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..

Hi all I love reading this thread, been popping in and out for months.

I'm going to join you for 2025 but starting from 23rd December as I have time off at the end of each year.

So far:
3 mini Christmas trees + bag of decs - both donated to neighbours who work in care settings who wanted them to add some sparkle
3 bigger decorations
Big bag of cat food sachets my fussy cats won't touch - went to local cat charity
2 pairs shoes to shoe bin
1 pot body scrub used up
2 ancient bottles nasty booze despatched via the sink
3 glasses donated
2 sets finials donated
3 post-surgery bras to the textile recycle bin
2 candles used up (rather a lot still to go)
2 uncomfortable tops
4 empty coconut shell bird feeders retrieved from garden into garden bin
2 year old work diary out
2 printer cartridges recycled
Bag of soft plastics to supermarket bin
Giant cardboard.box, paper packing and light bulb to recycle cetnre

Total: 35 out

Stuff to do:
Hang one picture
Donate one picture
Put up a hook rack in utility (partner needs to retrieve.from his hoard so may take a while)
Put hanging rail up under kitchen shelf

I am aiming for at least 2025 out next year as I smashed my 2024 target this year. I need to be more organised this year by going area by area. That's going to be harder. Also I need to retrieve and empty a box a week from storage. I think there was 8 boxes. But I'm not starting them until the kids return to school.

There are few new with tags items I bought dd in last years sales that are too girly for her. I might try to sell them on Vinted. Also a few party dresses she really has no where to wear them. Apart from that I'm just going to donate from now on in I think. Vinted was a extra layer of faff which I still don't think I have the luxury of time for. Might change my mind!

Haven't posted for quite a few weeks but most of my outs have been sales. I've been forgetting to count the other stuff.

74 Vinted sales
37 eBay sales
44 clothing donated
13 items sent to baby niece
Large dolls house sold on Facebook
Massive play centre sold on Facebook
Pram and rain cover freecycled
Pack of baby bottles donated
Chandelier sent to tip donation area
Suitcase to tip donation
Backpack to tip donation
Motorbike pads to tip donation
Broken train tracks thrown away

Total 1944

Doesn't look like I'll make it to 2024 but I'm not that far away so I'm happy with that.

tackling home office day - got a drill out and put a hole through some small hard drives I've been holding onto for years.
filled a bag of old shoes.
did a good deep clean and dust in bedroom
trying more peroxide/soap and bicarb on a light stain on the mattress. i think letting it all sit for a good day or so really works
i want a much emptier minimal house which is easier to clean

I sent dh to shops after gathering up all the batteries from around the house and asked him to recycle them. Counting all the batteries as one thing.

DC and I dropped off a few things to the textile bank on route to playground - a cat blanket we got with the cat and don't need anymore; my joggers which were worn through and had holes; 3 pairs of socks that were wearing through at heels and toes. That's 5.

I also spent 20 mins decluttering photos and another 15min doing emails. Hundreds of emails and pics in the bin amd my phone has more space. Counting that as 2 things as 2 sessions.

Year total = 2015

I did a big pantry and fridge declutter today. Except this time got rid of things we don't use.

Golden syrup
dried honey x 2
Peanut butter
Biscuit spread
Coffee that DH doesn't like
5 packs chewy sweets (my kids are getting cavities and ulcers and I'm trying to cut down on treats they have).
Suede mash
Sprouted potatoes
Sprinkles that were expired
Herbs that were expired and we didn't use
Half pack Icing sugar expired and didn't use
Expired flour got used up as play dough

Also made daughter 'use up' her science experiment kit. She had fun.

I find the less we have the better we eat. Otherwise I get really overwhelmed. I see all these YouTube videos on stocking your pantry and prepping with cheap food so you save money, but, it doesn't work for me. My family hoarded stuff and it overwhelms me. I'd rather have less then go out and buy what I need.

I've also thought little about what I want to do next year. I can't get to 2025 because I simply don't have enough stuff anymore. That feels a bit odd. So my goal is to declutter one thing a day BUT I won't count papers. I feel like I have a good system for paper decluttering now and I've always found paper hard to count and quantify. So I will attempt to keep abreast with papers this year and to do them regularly without counting them as such. Some with any boxes, packaging and suchlike, and I also won't count food items; again, that should just be regular part of going through the pantry. What I really want to focus on is clothes, toys, books, sentimental items and miscellaneous junk.

