Decluttering thread 11

[TidyClutterIsStillClutter]

Whether you’re taking days or decades, whether you’re glacially slow or galloping along, please come here for inspiration, encouragement, and congratulations.

I haven’t been back recently and can’t remember quite where I’ve got to. I’ve had a really good month in October with charity shop runs for books, toys, clothes and general stuff. Also managed to do a bit to the baby bank. A bit of a vinted flurry too.

Hoping I can keep up this pace as it’s needed. Each bag that goes is giving me some life back.

2025 total -1339

October
8 vinted

31 charity books and clothes
4 kids clothes given away
52 charity shop clothes and books
18 books
3 parcel posted
15 Vinted
6 boxes
201 baby bank /give away
3 padlocks with no keys in the bin

Another day of no decluttering but in my defence, I did a full day at work then went to sit with DM whilst DF was at a hospital appointment. So much still to do!

Mostly sorting yesterday. Very old ks1 literacy and numeracy materials reduced from two shoeboxes to one, which went into cupboard, not random shelf.

Decluttered - cards and catalogues into paper recycling.

ETA - soft plastics gathered together from kitchen and elsewhere. Bagged up for tesco bin.

Good morning - a new week of decluttering! I might be going out to a National Trust property today but it depends on the weather. If I stay at home, I’ll either start on the kitchen or tackle the storage cubes which I have been saying I’m going to do for ages! Plus I never did the bathroom cupboard & I was thinking in bed last night that I could get the stepstool to clear the airing cupboard too. A lot of our towels have been pretty much wrecked by DD16 using them when she dyes her hair.

Nothing’s left the house but I’m managing to keep it tidy and do bits in the playroom - mainly Lego. I spent an hour making Lego yesterday and dd2 joined me which was nice. I could easily get carried away and do an hour a day of Lego but then the rest of the house would be a dump.

dd1 likes my new study and has suggested she uses it to do homework as it’s very calm and minimalist. I have no use for the room - at some point I’ll paint it and buy new curtains or a blind when we sell the house.

Sold and posted 2 items on Vinted

Total outs 1081

About to bin our Mousetrap game - it was heading for charity but DD says it has pieces missing.

pretty much finished 13yo’s bedroom; reduced another big moving box into the existing baskets/pen drawer
1 bag of rubbish out
1 themed bundle out being collected tomorrow
some outgrown kit to go to sports club weds
lucky I replaced that carpet cleaner as I was able to remove a mark that appeared under the box 😳
I “lost” yesterday due to an unplanned medical trip so quite pleased
well done everyone

Paper recycling - laundry box of uni notes. Flattened a bag of cardboard and paper packaging.
Plastics - divided into hard and soft.

Kids’ artwork went into the new gap into the cupboard for future sorting.

Today’s plan is to sort through hats, scarves, gloves.

That's a good call on hats, scarves, and gloves @TidyClutterIsStillClutter we have far too many.

I'll make a start on that this week as it is getting chillier and I would like the 'everyday' ones all in one place by the back door.

W/E 12/10 (Week 41)
2025 – (1673 + 33 = 1706) = 319 to go

Digital
= 0

Stuff used up and not replaced
Samples of shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, hand cream, and toothpaste, breath spray, lip cream = 7

Recycled/binned
Foil medication packs (recycled at Boots) x 5, phone charger cable, charger box, hearing aid container, storage bag x 3, exercise chart, badge, bobble, garden rubbish x 2 = 16

Charity shop
New bag filling up
Hair straighteners, gel cushions, magnifying mirror, hat, book, cake tin, shirt, spectacles x 2 = 9

Vinted
= 1

I have spent 30 minutes going through a massive pile of paperwork as it fell over. I bought things to file it but no idea where that's gone?!

I now have so much I want to list on Vinted it's a bit overwhelming. I aim to list and spotlight then donate it after the spotlight ends

Recycling ragbag - ten odd gloves that kids wore if they were playing in snow or getting muddy in the garden.

