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..

I use this website.

I've recycled a load of old workbooks and exercise books which has helped somewhat with the pile of paperwork.

Much tidying and sorting today. Decluttered two Sudoku books to DH because I get stuck at the hardest level. Another is destined for the paper bin.

Day 19 of 31 days of decluttering (yesterday): two of DD’s school socks into the fabric recycling bag, and DH (unprompted!) did more shredding, which I’ll count as 1. Total for 2025 is now 93.

The shredding has probably been prompted by a discussion we had the previous weekend about imbalances at the weekend - DH is very good at doing his share of the day to day stuff, but last Sunday I got very frustrated with him when he was faffing about upstairs instead of going in the bathroom (for context, it was 11am and I’d been up since 7.30 to take DD to her swimming class), and he told me he was waiting for me to go downstairs so he could ‘have privacy’ for the hour he was about to spend in the bathroom 🙄

I pointed out that I was up and down the stairs Doing Stuff, as I would be for the hour+ he’d be in there, that I didn’t get to have hour long baths and frequently got talked to/ asked questions while I was in there, and that he’d sat on his phone while we’d been out instead of doing any of the obvious things that needed to be done. To his credit, he apologised and acknowledged that it wasn’t fair, and has been making an effort to do more this past week. He’s much better than many of the DHs that people post about on hour, but can be oblivious regarding household stuff!

Well done to everyone. I find it really difficult to let go of possessions but it does feel good to have a clear out. DH & I knuckled down yesterday & really made a difference - and more space! I emptied DD16’s craft drawers & sorted the contents into keep, recycle, charity shop or bin. Then DH put the drawer unit in the garage until he can do a tip run. We moved all the crap that has been sitting at the bottom of the stairs or on them for months & cleared a load of stuff that DD dumped on the landing. I will do a charity shop run later. Also have tins of soup to drop to the Foodbank Collection Point at Tescos. Sold a few bits on Vinted & DD is going to photograph more of my clothes to be posted today. Keep up the good work folks!

Going to go through our board games today. I bought Pictionary from a charity shop last year for £2 but we’ve never played it & actually DH isn’t a fan of board games anyway. Cannot wait to throw out “ Game of Life”! DD16 wanted to play that endlessly when she was younger & it’s just such a pointless game!
Been using up stuff in my freezer so there’s loads more space & I can much more easily see what I have left.
Decided after my dress is parcelled up & posted today or tomorrow, I won’t sell anything else on Vinted. Been quite surprised at what small amounts things go for. Plus I think DD’s interest is waning. She was really up for photographing stuff & posting it to start with but it’s all died down.
We still have Christmas bits to go in the loft & I might ask DH to have a sort out when he puts them away.
Still need to be completely ruthless with my jewellery as I have loads & hardly ever wear it.
We have a pile of pillows - wondering what to do with them. Maybe a homeless centre would take them? Mostly in very good condition.

Day 20 declutter - sold a poncho on Vinted & posted off. I'd love to be the sort of person who wear one but alas I am not

Removed 206 items from two massive Kallax drawers last night. Most got recycled! Year to date: 235. I really feel like being on this thread is the massive impetus I need to keep decluttering.

@Pigtailsandall Oh I wish I was the sort of person who wore a poncho too. I keep wanting to knit one then stopping myself as I'd never wear it. I made one for DD when she was very little and she never wore it either. 😅

Wow! That's massive progress well done!

We had hand knitted ponchos as kids (was the 70s). I didn't like mine, it flapped and got in the way.

I bought a poncho on vinted last year, a lovely brown and cream alpaca wool one. I wear it a lot round the house over a jumper when it's freezing like now. And instead of a coat outside in spring and autumn.
I'm definitely a poncho sort of person, I thought I was also a brown berret and knee high boot with my poncho sort of person. But my DD laughed her head off at the berret, so perhaps I'm not? Hats are tricky. I haven't decluttered it yet though 🤣

Sold on vinted: jumper, lunch bag
Bin/recycling: old shoes, another old towel

Total 60

Totally recommend getting someone to do it for you. I used a local builder, he had them built and fixed properly to the walls in no time.

@CheesePlantFeet I bet you are rocking that beret!

Five more lots of toiletries to the local "help yourself" shelf.

