Decluttering Thread 6 - hit those targets before New Year!

[Pigtailsandall]

So the last thread got filled up and I think I seem to have taken it on myself to start a new one every time, lol! I hope everyone finds us because I'm too lazy to tag everyone, but here's few who spring to mind. It also doesn't let me add some people, for some reason

@realfastfoodie
@IndianSummer78
@stealthninjamum
@cornedbeef451
@EllieQ
@Gassylady
@IncessantNameChanger

@nordicmom
@Vinorosso74

Now it's the last push until the holidays to get it all out and done (before new cr*p comes in)

Let's see if it'll allow more people to be added now..

@tantdequestions
@toddler101
@livinginabuildingsite
@SydneyCarton

I'm going to textile recycling now, hurrah!

OK I'm a newbie to these threads, just spotted it. We've just decided to move house - ARGH! - and an estate agent who came to value ours was pretty bloody schoolmarmish about it, get rid of things! Or you'll lose thousands!

So I had an initial burst (yay me) and then had bloody covid and now I'm actually better but still skulking around in my dressing gown looking for my decluttering mojo as covid seems to have killed it off.
HELP! I've no idea what you do on these threads but I'm up for it.
I'll have a look at older threads in a minute. Thanks! 🙄😁

Thanks for setting up the new thread @Pigtailsandall!

Welcome @heldinadream - we don’t really have any rules for being on the thread, but we’re all aiming to declutter our homes, and support each other through the process.

The original threads talked about decluttering one thing at a time/ one day at a time. We’re all here for different reasons - having problems with letting go of things (like me), too much stuff and not enough time to deal with it, all sorts of reasons.

Today I’m going to take a bag of previously sorted stuff to the charity bank on the school run - hopefully it isn’t full like it was on Monday!

Thanks for the new thread .
Im super tired but will try to get my clean laundry done today and there should be some small clothes in it from DD . Need to also have DH bring some shoes from topfloor to check for small sizes now that she’s had a growth spurt and has gone up several cm in length and 3 shoe sizes this year

Thanks for the new thread @Pigtailsandall - it’s a great title. There is something motivating about trying to be organised before Christmas/ new year.

I did my challenge this week to get the house guest ready. My friends came and it was so lovely having a tidy house. It wasn’t perfect but a huge improvement and also I know that a lot of hidden areas are much improved and I literally got several big bags out of the house.

I am going to shred some papers, organise files, and do a bit work completing Lego sets so I expect slower progress.

Thanks so much @Pigtailsandall. I’m still hanging in here.

I did another part of a box from my parent’s house. 93 cards, papers and a handful to keep for the memory boxes. Trying not to be too discouraged by lack of progress on the actual house. We have a functional bathroom and kitchen again after some urgent repairs and I’m trying to make sure nothing goes back without thought. 3 packets of out of date kitchen ingredients thrown but I’ve also changed the storage approach so hopeful it won’t happen again. I hate waste, and it’s such an obvious sign of storage being wrong!

I've also never joined these threads before but would like to do so! I had several bursts of decluttering energy in October but lost my mojo somewhat this month! We moved house late last year and I found out I was pregnant with number 2 after Christmas. My pregnancy was really rough and as a result the house still isn't even unpacked yet, let alone organised enough to cope with the new stuff coming into the house for baby and toddler!

Any hints and tips I can glean would be very welcome!! I'd been wanting to try selling stuff as I'm on maternity leave and felt like I should... but actually I think it's time to just get rid of the vast majority and only try to sell the things that will make a decent sum! We have a very active couple of local Facebook groups for giving things away for free that I have been utilising.

Thanks for the new thread!

I'm a counter, and I have decluttered 1,591 things year to date. House is tidier and cupboards have space in. The pace is slowing now I'm rid of maternity, little baby and pre covid/pre pregnancy (thin young person . . .) clothes!

Goal is 1,600 by the end of November and maybe 1,800 by the end of the year, that would average at 300 items a month.

I definitely recommend Vinted for selling, list fairly cheaply, list on a Friday.

Welcome to the thread new people. I have found counting is great for accountability. I also have picked up some great tips here. The best three for me are:

• start with areas that cause you grief (kitchen and bedroom for me)
• if you are stuck, just find one thing (or 5 things if you can!)
• Get stuff out of the house asap, don’t batch things up too much (I am guilty of this!)

