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!

Hi guys sorry I haven't been on but had my lovely baby girl last month. The drip really hurt me (induction) so I was traumatised for some time. I felt a bit bad having decluttered my daughters stuff as I thought I could have used it for baby. But got over it and realised naah I did right getting rid of all those extra clothes.

I need to get back to decluttering but finding it a bit hard with baby and toddler and dd6. Let's hope I can get a start. I'll have to list on olio and freecycle and other places for now as can't really manage going to the clothing bank. Partner is working all the time so not much help either.

My Son has been with grandparents for two weeks, I've made a point of sorting through all the stuff thats come back and dealing with it straight away. They kind of use me as a dumping ground which is annoying when I have plenty of my own crap filling my house.

I'm on holiday in the Canaries. So far I have bought one fake bag. One ring, one pair of earrings and a few Spanish tile design coasters and a trinket dish.

It's very sobering now thinking "do I need this? Where will it go?" It's taken years to get into this mindset. I was going to leave my tatty undies here, but not sure now, I might wear till they fall apart.

Dd has some sandles we will bin here as they are split.

Another thing is that my son with asd has without fail split food all over every outfit. However I have washed his tops out every night in Dr Otker ( always makes me shudder that this Dr does chemical goods AND pizza!😆) and everything has come up clean. There's no reason for more than 10 tshirts ever. It's all very sobering.

Dd is 9 today and very happy with her very modest present pile. I'm craving a Micheal Kors bag on Vinted.

Feeling very positive this will be a fantastic month of decluttering

stealthninjamum pics are so helpful. It's a marker of how your mindset has changed that what you saw as improvement before you now see as messy. That's good news about the sale too

Heartbroken no need to apologise I only tagged you because I didn't want you to get forgotten. Congratulations on your new little one🎉✨💞 👶💝🎈🎊

LivingDeadGirl I'd think of it as doing it now so there's less to sort through one day when they pass away

Incessant there's nothing quite like going on holiday to make you realise how little you actually need. Unless you have no others, bin the tatty underwear

I wore one of those jackets I couldn't part with before, for a whole day (was a bit cold) and it was so uncomfortable not being able to bend my arms properly curled up on the sofa, I was able to put it in the charity bag.

Also out is:

an uncomfortable bra,
2 belts,
a shirt with tight arms,
a pair of too big jeans

Total is 1010

Followed these threads on and off. Binned stuff, about 6 charity bags and a shed full off stuff to physically take to the charity shop over the month.
I definitely have less stuff.
Like other posters I struggle with the sentimental stuff. I have a box full of keepsakes. Dd is now 16. The box is ridiculous. The plan was to make a memory bear of the clothes, take photos of other things and have a small memory box with 1st clothes, shoes,pregnancy test etc. A very small box.
I've done none of this and am left with a massive box I can't tackle and is taking up wanted space.
What have other people kept that's sentimental from their children?

Give yourself a break @heartbroken22. With a newborn and two more kids, you are entitled to take a break from decluttering!

I’m struggling a bit with fighting the nesting instinct, but my first was a boy and second is a girl so I have been tempted by a few dresses 😊

I've only kept photos Row and other things that can be stuck into a scrap book. I have scrapbooks instead of memory boxes or photo albums.

I've got literally nothing from my own childhood either, except a set of pencils I inherited from DGF and a bookmark I inherited from DF. Plus photos. I got my first camera whe I was 10. I ruthlessly got rid of things as I outgrew them mentally or physically, having grown up with a small-time-hoarder parent. I regret getting rid of a few things that I tossed just because I had nowhere to put them, but it doesn't eat me up.

I've just sorted a pile of paperwork, shredded a load of boxes and thrown away any rubbish.

Yes @IndianSummer78 that is one way to think about it I guess. It's also good to focus my own mind as I don't want to end up with all this rubbish packed around the house when I'm older.

Nice one @LivingDeadGirlUK on the paperwork. I often find that bit quite overwhelming. My other half likes to keep everything, I’m more of a chuck it all person, but when it needs actioning, neither style works that well!

I also have recently started helping my folks with some things that have been kept “for me”. It’s not the easiest but it feels really worth it.

@IndianSummer78 - you are doing such good work, and well done for getting rid of things that aren’t comfortable. I’ve just found 10 things that I will never, ever wear again - bikinis and skimpy summer things popped in a box so I didn’t really see them before. There is no way post breastfeeding my breasts will ever fit into these items, so keeping them as nostalgia is beyond ridiculous!

Hi @Rowgtfc72 👋 I’m at a different stage… I’m trying to work out what size of boxes I need for the DC (2 and due in 6 weeks or so). So as a consequence I’m finding it hard to get rid of anything sentimental at all, because I don’t have a fixed space! I feel for you though… and it might be controversial but I wouldn’t tackle those boxes (assuming they have lids and they aren’t bothering you) as a priority as they will be hard without necessarily giving you a lot of benefit.

Decided that the next room to be done in our house renovation is the spare room that will become our baby's room. So today we started clearing it out and it's worse than we thought 🫣. It took so long just to start making progress.

