Decluttering thread 10 - Spring is here, time to get those surfaces clear!

[TidyClutterIsStillClutter]

thread 9 is full, and I can’t find a new thread. Can anyone point me to thread 10?
tia

There is a real possibility that if I don’t buy anything more for a long time, I can just wait for my tornados kids to break everything.

At least I’ve decluttered a teapot they broke so April isn’t a zero. Oh well.

Broken shot glasses here Realfastfoodie, they were my Granny's so a bit sad. They were having a teddies tea party with them and the glasses fell off the table.

Listed loads on Vinted, sold very quickly, there were plenty of free Inpost lockers, all done and sorted.

772 outs so far this year.

I need a tip trip for bits I can't recycle locally and I have a huge bag of books that have been waiting to go since early February.

Goal is 1,000 by the end of April, which is quite ambitious I suppose.

Toddler winter coat and over-trousers passed to my cousin today for her youngest, as they’ll fit by next winter. They had been given to us when DD was a toddler, so it’s nice to be able to pass them on.

A pair of trousers that somehow managed to be too big and to small. They didn't fit any part of me. Donated.

Total is 3337

I'm not getting time to really get anything big done.
Filed some paperwork at the weekend and got rid of some older papers while I was busy.
Took some bits to the Boots recycling point which had been hanging about too long! Got my 500 points. It's a bit of a faff but the extra points are good.
I have a few things to list which takes time, hopefully later in the week.

Pair of ds’ trainers binned. They were wrecked. Will need to buy new.

yesterday decluttered weeded and tidied up one corner of the garden. Today I’m doing the other.

Decluttering my clothes paused for a bit but dh foundation few t-shirts to give up; he's got tons.

Days 96 and 97, 2x t-shirt
Day 98 (today) a flannel I stole from dh to wear but never did

2 car loads full to the charity shop (including the boot and back seat!) and my bins are full.

I had forgotten what my bedroom floor looked like 😂

3 catalogues recycled after finally whittling down my wishlist and placing the order
A face cream used up
A pack of face wipes used up

Total is 3342

I’ve been trying to clear a bit more. Just clearing stuff into the bin/recycling/my huge pile for charity/selling/giving away.

I don’t feel to have made a lot of progress but I definitely binned an old storage basket that had seen better days and I managed to do an actual toy rotation which means my storage /organisation is finally working better for our family.

I accidentally decluttered a crystal glass yesterday 😭 Smashed it on the patio. Next time I will drink my booze in a sippy cup (oh, but I decluttered those 10 years ago 😭)

I now have a mountain of winter clothes ready to store, a pile of stuff that's too small for me, but I want to keep, and 4 more boxes to sort through.
I've listed most stuff on vinted now, but have a few things that need ironing before I photograph them which has put the brakes on progress!

VInted: skirt, dress, jeans, ring
Bin: more holey pants and socks
Total: 503

One jacket that isn't me, into donation bag.
Total is 3343

We got rid of an armchair I've been trying to get DH to let go of since 2012. Also about 20 old cardboard boxes. I tried to give some clothes to one of those kerbside charity collections (you know, the ones that leave charity bags or nowadays stickers through the door) but they never turned up to collect it.

I'm feeling really demotivated though because no matter how much I declutter more stuff just keeps coming like the hordes of... somewhere with hordes. Mordor? I get at least 2 new pictures from school/nursery every day and most of the time it's just rubbish printed from Twinkl that they've scribbled on but I can't just bin it or the kids would be upset. People buy the children all these tat presents for things like Easter and we're already overwhelmed with toys they want and play with. I don't want to be ungrateful but inside I'm screaming at them to stop filling my house with tat. I can't control the clutter or get my house tidy and it really gets me down.

The garage is looking a lot better for all our decluttering attempts but the house is still a bombsite and doesn't seem to be getting any better. 😬 I'm £250 away from getting one of those home organisation and declutterers to come in but then I'll feel like I've failed at doing it myself.

YTD: 568.

Went through the 4 boxes of clothes 😁 I now have a massive pile to sell on vinted. My winter clothes and my too-small clothes are now stored away and I've sent a few bits to the bin or the charity shop. Hurrah!

Charity shop: 4 pairs of shoes, 2 belts
Bin: broken trainers, 4 pairs of tights
Total: 514

Have had a few days off with nephew (5) here so nothing done then really.