Thanks for the vinted tip @JollyJellyCat

Moving house in the next month or so, so need inspo and motivation! Have a 9 month old following me around causing destruction & trying to harm themselves on everything they find in cupboards so it’s hard to sit and go through things! Naps are short and inconsistent and bed time is… interesting shall we say, so bit stressed on how / when I am going to do it all! Any tips welcome :-)

Hello, I'm new to these threads too and I desperately need to declutter! The house is so untidy, stuff everywhere - I can't let anyone in, it's too embarrassing! I need to get motivated to sort everything out but it's so difficult getting started, the job just seems too big and daunting.

I need to do a "Sort Your Life Out" kind of thing and get rid of half of our stuff - but have no idea how to do it or where to start!

Hoping to pick up a few tips on here and get motivated.

Well done on the new thread @Pigtailsandall

Everyone has a different way of doing things but not hanging into stuff for the wrong reasons basically sums most methods up.

It might come in handy/it cost a lot/someone special gave it to me/someone annoying gave it to me but will check I still have it/and so on.

Whether you want to go Marie Kondo and spark joy or the Slob method and just get started, aiming to work towards the container limits, it doesn’t really matter, just start.

Work gets in the way for me, for some it’s babies, for some it’s husbands lol 😀

I have a few days off coming up so hope to tackle some stuff, maybe list some stuff on free sites.

Haha oops name change fail here. Was on the last thread!

@FoxyLocksie fill a bag. One bag. Get rid of it. Start small. This is my third year of decluttering and it gets easier the more you do. Don't tackle the big cupboard first. Do just coats or shampoo or the cutlery drawer, something you handle every day that regularly annoys you.

That sounds do-able! Thanks for the advice!

Thanks pigtails

Today's list. I tackled the odds and ends cupboard.

5 x tiny plastic bags
8 x unidentifiable bits of plastic
2 x pointless instruction leaflets
1 x ancient rusty padlock with only one key which means you're guaranteed to lose it
1 x coat with a damaged lining

Total is 1693

Welcome newbies! We all do stuff slightly differently. I'm at a pretty good stage so I'm aiming to really streamline the house and to use up duplicates. My goal is 2023 items out this year. I'm counting a lot of toiletries and beauty stuff atm because I have had so much of them, and many many duplicates. So I'm really focusing on using things up.

Out this week:
21 items to textile recycling
Uncomfortable knickers to bin
An ikea pencil to bin!
Used up a candle, a pack of bath salts, some supplements I didn't like but thought I might as well, an almost-empty micellar water, a small moisturiser.
Also sold a book on Vinted
Donated a kids book

I also made a decision to compost my old dried flower bouquet. I dud love it but I'd had it for 3 years and it was starting to look past its best

Total is 1979

Hello. Can I join? I need to declutter and am not doing very well at the moment. We moved house and although in the first few weeks we did well and started getting organised that all went by the wayside. 3 months later and we can't really use the excuse of we've just moved in! I have good intentions everyday but never seem to achieve a lot. I need to change my mindset. If I can't finish a big project I don't start it and then I end up doing nothing. Hoping for some tips and inspiration!

Hello newbies. I started decluttering with items that got in the way. We were in the post toddler/ decided not to have another baby stage so this meant high chair, jumparoo,cot, big flashing baby/ toddler toys. Then I tackled surfaces and remember when for the first time we could eat in the kitchen. Then I’d just pick an area and make that my project.

I also found when I was struggling I would set a timer for 15 minutes with the aim of clearing/ organising an area. Often I’d get into it and do more than 15 minutes.

Yesterday, I spent 10 minutes in the Room of (no longer) Doom as it was all I had time to do. I shredded letters from two schools offering dd1 a place from 5 years ago. Today I’m going to spend 15 minutes in the Room of Doom looking at paperwork and maybe starting on its wardrobe. It’s taken years to empty the room and I’m nearly done but the wardrobe is the last bit. It’s a large built in wardrobe.

I’ve used up one little shower gel I found in DDs room.
Working on the next one.

I often don’t start because I know I can’t finish, it’s called something like imperfect perfectionism. Knowing it won’t be perfect so not starting at all.
The timer is a great way to just get started, applies to loads of things not just Decluttering.
For eg, if you have a big form to fill out (DLA for example), you don’t start it until you have a whole day free so it gets left for ages.
if you set yourself just 15mins knowing you won’t finish it, maybe you realise you need to find some ID, or photocopy something, or get someone’s contact details. You do those in the 15mins and the next time you come back to it you are those steps further ahead. Helps me anyway.

i was counting items, then fell off the thread and got rid of loads so lost track. May start again in 2024 but hoping I’ve tackled the most numerous stuff so may not make it to a 2024 total.

