All I Want for Christmas is a tidy house - Decluttering thread 9

[Pigtailsandall]

New thread!
Hope you all find this! It's not letting me tag people..

loads of rubbish and recycling out from clearing out kitchen cupboards didn’t really count
made a tidy area for my everyday tablets
quite a bit of snow wear in

Trip to the baby bank with a load of things that got missed when the bulk of it went and my "must get round to putting this on Vinted" bag.

1,513 year to date . . .

@BlueberryFlapjack you’re doing fine 👍

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures: approx 10?
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - need to ring the helpline re my Mum’s passport during the week
4. DS1’s room: Now just needs me to make the bed then it’s done and ready for him to come home at Christmas.
5. DS1’s gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy away;
6. IKEA wardrobe for DD to order; sort her clothes, her wardrobe to my room; having issues with the IKEA website so it won’t let me order.

Not quite outs yet:
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB
2 old leather sofas: DH has booked the council collection service & moved the bits to the side ready for collection, loving room looking less sofa-graveyard now!
started collection box of random bits for a Christmas charity collection thing next week

Out:
approx 10 medical spoons and syringes to the bin
1586+1596

Also cleared the vinted listings and gave 50-70 odd baby bits away. I was going to my friend's party and asked if I could bring baby stuff for all the guests to look through and take. 2 mums there took the bulk of it so only about 30items now to try and find a charity shop somewhere to donate (the local baby bank is not currently accepting donations).
3 ins for black Friday. Want to try and do one in one out, so going to look in my wardrobe and get rid of 3 things.

In the last couple of days I’ve done admin - filing, shredding and checking emails and diaries making sure I’m on top of all the deadlines dds’ schools are throwing at me.

i chucked out a blackberry phone box (the phone probably went five years ago) and also had a tidy of my bedroom. I found an old Nokia, and have put it in a bag for recycling, and some old receipts. I also helped dd1 declutter more of her wardrobe. A small pile of stuff is going - old exercise books, birthday / Xmas cards, art.

9 booklets and a DVD
Total is 2996

Morning all, my ds starts nursery next week so it will be guilt-free decluttering from next week!
Today's plan of action is to run through my half of the wardrobe and kondo it and see what gaps i am missing (so i can get them filled before my no spend year starts...) and organise dhs half too as he throws his stuff in and makes steam come out of my ears by doing so.
Ds has been up since the early hours with a nasty cough so he can lay in my bed while I do this... and I might join him too 😊. Love the autumn/winter but the colds and germs seem to hit us constantly and by the time one illness had gone through the family another one has started 😒. I don't think I get much sleep at all from Sept to April due to the constant coughing 😖

Ah I posted on the old thread. Ah well.

some decluttering done recently. Lots of stuff out.

W/E 24th November

Decluttered
Hallway, stairs, and landing, including airing cupboard.
I got my sewing box out to make a liner for a hamper so sorted it and cleared out some bits and bobs.

Donated
Old iPad sent to granddaughter.
Some items for donation moved to study so will list those when I get to that room which is last on the list.

Binned
Various bits of random detritus from sewing box.
Old trainers I used to wear for garden which now let in water.

Recycled
Cash arrived in my bank for the first one so second MacBookAir posted off.

Spare room is due for decluttering this week which has worked out extremely well as our new bed is being delivered this weekend. Our current bed will go into the spare room and the spare room bed will go to the tip. That will mean upstairs is done in terms of decluttering though DH still has stuff in the loft; once Christmas is out of the way I'll do a full sweep of the house once more and ensure I know exactly what is up there!

So grateful for this thread; it's keeping me motivated.

One newsletter read, useful bits cut out and put where they needed to go, recycled. Total is 2997

So I did something different yesterday and tried the 12x12x12 challenge (I think I saw it on YouTube ages ago). You choose an area/category and find 12 items to donate, 12 items to trash/recycle, and 12 items to relocate.

Our downstairs area (which is a big open plan area where lots of DC crap has migrated over the weeks) was feeling a bit all over the place so I decided to concentrate on that. I ended up relocating a lot more than 12, but I don't count that as decluttering as it's not really reducing the numbers - it was mainly toys going upstairs - but also putting kitchen stuff it its place and emptying small packets of food into containers or larger packs which made everything feel roomier.

I donated 2 unused colouring books with characters that DC doesn't like, as well as 9 kids books and a totebag that they all went into = 12
In terms of trash, it was a lot of papers, plus a mask DC had made at school, post addressed to previous occupants (we've been here 11 years!), a notepad full of scribbles, plastic card holder, a broken led candle and generally lots of packaging - counting it all as 12 as that was my goal.

Quite a fun thing, I feel like gamification of tasks really works for me!

Year total= 1793

13 bags/boxes just been collected 🥳
Just having a break for lunch and then will start gathering stuff for my next charity collection on 12th Dec. Just booked a tip slot for next Friday so am hoping to have another boot full of recycling/extra rubbish ro go then too.

