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.

Sorry you are feeling a bit down @Pigtailsandall.

My vinted sales went up to 5 over the weekend and all collected now thank goodness, so that’s really excellent progress. I’ve just added up and I think I’ve made around £100 when you deduct postage costs. I’m actually a bit surprised.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 I used signed delivery (not tracked though). As someone else has pointed out, going to the bank is also an option, but mine is a 20 min bus ride away...

More sorting of drawers yesterday. Found a dozen of expired membership cards, but also £30 worth of Lakeland vouchers 😊

Thanks @GlassOfPort. My bank is also a long way away so not a possibility for me. Our post office don't take other currencies etc so posting it off to a company is probably my best bet.

I've given myself a little pause from decluttering, or a slow down at least, while I sorted out organising my storage options! I'm now flush with storage boxes and containers so good to go again. I audited our stationery and medical/first aid supplies and discovered some items that my husband had sorted to keep that actually went out of date before we even met so coming up 20 years 😂

Out this week:

• DH entire first supplies pouch (plasters, various bandages and tapes, blister plasters, etc etc) it was a lot of stuff but I'll count it as 1
• out of date medicines (again this was a lot but I'll count as 1)
• off cuts of velcro
• dry blue tak
• 11 biros
• 17 pencil stubbies
• an eraser
• broken elastic bands
• used post-its

YTD total - 547

Thanks @Realfastfoodie I'm feeling a bit better today. I know why I was feeling down - a good friend is on a tour of Europe from Canada and stayed with us for a few days and it was so good to spend time with her. She left on the Eurostar to Paris on Monday night so I felt a bit glum. DH suggested that I go with her, and I should have done (for a few days) but I'm in the middle of a busy work period and stupidly prioritised that.

Having said that, I had a day off on Tuesday (as I'd sent my work for comments and didn't have much to do while it was being reviewed) and I just withered yesterday away doing nowt. All I did was two loads of laundry and found it hard to concentrate on anything.

However, last night I got 3 vinted sales which I'm thrilled about. All stuff that had been uploaded ages ago and they come up to just over £30. I sent the Yodel ones this morning and planning on dropping the Evri one tomorrow. Two bits are bulky (jeans and a dress) so I'm pleased they are going. And my work came back with minimal corrections and positive comments so I'm feeling good. I do have to catch up on tidying tonight.

will total things up later today when packages are sent etc. and tidy up done. Hope everyone has a good hump day.

For once the house is oh so tidy - nice combination of decluttering this weekend, having a chance to tidy up properly and not trashing it again. Wonder how long it will last!

I've dug out some books from around the house to add to the new-found gaps in the decluttered book shelf so will do that today, then Toss is telling me to go through the bathroom. I've done it fairly recently but worth a pass again, but mainly conserving my energy to go through a stack of paper in the kitchen and finding homes for floating items, plus the coat cupboard - hopefully will do that this weekend, which would only leave the cupboard of doom left on this first round of decluttering. Wonder how long that final job will take to go through 😂

I’ve stopped counting my outs as I can’t really be bothered to log everything. I’m sure I was up to 700 or 800 - but lots was paper.

I had two 35mm cameras from the 80s and 90s. I couldn’t get film out of them or get them to work so yesterday I took them to a camera shop that does recycling. I also tidied a drawer in the dining room that seems to have become another Drawer of Crap. I moved lots of things into their correct places but also threw out a box, a child’s sticker / tattoo, two paper tablecloths and an empty glass jar I must’ve used for storage at one point. I also did a bit more playroom. It mainly involves putting toy bits together. I also threw away some old papers / art from dc. I was looking at certificates. I decided dc wouldn’t want their certificates for having a flu injection but might want their drama and gymnastics certificates.

One novel read and donated. Total is 1940

I set aside the afternoon for decluttering today and managed to find a surprising amount in what I thought was a fairly low clutter house!

5 items of my clothing
32 bits of assorted crap from the kids’ rooms
3 items of old IT equipment returned to work
3 pairs of earrings
16 items of kids clothes
2 items from bathroom
37 things from my office
1 rucksack
1 pack of new cloth wraps
8 books for charity
1 book to return to lender
1 old watch
1 pair of boots
1 pair of sandals
21 bits of crap from kitchen drawers
5 kids books
5 games
3 items of DD’s school uniform for donation to the second hand uniform shop

Which comes to 146 things for today! Not bad for an afternoon’s work!

Plus I’ve listed one thing on FB marketplace and identified 5 items for listing on Vinted, which I’ll do tomorrow.

I’m up to 280 for the year so far. I’d aimed for 2024 but I don’t think we have that much left to get rid of. I might revise that down to 1000 and I think that’ll still be a real challenge!

Cleared out some stuff at work today so I’m counting it. Three used up notebooks were pulled apart and shredded/binned as applicable.

Just been catching up and sounds like people are clearing out lots. We've had to take a bit of a step back from decluttering as our house is back on the market so we've had to focus on tidying and cleaning.

