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

Just checking in but now I officially can say upstairs (3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms) are decluttered! I was having some weak moments, but luckily head won against heart! 2 journeys to the tip, 3 bags of charity, books and some toys are donated to library swap and a few items going up to marketplace this weekend either for a token or for free.
I’m having a few days off from cluttering and organising (one more exam to do in 10 days time and I really need to focus on that one now), but after that I will tackle with the downstairs area - which should be less time.
garden shed need to be done by the 1st April (landscaping starts on that day and they are moving the shed from A to B) and also booked a carpet cleaner to the 11th so these are my deadlines! 🙃
Hopefully after that I can stay top on everything else and continue to be heartless with stuff and careful with buying.

Have a great rest of the week everyone, and will give some updates next week!
(I forgot to count the items)

I’m off work for a while and intend to do some serious decluttering over the next few weeks!

Bin: 14 coat hangers, 2 strappy tops
Vinted: 2 tops
Local photography group: 54 mounts

Total: 444

Ah this thread has been BUSY. it's the spring in the air!

My days 76 to 79 this week have included 2 wire baskets which we used for storage but were heavy and clunky. Also a manky, sticky toy stuck with cat hair stuck to it (blurgh). I'm also going to count a gift I gave to a friend - saw her on Tuesday and I've had it for over 6 months! Stoked I finally remembered. It was big so more drawer space now :)

Car boot full, not sure how many items but I can now get around the garage without moving things to get to things.
struggling with about 40 coat hangers which are now in a pile on the landing floor which I have walked away from. Before I go to the tip in the morning I need to seriously reduce them.

A bit stressed just now. Feel like saying take the whole damn lot and give it away and go and live in a pod with your screens because Heaven forfend that I ever ask you to open a book or play a game of cards or a board game.

And breathe….

Out of the house-

Two outgrown hoodies.

Three unopened Frozen posters.

One preschool counting poster.

Landfill bin down at pavement. Bin cleaner money in envelope ready for tomorrow.

Continuing with sorting through cookbooks, etc. The reality is that I’m never going to cook for dinner parties or suchlike. Although I do like looking at the pictures :-)) Keeping Mum and Auntie’s hand-written recipes, and food ideas from the rationing.

7 bags not needed.
Total is 3326

A bit more -

Tin filled with expired something that I know will be impossible to clean into all the joins, binned.
Single-use cake plate that's been reused until it's dead, binned.
Dress that is gorgeous but sheds it's metallic fibres over the rest of the washing. I don't do hand-washing and neither do I want miniature tinsel in my underwear. Donations bag, for someone less fussy/lazy than me.
Jacket that's perfect except the belt won't stay done up and there's no buttons or zip. I feel the cold so that's for the donations bag too.

Total is 3330

At the maintenance stage so it’s about keeping on top of things now (I think!)

Gave away 4 books and 2 toys
To Charity - 2 CDs, some trainers
sold and posted 7 items on Vinted

Total YTD 362

I've been AWOL so just checking in. Had a busy couple of weeks but still chipping away at some small outs, nothing significant.
I need to go through my summer clothes and finish clearing out the kitchen drawers/cupboards. I had hoped DP may help more but no. He did one small cupboard which I asked him to.

At the moment I am making up some recipes with random ingredients in my pantry that I want to use up.

Other than that, I had a few empties from toiletries we finished up. However, I don’t think I can commit to counting everything up .

Sorted through 1 kitchen cupboard. Found 15 items of expired food/empty packets 🤬

Total 459

Out -
Draft excluder, was bought for a previous property, don't need it here and I'm not planning to move.
Multiple CD storage case, it's a PITA to zip up, too flimsy.
2 damaged CDs.

Total is 3334

I've had a productive few days, though not much decluttering. We got DC a new wardrobe and put it together this morning. I've organised all the clothes, and put the old chest of drawers out on the street. I'd bought a bag of organisational stuff like kids coat hangers, ikea boxes and dividers and now they're in the wardrobe and the bag is gone from my office corner. Also gave the room a good clean.

Made some banana bread and used up an old bag of coconut sugar. Also used up a few cleaning products and a shampoo which weren't favourites but didn't want to waste them. So stuff is gone though it's not really decluttering.

My actual outs for days 80 & 81 were a kids spoon, and a pair of black tights, neither which will be replaced.

Edit - while I wrote this, someone took the chest of drawers!

Total of twelve books from kitchen. DH took several cookbooks. Others are in a bag to be dropped off at charity shop. Also leaflets and a couple of magazines to paper bin.

Yesterday I shredded the last third of the bag of receipts, which I’m counting as one. Most of the receipts were from the last few years, and I found a batch of late 2020/ early 2021 receipts that I’d carefully sorted by date and bundled up by month, but had never got round to checking them against my bank statements.

I also found an envelope with a batch of receipts from 2008 in the bag! We’ve moved house twice since then. I have no idea why I kept them as there wasn’t anything special in there.

Anyway, they are all shredded now. It feels good to have got rid of them.

I’m gearing up for a huge de-clutter tomorrow! Started today and felt great but off out for dinner soon so will re-start in the morning. Anything too good to bin will be bagged up for charity collection booked for the 4th April.

Checking in!!!

Got rid of all my old wired bras. Following surgery I’m not allowed to wear them so they’ve gone.

old glasses donated to local charity

finished up a “”laundry egg” thingy. Hated it as although it cleaned the clothes there’s no smell. And I like my clean clothes to smell of lavender

old towels packed up to be donated to riding stables.

one jumper

a night shirt

mascara

Brazilian bum bum cream

bar soap.

DD has been working hard on the Vinted stuff - she has more motivation than me to earn a few £!

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 - waiting to hear then go to a citizenship ceremony
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

Not quite outs yet:
scooter hooks x 3 onto FB
see if anyone wants a mostly working prelit Christmas tree
one game

Out:
3 vinted items posted
1 razor binned (bought a pack of disposable ones on holiday and trying the use them up)
contacts tidied A-L
496+4+12=512

I went through a basket of art drawings by DD1. She chose what she wanted to keep hence reducing the amount of paper clutter. We kept a few more than I wanted but this is our first pass and I consider it good progress as she was a champion for letting go.

I Am going to put them in the recycling bin today in case she changes her mind.

Sold and posted 2 items on Vinted
got rid of one very large kids’ toy

Total = 365

DC came today and looked a DH’s wine collection and then pulled 6 bottles of very old and odd things, like mulled wine, c2010, a fruit thing, a cava from cough cough year that no one’s ever heard of.

emptied the contents and the bottle went into recycle along with the metal caps and twisted wire bits. Does that count as 12? Or really just six.

DD took yesterday’s bag of books. I went through a pile of paper and got some shredding done. Also some booklets of out-of-date financial advice.

Day 82 (yesterday) a toy that DC seems to have gone off
Day 83 - a wipe-clean activity book passed along

Recycled a lot of paper this weekend too. DH is terrible at this and I got rid of a lot. Our office drawers now close!

Going to try v hard to keep toys and craft things to a minimum. We really just have a few favourites

I noticed a couple of people mentioned coat hangers. You might be able to get rid of them in Sainsbury’s or Tesco. My local shops have a box of them by the checkouts - which is quite hard to see - it’s almost like they don’t want you to get rid of them! I got rid of a bag about a month ago and I have now decluttered a further 18 so I’ll be taking them to a supermarket this week.