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 - Now need to book a ceremony slot Ceremony booked for May then passport application form
4. DS1’s gaming, PC, nerf collections to go through and tidy
5. Portfolio work - waiting for more to be marked, more to do, always
6. Bathroom redecoration: wallpaper purchased, decorator been to see job, waiting for decorator to book a date

Not quite outs yet:
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB
see if anyone wants a mostly working prelit Christmas tree
one game
Several jigsaws
contacts M-Z

Out:
old rugby shirt of my dads to brother
borrowed bag of brothers given back to him
524+2=526

I have been (v diligently) finding one item a day to declutter but I keep forgetting to post.

Day 99 was a tote bag - perfectly fine bag but we just have too many
Days 100 & 101, uncomfortable pants on both days. I still have too many and as pretty as some iof them are, I'm just way past wearing anything that's not comfortable

Going away for few days so might see if I can use up some toiletries etc

Jane I'd set a time limit for the tatt. Picture on the fridge, replaced with tomorrow's picture and the old one binned. One picture per child, they have to choose their favourite. You'll be modelling decluttering behaviour to them and getting them started on being able to make decisions about what to keep or let go of. Easter toys etc, keep for a week or until they're back at school then get rid. Anything that ends up under the sofa get rid of, if it hasn't been missed or searched for and found, you/they don't need it. Get people to hand gifts to you not the DC, then give it to them or not, as you see fit. If they haven't seen it up close, held it, shaken it and unwrapped it, they'll forget in a day or so that it even existed.

Two too-small skirts into donation bag.
Total is 3345

@DeclutteringJane I feel for you as I am in the same situation regarding children’s scribbles art.

I am talking 11 years of one of them 🫣. I am now taking pictures with an old camera so that I can bin the physical copy but I am keeping the best ones. My oldest is making the decisions herself, but my youngest is not helping much.

Used up a toner yesterday. Binned an old oit of pants today.

ins - silver satiny slip skirt from Uniqlo (bought yesterday while in London for radiotherapy). Some bits from primark for the kids.

am dutifully working my way through my beauty stash. Hoping to use a bunch of travel/minis up whilst I’m away. Will be spending the next 3 weeks (mom-fri) in London with DH. Radiotherapy once a day for 20 mins. Planning on packing dresses and skirts (because I’ve got a ton of them that I just don’t wear so want to make sure I wear them and feel good in them. If I don’t they’ll get donated)

@Thereislightattheendofthetunnel That's a great idea, just taking pictures of the pictures with my phone. I already do that when we're out at the shops and they want something, instead of buying it or having a screaming child, I now take a photo so we can see what Santa says, then when they forget about it I can get them something they definitely want and like.
@IndianSummer78 Thanks, that's a great solution to just keep tat for a week then get it out. It's really hard to get people who don't throw anything away ever to understand that we don't want to live like that!

I’ve been in dd1s bedroom again. I’ve advertised 50 children’s magazines and am recycling some old cardboard boxes she wanted to keep.

Skirt that rides up
Jeans that are just a smidge too small
Blouse with a stain on
Toaster we never use
Old carpet

Total is 3350

No decluttering this week, and it’s DD’s birthday next week so there will be more stuff coming into the house! However, as she’s turning 10, we’re mostly past the toys and plastic tat stage. I’ve bought notebooks and pens (a particular brand that are very in at her school) for the party bags, which is the kind of thing I’d like her to get in party bags - useful and recyclable!

I’m also someone with years of child’s drawings and scribbles, which are all stored nicely by year in folders on the shelves in DD’s room 🙈 At some point I will go through and pick my favourites, and recycle the rest.

Another thing I did last weekend was pack away some of my stash of baby clothes into a storage box that will fit into the top of the wardrobe, rather than just keeping them in plastic bags. Interestingly, although I’d found it hard to chose what to keep when I did the big sort out over a year ago, I was packing stuff away thinking that I could now get rid of some more of it eg: keeping one baby grow instead of three. I didn’t have the time to do it then (time for decluttering is always an issue), but I feel that I could go back to it, which is good progress.

That’s awesome! Was the shop happy? Sometimes they aren’t round here when it’s a lot. I’m glad of the Re-Use shed… they let you dump stuff, no questions asked!

Joining if I may…? I’ve done Marie Kondo, supposedly, but living in a family stuff just seems to multiply and I never took it to completion to do photos and kids’ mementos etc… There are nooks and crannies in our house that are stuffed full of papers and toys etc 😏

Interesting what you say about the babygros. I had similar with sentimental stuff of my own, when I went back to it, it was much easier to decide what to keep as it kind of jumped out at me as obvious …