Does anyone ever post pics? Before and after?

Today - inspired by being on this thread - I'm tackling the 'box of shite from the bathroom' which was what was boxed up to be out of the way while we had the bathroom done, and it has been sitting there unused for over a year.
Here's the before pic, plus one to give an idea of depth of box and therefore volume of shite.
I don't intend to count, it would slow me down!

@heldinadream I sometimes do before and after pictures. I wouldn’t post them because I found dp looking at Mumsnet and while I can’t imagine he would go on a declutter thread I’d hate to take the risk that he’d find me! Your photos are awesome, let us know how much you declutter.

I spent 25 minutes in the Room of Doom. The wardrobe is probably going to be the hardest part of the house because it has

1. a lot of dd2s schoolwork. She has SEN and has really struggled so I can’t throw it out as easily as I can throw out dd1’s
2. Some of my old toys that I loved

Anyway I’ll do what I can. So of the paperwork I threw out / shredded information and dds schools including all the forms I completed before they joined and letters offering us places at the school.

in the wardrobe I found

• 6 Lego and playmobil figures that will go to a charity shop and my friend who’s school is collecting playmobil
• 10 toys / craft sets that I am intending to sell. 2 are brand new
• a broken clock that is being binned

Tomorrow I’ll advertise the toys / craft set.

Of course Gabi welcome to the thread.

Dream I don't recall anyone doing that before but if you want to start the trend, crack on. We all use the thread in whatever way we need to.

I've only started decluttering this year, having never done it before. I've amazed myself with how much I've got rid of and how much better my home looks as I come to the end of my first year. I've done at least one pass through of all areas, got rid of the obvious and now am largely in the process of using things up. I have stashes of everything. I keep a running total because it's kind of addictive and means I'm motivated to actively look for things to discard so I can watch my count creep ever higher. Yes, I know - messed up! But if it works and stops me tipping over into hoarder territory I don't care. I'm going to start including excess toiletries in the count as I use them up, I was on another thread for that but kept finding inspiration to purchase new things so I've left it.

I don't sell any more because it's time, effort, hassle and seriously slows me down. I'm lucky I can afford at this stage of life to donate everything, that hasn't always been the case in the past. I used to be a dumpster diver, cleaning up and selling on other's discarded things to boost my income. For now though my priority is reclaiming my space and making my home function better.

My two top tips are: eliminate the junk drawer. You're not supposed to be keeping junk. Either find items a proper home or discard them because you don't need them. Everything you want in your home should have its own storage space. The second tip is: just start. Pick something up, decide if you're keeping it. If it's going out take it there whether that's recycling, landfill or charity shop bag. If you are keeping it then take it to where it belongs, if there's no room there then put it in that general area - now you've discovered your first area that needs decluttering!

Thanks @stealthninjamum and @IndianSummer78 I did that box!

I feel really encouraged by the thread. I'm recovering from my second bout of covid in two months and I've got very little energy for anything so anything I manage to do is a bonus.
Great to hear what other people are doing.
I'm a very visual person so taking pics really helps me, I don't really care if anyone recognises my stuff. 😂

Here's the after pic empty box and BAG FULL OF SHITE GOING STRAIGHT IN THE BIN!
After I've found a few more things to fill it up.

I'm joining up! We got a eufy robot vacuum last weekend which has prompted us both into action (as now the floors aren't the messiest part of our home...). I've cleared 2 small bin bags and 3 big charity bags today 😁

I usually pick away at things but more comes in than goes out thanks to an amazingly cheap kids only charity shop 2 minutes down the road... but today I did top of the stairs (coats, shoes) and puzzles. Very excited!

15 min sprints sound like an easy way to start. I tackled my toddlers room yesterday (which actually has very little in it) and thinned out her pjs to go to her cousin. Some will come back to us for my little boy but I'll deal with that when it happens! And then threw away a lot of toddler crap that she'd accumulated (she's a pint sized magpie 😊).

I have decided to allow myself to purchase things to help the organisation, but only after giving myself at least a week to think about it and decide exactly what I need. I also sorted out the baby changing table and split the pile of clothes into various amazon cardboard boxes. Long term, once I decide how many and what size boxes I need, I will order some. But for now the amazon boxes will do!

I've been keeping notes of what I've got rid of but not a running total. Think I'll start doing that too once I have added it up!