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..

Now that’s what I call serious decluttering @ememem84 ! 😁

Sold: 1 dress, 1 nearly full ream of glossy card that the printer won't print on

Total: 171

Another two bags of rubbish out. And I did another big push on vinted and a wardrobe spotlight, seems to be working as have made a few sales.

Sold one item today

total 243

Keep it up everyone!

I haven't been on it for a while, due to various illnesses and losing my motivation. But I had a dream about an empty room last night, just with some pink kinetic sand everywhere which needed hoovering up and that I found my motivation to start decorating, and there was plenty of junk in all the other rooms. (İt wasn't my actual house, but just represented it)...soooo I woke up and said let's declutter, it might bring my motivation for decorating back. I've been saying to myself that I couldn't decorate as couldn't afford the new things I want to put in the house yet, but I've literally realised it won't cos me much to start painting and wallpapering, and selling some of my vinted/eBay pile will get me some extra cash for nicer house bits. İt's just letting go of the things which are already here which I don't want, which is the hardest. I guess they fill a void which I'm afraid won't get filled back up with nice things. Gonna go around and start filling up some more bags today- I've got this!

I've just deleted a bunch of old emails and some photos, and yesterday I binned a whole lot of paperwork. I really want to stem the flow of papers coming in.

DH has been on a bit of a shopping spree. It's odd as he isn't usually big on buying things and hates shops. He bought some new clothes, new running shoes (which were a desperate need - his old ones had split open on the side), a fermentation jar, some books and a few subscriptions. He is also buying some exercise stuff and I'm looking at it thinking where it will all go? But we did declutter his clothes, and he is (willingly) looking through a few more bits of clothing he no longer wears). I just wish he got rid of rubbish and papers and stuff a bit more regularly.

Day 37 declutter - huge letter flashcards (like A4 size) which are ripped, some missing etc that DC used to love. I was forever collecting them off the floor so happy to chuck them in the recycling bin.

I've lost track of the numbers and stopped counting all the bits if paper, old colouring books and bits of plastic which are going out, so I'm just going to track my progress on here with how each declutter has made me feel or something. I mean the goal is to get the house looking better, so I'm not going to beat myself up anymore (hoping to chuck that mindset out with all the stuff which is going). I've made up a bag of craft bits to donate to a local lady who works at home for people with learning difficulties, so that's made me feel a bit better about hoarding crap for so long. Convinced DD to chuck out some of the newborn nappies she uses for her toy dolls, as we have so many. Chucked a finished colouring book and loads of other bits of stained half finished sticker pages and other random bits etc etc. I have got a whole load of bags I made up a couple of weeks ago for the scouts' jumble sale and hoping to remember to take one with me tomorrow when I take DD to her squirrels group.

I've got a delivery of sensory equipment for DD arriving this afternoon and have been working on decluttering the room for it, which atm has been used tor hoarding all the stuff which didn't fit in the rest of the house when I moved. So really want to get this tackled with more stuff arriving. Trying to swap the non useful stuff for useful stuff.

Currently looking at a row of books I've held onto which I know I'll never get round to reading and should just accept the inevitable and let go of. Not sure why I put so much pressure on myself to be so well read- just reading one book instead of being on my phone one evening would be enough of a start.

Re arranging living room to finish redecorating. Last done in 2010. Top.tip do not put it off!
Learned a lot about sanding and filling and am much better at it all now.
Filling a bin bag as I go.
Sometimes it just IS hard to throw stuff out..

İt is isn't it. I always think something ought to be recycled or given to a better home..I guess it's important to realise that because those hard plastic recycling places aren't set up yet, I don't have to take responsibility for every thing which can't go to the charity shop or in the recycling...

YES the feeling of "put it all to good use"

Yet I dont have time to do it. I save every battery and have a bag on a shelf for a year before I drive to the Tip in my car. Just creating work for myself. You can never relax with so much "to do"

clean house goals supermarket often has a battery recycling bin by the entrance somewhere.

Binned a yoga mat bag that's split, it is decades old so I can't complain. Got rid of s DVD we won't watch again. Total is 3164

@IndianSummer78 thanks but have not been to a supermarket now since before the pandemic I think.

Will say this - have been getting rid for years now but still think I can do a lot more. A lot of excess amounts of things.

Day 38 declutter - pants

We were looking to see if DH had a shirt from his uni days in the one "sentimental" box of clothes we have in the loft, and I found a cache of my underwear and socks! I vaguely remember shoving a few things there when we moved to a new bedroom and the dresser was overflowing. That means they have been in the box at least seven years!!! So I thought I would go through everything (i.e. wear it once) and bin things if they are uncomfortable/elastics gone etc etc. So that's a fun project for the next week or so 😂

I'm arranging a charity collection for a wardrobe and mirror for Monday.

outs today

13 books
a hoodie
a jigsaw
a vest top
a pair of kids pants
some birthday decorations
some armbands

total 162

Not much out today, just half a carrier bag of rubbish really. But have folded and put away a mountain of clothes which always eases the mental load and decanted three boxes of dd's toys into one, so that's made some space in her bedroom. On a bit of an organising day today, so we know where to find things.

Her sensory equipment arrived, so that's kept her busy whilst I sort out, but it's now scattered all over the house, as haven't finished decluttering that room to keep it all in. Still, if I get the rest of the house tidy and organised, it won't matter so much whilst I'm working on that roo .

Out today: bag of post bags which are too small for my vinted stuff

Sold:3 x rolls of fabric

Total: 175

Day 39 - pants

This might be the theme for another few days

sold and posted 2 Vinted parcels
3 items listed. If they don’t sell by Thursday, they can go to the charity shop
A too small cardigan gifted to a friend

total this year 168

I filled a carrier bag with old clothes for recycling and dropped another bag with four tops and a book to the charity shop. I need to clear more clothes we have too many - everyone in the house needs a declutter which I am going to work on this month.

2 bags for life of children’s clothes out
1 piece of furniture
1 fuse board and £900 I won’t get back in house sale out

Hmm that Netflix docu Dont Buy is a bit eye opening. Seeing all those UK clothes washing up on that Beach isnt an easy watch. Looks like there isnt such a thing as real recycling then. It gets dumped into poor countries then.

Just clearing old paperwork and found some old Games and Movies which Music Magpie will pay me a fiver for.

Next to tackle a sea of electrical cables.

I’ve just this morning finished decorating my bedroom, nothing is going back in there unless I’ve really vetted it! Took two old doors to the dump, they’d been stored under my bed for two years waiting for that! It was tricky on my own, they were very heavy, but I did it.

sold and posted 3 Vinted items
gave 4 items to a neighbour
planted two plants in the garden clearing a big surface inside
Put 1 more item on Vinted if it doesn’t sell, will donate
took bag to charity shop

total outs 179