Decluttering 2012, this year, definitely ...

mineallmine

happytails wrote: »

Morning all. 8 things getting posted out today. Got 2 carrier bags for charity, not sure if ill take them today or later in the week. Depends how i feel this afternoon.

Got rid of 2 empty bottles of toiletries i had used up this week. A few bits and bobs i cant remember, not much but better than nothing.

Not sure what ill manage today as im so tired due to pregnancy insomnia. Feeling very sluggish and just want to crawl to the nearest starbucks lol

Sarah x

You'll soon be "decluttering" (in the nicest possible sense) a baby into the world so that's probably enough to be getting on with ! :A Maybe find a couple of magazines to whizz through then get rid of, or some paperwork. Take it easy

silentsister

JARUS wrote: »

I desparately need to declutter. We had some building work done December 2010 and we had the door taken off our study to make it more open plan and to give a bigger turning circle for DD's wheelchair & on the condition that the room was kept tidy. 14 months later and it is still in need of decluttering. Unfortunately it is next to the bathroom and lounge so anyone that comes into the house can see. On top of that I would like to be able to see the floor of our bedroom, shut the wardrobe door and store clothes/shoes in the bottom of the wardrobe rather than other clutter.
Jarus

Hi Jarus, welcome back. I really feel for you - however hard we try and keep things going they seem to conspire behind us and the pile grows. How about reducing the area you are trying to declutter? Start with the place that bugs you most - is it the room that's now without the door? Then don't look at everything - just focus on one small area, perhaps 12" x 12". Bring in 3 bags/boxes and sort from that square straight into bags - things to keep which you can put in their right place as soon as you've finished sorting, things to bin and things that can go to the charity shop or recycling. Then move those bags out of the way immediately, preferably out of the house. You will have done one small area - and you will feel good. Don't worry if you think people are looking and criticising - you know what you've done, and you know that if you do the same tomorrow then a bigger space will start to appear. Tell us what you've done and we'll cheer with you. It's a long haul, but you can do it. We're here with you and we'll cheer you on every step of the way. At the end of the week, step back and see the difference - there will be one, I promise you.

rumblytum

Hi JARUS

JARUS wrote: »

Originally Posted by JARUS

On top of that I would like to be able to see the floor of our bedroom, shut the wardrobe door and store clothes/shoes in the bottom of the wardrobe rather than other clutter. Two causes of clutter: 1. Too much stuff and 2. Not having a home for things to live in. I would start very slowly and methodically, just one drawer/shelf/floor area/surface at a time. Pick things up only once and decide whether to keep (put back)/chuck (put in a bin liner)/put in a different place (put in a box). Be methodical - start just inside the doorway and work your way round in order, including areas you think are too difficult. Don't get distracted by trying to find a home for the things going to a new place, just concentrate on this room. When you have finished the drawer/shelf/whatever for that session, chuck the bin liner away, and decide where the new home will be for the items in the box and put them away. Don't do too much at once, or you might burn out and get disheartened.

Every time someone comes to visit i clear all the paperwork off the table into a carrier bag. Every time I do this I promise myself that I will not let this happen again!!! & guess what it happens again. This sounds like you don't have a place to keep your paperwork - give that some thought.

I also promised myself that I every night I would tidy up everything that I'd got out that day & put away things after I'd finished using them - ha ha failed on that also. Routines are important, but decluttering and finding homes for things has to come first.

What about all the birthday cards DD (13) & DS (15) have ever received do I really need to keep them & if I di for what reason. No, you don't.

Then there are all the school work /paintings they have ever done. Will they ever be looked at again? No, they won't. Just keep a selection of particularly charming/funny/touching ones.

I need advice please what do other people do?

Hi Everyone

The above was originally posted by me in February this year and nothing much has changed. I have been reading people's posts on this site over the last couple of weeks, but decided it's time for serious action!!! It's now 2 years since the door was taken off the study and it still isn't tidy. We had our bedroom recarpeted and a new bed earlier in the year and it was all very tidy and i said it was going to stay that way. Has it? not likely.

Receipts what do people do with old receipts i jsu collect mine in piles Why??? I do think i should write down what we spend our money on, but then don't do it every day, then it seems a chore. I just keep receipts until they appear on the bank statement, in my file for bank statements, then shred. Money's really tight for me, so I do keep a close eye on everything - just a list really. I have a receipts file for high value purchases/electronic goods for guarantee purposes - was glad of it when the vacuum cleaner failed just before its first anniversary.