Out this morning - a chutney from bbe 2/2023, small bag of screws (who knows what for), toothbrush holder and a beauty box that a skincare set came in. Took out the remaining bits and recycled box as it was massive

Total is 2019

Afternoon! Just chucked out two pillows which were way to flimsy and had replaced a few days ago with much better ones. I remembered that the other day I chucked out two sets of Christmas lights which needed massive untangling and weren't my style and starting to break. Had to really push myself to find eight more things, to make today a total of ten, and went through the boxes I haven't unpacked yet, finding various things. I managed to find- an old used washing up sponge I had been using for decorating, a half used tea light which was cheap so the wick ran out before the wax, the various nozzles for the hoover which I've never used. I guess I should count them as four or five, two helium foil balloons which had gone flat and I'd never get round to refilling. I also chucked out a cup of pistachio shells which DD had been saving to make a musical instrument with but never has done, an old travel colouring book full of broken pencils and a reusable soft material bag, which I've pinned on the kitchen door for a bin.

So that's thirteen or fourteen for today, plus two from the other day I had forgotten about. Grand total of 30 or 31- need to check in the bin just how many hoover nozzles there were!

It's so helpful writing it all down, I had no idea!

Hope you all had a good Christmas. We had a smaller number of presents this year and I had lots of toiletries / candles that will eventually be used up. I’m quite pleased that I almost managed to keep the house tidy. Unfortunately dd1 keeps leaving craft projects and presents scattered around but I suppose it means we’re spending time together.

I have one decluttering goal this year which is to finish the Lego decluttering but that might have been my goal for the last two years too! I find that the more public areas of the house are easy to tidy so I do want to work on the less public areas of the house. At the moment if I heard a guest was coming the public areas would probably be tidy in less than 15 minutes. I’d love it if I could get the whole house tidied in 30. So maybe my resolution is to set a timer for 30 minutes once a week to see if I can tidy the whole house in less than 30 minutes.

Today I have decided to get rid of two necklaces that I don’t like any more.

Two more tea lights, a light up unicorn picture which is stained, a little windy up bunny toy, an empty plastic bottle which had slime in it and a handful of paper memories- cards/tickets/Disney map etc, an adjustable small curtain rod which the last tenant left. I've just organised all the stuff I want to sell on vinted into boxes as well. 37 or 38 altogether gone this week. Can't believe how it all adds up!

Oh plus a handful of money box stoppers from when I ordered one and the minimum I could get was a multi pack- 38/39...I'm off to investigate how many hoover nozzles I binned earlier!

Hello all - please may I join? I need to make this happen as my head is caving in.

Please can I ask - when you say you want to get to 2025 this year, what do you mean?

Would appreciate any tips to get started - I have an awful lot to go at!

I think by 2025 they mean 2025 items in the year 2025? So an verage of 5.5 items per day, out of the house.

I'd start by making a throw bag, a recycle bag, a charity shop bag, and a sell bag. Some of the charity shop bits I can get rid of by putting on the wall outside my house, but it depends on your area I guess.

Sorry @BoilingHotand50something I did tag you and then my phone crashed ^^^

Yes it’s 2025 items in a year. It sounds hard at first but if you’re just starting to declutter it can be quite easy.

some suggestions on getting started

• do you have any areas that visitors see? You could start with your hall / coats / coffee table etc
• big items that are now like furniture they’ve been there so long. When I started I had toddler items like a high chair and jumperoo and I’d just got used to seeing them. You could take a photo of a room and see anything obvious that sticks out
• gone off food/ freezer / store cupboards are easy as you should (hopefully) have lower emotional attachment to these things
• bathrooms are quite easy to declutter as they’re full of bottles of things that don’t work. When I started I had lots of unopened beauty products that had been gifts - some went to raffles and some to a local hygiene bank for women in a refuge
• you can just do half a drawer or shelf in the kitchen while the kettle boils.

if you have an iPhone then ‘Toss’ is a great app that’ll give you a random area a day to declutter.

@BoilingHotand50something each year we try to declutter the amount of things to match the year we're in.

Most of us do things our own way rather than having set 'rules'.

