The Great Declutter - 18 months on

debidoodle

In

Braun Epilator bought from my Ebay earnings, it is fab so pleased

Out

Cleared cupboard under the stairs today

Hoover to the tip
Carrier bags to Tesco for recycling
Hubby's old shoes binned
Salad scraps for composting
Ebay parcel posted
Rubbish from kitchen bin

zarazara

Stressesmumof1 ,Freecycle is great forgetting shut of stuff, otherwise take good stuff to the charity shop or school/church jumble sale, and the rest just has to go to the tip.

fedupandskint

Definitely use freecycle and you will be surprised about what other people want for free. Better than binning and can continue to be reused. It's made me think more about what I use and need to buy in future - not that much really!

I've given all sorts away better than chucking in the bin and people collected when previously I would have chucked some of it in the bin regardless.

IN
Ebay parcel for birthday present
Early Christmas present for mum in sale

OUT
Paper recycling collection
Plastic and glass recycling collection
Compost

pavlovs_dog

LameWolf wrote: »

Can I ask for a little encouragement?

I have to face the fact that I have clothes I'm never going to squeeze my carcase into again. The trouble is, they're to my taste, still good, and I don't like getting rid of things that are to my taste and useable..... you see the problem.

i can relate to this. been with my OH for five years and in that time i've gained a stone and a half. It's not as drastic as it sounds as i was only 7 and a half stone to begin with, so i'm still a healthy weight for my height (and i have bigger boobs now ). Despite loving my bigger bosom i'm lessed thrilled about my not-as-flat-and-small-as-it-used-to-be tummy, and it's taken me about 18 months to accept that there's nothing wrong with being a size 10 and that the chances of me getting into my old size 8 clothes are so slim that its not worth keeping them. there are one or two special pieces that i truly love which i'm allowing myself to keep for nostalgia purposes. there are a few things in the 6 months box (its doesnt *quite* fit but i love it too much to part with it and with more regular exercise they'd fit again without too much hard work). the rest have all gone to charity today. the result is that i have space in my wardrobe to see the clothes i've kept, i can see what clothes i need and it's made me decide to go for quality rather than quantity from here on in.

there is no magic formula - for me the main motivation has been the fact that we have a house move on the horizon and i refuse to cart a load of junk with me. what i found did help was doing a little at a time, so it doesn't feel like you are parting with quite so much. start with something simple like your sock drawer, and do it over time.

another problem i have is that everything seems to shrink in the wash in this house, which can be a real pain as i like stretchy skinny fit tshirts. showing off some midrift wasnt such an issue when i had my teeny tiny tummy, now i dont it's time to be a bit more modest! so everytime i take something off i evaluate what state it is in. if it doesn't fit properly or suit me then there's absolutely no point in me washing it, so it goes in the rubbish bin rather than the laundry bin (or charity bag if it would do for someone else).

unless you are in dire financial straits then you can always buy new clothes that suit you that fit you and flatter your figure. if you don;t feel comfortable in something then you're not going to wear it and it's just taking up space. be ruthless (but just a little bit at a time )

SugarSpun

Yesterday went well for us:

In:
Just the mail

Out:
A giant box to the basement

Today I'm working on getting the rubbish and possibly the recycling bottles out, plus two paintings to the person who mends frames. A broken monitor will also go, but will be replaced by a working one (the broken one was free, as is its replacement). And the guy who hangs paintings is coming on Friday to hang paintings, so they will technically be decluttered as they will no longer be on the floor.

zarazara

Sugarspun, wont the satsumas go mouldy? [ sorry just couldnt resist LOL]
Fedupandskint I agree absolutely 100%
Pavlovsdog- yes your ideas are mine too, declutter /get rid gradually, the sock draw is an excellent place to start. And less is more! Quality not quantity, definately the right way to go.

zarazara

so far today, in
nothing ---yipeeeeee
out pending ----something a freecycler is collecting this afternoon

morganlefay

LameWolf wrote: »

Can I ask for a little encouragement?

I have to face the fact that I have clothes I'm never going to squeeze my carcase into again. The trouble is, they're to my taste, still good, and I don't like getting rid of things that are to my taste and useable..... you see the problem.

Also, trying them on to check if I can still get into any is problematic, as I have to have assistance with dressing at the best of times. So I end up keeping them "in hope".

Ideas, encouragement, kicks up the backside (gentle ones please!) all welcome.:o

Some years ago when I was younger and fitter and earned plenty of money I employed a 'tidying lady' for a week. It now seems like a ridiculous extravagance (tho wish I could afford to be so extravagant today !) but she taught me a useful thing: get out each thing and look at it with your brain switched off. What feelings and memories come to the surface connected with that garment ? If nice, fold it and put it in a bag or box to be looked at again next year (or sooner). If the memories aren't happy/nice/friendly get rid of it at once - no matter how much it cost or how lovely you would look in it when you lose those pounds. I had been saving a lot of things for sentimental reasons which actually weren't associated with kind memories - even if I could have fitted into them. HTH

debidoodle

In

Mail and Ebay win

Out

Kitchen Rubbish
Milkcontainers, paper and cardboard recycling bin

Looby_Lou

In
Jigsaw & 2 kids books for DS1 from charity shop

Out
3 pedal bin bags of clothes
2 bags of books
(All gone to the charity shop)

Pending
5 pedal bin bags of clothes
1 v. v. v. large vase

I'm also using up the pedal bin liners that I bought by accident when we don't have a pedal bin!:D