Help I need to get back on the wagon, i think I've fallen off big time

Jarus

HTH

rumbly x

fitnessfreak74

Afternoon all.
Not massive amounts of activity to report, it's very inspiring reading about what everyone has been up to lately. so here's me.

9 items listed on ebay, 2 with bids already and all but 2 have watchers.
Rubber ducks finally gone to a good home!
Mirror and ice cream maker collected by freecycler.
No show for the warmapup but boyfriend took it instead, yay!
No show for the VCR so offered it to someone else, may be collected tonight.
Bag of various leads and cables collected over the years which I have never used and have no idea what they're for - dumped.
Dead mouse :eek:

I have 5 CS bags on the landing which I didn't get a chance to take to the CS on Saturday as was waiting in for the freecyclers who never showed :mad: i'll have to take them on the bus one at a time as I don't drive, wonder if they'll collect...

luxor4t

54. mattress collected
To recycling or binned:
55. strange low cabinet that was intended for a tv table but it didn't happen
56. bag of assorted junk from garage
57. manky set of saucepans

Godiva500

Jarus, these might help you?

I am determined to keep at it - one problem is that living in a small flat, there aren't many places to store things. I have sorted my wardrobe and got rid of loads of clothes, I now need to be able to find things hence I have ordered these to help.

http://www.qvcuk.com/Set-of-2-Super-Slim-Hanging-Shoe-Organisers-by-Lori-Greiner.product.760003.html?upsh=1

and this to hold my bags, boots and scarves etc.

http://www.qvcuk.com/Set-of-2-Handbag-Organisers.product.800304.html?upsh=1

Both of these will stop be scrabbling around in the bottom of the wardrobe looking for the "other shoe"!!!

I have also ordered these, as we had a powercut last night, and we couldn't find our torches lol

http://www.qvcuk.com/2-X-Magic-Windup-Torches-%26-Mobile-Phone-Adaptors.product.565462.html?upsh=1

At least we will be able to see our clutter next time we have a power cut lolol.

Lurleene

Hello,long time since I posted on here, but I am still plodding on with the decluttering- although now I am tackling the loft and garage the living areas are filling up with carp again!I am feeling quite motivated at the moment so hope you don't mind me posting this weekend's efforts.

We are currently planning completely redoing the kitchen - something on our must do list as the kitchen was pretty grotty when we moved in - 12 years ago! In preparation I am slowly decluttering the cupboards and trying to eat down the food stores. If we don't have to accommodate 30 mugs and 15 half opened bags of pasta we will save a fortune on cupboards!:)

Yesterday OH and I tackled the chest freezer which we keep in the garage. We got to the bottom of it and found food with a BB date of 2002! I knew we were on a mission when we got halfway down and found lovingly prepared frozen cubes of pureed baby food. Our youngest is 7.

Realising I no longer have a baby I felt motivated to excavate my maternity clothes from the loft before they were completely out of style. A binbag full has gone to a grateful expectant friend and I am going to try and sell the bigger sizes for a few quid towards Christmas.

Good luck everyone.

suzeesu2000

Lureene that made me laugh, finding the baby food.

Welcome back to the gang and good on ya for posting.

Lurleene

Thanks Suzeesu - and how lucky you are living on the Isle of Wight, I love it there. I shall give you a wave from across the water tomorrow!

loopychriss

Hi everyone, and welcome to all the new peeps. Happy decluttering...

Today was quite productive in that we finally took loads of bits to the recycling centre/dump that had been sorted out weeks ago and left in the garage. A bag of out of date medicines, all the old batteries and printer inks, bag of garden rubbish, broken radio, broken lid of a plastic box, chipped pyrex dish, bag of fabric recycling and about 40-odd bags of coin taken to BS to pay in. Can't really count any of the garage stuff as I've listed it before, but of the rest:

24. Birthday card sent to sister
25. Broken lid of plastic box to dump
26. Charity collecting tin taken to parents
27. 40+ bags of coin taken to BS to pay into account

It's going soooooo slowly at the moment; I still have far too many clothes that I don't wear/don't fit/will never wear, so I think I might have a go at sorting them and paring them down this week. Still got far too much fabric, but I am very reluctant to part with any of it. Would help if I made something out of it all, but I don't get the time to sit and sew for days on end!

Still... there's another 9 days left of this month to shift some more, and tomorrow is another day!