I agree with making it as fun as possible @Pigtailsandall I like to set myself a challenge too. Last charity collection I managed 11 bags/boxes (and 10 the month before that!) I am going to aim for 14 for my next collection anything to add interest really because it can feel quite boring with the constant decluttering.
Yesterday I went through my and dhs entire wardrobe and cleaned it, ran through everything and re-ironed and put stuff back.
I have kept all the bits in my section as I really love them all but there isn't really much in there. (I did kondo the clothes at Easter)
I have seen what I need to fill my gaps - jumpers and trousers and apart from some more socks and undies I am sorted.
My stuff on the left of the wardrobe, dhs on the right. So 2x jumpers, 2x trousers and then some smalls and I will declare victory!
(I am also going to remove the spare hangers so they don't encourage any extra wardrobe filling 🤣)

4 x catalogue
3 x books
1 x broken bra

Total is 3005. Feels a bit weird to have gotten rid of that many items in less than 2yrs and still know there's loads more to go before I'm finished. That's not even a true account of everything, I spent a year decluttering one specific large category during lockdown and started decluttering the bathroom about 6mths before I started posting here. Crazy.

I got fed up with the dresses I'd decluttered being on Vinted - they didn't have much views (apart from one which I left) so I filled a bag for life with charity shop stuff and took it yesterday on the way to school pickup. I feel tons better. I can't quite believe how many bags for life I've taken to the charity shop this year, and that's on top of Vinted sales. I have bought things too but not that many. I have 2 large storage bins in my loft, all empty, which is so satisfying!

I also advertised our toddler bedding sets on fb and those were collected, so feel like 2 bulky bags are out! Hurrah!

Outs:
pair of shoes that gave me blisters
2 holey socks
1 kids PJs ougrown
6 dresses
Toddler duvet
3 duvet covers
a scrubbing soap which we used up (after almost a year!)
Old library card
pile of papers and receipts from desk drawer

Total is 1810. I still need 214 items this year 😬

Well done! I feel like we are both giving ourselves that extra push to get to the target. I also felt a lot better for getting my big bags out of the house. Ironically it feels like we are already at another handful of bags!

Well yes, I feel like I need the fear of the year ending to get me out of the procrastination zone 😂 and I'm putting together a bag of baby clothes and toys for a friend who is pregnant and has a 3-yo... so another bag is forming in the corner of the bedroom. I long for the day when I don't have random bags and parcels dotted all over the house

You could honestly be describing me right now! 🤣

I also long for the day I don't have a permanent decluttering bag in the corner pigtails

Today's outs -

One handbag
One used up highlighter pen
One DVD I don't want to watch again

Total is 3008

I spent yesterday morning decluttering emails and unsubscribing from emails - handy when you get a gazillion of them to 'celebrate' black Friday.
I also have unlisted my vinted stuff, it will go in my next charity collection. I have also removed all temptation from my favourite items on vinted by either buying (a couple of winter dresses and jumpers) or by taking them off my favourite list.
This weekend is going to be "odd job" weekend and we will be tackling all those little things we never get round to doing.

Just dispatched husband to town with toddler and a bag of fabric recycling, giving me a quiet morning for some tidying/sorting and cleaning ...

Time to get off mumsnet and put it to good use!

I’m definitely in the procrastination zone at the moment. I have done nothing for Christmas yet but I’m on top of the housework so that’s one thing.

I listened to the most recent Dana k white podcast about organising for thanksgiving and she said

1. focus on the areas that people will see
2. think of the function of each space and make it useable

i wish I had heard her ten years ago when I‘d do something like decorate a bathroom but not clear away any mess until the day before the relatives were due to arrive, then I’d sweep all the clutter in a bin bag to go in the room of doom!

my main priority this weekend is to sweep up a load of leaves and sort through more Lego.

I got rid of 5 small storage pouches today; I'd stored jewellery, hair things etc in them bit I have so much less stuff now that I don't need them. I am debating if I should get rid of 2 clear plastic bins too. They are handy but I feel like keeping them is inviting more stuff to be stored!!

Also out - a journal read and recycled, plastic documents folder, 2 more candles and sticker set. Total s 1820

Two cushions that were falling apart inside. Total is 3010

Few more tiny things out last night:

Booklet
An earring - have finally given up hope finding the other one
Set of buttons - no idea where from
A piece of toy from a set I gave aesy ages ago

I'm at 1824 which means I now have 200 items to find in December!!! Eek

Hi all, while on my course I get nothing done during the week, then try and cram everything in at the weekend, half way done, 3 weeks left to go.

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures: approx 10?
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - need to ring the helpline re my Mum’s passport during the week
4. DS1’s room: Now just needs me to make the bed then it’s done and ready for him to come home at Christmas. Put a little tree up, needs decorating though.
5. DS1’s gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy away;
6. IKEA wardrobe for DD to order; sort her clothes, her wardrobe to my room; having issues with the IKEA website so it won’t let me order.

Not quite outs yet:
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB
2 old leather sofas: DH has booked the council collection service & moved the bits to the side ready for collection, living room looking less sofa-graveyard now!
started collection box of random bits for a Christmas charity collection today DONE ☑️

Out:
approx 30 items donated including decorations and excess wrapping and some kids books
4 broken decs into the bin
1596+34=1630

I was on course to make 2024 earlier in the year but no chance now, not sure what my goal will be for next year.
I have definitely got a better living space than this time last year; new sofa, new rugs, some pictures up (still hope to do more this year haha!)

Hoping Ds1 sees the difference. Although DH has just told me he might have broken his new bed upstairs, Grrr.