Decluttering thread 7 - as the days lengthen we’ll feel more motivated to declutter

[stealthninjamum]

Sorry for the long thread title, I’ve just seen that the old thread has reached 1,000 posts.

For newbies this thread and the old one a day threads are for a group of mumsnetters who are decluttering. We’ll share tips and advice and inevitably the conversation moves on to organisation tips, pretty storage solutions and persuading our families to join in.

We’re all at different stages of decluttering so join us for support and chat.

@Pigtailsandall you’re amazing!

I would love to be at the point mentally
when I can shred everything. My bank statements are online so I can see a point when I won’t have any of those but it’s hard with the rest of it.

55. Bag of books to school

Used up a tube of body scrub (not very scrubby, but smelled nice so I used it as shower gel - won't be replacing it). Also took a bag to the textile recycling yesterday - one down, one to go and one needs to go to the charity shop.

My trainers are knackered - I only have two pairs, one for running and one for everything else, so the "everything else" pair take an absolute beating - as are my slippers, so I've bought a couple of new pairs - pretty much one in, one out.

My probate day for my Dad’s estate felt like it had stalled a bit this morning. Went over to his house to continue sorting out and found another box of sorted (by him) papers. It was all older stuff, phew! I was able to sort through it remove all the meticulously labelled brochures about terms and conditions. Now it’s half a box and in the keep til after probate but not actually needed category.

We got 4 bags for life to a charity shop today plus a few bulky things. Also I was in the office a few times this week so was able to sneakily take along some of the paperwork that needs shredding (they have huge bins dotted about and a shredding van comes each week).

However we found out this evening that our buyers have pulled out of the sale. So where the house is currently covered with sorting piles but empty drawers, we now have to cram everything away and get the house suitable for viewings again. The estate agent has a viewing lined up for Monday, which is great but also terrifying given the amount of work we need to do...eek.

CKMondlerlife we have those shredder bins too. Ours are rather full currently as office move on the cards

@renomeno I take lots of photos for Vinted all at once. Good light on the back of a white door. Take about 7 of the whole thing, closer up, details, the back the label. Then every day about 11am I upload max four things and try to make sure at least one is nice brand like Joules, Zara. Then that keeps my item bumped up. So someone might be searching for Zara or River Island and fingers crossed they bundle up with the supermarket stuff. Most of my kids clothes are from Asda. I have a lot of Zara, joules and Boden but I bought most of that off Vinted in the first place. It's 90% kids clothes.

So take all the photos at once but trickle posting daily. Possibly better to list them slowly throughout the day. Try to list the same sizes as a batch for people to bundle. I still have people buying 1 £1 item which seems insane.

I did bundle up and list bundles but that didn't seem to go well. Small bundles of four items ( kids tshirts go) I'm mostly selling cheap. It's very slow right now. I think it will pick up in April.

After a few weeks I delete some listings but I keep all the original photos on my phone. So I slightly crop and re screen shot and re upload ( against the rules so again have to stagger that and leave some days after deleting the listing.

It's not very profitable but I'm too invested to stop. I normally do it for a few months then donate most of it then start up again after a month or two.

chippy I divide documents by category. So I have a file with all the manuals to household appliances in it, one with all financial documents in it etc, each type of document separated by dividers.

Bean that's a daunting task!

Out today is:

one pair baby socks
one pair baby trousers
a baby top

(All above to donate bag)

3 batteries in a size I don't need (gone to a friend)

Total is 1919

I feel like I've slipped behind a bit! Builders have gone, house is ours again hurrah! This week has been about finding homes for everything and life admin and catching up on health appointments so not much decluttering. Lots of sorting though. I now have a gin shelf in my living room 😍 (it did mean i had to finish the dregs of one bottle too many for thr shelf though, so I think that counts?)

DH did a dump run yesterday too.

Out:

• 2 tins of out of date tuna (2022!!) No idea how that managed to make it back into the new kitchen 😂
• old book case
• old slow cooker pot
• rusty teppanyaki plate
• slice grinder
• old iPhone
• 1 tin wood primer
• camping lamp
• 6 cardboard boxes
• 3 cushions
• Jam jar full of old batteries
• digital declutter X3 days

YTD total - 512

Checking in as I've not for a while, visited my parents and working as it's mock exam time until the end of next week.
Got 2 bags ready to go to charity shop today.
I have several other things for Freecycle/to sell but need some time to list things. I should have a week in the middle of the month where I have more time to get on with the more time consuming jobs but will keep on with the quicker ones for now.

