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

Had a big clear out yesterday and got about 300 items out of the house. Mostly these were small toys, broken things, some papery/cardboard things, but also about 100 more items of clothing that don't fit DS and DD that I found in bags in the garage.

YTD 556.

Today's task is to get rid of the old fridge freezer down the side of the house that's been there since August; hope we can get it in the car and that the recycling centre will take it.

...And the fridge freezer is finally gone! 🎉

YTD 557.

Hurray! Well done

Had a massively busy week so no decluttering so have just caught up

Days 71, 72 - 2 school jumpers
Day 73 - notepad filled with dc scribbles
Day 4 - cat toy.

Nothing will be replaced, we'll have 5 school jumpers left and plenty of cat toys and notepads!

Used up an eyeliner today. Total is 3315

Please don’t get rid of the kids books. I’ve spent good know how many hours trying to find books for my grandkids that my kids and I loved in the 80’s. It’s taken me ages (and money) to find Jan Ormerod and Pat Hutchins for example. I’m in Australia so it’s not so easy to find the, in op shops.

Books are a major source of clutter for me. I’ve way too many but don’t want to get rid

I found this thread through a link on another thread, but happy to know its here.
I have a question. My mum died over 12 years ago and i have boxes and boxes of her stuff. Everything in them means something to me. Its not in the way, its sitting above my wardrobe. I rarely look in them as i can't reach them. I looked after mum and probably a lot of the stuff i was the one who bought her it.

How do i even start to declutter such emotional stuff?

I am in a similar situation and having considered it carefully I decided it's OK to hold on to things that you have an emotional attachment to.
I discussed it with my children and explained that some things have to be kept until there is no emotional attachments. These things belonged to my parents, my childrens' grandparents, so possibly they will also feel emotionally attached to them. But MY grandchildren sadly, never knew my parents so they will probably have no problem decluttering these things when the time comes. And that's ok
Of course, you have to be a bit selective about what you keep but I have a box of cards my mum kept, some of my dad's paperwork, my mum's wedding dress, a couple of handmade baby nighties (made by my gran for my dad) and i am not getting rid of any of that stuff while I am alive

May I join you all please? I really need help to stay motivated with decluttering. As in, I love the results but not the process 😁
I read something on another thread that said “if you need storage solutions, you have too much stuff”. I felt that

I’ve been trying to declutter especially with clothes and shoes over the last year. Have sold about 50 items on vinted but need to be more ruthless.

Time to face the shoes this week 😬

Do you prefer to donate, sell or bin items?

It feels wasteful just to throw items away and I’ve got too emotionally attached to the process and each item represents a mistake on my part in purchasing it originally or not making the most of it.

And are your totals items you’ve got rid of just this year?! Wow!!

I keep stuff I'm emotionally attached too. I try to limit the amount of stuff in storage boxes that I don't look at. So I got all my old black and white photos and papers/cards/letters and put them in a scrapbook which is on the bookshelf. My taste in decor is quite vintage, so I use my older relatives vases/furniture/decor in my own home. Things I don't personally like, and if they didn't handmake it, I will let go of.

Welcome @ashtyler and @ssd

@ashtyler I'm fairly new, I've only been on the last couple of threads, so this is the first full year I've done. My totals are year to date (YTD), I'm not sure if some people are counting from when they started decluttering.
I prefer to recycle things for convenience, but I donate when I can. I tend not to sell things because I can't be bothered with the hassle of dealing with people.

I have a lot of stuff that's mouldy that I have to just bin though due to our last house being absolutely infested with mould and we're still finding things that are completely ruined. I'm not sure that's the right word. I always try and recycle first but bin if I have to.

I think someone said it beautifully about the emotional attachment upthread (I'm paraphrasing), that each thing feels like a mistake but it's ok to let go of mistakes.

@ssd when my DF died many years ago, I ended up with a lot of stuff from my dad's flat that I didn't know what to do with. I ultimately decided to let it all go except for his notebook where he'd written some ideas for jokes and conversation starters because that was "him". I would caution against being too gung ho with your mother's boxes because I wish I'd kept a few more bits from my dad (we were moving abroad so pretty much everything had to go).

