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)

Happy Christmas. Been working today so we had our Christmas yesterday, got back an hour ago for turkey sandwich and pudding. Was too full for pudding yesterday.
Living room is littered with gifts that haven’t yet been put away. But it’s not too bad for Christmas time

Decluttered two jewellery boxes I've been using for storage. Contents rehomed elsewhere. Total is 1764

Hope everyone had a good day yesterday. I have put the boxes from my advent calendar in the recycling and thrown away my old slippers having received some lovely new ones.

With my DD bedroom blitz I’ve gotten to about 1400 outs this year but I can see from my running total in the last few years that it’s up to about 5460 so I’m happy with that !
we did have ins at Christmas and I think we’ll have less presents on kids birthday and Christmas from now on but my point is to get rid of the useless excess no one needs or wants and I think it’s ok to have new things too but to be more mindful about what and not have huge volumes of everything pointlessly . I will continue to declutter and organise and to clean our home regularly in the coming year that’s the only way to keep on top of it and stop it from turning into a dirty dump that no one at least not me wants to live in . I’ve excepted there’s lots no one else will do and I’ll have to if I want certain results . I will then have DH and kids do other jobs guilt free instead . I don’t want to spend all my time talking about it and nagging so I rather sometimes just get on with it by myself . Every year my motto is less thinking and talking about things and more doing !
I’m getting better here from Covid slowly ,there wasn’t a line on my test yesterday so could join others for the Christmas lunch and presents downstairs but today there’s a very faint line again . I do still feel all sick when all the meds wear out and suspect it’ll take me weeks to clear this out of my system because of my underlying conditions. I was going stir crazy in my bedroom and en-suite after 10 days so I’m just grateful to be out of it when I want although right now am resting in bed . Had to go straight back to housework and cleaning yesterday and today after not having done it for over a week outside my room . Others had done stuff but there’s always more.

Decluttering wise I have gone through dog toys again as I do monthly when he gets his toy and treat box after he got his presents ( still have 2 presents and some treats to open ) and I threw out about 9 toys that were either old or not ever played with .
There were 2 duplicate books this year so they’re going , 2 broken ornaments (one glass one dropped down last night luckily behind the tree since we have a dog ,and I was still down there to deal with it ). A few other bits I’ve noticed as well and soon more DD small clothes I suspect since she got a bunch of bigger ones . Earmarking some scratched crockery too .
On its way out :
-9 old dog toys
-2 broken Christmas ornaments
-2 duplicate books to charity
-1 DS manky pencil case and about 8 bits of stationary
-5 rolls of wrapping paper and a bunch of tags
-1 pair of DD broken headphones for school
-1 pair of malfunctioning air pods of DS earmarked to go
-some scratched crockery earmarked to go not sure how many pieces yet
-1 packet of chocolate to food bank

More another day .
I wish you all a Merry Christmas !
And Keep It Moving !in the new year!!!!

Out on Boxing Day:

3 filled-up kids activity books
An open pack of coffee filter papers (we don't do drip coffee anymore)

2015 total

Used up today 7 tealight candles and two bits of art from the fridge that had been lingering too long. Total is 1773

I've definitely been through everything now at least once and although it's much better I still feel there's too much here. Habits have definitely changed too though and I'm letting go of things easier. Also bringing much less in, 2022 was a very bad year for that and was what got me into this whole decluttering thing in the first place

I've joined a no-buy thread for 2024 and I know I'll fail but it'll be interesting to see how I do. I couldn't have even contemplated no-buy a year ago, low-buy was the best I could aim for and I only did that in one category. I'm aiming for a total no-buy except essentials and very occasional treats for next year. If I can manage it that will see much more go out than comes in

I'll have a think about my active decluttering aims for 2024

I love the idea of active aims @IndianSummer78 sort of like New Year’s resolutions but for decluttering. I also could not contemplate a no buy year. What categories are you thinking of including? I love a new book for instance but tend to buy on kindle or in charity shops/eBay and if it’s a physical book only a very few I keep to reread the rest go back to a charity shop. So over time the bookshelves are getting less over full - the container concept in action!
So my active decluttering aims - the Lego and the playroom in general, my bedroom cupboard of doom, the childhood photos and the last two crates of stuff from parents house. To be fair these were all on my radar this year too but now I’ve written them down hopefully it’ll happen 🤷‍♀️ 🤞

reneno lots of used the toss app in one of the lockdowns. I’d really recommend it as I was at a point where I had too much to declutter. Another good app is UFYH unfuck your habitat which sets you cleaning and decluttering tasks but I personally didn’t find that as addictive as Toss.

i hope everyone has had a good Christmas!

Apart from teens in their bedrooms it’s been a good one here. Dd2 has put her presents away and spent Christmas Day trying and organising her bedroom and decluttering the things that had newer versions given to her (dressing gown, pyjamas, slippers). Dd1 has spent three days reading her new books so at the weekend I’ll have to help her declutter her room.

i think my active decluttering aims would be to finish the Room of Doom and the Lego. I say I’ll do the Room of Doom every year but I have probably got 90% of its contents (it used to full of furniture and papers) so maybe I will actually finish it this year.

I had to empty out the linen cupboard on Christmas Eve to find the Christmas tablecloth, and have put five old flannels with frayed parts/ holes in the textile recycling. I keep them to use when I’m using Veet (still think of it as Immac - does anyone else?) but only need a couple.

I’ve also joined the no-spend January/ 2025 thread as the roof repairs plus CoL increases mean I need to be more careful about spending.

Have not found homes for any new gifts yet. That’s a task for the next few days!

I was on the other thread but dropped off!

Having a big post Christmas declutter today and organising. Have listed a bundle of toddler toys on olio and someone is collecting tonight which is great.

I'm taking pics of everything piled up ready to go and keeping in a album in my phone so I can see the progress as sometimes it's hard to see the progress actually in the house.

Also taking some old but useable electric items to the Dunelm donation point. Maybe not today though!

A few bits gathered today and :
-1 DD old watch strap
-1 DS small hoodie
-1 DD small sweatpants
-1 my finished book
-a couple of old small dog towels
-1 Christmas card game

Please may I join?

Can I just argh about the general despair of decluttering and housework?

I feel like I've done it several times, always regret the things I get rid of, and always end up with the the place looking very similar.

I'm now in the smallest flat I've ever lived in in the last 20 years. It's a challenge, to say the least.

Hi @EmmaEmerald welcome. It's tough in a small space when you can't close the door on the mess.

I hate housework too, as soon as its done it starts undoing itself again. We are lucky to have plenty of space but no storage so clutter quickly becomes obvious.

I have spent the year using up notebooks, pens and candles, all of which I have far too many of. Guess what my Christmas presents were . . .

Need to sort toys but all the pass it on groups and charity shops are shut here until the new year.

1,706 year to date, not much here over the last few days.

Had a few more outs today:

Large playpen
Guitar
Amp
11 heavy books to the charity collection at the tip

Total 1623

Also out was another car load of cardboard to the tip and I also got rid of the big bag of fabric recycling I've been collecting.

I definitely won't be attempting a no spend, or even low spend, 2024 as I'm hoping to get various things fixed/done around the house and a couple of family holidays plus spending money to improve my storage organisation for the stuff I decide to keep. But this challenge has made me think twice, and more, before spending. For some reason I didn't consider my spending when joining this challenge, just the impact the clutter was having on my mental state! In particular, I've sold some bits on Vinted (£42 worth). For some reason having a balance on there to spend rather than using my bank card is making me MORE reluctant to spend it. It was the realisation that most of the baby clothes I've sold have made £1.50 - £3, and yet an item selling for £1 actually costs just over £4 once you add on the Vinted fees and postage costs. I'm reluctant to purchase something that requires me to sell three items to pay for it 🤣

I've been struggling to get rid of things on Facebook (for free). Almost everyone that wanted things has failed to turn up. I will try listing them one more time in the new year and after that will either resort to charity shop or the bin. I can't currently drive so my only options are getting people to collect or putting in the bin....

Today I have chucked out a pair of old school shoes, thrown out some shampoo samples that must be about 20 years old and started getting some bits together to list on the local free site when it opens tomorrow. I've also sold an old tshirt and shorts set on Vinted which has just gone in the post.

@JollyJellyCat Thank you.

I also have a weakness for notebooks and stationery generally. Fittingly, I reached the end of my journal/diary today and normally I'm fussy about what notebook I want. This time, I decided to just pick one and that's it. Going to use them all up before buying any more.

One of the "clutter" things I had on my work desk was a few pretty notebooks but I've put them away as the visual effect of clutter isn't good for me.

I'm planning a low spend 2024...unless I decide to get more of a storage thing that the TV is on. I have a small TV so It sits on a very small unit. There's some stuff in crates behind the sofa. It may be that I get a bigger unit and then I can push the sofa back.

I also seem to have several sets of toiletries on the go, which is fine if you have space in a bathroom cabinet or whatever, but I don't. I will have to get a lot better at putting things away!

