Decluttering 2012, this year, definitely ...

short_bird

and you can go through Quidco to get some cash back from Music Magpie...

FannyAdams_2

I will join you! I did make good progress last year but the clutter allways seems to rise back up to strangle you doesn't it? I'm putting it off until the kids go back to school, that way I might stand a chance.

I also struggle with books, I have a kindle though! I've set myself a challenge on www.goodreads.com to read 100 books this year, I'm going to start with my actual paper books and give them away afterwards - only keeping the useful/special ones I'll want to keep/read again.

We already went throguh all our DVD's and sold about 200+ to Music Magpie, we made £103! Woop! Somehow the DVD cupboard is still bursing though? How does that work? So I'm going to do the same with DVD's, watch and purge the ones that I wont watch again.

I also have a problem with sorting things out like bags of clothes to recycle but then i dump the bag in a cupboard where it stays for months, I don't srive so I have to wait for my OH to take things for me which is a bit of a pain. Another thing is I harte ebaying and i throw things I could probably make money on, I want to pay of debts this year so I'm going to have to stop that habit!

Phew! I'll shut up for now! Good luck people!

FannyAdams_2

short_bird wrote: »

and you can go through Quidco to get some cash back from Music Magpie...

Balls! I wish I'd known that :eek:

Kittikins

Ditto! Had no idea MM were on Quidco, darn it!

taplady

phew - I'm shattered! got a lot done - dressing table, built in cupboard and a lot of paperwork which DH will incinerate as I my shredder is broken.

Bedroom looks ok now - did the bedside cabinet the other day - the wardrobe isn't too bad as I did it a while ago.

I want to go through all the paperwork soon too - loads of old payslips etc which we dont need anymore.

Re - books - I have loads too, had a kindle for Christmas so hopefully wont amass quite so many in the future. I've decided to pass them on to friends or charity when I've read them - got a huge bag full which I've put in the boot of my car ready to dispose of.

I used to sell them on Amazon but with the high postage costs I didn't really make anything - most of them were bought for only 5-p at a carboot anyway so I'm not wasting a lot of cash by giving them away.

kittikins - you were lucky to find a tip open - our small tip is only open twice a week which is a pain!

Keep up the good work everyone!

System

Judi wrote: »

Well wish me luck. I'm hitting the loft today to put the tree up (or rather he is cause i dont really like heights and if i fall not only will i fall down the ladder, i'll be falling down the stairs too.

I'm going to need your luck to persuade the other half to let go of the camping toilet. Considering we havent used it for 25 years and we wont be using it in my lifetime ever i cant see why he is still keeping it. Every time i tackle him about it he says 'it might come in useful one day'.... I'm sorry but i'd rather piddle in a bucket and starve for a week than use that thing. I am hoping to liberate some other [STRIKE]junk[/STRIKE] treasures too.

Yeah right as though that was going to happen, he put the tree up whilst i was bathing the dogs. All i could hear was a bit of banging upstairs and by the time i'd finished the tree had gone and so had the ladders..... Still, ive got 12 months :-(.

Sceptre

thriftwizard wrote: »

Please may I join in too? I also buy & sell so I know exactly how hard it is, when you see something at an advantageous price that you know you're going to be able to move on profitably. But it takes up room in your home & needs to be looked after, even if it's only temporarily!

I have almost 20 years-worth of large-family clutter to cut down to size before trying to sell our house & move to somewhere with a bigger garden, a long-cherished dream . Even if that doesn't come off, I really need to get it sorted for my own sanity's sake; I can't even run the hoover round in a spare 10 minutes as there are so many things littering the floor, or wipe the kitchen worktops because there are so many jars etc. in the way. Some of it comes down to inadequate storage (e.g. tiny spice rack, when I use herbs & spices every day) & lack of planning, some of it comes down to different expectations & methods of dealing with things between OH & I, and most of it comes down to just having too much stuff & being terminally bad at getting rid of the stuff that isn't serving any sensible purpose any more! So 2012 needs to be the year I get a grip on it.

I've made a good start today, clearing & organising the shelves in the living room, but am all too aware of my tendency to get very easily distracted from tasks I really don't want to have to do, even though I do actually want them done!

Onwards & upwards...!

Thriftwizard - are you me? Did I write this? :rotfl:

May I please re-join you? I made a start on the 2011 thread, but I came to a complete standstill again.

I have made a start today! New Year, new leaf and all that. I literally have boxes and boxes of temporary stuff strategically dotted about the place, ready to sell. That's without all of my own stuff to sort out.

So, today I have got 4 charity bags worth of stuff to take to town when I next go. Woo hoo!

I am determined that this year will be it. I will get sorted.

luxor4t

luxor4t wrote: »

....Now for the Xmas decorations - ours always come down on 1st January so I'm going to cull them /QUOTE]

Well, the box of Millenium decs is sitting in the OUT pile, as is the net of lights that gave me headaches, the 4 Nutcracker-type figures, the annoying jingle bells, the ceiling decs that I haven't had up since DH's bypass, about 20 assorted baubles in unusual colours, the weird fat angel candle holder & DS is taking the candle-arch. I also re-boxed everything so things are easy to find. Happy :T

VJsmum

short_bird wrote: »

and you can go through Quidco to get some cash back from Music Magpie...

B*gger! I am another who didn't know that

Well the study tidying has begun - recycled a whole blue box of paper but it hasn't made a dent yet. Got rid of about 1/3 of college notes - still in "it might come in handy mode". Had accumulated 10 years worth of magazines from a professional body I have given up membership of - got rid of anything over 5 years old. I seem to have a zillion plastic wallet things - thought I might sell them 100 at a time on ebay, though they are peanuts to buy so might not be worth it.

A lot of it is rolls of wrapping paper and cards and gift bags and such like, which I will use at some point but have to be stored. We have a large additional desk in there that is a repository for carp, so I think we might get rid of that and put in extra shelving - I might put the desk in the large empty shed in our garden for now.

Tomorrow morning and all of Tuesday will be spent putting house back in order after christmas so that it can be cleaned on Wednesday. I might try to start some ebaying stuff then as well - one of my piles if carp is a load of packaging in which to put the stuff going on ebay - I think I might sell the packaging :rotfl:

morganlefay

We have to move for financial reasons, and I am a severe hoarder - I had rooms I couldn't get into...I would post a picture but you'd be too horrified. Then I got mice in one of them (rooms, that is) and it started to smell, and I was so ashamed of myself. So then I started to go through things, and it took so long, and we were clearly not going to be able to move for months, which is not an option. And then, along came my lovely, bossy, grown-up daughter who persuaded me to rent a storage space, box up stuff without looking at it - keeping only the clothes, kitchen stuff etc etc that I would need for next few months. She came with her husband and a van and took boxes to the store, and now the house is minimalist, clean, fragrant, mouse-free, and easy to keep like that. I am really loving it and now think before I buy anything at all. When we have moved I will get the boxes back and go through them at my own speed (I really can't afford the storage) but all this has taught me such a lesson, and i'm glad my daughter bullied me (though there was a lot of misery, crying, sleeplessness etc as it was all going on). It feels great now, and I feel (reasonably) confident that I can approach the boxes with a much clearer and happier mind when we get there.
I am hoping that this might cheer folk up, because it was horrible, but has helped me enormously ! (and my house is so lovely now I really want to stay here - but that's another question) :beer: