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.

Sorry about the covid @IncessantNameChanger @Maeploy i think we forget just how awful it is until we get it. I hope you’re feeling better.

@ellieq I’m like you. My house would be finished if I could just throw things away. I have actually just thrown away some knickers, I can’t imagine them even being useful as rags. I can just hear my late grandmother telling me I should use them as rags to clean the windows like she used to! (Except she wore enormous bloomers and mine are thongs - which just makes me think how I am nearly her age when she was a grandmother and how she would probably be shocked at my skimpy underwear!)

Yesterday I went through dd1s wardrobe with her again and threw out more another six inch high pile of school work and books. Dd2 has given me a pile of old toys to sort through. She wants me to sell them but I can’t imagine anyone will want them so today’s pointless task is to put them on marketplace for her. In the past I gave her small amounts of money for things that didn’t sell and lied; this time I’m going to be honest. She is so good at decluttering her room now she doesn’t need to be bribed, it’s just habit. I just wish dd1 would learn.

Nearly a week since my last “out”, and I’m getting twitchy!

Finally yesterday evening - One workbook into paper bin, one never used and in sell/donate pile.

Finished painting now. Just got to put the furniture back next. I'm listing about five things a day on Vinted, them reducing the price after a few days. There's not much l want to reupload, I'm happy to donate most of it. Still got a few things to list and I need to go though a bag of stuff I had stored under my eldest bed.

@EllieQ I'm like you but I have had to get over this to make progress. So I have a clothes rag bag - that goes to clothes recycling. I try to sell my nicest bits. Then I try to donate it to the community clothing bank. But at the end of the day when it builds up it goes to my favourite charity shop. If they recycle stuff that the clothes bank would have given to a family then so be it.

The best place for my stuff is out of my home and that's the bottom line. It was destined for land fill the moment it was made. I could keep it until I die but one day it will be in a bin somewhere. I'm not the protector and saviour of crap. That's not my calling in life. Think of it like just delaying the inevitable. Its going to be Binned. Do you want to hold onto it during your time on earth? ( OK so my inner hoarder says yes). But if someone gave you a 1000 carrier bags and asked you to save them from landfill, would it stop it being around for hundreds of years?

She says with four bags full of clothes that could be on another child's back right now.

Yeh I don't think nylon things are going to do a great job of cleaning the window Stealth 😂

Out goes one old pair of sunglasses and one jumper that somehow manages to strangle me even though it has a wide neckline. Total is 2812

Great points @IncessantNameChanger

am chuckling away to myself at the image of cleaning windows with lacy thongs 😂

had a boozy dinner out and out tonight again for a quiz so not much progress today.

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - after half term trip to Belgium
4. garden generally tidied for end of summer - started
5. loads of scout badges onto blanket - 8 left
6. DS1’s room: ongoing…
7. bring down the wardrobe; DH & I failed on this, too heavy, need another adult
8. IKEA wardrobe for DD; sort her clothes, her wardrobe to my room for DH

Not quite outs yet:
Running leggings to go to a friend - next weeks Parkrun
spare tap left from building works - on FB, bumped up
knackered suitcase to put on FB - posted
old school PE shorts to a friend DD
my long gone mother’s recliner that DS1 was using for gaming 🙄 (need to get downstairs before listing on fb): half downstairs, need DH for the other half
old duvets bagged up & donated to dog charity - Collecting lady checking her diary
charity shop (maybe tomorrow)

Out:
one bit of a Lego set to friend who adopted our lego
letter F in contacts tidied
1439+2=1441

charity shop hopefully tomorrow with quite a lot of stuff from DS1’s room.

I feel like I should print this out and stick it to my fridge!

@stealthninjamum our nosy neighbours would love it if I used saucy pants to clean the windows. I might do it just to get their disapproving looks!

Little decluttering but I did take 2 rechargeable batteries to battery collection. We just don't use them. Dh got rid of 2 skincare items that had dregs left in them and were at least 3 years old. I also took a big packet of office-style envelopes to my work place. We just don't need them. I emptied a small bag of soil to the compost and got rid of the bag; chucked a dried up pen; decluttered emails on my commute. I think I'm getting good at just immediately getting of stuff that no longer works for us. DH is getting better too.

Oh also binning my pants tonight as they keep sliding down!! I kept having to pull them up on the school run. Life is too short!

1490 for the year

I want to get started on old school jotters and notebooks. Asked one DC for an opinion, and was pleasantly surprised to get a shrug and “that’s fine”.

The other DC clings onto every last scrap. But did agree to discard Hallowe’en costume from six years ago.

I’m far too sentimental for this task :-((

Take a picture of the sentimental things. I also think the longer you hang onto cute kids clothes, the painful it is. Once it's freshly outgrown it's harder to think "ah I remember this 9 months ago, where has the time gone, they are so big now"

I'm finding right now I can't even face looking at pictures when mine was tiny. Everything breaks my heart.

3 damaged CDs binned. Total is 2815

Laughing at the saucy pants talk 🤣

Bundle sold so 16 items out. Still not feeling great and have work to do but hoping I can do a few more listings today as I'm wfh.
Friend coming this weekend too so hopefully can donate some dc clothes - see if they want/need anything.

Starting night shifts tonight x 3 so jobs this morning, then a nap required to get through the first one.