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Sounds like Christmas "ins" have spurred on some decluttering. End of the year definitely feels like an incentive get out with the old.

We weren't with family this year for Christmas so our 4yo DC got very restrained amount of presents - only 5 but they were very happy. DH and I decided not do gifts, but in the end he got me a spa day which is perfect! I'm going on the 2nd and very excited as it includes all sorts of nice stuff.

Out just now:
2 kids chapter books
1 too-small kids t-shirt.

I'm seeing lots of lovely things but trying not to buy anything. We have a few dinners out planned so I'd rather spend on those.

Total is 2018

Gassylady it's everything. I've got too much of everything. I'm aiming for no-buy on all of it. I will fail, it's certain, but if you knew how much I had spent this year alone on stuff I don't need...I've been keeping a log, any improvement on that amount is a good thing!

Clothes/shoes/coats/bags
Kids stuff
Craft stuff
Books and magazines
Home décor
Beauty stuff

Welcome to the thread Emma

Pinknsparkly I feel the same. I've been surprised at how decluttering has started to cure my shopaholic ways. I've a long way to go but I'm ready for the new year.

Decluttered the last of my money today buying 3 items in the sales. Constrained by finances luckily or I would have bought more. I now have zilch until payday in a few days time. Then I'm starting no-buy 2024.

In terms of active decluttering, having done all the obvious, I need to become more ruthless.

As well as decluttering I've been organising and creating an inventory eg types of toys, styles of clothes etc so now I know exactly what I've got and have an idea of amounts. Which will hopefully help to stop me buying more. I invested heavily in storage solutions too and everything is so much tidier now.

I need to search out those projects I don't feel passionate about enough that I'll ever get round to doing them.
Need to get rid of some types of clothes belonging to past-me that current-me doesn't want to wear.
It doesn't seem much, but if I aim to read one magazine and one book per month that's upto 24 things getting decluttered, unless I decide to keep some of them. Year on year it will make a difference, until I've read everything and have only those favourites I wanted to keep.
With home décor I need to be either eg putting pictures etc on the wall or wherever they should go, or getting rid of them.
I reduced craft supplies by around a third in 2023 but would benefit from doing that again.

Recycled 3 catalogues today. Total is 1776

I did a quick clear out of the top drawer of my bedside cabinet last night while DD was getting ready for bed (instead of just wasting time on my phone as I usually do!). Three toddler size hair bobbles to the bin, a phone cleaning cloth to textile recycling, and three things to the charity bag (compact mirror, cat shaped nail file, and cat badge) - all unwanted gifts from a couple of years ago. There’s still random stuff in there now, but it’s tidier and cleaner.

My two previous phones were also in there (the oldest one is probably about five or six years old). I’ve been meaning to send them to a phone recycling company, and the only thing that’s stopping me is needing to do a factory reset to clear all the data. Which would probably take 30 minutes at most? It’s stuff like this that I seem to get ‘stuck’ on.

Can I join? We've got way too much stuff in too small a space and I found myself before Christmas fixated on where new things were physically going to go.

My family, who we don't see often due to distance, are very generous at Christmas and buy lots of things for us which is really kind and I'm grateful, but our problems of space and clutter get even worse. I've got to get things sorted in 2024. We're not minimal people by nature so I know it's going to be a challenge.

I've started by identifying 30 items of clothing to go and I've started on books (something I usually find hard to part with). These are in my car ready to go next time I go out. I've put them in there so I don't keep walking past the bags and changing my mind about anything.

I'm keeping a tally of things that come in to make sure we in stay in a net better position. I'm aiming to carry on but do need this thread as a kick up the arse!

Welcome @Clebran the more the merrier! Sounds like you are off to a good start. There are people at all sorts of stages and with all sorts of ways of tackling the issue on here. I always recommend the Dana K White books the first is something like “how to declutter without losing your mind” she also has stuff on you tube and a podcast. She just makes me laugh

Oooh, @IndianSummer78- very inspiring - I am just wondering whether I could join a no-spend group for certain categories…. Yours sound like good ones actually. I might do a bit of an audit of what non-food “ins” I have starting from 1st January too…

@EllieQ actually a factory reset will take 10 minutes max just google your phone model it might even be on the help settings page

@pinknsparkly you can do no spend in just certain categories like perfume makeup stationery. we are doing major house renovations next year so quite spendy but I'm doing low spend on clothes and replacement products only on perfume skincare and makeup and no spend on craft supplies as never get round to actually doing them, books are 2 out for 1 in so I need to be sure it is much better than what i already have

OUT pop socks odd ones have never worn and never will