Framed print to chazza at last

Another jar of rancid peanut butter emptied and jar to recycling

Total: 92

@HellonHeels Nice! How do you fully empty a peanut butter jar? Do you use hot water after you've finished scraping it? I don't want to inadvertently shatter one! I've got an old almond butter jar (we really didn't like it) that I want to tackle at some point this week.

@JaneandtheLaundry I scraped it out into kitchen roll as much as possible, then washed in hot water.

Peanut butter is an absolute nightmare to deal with 😱

Eek yes I can imagine! I think that's why I've put off doing this jar for so long. Oh good idea with the kitchen roll, I think I might be able to get some into the jar with a bottle brush and have a wipe around the inside.

2025 decluttering
W/E 19/01
2025 – (61+46 = 107) = 1918 to go

Counting digital decluttering in my totals purely because it takes time, but counting each 'chunk' if that makes sense. (The items below took 2 hours!)

Phone contacts Z, Y, W, V, T (mainly removing work stuff, but also numbers/info from places we lived in over 20 years ago!)
Gmail folders V, U, T, S, R (same reasons as above) = 10

Broken/unusable: travel mug, sweeteners, squash (both expired 2020!), vanilla extract, chopped almonds, straws, birthday candles, bottle opener = 8

Recycling bin/bin: Scented candle x 3 used up, won't be replaced, magazine, another batch of paperwork shredded, make-up items x 12, socks x 7 = 24

Recycling centre: 4 x binbags of rubbish from garage = 4

Charity shop: still accumulating in a box in the study. I'll count it when it leaves the house.

21 kitchen cupboards/drawers now fettled. I'm going to dip my toe into selling some things on Vinted later this week.

All your progress is keeping me motivated!

Realised I’m not counting stuff I’d throw out anyway but good to get rid of an empty bottle of shower gel, empty Vaseline tin and empty moisturiser tubs this week.

Actual decluttering:
-makeup bag
-2 perfume boxes
-small mirror
-empty perfume bottle (was hanging on to use the dregs but finally decided to get rid of it)
-9 lots of expired medicine taken to the pharmacy
-old insoles
-sold a vinted item

Total for 2025: 57

@Pigtailsandall sympathies re ikea. I realise d I would be the same so recruited a handy friend and his girlfriend (I run with them, and he’s a window fitter for his job) before I ordered the bits!
we’re giving them dinner in payment. She doesn’t drink so I can’t even give them wine!

I’ve finished my run of days off, I have done some jobs, never as much as I’d like. And I really get into the flow just as I have to go back to work.

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures: this has now changed to critically go through the framed artwork as we’ve agreed we don’t actually want all of it?
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - need passport photos DONE ✔️ , then references, then make appointment
4. DS1’s gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy
5. Portfolio work -need to email tutor to mark completed sections - tutor replied
6. get spare bed ready for MIL ✔️ and she’s here sigh
7. get DD to clear out her clothes, move old wardrobe and drawers out, clear out my old wardrobe and swap over - has to be Thursday I think

Not quite outs yet:
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB, need to bump up
leggings to pass to running friend
unwanted running top
3 x Christmas puzzles - 2 collected, last one due tomorrow
fugly Santa thing MIL gave us GONE ✔️
see if anyone wants a mostly working prelit Christmas tree

Out:
Last remnants of a packet of carpet cleaner
3 knackered drawstrings kids bags
random pipe thing
random plastic bit
holey pillowcase
fugly Santa thing
2 Christmas puzzles
broken peg
OOD cat flea drops
old air freshener thing
61+ 13=74

username the IKEA shower caddy is good. I've had mine about ten years and it's only ever fallen down a couple of times, always when I've overloaded it. You have to stick it on then let the suction cups settle overnight before adding anything. You can take the basket part off separately for cleaning without removing the suction cups.

One gloopy nail polish binned
One conditioner used up

Total is 3144

@IndianSummer78 Thanks, I'll look into it.

Love reading everyone’s updates, keeps me focussed!

Sold 2 items on Vinted
gave away a dress and some trousers

total so far this year 127

Nineteen small boxes broken up and put in paper bin.

Dropped Pyrex bowl which smashed into umpteen pieces swept up and in bin.

Day 20 of 31 days of decluttering: Went through the pile of plastic packaging bags/ envelopes that had built up on the top of the shoe rack, and put approx. 15 to be recycled with the plastic bag recycling. I kept about 5 (to use for future Vinted sales) which are now with my stash of packaging under the bed, so the top of the shoe rack is clear.

My total for 2025 is now 108 😊