It’s black bin day on Tuesday so I need to focus on stuff I can’t recycle via charity shop etc. and any shredding.

I must also think about books. There must be some DH can part with. Perhaps a few more I can. I find myself not feeling very sentimental about my late parent’s books. Dad had them all in categories. I plan to keep a few cookbooks and a couple of gardening ones. I think I can pass on some of my cookbooks to the charity shop in a one in one out approach.

I've found the shredder and am about to start on the mountain but I think its going to take a few days of bursts to get through all of it.

I've also chucked out a broken spatula and gone through 2 handbags and thrown away the rubbish out of them.

Noticed some cheap earrings I was wearing had tarnished so chucked them out too.

DH is retiring soon and is emptying his office - into the house 🧐

Anyway, a friend is doing a silly fund raising auction evening so some has gone straight into that. And dropped off the stuff this eve, so that’s a few bits out.

3 x books
3 x African ornaments (we have tonnes as lived abroad)
various unwanted artwork, think about 10
a lampshade
probably others bits but I didn’t count.

273+17=290

Busy day today.

56. About 20 unwanted DVDs
57. DHs stinky slippers (although he bought new ones!
58. Broken toys binned
59. Old rug

And into charity bag...
60. Novelty handbag
61. Novelty jewelry
62. Lampshade
63. Chuldrens books

Also found some puzzle pieces which might complete a couple if jigsaws.

Can I count a lot of dust, cobwebs and dead insects from the conservatory as well? 😂

Forgot...

64. DHs work monitor and keyboard boxed up and in car as he no longer needs them at home. Thank goodness.

Following 😍

Donated 4 rings that are too small, togeth with a spare jewellery box that was hanging around and finished up a makeup powder compact. Total is 1925

Quiet here with no big wins but the usual few socks into rag bag dropped a ramikin ans smashed that. Matching ones no longer sold that wont be replacing.
Welcome to all the new folk @BeanWriting that sounds very difficult, I always recommend Dana K White her first book is funny to read and feels much more realisitc in terms of approach than Kondo. Container concept useful for your circumstance.

Thank you @IncessantNameChanger that's helpful and motivating. I've already got the photos on my phone, just never seem to get round to posting. Thinking I might set and alarm to remind me on a daily basis!

I have taken 5 bags to the charity shop today so that has freed some floor space.

I haven’t really done any active decluttering, just a bit of tidying really. Firstly I threw out about 5 loyalty cards.

Then I decided to tidy the drawer where I keep nail varnish and foot products. A lot of them live in an old biscuit tin. I stood up the nail varnishes and instantly it looked neater so I’m thinking of buying a smaller container for them. I have about 17 so I wonder if I could throw 5 away as I rarelY do my nails. I used some cuticle cream and don’t like the feel of it so that’s going in the bin. I’m also getting rid of some Korean exfoliating cloths that were all the rage on Mumsnet about 5 years ago. They’re so small they slip out of my hands. I might buy something else to replace them but it’s not urgent.

The kitchen table had become a dumping ground while the building work was happening and I've got that mostly tidied off today. I've also filled a bin bag which shredding which I'm about to go put on the compost heap.

EBay always worth a try for items like the ramekin if you need to replace it

So I’m on the next phase of wrapping paper, tags etc. sorting. Upstanding gift bags a mini cloth cube and a basket from the top of a wardrobe. I’d forgotten what was in the cloth cube. Sadly, it was mostly glittery tissue so not recyclable and a bit messy when I pulled it out, ho hum. The rest is some stuff to donate, some to keep, some to recycle.

I haven't done any active decluttering either, just a few things that have popped up whilst tidying.

Dh got rid of a pair of shoes that were never very comfortable and I dropped them to the charity shop. Also out:
Expired bag of fennel seeds, and one of chillis
A kids book
Multicolour pen
A information booklet from vet
Old work ID
A coursework workbook

Total is 326