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.

Gone through 2.5 boxes today. 1 was full of books I'd forgotten I had but all relate to my work so are really useful, although I need to think about where to put them as our current bookshelf is full. Also found a few photo frames I'll use as I've already got some printed photos around.

Then managed to get rid of what turned into a bin bag just full of junk. Feels good to have made progress and that's 1.5 less boxes being shoved back into a cupboard for no reason.

Tempted to go through some bags of baby clothes I found recently and don't think it will be too hard as I've already pulled out a few special bits from another batch. Ideally would like to get them washed and donated this weekend but let's see if I can manage them in front of the TV later on 🤞

91. A bag of hand clothes saved for DD2, which I found under her bed, which are too small for her

92. Outgrown party dresses

Airing cupboard sorted.

93. Unwanted bedding
94. Unwanted towels
95. Unwanted blankets

All bagged up to go to recycling point tomorrow.

I've also managed 4 loads of washing today... mostly dry. That will be my life this weekend... then I'm really going to town on cutting down DD2s clothes!!

Listed lots of things on Vinted, hoping there will be lots of buyers over the long weekend. Have to confess to more Vinted ins as I stock up on summer clothes for the kids.

Littlest has toilet trained and I'm finally realising how much paraphernalia comes with nappies - the bucket, the changing mat and table, the wipes, the nappy storage, etc etc. Going to try and shift some of it over the weekend.

Both dc are also on that annoying borderline where they are 80% in one clothes size and 20% in another so I can't do a full clearcut and sell - but have huge outgrown bags!

237 outs so far this year. Feels like it's been slow progress lately and the house still feels so full.

I was thinking about the sentimental things so I went through old cards yesterday and have filled a bag to be recycled (I have kept a few) and there may be more in another cupboard. I decided I only look at them when I'm sorting through things so why keep them.

Oh that half-in half-out state. Add to the in-between seasons at the moment I have winter and summer clothes all mixed up from ages 2 - 4 right now! 😆

I did it. Went through all the baby clothes I discovered (after thinking I'd done them all!) and have now got 4 (FOUR!!!) bin bags to donate. I kept one hat. Honestly proud of myself! That means I now have a small bag with a few baby clothes items in (will combine the hat with bits I saved from the last lot I went through) and it feels so much better. I could've kept a ton more as so many bits brought back such lovely memories, but honestly feel like my threshold for special bits becoming clutter is now really low, and it just isn't worth the hassle. I can't keep everything! And I still have lovely memories and lots of photos and videos, plus my actual DD who is right in front of me and being present with her is so important.

Can't wait to go to the charity shop now and carry on with the cupboard of doom. Challenging myself to finish it by the end of the Easter hols 🤞

👏

that is awesome!

I’m trying to tackle the nursery (nursery/laundry room/ room of doom/clutter collecting room) today. 🙈

Honestly I don’t quite know where to start at the moment. Things are getting better but I’d just like to be able to “finish” a room… wherever I go there always seems to be unfinished jobs getting in the way of sorting things properly (shelves to go on the wall, things to finish painting etc)

Binned 2 of dds white school shirts, all of her tights and one pair of ds’ school trousers - he’s worn through both knees and there’s no salvaging them.

one of dds school skirts in the charity bag.

Nights done, a couple of days off, although it includes a dance show and Easter so prob won’t get much done.

Have assimilated some kitchen items into the right areas, light bulbs, batteries, etc. into the correct storage boxes. I have put a few bits ready to go to charity/bin if DH agrees.

298

10 pairs of dd odd/ too small socks, 1 pair of her pants, 1 pair of mine out. 3 dresses to local clothing bank. Also one Vinted sale but I choose to print the label by mistake and I don't have a printer so waiting for the ok to cancel and them re buy.

I'm beginning to realise that I'm more disorganised than a hard core hoarder. There was and still is hundreds more socks for dd than she will ever use and because there's too much its hard to find anything! Anyway, I have negated the ins I bought yesterday so I'm still winning.

She has also out grown some pjs so there's more I could get rid of and not replace. Just need to see them on her.

Feb
Total out 205
Total in 26
---
Total for 2024
760 out
42 in

Tackled some ancient stuff today. Got rid of -

1 study guide
1 practical skills workbook
6 completed assignments
5 modules of coursework
1 ring binder

Total is 2027

Managed to get my ASD DS5 on board. He agreed to say goodbye to his toy kitchen which got picked up today (huge win as takes up so much room). One of his garages got collected too and we've sorted through the outdoor toys. Hes happy to get rid of a few big ones so again it feels like a huge win even though they haven't left yet.

Also had someone collect some old aquarium ornaments which were residing on our patio all winter.

Always good when you get rid of big items, well done to your DS!

Into fabric recycling:
2 x old bathmats
2 x old dishcloths
1 x holey DS1 pants
random piece of material

charity bag:
2 x towels
2 x pillowcases

Have decide to keep the majority of bedding from the flat for now, needs a proper go through when added to what we already have.

