Decluttering Thread 5 - Slowly Does It

[Pigtailsandall]

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!

Well done everyone. So much progress.

2 spare sofas went to the tip this morning. Total 757.

It hasn't created as much space as I was hoping as we still have so much unnecessary clutter in those areas.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 - big things are very satisfying though I think, and they take you a step forward and make it easier to do stuff. I’m currently debating a couple of bookcases which we could use, we could put in the shed or we could get rid of…

Spare sofas sounds like a big win. I’ve been through a drawer in bedroom chest of drawers. Several pairs of pants from when I thought I might be someone that wore matching pants and bras. The pants were very shiny man made fabrics and the matching bras are long gone. There was also the instruction manual for my Palm pilot hand held personal organiser - think that may have left the house about 20 years ago 🙄😂

@Realfastfoodie I'm now considering getting rid of the coffee table in the dining room that sat in front of the sofa. I think it might look too bulky when we've rearranged the room.

We always talk about putting bookcases in the outbuildings for storage but my DP reminds me that standard furniture gets damp outside so we usually end up freecycling them.
So might be worth considering how long they will actually last in the shed and whether you would actually get any use out of them in there.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 - really good point! I definitely have that ”but you might be glad of that one day” problem that hoarders have. I’m going to take a long hard look at these excess things!

@Gassylady I too misjudged how much I cared about matching underwear 😄. I have loads of unworn shiny knickers that were once a set but if they're still tagged up like most of mine are, they'll probably sell on eBay if you can be bothered.

It's surprising how much people will pay. I put 2 matching pairs on recently and got £11. Currently have a bra/knicker/thong set on eBay bid up to £31. That's more than I paid for it.
Unfortunately I have a lot that I wore once, found uncomfortable and kept 'just in case'. I threw out 30 pairs a couple of weeks ago 🫣. It's so wasteful but not a lot you can do with them.

@Realfastfoodie I really struggle with it too. It's so hard to get rid of things like furniture as it can always become useful later on.

My gran recently died and I only took 2 pieces of furniture which I'm proud of as my DP wanted to keep a lot more. We don't have the space so the rest went to a house clearance place. Sad, but I can't make my house worse just because I'm getting sentimental (another thing I usually struggle with).

I want to really review all the pieces of furniture and make difficult decisions. We've already disposed of spare beds etc so making progress slowly.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 i have put aside several pairs with tags still on. Generally I only try and sell stuff if it might linger for ages in charity shop (like some old stamp books) or will get me more than £10 to make it worth the time and effort

Definitely @PissedOffNeighbour22 - I think that’s quite an achievement, I’m a real magpie when it comes to keeping sentimental family stuff. I can’t quite get my head round getting rid of furniture that might be useful either… and I keep worrying about the money to replace/ whether I should give away or sell etc, which honestly for me personally doesn’t need to be the biggest concern (I know I’m lucky to be able to say that, but also we aren’t talking about expensive pieces).

@Gassylady - top tip, if money isn’t an issue but you just don’t want more unusual/specialist things to be chucked if they don’t sell from a charity shop - oxfam have a really good process. They sell some stuff (stamps for example) via specialist dealers, other things go online, some stuff gets sold via their shops and then they have had their own reuse/reprocess/recycling chain for decades.

A good route for family “treasures” that you just can’t hold onto. I know someone who got rid of antique furs that way (a few years back).

Thanks @Realfastfoodie i did enquire on here at the time I that is just what i did with the stamp books! Other things I have sold rather than put in charity (as no one might be in that would want them) are oddly sized shoes in terms of width fittings compared to length. All these things that are just what someone is looking for but those people are very unlikely to be looking in my nearest charity shop 😂🤣

Haha, yes, one of those things which are super useful to the right person!

Since my last post I’ve managed to get rid of a LOT.

most recently (in the last week):

used up: shampoo and conditioner, eyeliner pencil, lip balm, hair serum, moisturiser.

three bags of outgrown kids clothes taken to charity.

binned a load of scrappy underwear of mine dhs and the kids.

one set of bedding.

ds lost a pair of shoes 🙄

pair of flip flops of mine worn out.

broken two plates and a bowl.

im off work next week and on my hit list are the kids rooms. Dd is getting a new bed mid sept so I want to clear out as much as possible from her room.

the garage needs a muck out again. 🙄

It has been great to see how everyone has been progressing.

I went through my wardrobe yesterday and organised it. I took 5 bags to the charity shop today too.

Well done @ememem84 - that’s good! Huge achievement @declutteringonedayatatime, 5 bags must be a lot!

