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..

Outs from the last few days:

• The Christmas tree - shamefully late I know, but we don't usually put it up until around 20th December so it does hang around a while. Also took it to the dump the following day, which is very off-brand for us as we generally leave it languishing on the balcony for ages for that white-trash look
• A load of other bits and pieces which were also hanging around on the balcony went to the dump with the tree in a panic session as it's closing in a couple of weeks and not reopening until next year 😩
• A black bin bag full of coats - MiL buys the kids new ones all the time and it is very generous but they take up so much space so quickly, and we are in London so don't really have extreme weather which requires lots of different ones
• A giant boxed-up marble run that I got rid of via Olio - it's been lurking on top of the TV unit for ages and now there's a huge space to fill up with more boxes

Also just had a notification from the PTA that they've taken delivery of a textile recycling bank for the school, which is brilliant as I can drop stuff off on the school run. It also takes soft toys, and DD2 (who is very unsentimental) has just cleared out a bunch, so they can be binned as well.

2 more today eye drops and eye ointment so 102 for now.

Today I tackled a couple of areas and outs are

A top I was given for my daughter that doesn’t suit her
A Soft toy
A box of out of date Covid meds
A bag of Bath toys
a pair of sunglasses
a pile of home made masks my kids won’t wear for dressing-up again

total = 137

I did some more drawers in my office today. Listed some bits on vinted, but not counting that until it sells

Out today: Pair of gloves, some net fabric, 11x ribbons, bag strapping, cuff link blanks, mini bells, 2 bags of beads, book

Total out 131

I forgot an accidental out from yesterday - left a ceramic roasting dish on a hot plate on the hob and it exploded everywhere.

Pieces dispatched. Total outs:.129

Again not much to report. Have been chipping away at tidying things away. Put out two more bin bags of rubbish.

Carpets and flooring hopefully being sorted tomorrow, they let me down today. Caved and bought the Joseph Joseph clip lock set to save space, have coveted it for ages.

Have attached a picture of the infamous cupboard, now tidy.

Of course you can join us porridge.

Bin the pots mistralli. Doesn't matter who made them - they've been in a cupboard for 5yrs, you won't miss them.

One DVD binned today. Total is 3146

Had quite a successful day today. Everywhere looks clean, tidy and de-cluttered so it’s more about sorting out the cupboards now! Completely cleared the loft - all very tidy in matching labelled boxes now.

Outs today:

2 books
bath toys
a pair of curtains
2 Vinted items

total outs = 143

@JKL Well done for clearing the loft. Great stuff!

The blinds are up, the carpet has been repaired and the hall flooring is down.

Have booked a bulk waste collection for some junk that needs to be taken away.

@HellonHeels OMG! Sounds terrifying!

Out today: 2x spoons, scarf, book, one dead air plant, one naff fake plant

Vinted sales: 2x rolls of bias binding, summer hat

Total out: 140

Just tidying and bins today. Does make the house nicer though.

One CD donated today. Total is 3147

Wow @JK3 - a loft all tidied in matching labelled boxes would be a dream come true! There are some quite impressive totals from a few people this year so far!

I’ve decided another push on the kitchen and also kids clothes is the right way forward to get me more of my house back.

First count of the year - I've been selling lots but haven't had chance to note it down here.

Travel cot to tip donation point
Toy waggon sold
3 sets of headphones binned
6 boxes of old Christmas lights binned
Bag of Xmas baubles binned
2 snowsuits sold
5 handbags sold
2 boxes of tights donated
4 gamer memory cards binned
Baby gate sold
Bookends sold
Toddler pillow binned
Baby bag sold
49 dvd boxsets sold
1 game sold
2 cds sold
1 book sold
2 photo albums cleared out and binned
Large canvas print to tip
2 packs of uno binned
Cat toy binned
6 cot coverlets sold
Wallhanging sold
Shelving unit to tip
7 coats sold
Vac pack binned
2 thermometers binned
4 controllers binned
3 cassettes binned
3 scart leads binned
Magnetic board binnned
Ribbons binned
Motorbike thermals donated
15 clothing sold
Baby accessories sold
Killer jar pack sold
2 towels donated
2 sticker books binned
46 fabric recycling
2 broken toys
Lanolin tube binned
Playmat sold
2 pairs of kids shoes sold.

Pressed sent too soon. My total is 193 so far this year.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 that's amazing! And a good amount sold too. That must've made a dent. Big fan of selling as it's so much more sustainable

I'm pottering along and did clear some mire photos and DC school paperwork.

Day 24 declutter was a sports top
Day 25 is a pair of DH smart trousers.

Going to try to find a few more clothing bits in the upcoming days so can take a full bag for life to the charity shop

I’m starting to put filtered stuff into storage now until we get a moving date
1 bundle just gone out on olio
found a Halloween running shirt and crazy casual leggings I’d been looking for during the filtering

I have a pair of jeans, a blanket and a pair of slippers in a bag for recycling and will drop off this afternoon. Our bins are out and I recycled some old artwork and packaging. I'm really enjoying my new decluttering habit and it does make things easier to clean and to find!

Yes to bin wobbly ceramics - unless you have a random eco free site local to you on FB. Ours rehome all sorts of —shit— random crap.

forgotten who it was now sorry, but your tip is closing for the rest of 2025?!

Ikea wardrobes assembled however they need adjusting and levelling so no handles on yet. DD has started sorting her clothes into them though.

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 references x 2, then make appointment
4. DS1’s gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy
5. Portfolio work - waiting for more to be marked, more to do before Monday’s shift for crewmate to sign off
6. get DD to clear out her clothes DONE move old wardrobe and drawers out DONE, clear out my old wardrobe DONE move DDs old wardrobe into my room and fill
7. Traitors binge as DD and I have been busy all week, trying to avoid social media….

Not quite outs yet:
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB, need to bump up
leggings to pass to running friend
unwanted running top - GONE ✔️
see if anyone wants a mostly working prelit Christmas tree

Out:
6 old hairbands
random bag some socks came in that’s been in my wardrobe for ages
89+7=96

2 bags out to clothes recycling and resisted temptation to add a few boxes ‘blind’ as it were

*tempted to add boxes ‘blind’ to storage I mean

3 pairs of shoes out.
Vacillating on a jumper on whether to recycle or keep for gardening. Hmmm.

Another good day today. Outs:

7 books
7 kids’ dressing up items
2 pairs of kids’ pants
1 kid’s dress to a friend
2 books to a friend
a really annoying ‘loud’ battery toy (🎉)
2 hoodies

total-165

(loft boxes were from Dunelm. They do a range of sizes and they’re clear with a black lid so easy to see what’s inside but also easy to label the lids. And they’re stackable)

Day 22 to Day 24 of 31 days of decluttering - nothing out except some more of the Xmas chocolate 😀

Day 25 of 31 days of decluttering: Nothing on my part, but DH did more of his shredding today and took the bag of plastic packaging bags from a few days ago to recycling. Since our ‘discussion’ two weeks ago about unequal housework/ leisure time at weekends, he’s been a bit more proactive, which is nice.

Next week is my last week in my current job (moving to a new role in a different department in Feb), so I have a lot of stuff to finish off and hand over! I may not have much energy for decluttering for the rest of January, but I’ll see what I can do.

already had someone mess me about on olio; setting a pickup time then asking “is there anything wrong with it?” pardon? so I have to take loads of photos to demonstrate not then saying “I forgot, we’ve already got one” 🤦🏽‍♀️ don’t worry love, I don’t have anything else to do 🙄