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..

Haha, apologies my jobs stay on the list forever!!

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures: hung up 3 on a whim just to get started!
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - need to ring the helpline re my Mum’s passport
4. garden generally tidied for end of summer - get DH on the case, must put bbq away; more done
5. loads of scout badges onto blanket - found 1 more
6. DS1’s room: wardrobe, chair
7. DS1’s gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy away
8. bring down the wardrobe; DH & I failed on this, too heavy, need another adult
9. IKEA wardrobe for DD to order; sort her clothes, her wardrobe to my room

Not quite outs yet:
spare tap left from building works - bumped, last go
suitcase on FB - bumped last go
old duvets bagged up & donated to dog charity - waiting for collecting lady, need to chase again
curtains poles - bumped, last go

Out:
sofa & armchair donated and delivered
pile of bent & rusty nails into recycling (approx 20 bits)
old cycling helmet binned
old trainers into recycling
1520+24=1544

Well I did what I said… I’ve done a big sort out of stuff being kept and sold. I’ve listed tons of stuff, put loads in boxes ready for the baby bank. I’ve paid for a wardrobe spotlight and things that aren’t sold by the end of next weekend will go to charity. I’m just on a massive mission.

Was it this thread that someone pointed out that our kids don’t want huge quantities of stuff being kept?

1 toy binned. 3 things wrapped out of the present drawer to go tomorrow (I have a hoarding tendency with the present drawer so emptying it is the challenge).

I’m in the same place @Pigtailsandall 🙈 I’ve double checked my total - 1543 YTD.

I need some big wins! Any suggestions, anyone?

1 DVD
2 CDs
3 tops
1 book

Total is 2942

You can always find big wins in the bathroom, under stairs cupboard, kids undies and back of food cupboards I think. Odd sock festering place too.

I think your right socail care bar is so very low. They never check the kids bedrooms and it would be easy to hide things as they aren't looking for issues they are looking constantly to downgrade you to early help. I told disability camhs I could bury ds under the patio and no one would notice. They do more harm than good ( promise help that you then wait for that never comes) ds is CIN and I have managed to be off radar since March. He just needs to be onnthe books for transition to adulthood really.

Away with my sister for the weekend and bought one foundation as one is almost gone so that's neutral. One pair of leggings to replace two saggy pairs. Some wool to chrochet poppies for next year. It was nice to buy things knowing I actually needed them guilt free. I kept thinking " what would the group clinical psychologist think of this?" Even he can't begrudge me having some leggings that roll down in sainsbury's. I was joking to dd I might just step of them in the dairy ilse they was that loose.

Looking forward to smashing my last 80 items next week. We are all doing well right now

well….. viewings again yesterday probably did the least prep I’ve ever done 9-11:45 only, only 1 tape measure out 1 in neutral apart from recycling etc, sounded empty but not as much as usual, the tea lights finally went mid week, I suppose now I’ll just have to go back over everything again? kitchen cupboards first

Clearing out the garage. Bin bag of outs.
Got a few kids' toys/bikes/scooters as well in various states of repair/disrepair. Have put those to one side to see if there are easy fixes that can be done so they can be donated.
Another load of outs was kids' artwork. Kept the best and binned the rest.

Hi
I have been lurking for AGES and was hoping you wouldn't mind if I joined in?
Have a house full of clutter and desperately want to be free of the burden of 'stuff'.
I have had the unpleasant 'job' of clearing my parents house when they died and it has completely changed my relationship with stuff. I have been piling stuff up that I don't think we need (family of 5, 3 young dc) and now need to do the big push of getting it all out-of the house. I have signed up for a delivery collection at the end of the month and going to book a tip slot for the same day. I am going to aim for 2025 items gone by 9th November 2025 😁

Does time pass at a different speed in kitchen cupboards? I'm fed up of picking something up and it being ridiculously out of date when I remember buying it not that long ago. How the heck can it suddenly be over a year out of date? 😓

Welcome @Conquererofallchallenges
Sounds like you have plenty to get through. Good luck!

I have the same issue with a house full of clutter and just wanting it to be free of stuff. I've got rid of a few thousand items over the last couple of years but it doesn't seem to get any clearer!

Welcome @Conquererofallchallenges and good luck. I’m an expert procrastinator and seem to put jobs off for ever. My house isn’t too cluttered but has stuff in it we don’t need and I’d like to feel like grown ups instead of students with loads of hand me down freebie random furniture.

my new sofa arrived on Friday so that’s a step forward for the living room at least. I’d like to find some large rugs to make it feel cosier especially in winter.

Jobs:

1. Hang up framed pictures: hung up 3 on a whim just to get started!
2. DS2 paperwork: blue badge started
3. my British passport application - need to ring the helpline re my Mum’s passport
4. garden generally tidied for end of summer - get DH on the case, must put bbq away; more done
5. loads of scout badges onto blanket - found 1 more
6. DS1’s room: wardrobe, chair
7. DS1’s gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy away
8. bring down the wardrobe; DH & I failed on this, too heavy, need another adult
9. IKEA wardrobe for DD to order; sort her clothes, her wardrobe to my room

Not quite outs yet:
spare tap left from building works - bumped, last go
suitcase on FB - bumped last go
old duvets bagged up & donated to dog charity - waiting for collecting lady, need to chase again - emailed again
curtains poles - bumped, last go
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB
folder of music to handover on Tuesday at orchestra

Out:
1544

@IncessantNameChanger you are doing s0o so well, it's really inspiring.