I managed a little late surge today with someone coming to pick up a huge kids storage unit (great little trading company) which just doesn’t fit with the new house/room configuration for the little one coming. She got a bargain and she seemed so nice and like she was going to use it. Only one thing on the list but it was really in the way!

Then I did a big push on sorting out our bed linen. We’ve just bought a bigger bed, and got rid of an old one and I still had some old poly-cotton stuff from student days which really isn’t good enough to use but I was keeping for emergencies. Threw in a couple of old fleece blankets which again I was keeping “just in case” (just in case of what, I have no idea!). I have a huge pile now to donate, not counted yet, probably more volume than numbers!

5 x trousers
2 x shirts
1 x empty cardboard box

Total is 1156

Wow this thread has been busy! Amazing work everyone, especially with the bulky stuff! I really need to get my arse on gear and sell ours. We're going away tomorrow for a week and I feel like I just need a quiet week at home at some point to reset and catch up on things. This summer holiday has been pretty non-stop.

Out in a weekly clean:
Dried up mascara
2 bottles old eye drops
Set of hospital notes shredded
School welcome pack
Used up a facial mask tonight
DC lost a t-shirt and socks 🙄 so I guess those count as I'm not replacing them
Jumper sold and posted on Vinted
A really pretty Liberty box from beauty drop that I kept...but never used for anything!

Total is 1440

30 items sold on eBay and 3 to the fabric recycling.
Toy buggy and a canvas picture to the tip.

Total 792.

I’m impressed by how much everyone else is getting through!

My achievements are much smaller - this week, I’ve given two baby sleeping bags to a neighbour who is having her first baby, and two pairs of DD’s wellie socks went into the charity bag. I thought I’d got rid of all the baby sleeping bags but discovered these two at the top of the wardrobe, so I’m glad they’ve gone to a new home.

It’s interesting to read about what everyone else has to declutter. Our house is very small (two up two down terrace with a small kitchen extension), so I can’t imagine having space for two spare sofas! We both have a tendency to hoard things, but I think it would be less noticeable in a bigger house. Or perhaps we’d just keep more stuff.

There’s going to be some ins this week as I’ll be buying new school uniform, but I’ll try to get rid of the smaller sizes as things come in.

New school uniform in. Old games kit to rag bag, old trousers and jumpers good enough to go to school as they have asked for items for spares or to pass onto those in need possibly. Shirts I will have to check as some may be good enough for school but some with very tatty collars. It’s much easier when stuff is outgrown rather than having to decided - do I like it and will wear it enough to keep it 🧐

@EllieQ It definitely wouldn't be less noticeable in a bigger house. We have far more stuff now we've moved to a larger house. It just gives you license to hoard even more.

Really should have waited to tip my sofas. The ones I've moved around to replace them are so uncomfortable 😓.

I'm dealing with posts partum anxiety on top of regular anxiety so have had a declutter to make life a bit better.

Got rid of 4 pillows that were suffocating the bed. Atleast room looks tidy now.
1 x baby towel that was gifted to me but turned awful after one wash.
A lot of baby clothes now that baby is nearly 8 weeks. Some of it was from previous baby that I hadn't used. If previous child found them uncomfortable not sure why I kept it for new baby. I wanted to sell a lot of these but honestly with a new baby I want to take it easy for 6 months to a year. Don't want clutter around and don't want to hoard stuff to see if it sells. Maybe when baby is 2 I'll have more time.
One thick blanket that belonged to dc2 and dc3 did use it these past 8 weeks. But everything was overflowing towels and blankets. So I got rid of one blanekt even though it was painful.
One school polo tshirt that is tight and has a stain on it. Couldn't be bothered tackling the stain as it's tight anyway. Just going to keep daughters uniform minimal this year. 2 pairs that she can switch about.
3-4 pillow cases that were making me feel dead seeing them as they had been used alot these past 3 years.
One cot bed sheet that I got sick and tired of seeing as been used for the past 2 years and looked faded.
Would love to get rid of more but need an empty head first.

Sorry to hear about the PPA @heartbroken22 , that sounds really tough. I hope you are getting some support with that, and being very kind to yourself.

Everyone is storming ahead! I have had some ins unfortunately. Some shirts fir ds going to secondary from the clothing bank, saving me a small fortune on not having to buy any.
Dd got some £4 pumps in the Asda sale but I know I have thrown two pairs of her sandals out this week. A bag of clothes for ds from the clothing bank but not checked the contents yet.

Will make up for these ins anyway I'm sure