The Great Declutter Part 3 - 2011

mineallmine

frugalpam wrote: »

Evening :wave:
Still here, beavering away trying to de-clutter the spare room. I'm convinced that the clutter fairy sneaks in there at nights and dumps more stuff!
However - I think I'm winning. Over the past week or two I've
- recycled stuff (charity shops and leaving stuff out in the charity collection bags)
- binned anything that couldn't be recycled
- organised my crafting stuff. I can now work at the table in the spare room, and no longer have to cart stuff through to the lounge
- got rid of clothes I haven't worn in months, and got into the habit of putting clothes away each day instead of letting them pile up on a chair
- done some more kitchen de-cluttering of cupboards to make space for things that had been kept on worktops.

The house is looking much tidier. Still a work in progress, but i feel I'm winning the clutter battle

Pam

Yay :j:j:j

mcculloch29

Yeah, I'm up for thirty things, I tend to go in spurts with this, my son has suddenly rediscovered cooking so some of the old equipment will have to go... that's a start.

Kaz2904

Having got the new sofa, I have done some decluttering. Yesterday the weather was so lovely that I was able to wash and dry 3 loads outside. That was all ironed and put away today. I then got an old pillow which has been sitting on my bedroom floor waiting for me to get the machine out and figure out how to use it. So, today, I have spent the majority of my time making a cushion from the pillow and then making a cushion cover from some material which I bought today. It doesn't count as clutter any more does it? I have turned something unused into something needed. I have more matching material to make another cushion cover and more feather pillows to use so I will try to get on with that tomorrow. It may not happen as I have my 4 year old nephew here for the night tonight and day tomorrow.

Having figured out how to use a sewing machine now, I feel happier about making some bits and pieces with old odments which were going to be sent to the recycling. Don't hold your breath on that one mind! The problem with that is that it means I will have to find a permanent home for my sewing machine which has been in it's box since it was bought a looooong time ago. It's been moved from the cupboard under the stairs to the hallway many times.
I had some ins at Aldi as they had sewing bits and bobs on offer so I bought 2 sets. So far, my cushion has cost me £45 to make. This cost will obviously drop with the higher use of the sewing machine and the making up of the second cushion as £35 was spent on the sewing machine.
I've always wanted to learn to sew though. Maybe I'll get my vision of a lovely looking, tidy, shabby chic home one day

2manybooks

[QUOTE=Chopper5;42289870
Does anyone know the best way to get rid of mould around the windows? Was thinking of soapy water but not sure if there is anything better.[/QUOTE]

I use Dettox Mould & Mildew remover works really well and seems to inhibit the stuff coming back a bit.

Sorted out another huge bag of clothes for the charity shop, put away my winter clothes and found my missing duvet cover in a bag under the bed. Really pleased as it feels like I've got something new but without spending any money,

mineallmine

mineallmine wrote: »

Project master bedroom by end March - left to do:
[STRIKE]Get OH to clear his side! [/STRIKE]Plus his wardrobe...
Sort out the stuff in front of the wardrobe.
Make sure the windowsills are clear.
Reward = a superking set of duvet and covers

:ANow onto the mini weekend challenge to declutter 30 things. :A

1. Load of marketing bumpth through the post (recycling)
2. Magazine (recycling)
3. Soft toy (charity)
4. Unused post it notes (charity)
5. Used up toiletry as part of the challenge - using the good stuff mc29 as part of pink rose candle philosophy! (recycling)

5 down. 25 to go. :j

frugalpam

Yep - I'm up for the mini weekend challenge :j I'll probably have a blitz tomorrow as am tied up with visitors today.
I'll report in later tomorrow!

Pam

mineallmine

Project master bedroom by end March - left to do:
[STRIKE]Get OH to clear his side! [/STRIKE]OH sort his wardrobe...
[STRIKE]Sort out the stuff in front of the wardrobe.
[/STRIKE]Make sure the windowsills are clear. Plus corner storage sorted.
Reward = a superking set of duvet and covers

Now onto the mini weekend challenge to declutter 30 things.
1. - 5. As above.
6. Scarf (charity)
7. Trousers (charity)
8. Picture (charity)

8 down. 22 things to go. :j

I can't believe it but the master bedroom is nearly there. Just OH's side of the wardrobe, the windowsills, plus some stuff in the corner storage unit. Then it is done!
How is everyone else getting on? :j

WonderfulLife

Hi All

I orginally joined this forum back in January . You know the start of a New Year and turning over a new leaf thing but I floundered after a few weeks. During that time my place improved radically but today I am back to square one or worse. The place is a dump, I hate coming home. I have zero interest in housework and yet I know that I would feel so much better if I could just keep up the momentum and get to the point where tidying up is a major event. i would love to establish a routine but I get bogged down bwhen I look around and don't know where to start there is so much to do. My home is tiny and therefore even a small amount of untidiness can't go unnoticed but when it is this bad I feel as though I'm living in one of those army assault courses or that I should be shouting "I'm a celebrity get me out of here!". Oh well, I just going to say that the first thing I willl do is to wash up. It will take ages every single piece of cutlery, crockery , pan, utensil ........ is dirty. I did contemplate buying paper plates yesterday but resisted. Anyway I do that first then check back in and see if I have time to do something else. I'll time how long it takes out of interest.

Love to all and congratulations to all of you who stick with it day after day. You have my utmost respect even if you're not 100% perfect all the time. Just trying each day as far as I'm concerned is quite remarkable. Meanwhile I'll attempt to do the same in the hope of making decluttering a key element in my plans to have a Wonderful Life.

PudseyDB

Welcome back Wonderfullife - I think the best thing would be to do what others have suggested on here before - to take baby steps. That's what I'm doing anyhow!!

Kaz2904

The thing is, Wonderful life, once things are up together, it really doesn't take very long to actually do stuff. You find yourself incorporating things into a routine and then there are never any 'big jobs' to try and avoid.
When you look around at all the carnage in your house, it can seem hard to believe that one day it will be calm and easy to run but it does get there.
Having decluttered all of our clothes, I now find that when I finish my block of nights, I've got lots of washing to do (generally 4 loads plus beds). I can actually get all of this done in a day though without any issues. I also do my other cleaning jobs in between. This works for me because my lot are out on weekdays and I'm home alone all day so I can just get on with it and blitz the house every day for a week at a time. When I'm on nights though, I have much less time as I do my 2 weeks worth of shifts compressed into 6 nights (soon compressed to 5, not sure how I'll manage 12.5 hour shifts!). You'll work out a system that works for you though.