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..

@HellonHeels thats fantastic! There’s nothing like a good financial clutter.

I took 4 large bags to the charity shop. Full of clothes (mainly rags) and books I’d put aside in the last month or so. I have also been shredding papers on and off all day. I have filled a bin bag. It’s all dds ehcp stuff and is now properly organised.

One used up lip balm and one tatty pair of gloves binned. Total is 3154

Everyone is poorly and I’m totally overrun with stuff and mess again. I am so tempted to walk round the house with a roll of bin bags and just fill them all.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed really.

Is it rubbish and crap everywhere?

If you can manage five minutes with a bin bag it might help clear your head? Nothing that needs a decision, just instant bin stuff.

Then shove the rest to the sides and get into bed.

If you feel really unwell, just get into bed and give yourself permission to rest. Tomorrow is another day.

A few more bits before today ends.

Small cardboard box that I was using for storage.
Hair clip that's wonkey now and missing paint, did my usual thing of replacing it but keeping the old one around.
Tube of aloe vera gel finished up.

Total is 3157

An update on my 31 Days of Decluttering in January:

• I didn’t declutter something every day, but managed to declutter on 19 out of the 31 days.
• I definitely ran out of steam towards the end of the month - partly because there was less random stuff about that could be easily tackled, and partly because I’m starting a new job next week so was quite busy at work for the past few weeks.
• I had two ‘areas’ I wanted to complete in the month - cleaning and reorganising the bookshelves (done, with some books donated) and finished shredding the paperwork from my mum’s house (not completed).
• DH voluntarily tackled some of his shredding, took some old boots for recycling, and donated a few of his books 😀
• Sadly, most of the things I have agreed to declutter haven’t left the house yet. This is always a delayed thing for us.

It’s been helpful enough that I’m going to try 28 days of decluttering in Feb, though I might change it to weekly rather than daily.

I have a bulk waste collection on Monday. I have a massive, heavy wool rug to get down a flight of stairs and outside. A heavy headboard, a load of wood and a hoover. I'm not looking forward to it.

@LivingInaBuiltSite I think that was me, and yes the tip is closing on Monday for the rest of the year 😐There is another one in the borough but I think it’s further away from us and you have to book slots, which I imagine will be absolutely rammed 😩

Took advantage of the new textile recycling bin at school to offload a couple of bags and have started a new one. Trying to get DP to get rid of some shirts which he won’t need again; work dress code is much more casual these days and even on the odd occasion he does need a shirt it won’t be a ten-year-old Primark one bursting at the seams…

Thanks @HellonHeels. It’s just a mixture. Two small children, two cats, awaiting moving out for building work. Feels like no surface or floor is clean, toys everywhere, little bits of normal small kid detritus mixed in. Too much stuff. But also the smallest one is in “agent of chaos” mode where all she wants in life is to pull everything onto the floor and half of everything into different rooms.

Not pure rubbish, but maybe I should be just throwing a lot lot more away

My DD is also an agent of chaos lol, she’s 13 now so it’s a different kind of mess, but I remember the toys everywhere stage, it does pass.

I’ve just been working or knackered so not done much or been on here.

DH however has dismantled and got rid of all the fitted office furniture in his office, which is looking like a disaster zone now! But it needed doing. Now we have to decide if we spend and time and money on painting etc in there when we originally said we needed to remove a chimney. Or do we forget about removing it and leave the old fireplace (the top layer of the chimney went when we did the loft conversion and we were going to take it down floor by floor).

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 DONE. But more to do, always
6. move DDs old wardrobe into my room and fill DONE ✔️
7. Traitors binge as DD and I have been busy all week, trying to avoid social media…. DONE! ✔️

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

Out:
2 tops of mine to fabric recycling
holey socks ditto
office furniture (counting as 1)
96+4=100

first 100 ✔️

I missed out on a few days. I did chuck something out every day but it was small things; life has been busy this week but I have no plans tomorrow which is lovely.

Day 30 declutter - dead plant and its pot
Day 31 - plastic kids spoon
Day 32 - whiteboard marker

Aiming for bigger things next week!

Out today: a pile of 'artwork', 2 massive useful boxes,

Total:161

Saggy leggings
Bobbled sweatshirt
Used up shampoo
Used up primer

Total is 3161

Love how people's DH are getting on board with decluttering. It really helps when you're not doing it alone.

RealFastFoodie I'd bag it all up, put it in the garage and see if anyone asks for it back, if not then bin it in a few months. Can you get cupboard locks too? The toddler dragging everything out of everywhere stage is so draining.

I'm pleased with my progress I seem to be doing well with thinking about individual items. I look around and can't really see anything to go, although there's too much stuff and I wish some would go, but most days I seem to be able to find at least one thing fairly easily. Considering I don't want to let anything go, in theory, I'm enjoying decluttering now and feel happy every time I identify something to get rid of. It's weird being in contradiction with myself. I feel quite excited to find out where I'll be at the end of the year.

Everyone is doing so well!

1 item sold on Vinted and posted in huge box so I’ll count that as 2!
bag of clothes to a friend

Total 228

Forgot to add that my total for January was 114 items 😊 My total was 2024 was 651 items, which I’m hoping to beat in 2025.

I'm going to take the stuff outside now for the bulk collection tomorrow.

Day 33 declutter - pair of very ragged kids trainers. Couldn't even pass them on anymore so gave for recycling at Schuh kids

I'm doing a deep clean in the DC room today and we will HOPEFULLY put the wardrobe together tomorrow

Outs over last few days:

4 longsleeve t shirts (weird colour or stiff fabric)
3 candleholders
Bird shaped door stop
Another 2 "useful".boxes
3 wrecked cat toys
3 more text/workbooks recycled
Box of incense partially used then binned (Jasmine scent, not recommended!)
worn out gym leggings and pair tights recycled

Total:. 158 +19 = 176

a bag of unusable too dusty bits and bobs gone in the bin
1 bundle gone to olio
1 item gone to a friend of DD’s
even eldest was saying “I don’t think younger 2 want xyz” so stuff was flying out
few library books going back now pointless taking them to new house tho it’s same county

I feel like I've finished decluttering the sitting room. We still have (in my opinion) too many games and books that aren't used. (I have no problem with the ones that are read/played with) But anyway they're not mine, so they'll stay. They do all fit in the bookshelves and cupboards, so that's ok. Everything else currently in the sitting room is pretty, or useful, or both (inc my DH!)

Out today :2 old cat toys, 1 old cat collar, 5 things sold on vinted
Total 169

@CheesePlantFeetI’ve had to keep boxes of DD’s stuff coz she wants to sort through them herself which I feel like I need to justify too 😬

94 out for me in Jan. Unfortunately I also bought 32 things. I have listed some more things on Vinted and they can be donated next week.

Last minute sweep around yielded a few more outs:

Yoga book surplus to needs
2 more boxes half used incense, smell weird and gone crumbly
Book of short stories (can't stand short stories!)

Total: 180

Still working on serums, lip balms etc. skin looks a bit brighter. Possibly wishful thinking.

I cleared the kitchen island this weekend. I've told DP that he'll be in serious trouble if he starts putting layers of paperwork on there again. Hardly any of it was my stuff, just some receipts. Most of it was DPs and the kids'.