I've had an excellent result this weekend. I listed 2 bulky toys (train track set that's not compatible with our big set), and a play kitchen. Listed them on a local fb site and both went this morning!

Out:
Play kitchen
6 pots and pans for the kitchen
Train set
Jigsaw puzzle
Big pile of receipts, shipment notes and such from the junk drawer

Total is 1664

@PissedOffNeighbour22 I'm pretty sure that if I investigated the spice rack I'd find stuff I've had for longer than my children, at least the youngest who is 6. God only knows what lurks in the depths of the freezer as well although I did clear that out relatively recently.

Great to hear you being so positive @IncessantNameChanger has your eldest returned from uni yet? My eldest still hasn’t found a job and still won’t let us look at what they are writing on an application

Hello @Conquererofallchallenges sounds like a very positive start. As you’ve been lurking for a while you’ll realise these things go in waves. The things and the enthusiasm!

Finally finished unpicking embroidered logos off the school trousers so last few pairs in a charity bag with two hoodies and a few t shirts that are all outgrown. Not yet managed to get any Lego listed on eBay as we’ve all been taking it in turns to have a rotten cold.

Toddler bedroom now has a bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers - so we can start moving some of the toys and clothes from other rooms back in there. Lots of new things, but it's great having it as a bedroom, instead of the box/junk room it's been since we bought this house!

Two catalogues and one DVD gone today. Total is 2945.

gassy eldest still isn't back yet. Finally talked to him yesterday but I refused to get into where he will sleep. He wants his old room back but thats not going to happen. Feeling very tierd today. Nice busy weekend. Dh has got a box of toys out for me to sort so looking forward to tackling that finally.

Great to see how everyone else is doing, and I’ve finally got a chance to update on recent decluttering!

I made some good progress with DD’s room over half term. I was able to clear the last bit of space under her bed (admittedly by dumping a final bag of stuff in our room), which mean I could finally get a kallax unit to put under there. She now has more space for books and craft supplies. We had a sort out of the big bag of ‘craft stuff’ and binned/ recycled various bits, and have four sets of felt tops/ pens etc to donate. DD also agreed to get rid of two play-dough kits, but as they’re part- used I’m not sure what to do with them. Went through her books and eight of them have gone to the charity shop, and two outgrown onesies are going to the charity shop.

This organising also had the side-effect of getting DH to sort through the bags of paperwork/ random stuff dumped between his bedside cabinet and the wall, as one of the things down there was a vacuum packed floor cushion that I suggested DD could have for her room. Lots of packaging binned/ recycled, and there two bags of paperwork to sort are now stacked nicely in the gap. It sounds like a dumping ground, but it was much worse before! And he did it voluntarily 😮

I counted the rubbish/ recycled stuff as one item, and my total for October was 32, bringing my 2024 total to 586. But the important thing is that I’ve almost finished DD’s room, and shes happy with her new space. She had a friend over that weekend and was really please to show it off.

So far in November I’ve got rid of three pieces of DD’s clothing, and recycled six pens and three empty make-up compacts. I also did another load of shredding of my mum’s paperwork, which I’ll count as one.

👏 Well done to those with new dc bedrooms! It's lovely to see spaces being used in a new, better way.

Nothing major except usual dried pens to the bin and clearing bits from flat surfaces - window sills, island, table, etc. Study sorted - new tv in, old tv out. Need to get curtain pole up but have a pair of curtains that can be used. Have had the old curtains up for sale for a year but no sale yet, has reminded me though I can sell on ebay now for no fees

Carpe diem - have listed the curtains up on ebay.

My only bit of decluttering was a small Vinted sale which I sent off - 1665 ytd

I totally agree that time works differently in a kitchen. Whenever I cook (ie every day) I’ll always go in the cupboard looking for gone off food, so there should be none, yet even last week I found nuts and seeds that had gone off about two years ago.

i took a bag of electronics and wires to Currys at the weekend. I’m struggling to find time to do the very last bits but I have been doing a declutter / reorganisation of my computer / emails. It’s back to basics but I set a timer for 15 mins because it’s such a boring job. I think I’ve deleted about 3000 emails in the last couple of weeks.

MY HOUSE IS SOLD!!!!!! STC a long way to go yet in terms of paperwork and finding a new house but there’ll be no more DIY and no bringing stuff in unless we’re going to eat it or take it to our unfound new house 🤗

I’m new to this topic, but after weeks of letting the house really get me down, I’ve taken all the things that DH has been ’going to sell’ for the past 10 years, to the charity shop. I also looked through the 5 enormous boxes of books; took out the ones I remember most fondly from my childhood, and gave the rest away. I’ve cleared a shelf for the childhood ones, so I can read them to my grandson.

I feel cleansed!!