We did manage 3 bags for life off to the charity shop (I think they are starting to recognise us😂). One massive win for us was someone took my old armchair from facebook. Its was sentimental as it belonged to and elderly relative and I also used it for breast feeding my child so was sad to say goodbye to it. But it was a very old fashioned style and just didn't fit anywhere. So grateful it found a home and we didn't have to take it to the tip.

Decluttered baby things this afternoon

1 x headband
3 x hats
1 x vest
1 x babygrow
1 x dress
2 x trousers
2 x tops

Total is 1951

Adding to my list. When I posted off the bag the other day I used up a roll of bubble wrap and a postage box I had kicking around.

have also used up a micelles water. Only a mini size one but it’s gone!

also finished a bumble and bumble “Sunday” shampoo.

and my fave pair of work trousers broke yesterday. Will see how much it costs to have them repaired (the zip broke) vs a new pair.

Hi Can I join? I know I'm a bit late to the party and I've not been counting , but since January this year I'm been decluttering on my days off. I've so far made £30'on Ziffit from books , made £200 on eBay/vinted on clothes my kids have out grown or clothes I never wear, and several boxes to charity shop.
I've just been through my
Mug cupboard and filled a huge bag with unwanted mugs, glasses and kids cups .
I'm feel like I've a long way to go but am determined to live in a clutter free house

Just listed stuff from my kids memory boxes on Vinted . My 1st
Born was ridiculous what I was keeping,
He's 17 now and he said he didn't need his 1st shoes etc ,
I've kept his baby gro he came home from some newspaper cuttings he was in and his birth cards .

Dana K. White has been an absolute game changer for me. I'm so grateful for being told about her on this thread. Her methods are helping me do

• no mess decluttering. Its such a relief to be able to spend whatever time I have confident that I won't end up with a bigger mess if I get interrupted.

• daily tasks which make me feel the most important things are under control.

• visible spaces. As they improve I get a boost from seeing them and feel more confident about anyone else seeing them!

Sidles in, dusts off her seat, and settles down.

I haven’t really been away, as I am still reading this thread regularly, but I know that it really helps to keep me accountable and on track if I post here regularly as well.

Due to various reasons I didn’t really get myself in gear last year. I sold a number of items on eBay but, apart from that, didn’t make much progress. If I carry on at that rate the house will still be just as bad in ten years’ time.

So, I have decided that this is the year I am going to GET IT DONE! I have no excuses left.

I keep coming across things that I had completely forgotten about, but need checking or cleaning before they can be sold or donated. I have now started an electronic list to keep track of all of these items that I have to look at, and plan to deal with 2 or 3 a week. Some of the things have been on my radar to get rid of for years, other things have just appeared. I seem to have lost the ability to keep everything in my head. A number of these are large items which will make a difference if they go. Last month I advertised a full-length floor mirror that had been moved from pillar to post for a few years. It had only needed a major clean. That was the first time since 2020 I had used Marketplace and Gumtree, so hopefully I am back in the swing of things with that, and I won’t procrastinate as long before listing the next item.

I am planning on doing something each day, to keep the momentum going. That might not be decluttering as such, but something towards sorting or re-organising stuff. Yesterday I washed out 2 storage boxes that had been sitting in the back room, after I moved their contents elsewhere. I also tried out an egg cooker that I bought a few years ago. I decided that I need to use it or get rid - it wasn’t doing much good just taking up space on top of the kitchen units.

Today I have listed three items on Vinted, after I bit the bullet and finally set up an account a few weeks ago.

Dd annual review is tomorrow so I still can't really function.

Good news is that I started a hoarders correction program that will last for the rest of the year

Someone bought a bundle so that’s another 5 vinted sales posted today. I gave my mum some slippers and a candle and some decorations went to my mother in law. I have a big bag waiting to go to charity now and hopefully a couple of bigger items to go via olio (an old trunk hopefully tomorrow)

Good luck @IncessantNameChanger.

1 x face cream used up. Tons left!
7 x plastic dolls house bits donated.
1 x stained pillow binned.
1 x pair of pants with knackered elastic binned.
1 x chewed up hat binned.
3 x plastic toy combs recycled.
1 x plastic hairclip recycled.
1 x damaged plastic toy weathervane recycled.
1 x cardboard box recycled.

Total is 1968

Not achieved much due to being busy. However, had some quick wins: 3 items gone via Freecycle, DP took bag of textile recycling to dump and have used up some toiletries.
I should have more time next week to get back on track.

dead flowers have been binned, and i've finally gotten around to putting some pictures up which were cluttering the floor. Now they're off the floor and on the wall. hooray!

Hmmm, I’m not sure if I have declutterred so much as just rearranged the clutter today. Paperwork has been rearranged ready for filing. Books have been plonked into a pile (3 piles, actually) ready to be sorted onto shelves, the to-read pile, or the charity shop box.

I did get rid of done boxes on freecycle though.

@DifficultBloodyWoman i think that counts.

i've just decluttered some paperwork. made a note in relation to the log in details and websites and have binned the original paperwork

in putting up the pictures, i have also used up three packs of command hooks.

used up a face wash this morning.

binned an old picture frame - i swapped the picture in it to a new frame.