So far (apart from loads of rubbish and boxes for recycling, ready to go is:

• a Moses basket and stand
• Ewan the dream sheep
• a lampshade
• electric toothbrush
• 8 items to the fabric recycling bank
• a baby toy
• 5 old storage items

Total 673.

Congratulations @heartbroken22 what lovely news. It takes a while to get into the groove of things so put decluttering to one side for now!

@IndianSummer78 I too find that the best way to part with clothes you love but don't wear is to set them aside for wearing. When you wear something awkward or uncomfortable for a day, it's suddenly easy to let go of it.

I binned a pair of cracked shoes, and emptied and recycled 3 beauty products which were almost done and definitely out of date

1369 here.

Well done @Pigtailsandall. Not done that much today, just finding little bits and pieces. Baby Cardigan that was quite bobbled has gone into the charity bag, I’m finding it a bit easier to be clearer about stashing baby stuff, and only keeping things that are lovely, not worrying about needing more.

I have had three drip inductions and buy the time the drip went in I had been poked and prodded so much. The intensity of no stop back to back contractions is unnecessary. When I had my 4th the midwife told me not to push so the student could see that the baby just comes out naturally just by contractions.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for medicalised births. I had pre eclampsia with baby 1 so we would be dead without induction but I totally get being out of control and over prodded. It takes a good few months to mentally sort a tricky birth out. I said I'd never have another child for two years after my firstborn

Thanks.
I think I'm going to buy the very very much smaller keepsake box and only keep what fits. Photos of the rest.
@Realfastfoodie I've put it to one side for 16 yrs. Time to tackle it😁

Two bin bags of stuff dropped off at the charity shop! This is a mixture of clothes, baby blankets, books, and DVD's. Plus some other random bits and bobs. The bag has been waiting to go for ages so its really satisfying to finally have got rid of it!

Well done @Rowgtfc72 🙌

Epic work @LivingDeadGirlUK 👏👏👏

I hear you @IncessantNameChanger and @heartbroken22. Not sure I’ve fully processed my DS’s birth. And I’ve ruled out induction this time round. If the next one needs to come out in a hurry then I’m having a C-section

Large bookcase gone and another 2 baby items all freecycled.
Total is 676.

DP also took a car full of boxes and other rubbish to the tip today so the house is looking slightly tidier.

DS has so far done good work in his drawers and cleaned them as well before putting back the items he wants to keep in good order . He’s capable just didn’t see the need to do any decluttering in them in the last 1,5 y after moving here and prioritised his A- levels etc understandably . We went through everything when packing for the move here . Of the items he’s put aside for me incase I want to save for DD I’ve only kept a few so far . I think he has a bunch of board games still we need to check ; console games , some more books , his school A-level and GCSE notes and folders , puzzles . He needs to do his bookshelf in general looks like drawers are finished except the ones with folders . I do want to go through his clothes again and will need to buy a bunch of new clothes and of course everything he’ll need for his room at Uni but we’re waiting to find out which one he’ll go to first in 2 w . I’m a nerve wreck here !!!
My to do list is stubbornly remaining around 90 . No matter how much I try to tick things off frantically I’m having to add to it constantly . My current illness is hopefully mild this time . Have been taking lots of vitamins , eating healthy stuff and sleeping more to recover quicker . With my bad immune system things tend to linger . Not huge amounts being achieved here due to not having even being up to basics every day so this weekend I’ve been catching up while rest of my family has been away a bit .
Just a few items gathered since the last update but it all counts ! Haven’t been back to the attic for ages . Might have to be in the fall when both kids are back at school , there’s so much going on atm .
My broken aircon unit is been looked at on Wednesday but I have a feeling we’ll need another visit to service the other ones . The rest of maintenance jobs have been left for later atm except the monthly window cleaner and the biweekly gardener who keep on coming . Just can’t deal with more atm . Other than the broken aircon unit nothing else is urgent I guess .
Out :
-DS old fleece
-2 DD small school swimming costumes
-1 DD old school boot bag
-1 antenna cable
-2 broken glasses
-1 old sun cream
-1 old whitening toothpaste
-3 beauty samples
-1 DD old school water bottle
-2 other water bottles
-3 spare tops for bottles
-some old stamps ( I had sent most to be changed for the barcoded ones )
-2 old bras
-1 pair of old pants
-1 DD broken cheap phone
-6 old bra pads
-5 old dog toys
-1 pair of manky old flip flops

1 x knickers with knackered elastic
1 x threadbare nighty
1 x faded dress
3 x leaflets nobody needs
2 x magazines I finished reading
1 x framed print, damaged
3 x broken figurines
1 x dead plant and it's pot

Total is 1023

Also earmarking 2-3 Guitar Hero console game guitars plus several of the games that no one has used since we’ve moved here and that have just been left inside a footstool . DH said they can go but still checking with DS just incase . They used to play with them quite a lot years ago but not for ages so I’d be happy to see them go ! Hopefully DS agrees .

People are always on the lookout for those so selling them could be an option?

Yes I will see if DH wants to do that . He only really bothers with bigger things and the rest we’ve been donating .