298+10=308

Thanks for the cheerleading 😃

I find when I get like this the only way to manage it is to work clockwise and not allow myself to skip over the tricky bits. Otherwise I go round and round in circles leaving the same irritating piles again and again. It's so hard but also so rewarding.

I think the point about DIY is interesting though. I've decided to finish the first round of decluttering before I do DIY jobs because I think it's so easy to get distracted and overwhelmed by alllllll the things that need to be done and I want to just finish something first.

Having said that, I did just trim and sew a (dodgy) hem on a voile to go up in the kitchen. The curtain has been floating around the house for ages and it was annoying me! And I had 30 mins spare. So maybe if quick jobs like putting a shelf up is the difference between stuff on the floor or not then it's worth getting it sorted? Can't say I feel the same about painting though... awful job 🤣

also out:
3 x ice cube trays
random plastic jug
spare saucepan lid

308+5=313

So we flew over to visit my parents this week. I might have mentioned that my mum shipped several boxes of mine over a few years back which I've been going through whenever I can bear it. It is mainly sentimental items. But she also had 2 big boxes of clothing, plus some random bits of stuff that were mixed up in my siblings' things. She was threatening to ship those too, so I spent an hour going through all the clothes plus some of the other items. I kept 3 clothing items. They've been stored away for years! There were pyjamas that were totally discoloured and awful. My mum looked after dc and I took a binliner and a charity bag with me and I was amazed how quickly I went through stuff. Out went:

51 items of clothing, including socks, underwear etc
19 photos
7 random paper items (including 2 cringe-worthy short stories I wrote when I was 18)
Power Bank
2 sets of earrings
1 fitted sheet
5 books
Notebook
Kids activity book (well, from the flight)
6 barbie dolls
Pile of barbie accessories
Plastic folder
Hanger
Lithograph
Pint glass
Set of acrylic paints
4 belts
Empty photo album
An art project from high school(!)

Total now is 495 for the year.

I still have one of the boxes to go through plus a pile of shoes....

@Pigtailsandall that sounds like a very useful cull. Would have been a real shame to pay to ship it when you wanted to keep so little of it. I have looked at several boxes from one of the upstairs storage cupboards. Three serving dishes that we were given by my MIL years ago (have not been used since we moved here about a decade ago) will try those on eBay or one of the china replacement sites. She has a dreadful tendency to buy for others to her tastes but I think that these were surplus to her needs. She hates to part with anything and so often passes it on to us instead. The other boxes contain certificates and school photos etc so left those in piece in the cupboard.

@IncessantNameChanger thats a good realisation that you’re more disorganised than a hoarder because I think by getting rid of stuff you can be better organised. Just keep going and I think you’ll naturally become better organised, I’ve noticed it with me that I am much better organised.

My house is a mess with school holidays, I haven’t kept on top of the housework so this morning I’m aiming to get to the bottle bank, shoe bank and shredder to shred the post that I’ve received and so some hoovering. That should instantly make a difference. Then - while dp naps on the sofa after lunch - I’ll do a bit more decluttering in the playroom.

i have been doing a digital declutter for about a week, I deleted about 3000 emails and filed a load of others. I also deleted some photos from my iPad. It was fantastic seeing old photos where in the background the house was a mess. I’ve come such a long way in the last few years.

I now have 4 bin bags of outgrown clothes for the clothes swap, and one bag for fabric recycling (worn out/stained)

I have sorted.
96. Girls tshirts
97. Girls trousers
98. School uniform
99. Hoodies
100. Pyjamas
101. Underwear
102. Sportswear
103. Dresses
104. Partywear

Still need to do coats and shoes.
Currently hiding with a glass of wine as I'm exhausted!

That's amazing @stealthninjamum, you must be so proud of yourself!

@Gassylady it's all a bit overwhelming. My mum packed up all our stuff (there's 3 of us) and apart from shipping some boxes to me, the rest haven't been touched in decades. There's a set of plates my grandma bought me when I turned 18 thinking I'd go to uni somewhere fairly close, not in another country. My brother is coming up later to go through some of the stuff together, we definitely have CDs and books etc which I'm not even sure who it belongs to. I also found another bag of clothes - stuff I'd travelled around the world in, and a few bits I bought hen I spent one summer at home in 2005. Gah.

Dh (who is home in lLondon) reported that a freecycler has picked up a wall-mounted lamp and a jug. Yay. Will do totals later.

One book read and donated. Total is 2028

Well done getting through sentimental things everyone.

That's amazing if you don't feel like a hoarder any more Incessant, congratulations.

Tonight's tidy up has yielded two catalogues that have been around forever and two pillowcases I don't need any more. Total is 2032

Went through a magazine file full of my old primary school work and kept an old English book and a few scrap bits I liked. The rest will be recycled!

It's nice to look through but I do wish my parents had helped me do this when I was younger as this is the tip of the iceberg with school work 😬 it's really going to make me think about which school books of DD I keep!