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!

@Pigtailsandall that's a really good idea with the clothes. I need to adopt it

@heartbroken22 congratulations on your new baby, enjoy all the cuddles. I love teeny babies.

@IndianSummer78 1000 items is amazing, I know it can feel like you’ve not made much of a visible dent, but as I mentioned in my last post it can be hard to see and it was only unintentionally looking at old photos I realised how much better my house is. Anyway as you say it’s mindset that’s important and avoiding things coming in is the best long term solution.

@IncessantNameChanger i hope you had a good holiday, I always think you’re very hard on yourself and want to send hugs. I think anyone with four children will have too much stuff and it’s so easy to become disorganised. There are only three of us in this house and I struggle to keep up with washing and it does seem like clothes a big issue for you. Anyway it’s great that you are going to get rid of stuff without selling it, you’re right space is more important than a small bit of money.

@pigtails I agree decluttering does become a natural part of the tidying process. I don’t tend to log what goes out these days because it’s kind of natural. I am slowly going through our many notepads - I chucked one out last week and toiletries. I have been using up the ‘best’ products - expensive moisturisers and perfumes that were gifts etc and my bathroom cabinets look so much clearer.

The last time I posted, a woman was due to buy a toy. Well she didn’t turn up so it’s going in charity shop bag along with some playmobil that didn’t sell. I have spent all year decluttering the playroom but just going to start to giving stuff away now as it’s the messiest room in the house.

I have listed 4 more things on Vinted to see if that gets me any fresh views. Counted 37 things to give to the clothing bank so once its counted that's it, it goes. Got to find another 13 things to go today but that shouldn't be a big issue. I will report back after lunch. Dd never wears any pjs or tights for example so I could in theory thin those right back to 4 pairs but of course she's got about 10!

@stealthninjamum I think I am hard on myself but I think I mostly deserve it. However I'm not buying anything any more. So I deserve a break for that

51 out today now. Still got a few little piles of things that just need to go so I might just go for it this afternoon.

Just opened the fridge and thrown out 10! Out of date jars. The fridge was pretty empty to start with 😮

@IncessantNameChanger this is totally amazing, look how much you are getting done!

Back from holiday but still have several days off work. Have done three loads of washing that has generated the typical holed socks and worn out pants. Youngest needs new school trousers and jumpers for September so the old ones have been collected together to take into school as requested in an email at the end of last term. Considering getting rid of the food processor as it rarely gets used as seems to be too big for our family anyway. Turns out filling a 5 litre bowl generates a lot of coleslaw or remoulade! 😂

130 out today. I was taking picture is ds room to do a before snd after, and found a bin bag of 63 5-6 items.

I also have some holiday bits that can go and they are failing apart and some of dd coats that mo longer fit, so many coats!

There are lots of easy outs like these, low hanging fruit which I can get rid of if I look again and again with fresh eyes. It was in a cupboard ds never uses.

I will post pictures of his room soon.

A few more bits out or earmarked to go today . We had the gardener visit , dog went to the Vet and got meds but is ok thankfully , DD did a camp , DS was out doing a sport in the morning then all three went for a lesson inc DH after work and Vet tonight . My back is horrendous and I'm trying to get better from a cold or something . Tonight nauseous from my primary illness so extra meds taken and vitamin pills etc have to wait for it to pass . Some admin got done am trying to cross stuff of the endless list but am super tired and still trying to make decisions on an impending trip soon . At least some other plans got made ,and DD finished the second last book for the school summer reading challenge so I feel like something has been accomplished. Much to do left but I guess I should go to bed a bit earlier for once .

-10 or so folders earmarked to go once DS sorts out his A- level notes , it’s one of the last things to do in his room besides his clothes
-yet another pair of DD old small trainers after a growth spurt
-1 book DD finished
-2 dog treats packets he won’t care for
-a couple of 3D printed parts of possibly DS last years EPQ project
-1 second hand watch given to DH passed on ,he’s got several more suitable

10 more items sold on eBay. Disappointed in the low sales but it's better than nothing.

Very annoyed though as someone has forced a return through eBay that I have to pay for because it doesn't fit her so it must be faulty 🙄. I already sold them at £20 less than they cost me and now I've to repay the item cost, their postage paid, the postage cost to return it and also lose the fees paid to eBay. To say I was fuming was an understatement.

Total is 686.

We've got no further with the bedroom renovation which I'm disappointed with but hopefully we can catch up a bit as me and DP both have this weekend off.