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - after half term trip to Belgium
4. garden generally tidied for end of summer - started
5. loads of scout badges onto blanket - 8 left
6. DS1’s room: ongoing…
7. bring down the wardrobe; DH & I failed on this, too heavy, need another adult
8. IKEA wardrobe for DD; sort her clothes, her wardrobe to my room for DH

Not quite outs yet:
Running leggings to go to a friend - next weeks Parkrun
spare tap left from building works - on FB, bumped up
knackered suitcase to put on FB - posted
old school PE shorts to a friend DD
my long gone mother’s recliner that DS1 was using for gaming 🙄 (need to get downstairs before listing on fb): half downstairs, need DH for the other half
old duvets bagged up & donated to dog charity - Collecting lady checking her diary
charity shop (maybe tomorrow) DONE ☑️

Out:
one random toy figure to neighbours to join the set I gave them
charity (37 items plus 5 reusable shopping bags)
one jigsaw missing loads of pieces to recycling
1441+1+37+1=1480
oh plus hoodie I gave away last night
1481

can't really read about sentimental clutter sadness 🥺 but my sympathy nonetheless 🫂
in a free new frame I'll use
out bags of rubbish and messy decoration for viewings
had a few no shows/stopped communicating people on olio 🙄so I hope they'll get back in touch and collect the bundles
library books swapped neutral

Two damaged CDs and one hand cream used up. Total is 2818

Yesterday I advertised some crap of dd2s thinking no one would want it. To my surprise someone did want it and it left the house.

Today I decided to get rid of a bra - it matched the knickers that went. My local underwear shop has a bra bin so it’ll go there.

39 more items of clothes to go. More could have gone but in the end I just couldn't part with it ( new clothes of mine that fit with tags) so kept them. Then felt angry at myself. I might list them on Vinted on Monday for a week. I don't have the room to keep it all.

Little to report here. A blue IKEA bag of framed photos came in from my MIL. These are ones that she has had displayed over the years then instead of reusing the frame has stored when changing them out for a newer also framed photo. DH and I have kept five in frames, kept a further dozen or so pics that we liked and weren’t duplicates or near duplicates of ones we have. There were five framed graduation photos of his - FIVE all still in frames. The rest of the frames are going back today for her to decide on.

This has really made me think @IncessantNameChanger , especially the line ‘it was destined for landfill the moment it was made’. Thank you.

Doing all of my hoarding classes and therapy you have to change your inner voice.

The best possible change you can make for the environment is only buy new what you absolutely have to as an essential.

As a hoarder, that then applys to buying anything. It's hard and sad and you don't have to be happy about saying no to that lovely thing, or to be happy to let go of the lovely thing.

I can't stop carrier bags filling landfill. But I can choose to never buy a disposable bag again. I can choose to reuse mine to death. But once they are wrecked, if I died tomorrow, what would the person clearing my stuff out do? I don't want my kids dealing with my stuff once I'm dead.

On night shifts so no aims to achieve anything until next week.
But finished a perfume - not really much of a perfume wearer but trying to use up various supplies.

With Ds1 away, DD at scout camp and DS2 at work today it’s very quiet here!

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - after half term trip to Belgium
4. garden generally tidied for end of summer - started
5. loads of scout badges onto blanket - 8 left
6. DS1’s room: ongoing…plus some scout badges to his blanket
7. bring down the wardrobe; DH & I failed on this, too heavy, need another adult
8. IKEA wardrobe for DD; sort her clothes, her wardrobe to my room for DH

Not quite outs yet:
Running leggings to go to a friend - next weeks Parkrun
spare tap left from building works - on FB, bumped up
knackered suitcase to put on FB - posted
old school PE shorts to a friend DD
my long gone mother’s recliner that DS1 was using for gaming 🙄 (need to get downstairs before listing on fb): half downstairs, need DH for the other half
old duvets bagged up & donated to dog charity - waiting for collecting lady

Out:
1 empty perfume bottle recycled
1481+1=1482

Small bag of textiles to the tip. 2 baby sleeping bags that I couldn't donate amd weren't in selling condition.
Whole boot of garden waste but I don't count that as decluttering but feels good to take it away
1 more item sold so will box that up today

Otherwise not much going on, still got horrible sore and swollen throat and generally not feeling great with covid.

Vinted sales are still flying out, I've had 12 already just this morning!

16 unread magazines out as they're from 2018/19 and I clearly don't have time to read them 😂
2 jigsaws binned as they're chewed
Walking pole thrown out
3 old baby items thrown
40 Vinted sales

No reduced listing offers on eBay for the last couple of weeks so I've asked DP to put any large things on Facebook marketplace instead.

We've managed to put up some paintings that have been propped up in the library for months so that area is looking tidier now too. We're still renovating the landing/hallway so once we can finish that, there'll be more things to put away and put up on the walls etc. It's been a year so far and it's 50% done but with us working so many jobs and having 2 young kids, things progress at a snail's pace.

What sort of things are finding sell well on Vinted @PissedOffNeighbour22

Well done on the Vinted sales! I sold a small home decor item today and was pleased. Spent 10.mins on decluttering photos again, and then decided to get rid of 2 very old and ragged belts.

Next thing I gathered up all the loose papers around the house for recycling (counting that as one item), Then I decided to declutter my desk drawers which always make me shudder. So much little junk around, including 6 little cables which I have no idea what they do.

Total of 34 items out today - total is 1524

@mum2jakie toys and homeware are selling well. I've been having a clear out of my kids' toys as they have outgrown a lot.

Forgot to add my total for the year to my last post. It's 1727.