I don't count anything that's for the bin or recycling such as paperwork, out of date food, photos, digital stuff etc but others do. If I did, I have so much that I'd be running into thousands so it wouldn't feel like I was an achieving anything.

Some also count their 'in' items against their outs. I don't as I haven't got a handle on my pointless purchases yet 🫣.

Good luck with your decluttering :)

Hello newbies and good luck! I try and count outs, may progress to counting ins at some point, I also try and remind myself about various jobs I need to do cos I’m really crap at getting on with them. I’m an expert procrastinator 😂

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 gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy away;
5. 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
6. orchestra folders to unpack DONE ☑️ , new music to sort STARTED, then put in folders STARTED - By Jan 7th

Not quite outs yet:
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB, need to bump up after Christmas.
leggings to pass akin to running friend

Out:
broken small Christmas tree
Hoodie with a hole in fabric recycling
1644+2=1646

Hi all and thanks for the welcome. I am excited for this.

I have made a very small start this morning, throwing away empty toiletry bottles from the shower and clearing a drawer.

I have made a purchase of a storage solution this morning so I need to think of at least 1 out to counter it!

I looked into decluttering experts but they charged huge amounts per hour & I’m pretty sure my house would need quite a few hours! Still, DH & I had a bit of a clear up before Christmas & I have found the kitchen table 🤣🤣 I chucked piles of magazines & vowed to stop taking out subscriptions, even it they’re a bargain. Took a boot full of mainly clothes to the hospice shop & put some items on Vinted. If I think about how much there is to do I panic so I’m breaking it down into little jobs eg one storage cube in the lounge, one kitchen cupboard, one bedroom drawer.

1,647 outs year to date - beaten my goal of 4 items per day, managed 4.5.

Goal for next year will be 3.5 items a day - 1,278. We are getting on top of things and there is less to clear.

Anyone else feel sort of reluctant to declutter anything else until January? I want them in next year's totals!

3 cards from my sentimental stuff pile
Gingerbread house that we made ages ago but we're never going to eat (the cat has walked across it several times)
Massive kids jigsaw puzzle

2024! Year goal done with two days to spare! And yes, I'm now not going to look for stuff to declutter until next year. Just can't be arsed.

Boiling I'm just counting my entire outs until I've finished because I want to find out how much excess I had, in the hope it puts me off ever doing it again. That's why my figure is higher than everyone else's. I've been decluttering almost 2yrs, from Feb.

It's not a true figure because to start with I was on a bathroom thread, so was counting bathroom stuff there instead of here, I also had a clear out of hobby items over lockdown and sold almost £1000 of stuff. So those didn't get counted in the bug declutter either.

I don't have a yearly target. I'm quite competitive so I'm movitivated just to keep pushing my number higher and higher 😁

I don't count ins only outs. I also don't count outs that I'm on top of. So eg I use up a shower gel and buy another, I don't count the one that went out any more because that's maintenance decluttering. I do count shampoo outs because I've still got about 10 left that I've collected. I used to count packaging because it would be hanging around ages, either because I didn't get organised to get rid of it or because I mistakenly thought it would come in handy for something. Now I've got used to unpacking parcels and binning the packaging same day so I no longer count it.

Some people do count their ins or their maintenance decluttering though and some people aren't counting at all.

My best tip is to not get hung up on systems or overthinking things, just pick something up and decide what to do with it, then do it.

Congratulations on finding your table rabbits

My favourite trainers split across the sole so they're in the bin now. Total is 3051.

I'm new 😊

I've started decluttering and have a charity collection booked for mid January.

I have a whole cupboard of junk, my wardrobe, two kitchen cupboards, chest of drawers and a bookcase to clear.

I feel exhausted just thinking about it.

By the end of today, I should have finished the bookcase.

I smashed my target and now I'm done for the year. Very happy but much more to go. I can easily do 2025 next year.

I think for clothes I'm going to try to stick to doing the younger kids at least four times a year of getting rid of what doesn't fit. Still got a way to go of them only have what they really need and wear. In reality they only need a few hoodies, four trousers and some t shirts and shorts but they possibly have a months worth of outfits or more.

I'm going to stay positive and try to reduce my ins by 50% as well so 100 items of household items, clothes, shoes, toys.

I might see if can throw put the last 59 items over the next few days

Total for 2024
2155 out 144 over
193 in
193-134 = 59 to go