Also one woolly hat, one baseball cap

I have thrown out lots of paperwork today, six hangers and looked again at my Vinted listings.

I also had a good cull on one of the coffee tables covered in various tat. Won't count paperwork out so just done a guess of one carrier bag worth and various tat. Not sure if that deserves to be included in my count total really

Afraid to say I haven’t got rid of anything at all today. I actually got quite depressed looking around the house as there’s still so much stuff everywhere - I would kill for some decent storage!

Don't get more storage yet. I have done this plan of action today. I'm going to only do four areas at once. Then I have broken each area into a plan of how to do it. Them a list of my other problem areas.

One face cleanser
One body moisturiser
One eye mask
Nine documents
One plastic lid

Total is 4064

bunny lover what's your goal and timescale? I wanted to get organised, that's why I'm decluttering and it's taking years. I don't want to be surrounded by a sea of crap in the meantime so I did buy the storage. Practical boxes for stacking, pretty boxes for the most used areas and storage furniture for most rooms. There's still a lot of stuff, but I can't see it now, so I'm happier. Some of the boxes will be binned as brittle and cracking or bent out of shape or sun faded. Some will be in perfect condition and given away eventually when no longer needed so a waste of money in theory, except it isn't if it's keeping me happier in the here and now. The furniture will stay until it's worn out. If my decluttering plan was to take a few months and go totally minimalist then I wouldn't have bothered with the storage solutions, bit I have a hard time letting go and a ton of stuff so I knew it'd be a long job.

IndianSummer78 I don’t have a timescale but my goal is to not have pretty much every surface covered in stuff. It really depresses me sometimes. The kitchen is the worst room. There’s stuff on top of the fridge/freezer, the display cabinet & piled in a corner ( an avalanche of bags for life!) The table is used as a general dumping ground. I do have some boxes but need more. My bedroom is pretty bad too. And you can barely get into DH’s office! If I could afford it, I’d employ a professional declutterer. Meanwhile, I battle on against the tide!

I’m starting to see som real progress. I’m seeing more floor in rooms that have been overfilled with boxes. I’m seeing so many bags of things leave the house.

Its such a good feeling.

I do need to make a decision about vinted though, as I have a few things that haven’t sold, is it time to reduce them or give them away?

@BunnyLover7 it’s ok to buy storage if you know that your longer term aim would be to reduce your stuff and to get rid of your storage. I have wasted quite a lot on storage furniture that I have since got rid of.

What sort of things are in your kitchen? Why do you have an avalanche of carrier bags? Can you put them in your car boot so you use them or recycle them? Sorry about all the questions, I had about 50 at one point so I leave some in the car now so I don’t buy more and I use them to take things to the charity shop. Could you start with gone off food? Or your surfaces? I started with surfaces and unwanted toddler items and can still remember the thrill I had when we ate in our kitchen for the first time because I’d cleared the counter. I’ve heard decluttering experts say the kitchen is ‘easier’ because you shouldn’t be so emotionally attached to the items in there but I struggled to get rid of cook books and all the paperwork that was wrongly in the kitchen.

I did another half hour making Lego yesterday. It’s slow progress. I also threw out a pretty box exh brought me back from Japan that I used for hair clips. I’ve got a small bag for hair clips in a drawer so I don’t need it.

I'm going to try to list everything this week then spotlight it. Once that's finished I'm donating all but my best few items. I want the space. I have cropped and reloaded a few items. I don't get any visibility any more

Anyone else find it hard to keep the energy up? I’m decluttering a room that has elements of hoarder about it - we just flung everything in there for years rather than dealing with it. I’ve probably cleared half of it- you can walk into the room now, you might even be able to swing a cat but it’s nowhere near done - in fact it’s the hard stuff that’s left. Sentimental stuff from dcs childhood, dh’s childhood (I know!) and dh’s work papers, some of which are over 25 years old. It’s such a slow process - I just want to get a skip and dump it all!

@FinallyGetRid I set a timer for 30 minute bursts. Then I can work quite quickly knowing it will be over soon