe and a shirt in the sales, so slap on the wrists for that. I did list a few new things on vinted too. House feels like it's really dirty but work/kid/life has just been so busy. I will force my box-hoarding DH to get rid of some cardboard this weekend though.

OP posts:
Jellycatrabbit · 23/08/2023 22:17

Had a little run on my Facebook marketplace listings, two big plastic toys out and some cash in.

Also had a freecycle spree and another 3 bundles being collected tomorrow by people who've collected previously so hopefully should go.

I am close to maintenance level with books, kids clothes, kitchen, my problem areas are toys,odds and ends and my clothes. To that end . . . I brought two huge bags of my childhood toys and a box of Useful Things back from my parents attic, and we have two dc birthdays looming. Need to have a really good toy sort out.

1029 this year. (I count things that were in the house on New Year's Day that won't be immediately replaced, e.g. did count one of my 25 pairs of heels but didn't count the fallen apart trainers that I had to go out and buy a replacement for. Makes December decluttering a bigger challenge!)

PissedOffNeighbour22 · 24/08/2023 13:54

I have a day off work today and managed to clear out:
Changing mat
3 gaming controllers (we don't even game so have no idea why these are even in the house)
Damaged play tent
Large footstool that appears to have mould on it 🤢
Small storage cupboard for toilet rolls

Total now 755. All items have gone to the tip along with a car full of general rubbish and recycling that I haven't counted. I found birthday cards from last year's birthdays and a LOT of cardboard boxes.
It had to be cleared to make room for 2 carpets to be delivered. Unless I can make more room then we'll be climbing over carpets for the next few weeks every time we want to go into the living room 😕.

PissedOffNeighbour22 · 24/08/2023 15:29

thirdistheonewiththehairychest · 22/08/2023 09:57

Does anyone else struggle to get stuff out of the house due to the lack of accessible charity shops? We live on the outskirts of a city, so all charity shops are either a bus ride away (a bus ride that I wouldn't ordinarily do), or I would have to pay to park a 5-minute walk away from the shop which isn't practical when you have armfuls of stuff.

It's such a faff!

I have this issue too. We don't have any charity shops nearby - at least a 15min drive but I don't have a car so am reliant on DP to take things. There's no parking there either which means walking back and forth from the car park with the bags. We're closer to the tip so end up taking more there.

We don't live on a street so there's no one passing that might take things if I leave them out. Freecycle is hit and miss as a lot of people change their minds about coming once I give them the address. It's 2 mins drive from the village but on the map looks like we're in the middle of nowhere. Usually end up having to waste my time giving them directions on the phone too. It gets frustrating.

We're debating whether to try a car boot as haven't done one since we moved here a couple of years ago.

stealthninjamum · 24/08/2023 17:25

I had a good day. I broke up three old cardboard boxes as it’s bin day and they got taken away. I found a couple of small bits to add to the charity shop bags and put them in the car. I then got a Facebook message from someone wanting to buy something that I’d just put in the car. It had been for sale on Facebook marketplace for about a fortnight and would be nice to sell - it was an unwanted toy.

declutteringonedayatatime · 24/08/2023 18:12

I did a wardrobe sort out and now have a few bags for the charity shop. I will take them tomorrow so they aren't hanging about.

@stealthninjamum it is good that they messaged you before you left

Realfastfoodie · 25/08/2023 12:49

I’ve managed to get a few big things out of the door today. Some broken furniture as part of a bulky council collection and our (cosmetically) damaged bath which someone paid me a token amount for.

Will try to get a bit more sorted today, though finding it a bit hard to make progress. I might go back to my bags of stuff put by (charity/recycling etc) and see if anything is ready to go out today as that might be easier than finding new things.

Realfastfoodie · 25/08/2023 12:49

181 total for august
1022 total

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