Decluttering and organising thread 8 – it’s nearly summer

[stealthninjamum]

These threads are accountability threads for mumsnetters who are decluttering and organising our homes.

We’re all at different stages of decluttering from the beginning to the maintenance phase and use different techniques. Join us for support and chat .

We discuss all things to do with decluttering, the things that stop us decluttering, how to get over them, where to dispose of our clutter, how we can encourage our families to join us, and pretty storage solutions which is the fun part.

I’m doing one last big push to get rid of loads of stuff before the long summer holidays when it’ll inevitably turn to chaos again.

Useful tips
Some of us have found the Toss app (on apple) a great place to start with decluttering.

Many of us love Dana K. White (A Slob Comes Clean) on youtube and podcasts.

Many of us at the start just take a timer for 5 or 10 minutes to just make it seem less daunting. I used to start by clearing surfaces.

If you want to make a big impact quickly then increasingly charities will pick up your furniture, books and clothes so you don't even need to leave the house. Or if you have hundreds of books / CDs it's really easy to use the Music Magpie, ziffit or We buy books apps to get them taken away and earn a (very) small amount of money at the same time.

The BBC TV Program Sort Your Life Out is particularly inspiring.

When I do housework I listen to podcasts from a Slob Comes Clean, Clutterbug, the Declutter Hub and The Art of Decluttering. If you think you have ADHD then Clutterbug talks about this a lot as she has ADHD, and Amy from The Art of Decluttering did an ADHD season about 8 or 9 months ago which gave some good tips. My dc have ADHD so it’s something I’m very interested in.

Passed on a pushchair we never used - it was lovely, light and foldable, but rubbish on gravel/mud. We live on a farm and used to take the kids to the car in the pushchair, so no use at all. Why did I keep it for 5 years?

Have loads of stuff earmarked to go but none of it has left yet.

1,079 YTD.

Still struggling to make a big dent in anything. Can’t believe my maternity leave will be over soon…!

Little bits here and there though, trying to just not get worse! Another 15 things to charity and sticking a few games and books out on our front wall brought my July total to 139 and YTD 1072.

@Pigtailsandall - that sounds really productive! I love managing to get to a box that’s been shoved somewhere, and there’s often a good mix of useful/nice to have found, and things to go!

No progress this week. Away for 3 days then 2 days out and about.

Have an item for sale which I've reduced, may put it on some other places too.
I get a bit annoyed when there's no outs as I just want to keep things moving!

Went through the coat cupboard again.

3 blazers
1 coat
1 top
1 cardigan

Total is 2463

We have had a really busy couple of weeks and stuff is getting overwhelming again. Lots of stuff come in from visitors and trips, no time to cleans so its dirty everywhere.

DIY projects which are dragging on aren't helping either.

Broken figurine binned.
Total is 2464

I’m still here, mainly doing maintenance decluttering.

I still spend time every day doing a bit of Lego with dc but have lots and lots of half completed sets but not many completed.

i am about to shred two binders of pension info. I transferred an old one into a current one and I am about to transfer another pension into the current one. When I do this I’ll keep just the opening statement and closing statement in case I ever need it.

dd2 has found another bag of toys to go.

Forgot to take a couple of charity bags into town yesterday which is annoying. I did use up a body moisturiser which I won’t replace (it was an in-shower one and although the scent was nice I always felt a bit greasy afterwards 😬). Also got rid of some small plastic tubs left over from weaning days; my youngest is six

I went through all my photos from my graduation and some from a period when I dated an ex-boyfriend. I kept some, but shredded 33 photos, plus binned one actual album and 1 cardboard photo folder.

I also had another pass at my stored clothes, and got rid of a stretched tank top, too-small t-shirt and a blazer. I probably have more but clothes are hard for me.

Some photos still to be sorted, and I think I can probably let go of more.

Total is 1037

2 jigsaws done and got rid
1 dvd watched and not wanted
5 books given away
1 parcel posted

bringing my August total to 12. YTD 1080. I’m going to try to up my game a bit even if it’s just to keep on top of the crap coming in…!

@Realfastfoodie it is so hard with a baby because things are always coming in and unless you’re 100% sure it’s your last they don’t leave. I’m sure you’re doing much better than you think. I didn’t declutter until dd2 was about 6 and then I had a decade of crap to go so I think your effort is amazing.