That's rotten luck Pissed off I'd be fuming too

Today's outs-

2 too small jeans

Joggers with rips that are meant to be there but I didn't realize that when I bought them, rips are draughty so I don't like them

Bathrobe made of cheap annoying fabric that reminds me of a pet's bed and catches every scrap of dust and fluff in the air, I have 3 others and that's enough

Sunhat that's a little too small, I have 5 others

Total is 1059

@PissedOffNeighbour22 that is so annoying. I bought a really lovely anthropologie skirt on Vinted this spring gone, and it is just a bit too tight. Not the seller's fault, though, as their sizing seems a bit...tighter than others! I'll just resell it. But that's why I prefer Vinted - any returns and the buyer has to pay for the return (unless it actually is faulty, and then you have to submit photos)

I sold a kid's jumper on Vinted, and had another big out - an unopened 5-litre tin of paint that someone collected which was languishing in the hallway

1385 now

Out went a novel I'd finished yesterday but don't want to re read and 5 magazines I was keeping because I thought I might want to read them again, but it's been 4 years now and I e not touched them so I let them go. Total is 1065

@Pigtailsandall They've given her almost 3wks to return it too, despite me only having 3 days to despatch it when I sold it. Still fuming!
On my other eBay account I've received a negative feedback score with a positive comment - asked him to update the feedback and he's ignored me. So my 15yrs of 100% positive feedback has been dragged right down. I'll be stuck with that for another year until it drops off my score. Sometimes things are more hassle than they're worth 😒.

I just hope it doesn't affect my selling too much as I need to get as much as possible gone.

@IndianSummer78 Your last post reminded me that I have around 70 magazines (family history and history of my town type magazines) that I've had for at least 10 years. Haven't read a single one 🫣. I can't face sorting them yet but they're in the library which is second on the list of next rooms to be renovated. I'd better get reading!!

@Pigtailsandall Thank you for tagging me. I'm still catching up with the thread, and very much needing to get back on the wagon.

Tbh, I've done little in the way of decluttering for the past couple of months. Just setting aside outgrown clothes and binning or recycling anything that's beyond repair.

We decluttered a lot of old artwork, scribbled-on paper, etc, at the end of last term. That gave me more space for school stuff that had encroached onto my space. Apart from that, not much has happened.

My goal for today is to sort out the playdoh and plasticine. Also file and/or recycle school admin.

Not much from me today. One lid of a tin that never gets put on it. One magazine article I was keeping for no sensible reason whatsoever. One load of packaging from a parcel I finally opened. Total is 1068

I’ve had a realisation that I need more (or better placed) rubbish bins. Then there is no other excuse for the amount of tiny bits of rubbish that collect.

Can I join??? Just moved to a new house with a lot of legacy stuff from our lovely kind previous owners. Looking to redecorate soon so massive decluttering operation here!
Donated several pieces of bulky furniture so far!
Today's results: half a shelf of infant formula given away, 2 ancient radiators, 1 ancient office chair, 1 toilet spray manufactured in 2012, 2 bags of odor sucking charcoal binned.
Coming soon: 3 ancient wardrobes and probably lots of clothes!

And I'm embarrassed to admit I found two lost office chairs in one of the very small bedrooms, that's how messy it was!

Wow, @Friendshipissue! that’s a big challenge! Welcome 👋

@Pigtailsandall thank you for the new(ish) thread. I've not been at home much in the last 3 weeks so not much decluttering has happened!
I did get rid of some plastic bags at the supermarket today. 2 pairs of DD's jeans in charity shop bag.

Welcome Friendship it's a good thread

I did baby clothes today. I was ruthless with a box. This is the most I've got rid of in one go. A mix of too small and bobbled

3 x tops
3 x babygrows
1 x shorts
2 x trousers
1 x dress
2 x pairs booties
1 x hat

Total is 1081

Been dithering over two piles of hardback books for a few days. Sat there so long they'd collected a thick layer of dust. I've had them decades, used to spend ages pouring over them out of pure interest and used them as a reference source regularly for years. Been through them all now, thinking about current lifestyle and what the future likely holds. Rediscovered why I love one pile of them (4). Of the other pile, decided to let go of 6 out of 10 as it's highly unlikely any of them would be needed again. That took up a lot of headspace but it's done now and I'm feeling pleased with myself. Total is 1087

Yesterday I consolidated the contents of four diaries/notebooks/journals into three. Ripped out unnecessary notes from one notebook so that it is just a handful of pages now. Which will be dealt with today.

Had a close look at the art supplies, and much of it is for younger children. I don't think ours will use it now, but I live in hope of dragging them away from their screens.

I’m definitely finding that decluttering is leading to rapid decisions about “oh I could just bin that” when previously things would accumulate and I’d have to think about them.

We still have too much stuff but it feels like more things have a place to go.