I was widowed a couple of months ago and finding it hard to let go of DH’s clothes but I started yesterday and thought that anything I didn’t recognise could go which was a huge start. Probably 50 items.

DH was poorly for a good few years so declutterring has not happened for a long time but I feel the need to lighten my home from lots of not essential items.

I’ve decided that every Tuesday the bin will be going out full so this weekend im concentrating on recycling items, just flattened ten or more boxes to do with things we’ve had for over a year now. The garage is looking much better already.

May I please join? I didn’t know there was such a thread until someone on a different one posted this.

Ok I’ve just found this thread thanks to another thread, and it’s the best thing ever. Following for future tips! Due a spring clean and declutter

Welcome @Pippinsdiary and @Thereislightattheendofthetunnel.

There's several ways we record our decluttering here but the main thing is to GET RID OF OUR JUNK 🎉

I'm one of the group who aims to get rid of the equivalent of 1 item a day so 2025 items this year.

I've been struggling to keep up with the count as vinted selling has pretty much become a second job 😄. I will try to count up and update here soon.

I started tidying out the library yesterday. It was slow going as I've pulled my back. My DP has just gone to the tip with lots that I've thrown but most of it I'm just classing as rubbish so not to be included in my count.

I'm starting a new job on promotion next month and it means I won't have to travel as much so I might find it slightly easier to keep on top of the decluttering.

Thank you so much to everyone who answered and welcomed me. Its made me a bit teary. I dont really have anymore to discuss this with.
Anyway, I'm holding onto it a bit longer. And I'm not feeling bad about it. So thanks again.

Welcome ssd & ash & Has

Ssd maybe you could just open one of the boxes when you have a few minutes. Look through and remember your mum. I opened a box last month that I was sure was full of letters and cards from ex boyfriend (not happy memories). Actually it was a mix of old newspapers and letters from my gran. I chucked half of it and smiled over the rest.

my total is year to date - 670. Chipping away. It comes in as fast as if goes out here (small children)

I am having a coffee and watching in amusement as DH declutters his 'man drawer' in the kitchen. It is like watching a small boy emptying his pockets

Drawing pins, elastic bands, bits of string, screws, hooks, random oddments and detritus that I am being asked to identify as if I put them in there!....I am surprised there isn't a worm in there

The contents are now all over the worktop and I can tell he is wishing he hadn't started and would like to just sweep everything back in 😁

It's a small drawer!

I’m so glad to have found this thread today! We will be moving house later this year and I have A LOT of stuff to get rid of. I have also lost weight so have a lot of clothes including a fair few designer dresses that are no good to me now. Where is the best place to sell them please? I could do with getting some money back to buy new stuff! 😂

Wow, lotsa new people! Where did you all come from 😆

I'd recommend keeping just a few of the most sentimental items and giving away rest. Those few things will then become more treasured and meaningful rather than just sit in boxes. Things are meant to be used so you can appreciate them daily. No one wants to live in a shrine (but I'm in the tough love school of thought)

I've done well this weekend and used up food items and decluttered a few expired things, lots of kids papers and stuff piled in backpacks, boxes and packaging material. Recycling bin is full! My proper "out" item is a flimsy cat food bowl for day 75 of 365

There’s a new thread on trending at the moment asking about what’s the biggest scam, as in lie, you’ve been sold. Or something along those lines.

I think most of us come from there, as someone posted the link to this thread. I’ve been on mumsnet for a couple of years and never knew this decluttering thread existed.

I am in the stage of live were my children don’t need their baby stuff anymore and I am looking forward to decluttering these while getting some little money in return.

Thanks for the warm welcome @PissedOffNeighbour22

@Pigtailsandall I dropped the link into a thread this morning as a few people asked.

Nice to have a few more on the thread making us feel like it's normal to have thousands of spare items in our houses 😂🫣

@Thanksforyourlackofthought I'm selling clothes due to weight loss too. I'm mainly using Vinted at the moment as it's so quick to get rid of stuff. If you want more money then eBay is better. I haven't used any other sites. The amount of spare clothes I have is honestly disgraceful. I can only imagine how much money I've wasted over the years. Most of them still have tags on.