I went through one of my wardrobes today and decided to get rid of two pairs of sandals and one pairs of gloves. Dd2 wanted to get rid of a lamp and two toys. I found 5 watches that I think I must look at every time I do that wardrobe. They’re old - for example one was my childhood Hong Kong Phooey watch (he was a 70s cartoon character) and one was a swatch from when I was a teenager. I think one was old from my great aunt. I’m wondering if there’s a charity shop that would take them as I don’t think they work - or if they do they need batteries. I’m going to ask at a few local charity shops.

Feeling proud of myself as for quite a few years I haven’t been well & just didn’t have the energy or inclination to do much at all. Recently I have :-
Sorted out a pile of clothes, mostly to go on Vinted but a couple of bits have gone on FB Marketplace.
Sorted out clothes that I need to try on
Filled a couple of bags for charity
Cleared the kitchen table
Today I sorted 3 massive piles on the lounge floor & got rid of at least half of the recipes etc.
Next job is to clear the magazine rack, sort out the various carrier bags in the lounge & clear out the storage cubes. The contents of DD15’s craft drawers may well end up recycled, binned or given to charity. I’m on a mission to get my home back!!

Also deleted a load of texts & E Mails

MASSIVE APPLAUSE for @RabbitsRock !!

One pack of fake lashes used up. Total is 2465

Well done to all for the continuing efforts. Agree at it is really hard when the kids are small. I felt like I did nothing but manage piles of clothes for ages as we kept most things for the second! So well done @Realfastfoodie and @stealthninjamum I used to love Hong Kong Phooey! Here the bedding has finally been sorted. Four sheets, four pillow cases for the rag bag. Another three items for the charity shop and a duvet set I love but doesn’t fit our current bed to store with four fitted sheets.
Anyone have recommendation for small sized vacuum storage bags that stay deflated?

All I have done for the last few weeks is shredding - specifically, shredding all the paperwork I brought here when we cleared my mum’s house. I’ve counted each bag of shredded paper as 1, meaning my total for July was 8, and my total for 2024 is now 477.

This weekend I did more shredding, and an old bath mat (the type that goes in the bath) was finally put out in the rubbish after several months of just sitting around in our bedroom.

Still haven’t put a pair of unused school shoes on Vinted, found a charity to take the boxes of baby clothes, dealt with a bag of old folders, got stuff that is to go to charity out of the house, and many other things. But I did get DH to clear all the stuff he’d let pile up on the dining table (even if some of it just went in a bag that is now under the table 🙄)

Fourteen one-litre plastic milk bottles into recycling trolley. I was keeping them for a garden project that realistically is never going to happen.

@TidyClutterIsStillClutter that's a big achievement and some of the stickiest clutter I've found - future projects clutter.

Hallway drawers to be sorted through. Have done a preliminary rubbish pass and now on to the organising/discarding pass. One set of underwear to recycling. Nothing huge here - hoping we can donate the pram next week. Still got 2mirrors to list (been on my to do list for a year and a half).

4 non working pens, a broken pair of glasses that realistically we're never going to fix, and a few bits of komono. 2keyrings we bought when dc1 was born that broke and are now tarnished (has their initial).
Pram donation centre is shut for the summer :(
Going to refresh the dc artwork wall too.

Donate - one scratchy teeshirt.

Hello declutterers! I’ve just found this thread and I’m feeling so inspired.

I also been on a decluttering mission recently. Working room-by-room and clearing at least a bag a day until we can store everything easily again. Just wish I’d kept track of all the items — I love the tallies!

I’m on the second round of the house now. One, because I found stuff in other rooms that belonged in earlier rooms, which means they’re getting cluttered again. And, two, because I’ve got more ambitious and I want even more gone!

But, today, four books, six items of baby clothes and one odd slipper. Charity shop and textiles recycling.

Starting my tally on 11.

Welcome to the thread Sagittarius

One unsuitable skirt donated.
Total is 2466

Just donated a big stuffed toy tiger to a dog charity - all it did was gather dust & I didn’t like it staring menacingly at me! I tried to part with some other soft toys but couldn’t “ bear” to!

In between holidays so not much getting done. Had a lovely thought today.

If you do at least two items out for every in, everytime you get rid of something, you will never be as cluttered as that moment again.

I could do some out grown t shirts while I repack.