Enough is enough - the great declutter

Lemon_Tree

oh and really should cull my crafting stuff and be realistic about what i will actually get around to using. but it's so hard letting goooooooooooooo

vivw_2

Lemon_Tree wrote: »

oh and really should cull my crafting stuff and be realistic about what i will actually get around to using. but it's so hard letting goooooooooooooo

Know exactly what you mean about craft stuff. I have so much and can't resist all the goodies available at Craft Central and at Range. Was good a couple of weeks ago and got rid of 2 Sains [the 50p size ones] bags of craft mags and bits. They were snapped up on freecycle

BWZN93

Sorry for crashing the thread - but I have had enough of the clutter and am determined to get rid of junk this year! I feel totally overwhelmed by the lack of space and mess on constant view.

My plans are:

* To go paperless (I only want to keep the driving licence and the passport - everything else I have registered for paperless billing, and will scan any other bits and recycle the originals (after shredding)) This includes getting rid of old data cd's etc. Ditto photographs and other miscellaneous keepsakes - scan and get rid.

* To do a car boot sale in March/April - I have a loft and cupboards full of saleable stuff that either isnt being used or has been replaced already. I will also get rid of DVD's etc - they only ever get watched once or twice so its more efficient to watch them on virgin media and its not exactly like there isnt enough channels on the tv!

* To downsize the stuff in the kitchen - ill get rid of the old dinner set for instance, and sell everything that hasnt been used in months, and have bought a new bin so I can recycle effectively. I will of course car boot the old one I intend to be able to get into cupboards without everything else falling out :rolleyes:

* To eat the contents of the cupboards that have been lying around - I've switched to Riverford for veg and meat etc and will live a simpler and healthier life food wise (and hopefully lose a stone in the process) and plan to have less wasteage. I shall also do order online for other groceries and have them delivered to me to save time, and prevent overspends on junk

* Get rid of old magazines etc to local doctors surgeries after scanning the pages that I want for reference.

* Switch remaining lightbulbs to energy efficient ones to prevent having to buy them as regularly.

* Things I need to keep like the spare duvet etc for guests will get shrunk and stored away in those vaccuum bag things.

* Sneakily start culling OH's various collections of rubbish - he's worse than I am for holding on to things, there are trousers in a box in the loft that he hasnt seen in three years and im sure he wont miss, but he keeps them incase he needs them Im sure he also has pants in his drawers that have lost their elastic a long time ago..... I must purge his things!

* clear out the stuff under the bed and either sell or dump it. Ive got a sewing machine for instance under there that needs servicing and someone to use it! I need to admit to myself that I dont have the time (or the talent) for the craft things that I would like to do - I need to limit myself to one project at a time and stop trying to convince myself I can do everything!


I have already been through my clothes and got rid of everything I dont wear or was too old. I intend to keep the drawers and wardrobe as clutter free as it is now, and take better care of the stuff I already have.

Im also making a promise to myself now to stop wasting money on stuff that I think I will use (footbath anyone?) and simply spend the money instead on going for a pedicure for instance if I feel the urge. Its not something I want to do regularly enough to warrant having the DIY @ home kits!

I guess thats it for the moment - although more things will come to me im sure. I just have this urge to reduce the amount of things around me and have a real good clean out. Everytime I go to clean stuff I dont know where to start and thats a bad sign!

Jo x

vivw_2

Good luck with all that, jw1096. I wish I could be that disciplined

Ellidee

Phew jw1096 you are certainly determined and raring to go ! Please can you send me some of your oomph if I pm you my address ? :rolleyes: Seriously though I admire your resolve - please keep us updated with your progress to keep us inspired.

dobs

jw1096 you have given me some more ideas to do now lol!

Missyg yes it will be my 3rd c section but the last 2 were emergencies so at least am able toget a bit more prepared this time!And i've promised that i will get rid of all the baby stuff (except for the premmie clothes got to keep some as they are so cute!) as soon as the baby grows out of them?equipment etc so i will join freecycle and charity shop the rest. No more babies for me, 3 boys will be more than enough lol!

Going to list contents of bif freezer we have in garage today so i can start meal planning and use it all up thus decluttering the freezer!

missyg_3

Pigpen, mine's now at £99-something! So excited, haha! My "big" item sold on buy it now yesterday too so that's a few extra hundred, but I'm not really counting that one amongst the general "stuff" as the money is earmarked for a holiday. Looking forward to hearing how much you end up with, I bet you do really well at the last minute with all those watchers.

Mary43, I think your friend suffers from a bit of a lack of imagination and open-mindedness There is stuff to see just about everywhere. She could have worded that a little more tactfully, just because it's perhaps not her "thing" doesn't mean you won't have a lovely time!

Vivw, :rotfl: at the Staples comment. We did our stationery last week and it went to a new local guides group to help them get set up, though there wasn't a huge amount. I'm trying to stop holding onto things "just in case" if I haven't used them for years.

Lemon Tree, with the new ebay fees that are coming in on 20 February (I think) I worked out you will be approx £10 worse off if the item sells at £500 - someone please correct me if I've got that wrong. Better £10 in my wallet than theirs! I put my item on with a lowish starting price (the very least I would accept) but a highish buy it now and it has sold on the buy it now. If you're really undecided about the piano, try visualising the piano on one side of the room and a pile of cash on the other - you can only have one! Which is it to be?

Jw1096, brilliant post! I am very impressed that you've obviously spent time working out a strategy. Your checklist is very inspiring. You sound very organised so I'm sure once you get going it'll be a big success! I love seeing what other people are doing, for example you mentioned a dinner service and I have two. I inherited one set which is my favourite, so perhaps the other one can go because it's just a spare. Please keep us posted with how you're getting on! What are you going to tackle next?

Dobs, aw your final baby! Babies and kids stuff always seems very popular on Freecycle.

Well, not much going on here right now. A bag of boy's clothes has just been picked up by a Freecycler and I have 31 ebay items with bids all in the correct packaging waiting to have packing slips put in and labels affixed!

mary43

Originally Posted by Lemon Tree
oh and really should cull my crafting stuff and be realistic about what i will actually get around to using. but it's so hard letting goooooooooooooo


Know just what you mean............every time I go in the craft shop and they've packets of 'offcuts' from classes I just have to bring one home.........lol Have had a bit of a sort out though and bagged a lot up to send to the care home my Mums at so they can use it for activity there.
If I didn't have a reason like that I expect it would still be cluttering up the place..........lol

Orignally posted by missyg

Mary43, I think your friend suffers from a bit of a lack of imagination and open-mindedness There is stuff to see just about everywhere. She could have worded that a little more tactfully, just because it's perhaps not her "thing" doesn't mean you won't have a lovely time!

You're right missyg............but when folk say things like that and you're feeling a bit on the low side its so off putting -especially when they're having a weeks holiday abroad which I can't afford...............I began to feel really really hard up if you know what I mean.
Thanks to your support and others now I don't .............:T


Jw1096 - Have the same problem with OH and clothes. He must have heaven knows how many pairs of 'work' jeans with far too many holes in them to be called 'decent' but keeps them.........just in case ! And if I'm not careful (he's a bit of a scruff bag bless him) he'll put them on to go out.............lol Says they're clothes and his main bits are covered so thats ok............lol Bought him a brand new pair, plus a pair of dark grey ones I got from charity shop so he's got no excuse. At least when he met me off the bus from Mums last week he was wearing his new ones.

Your clear out list reminded me..............how could I forget !!! I've got two sewing machines in the cupboard under the stairs............one I had bought me when I was 21 and doesn't work and the other is a table top old Singer. That's lost a part somewhere if I remember rightly plus I stopped even trying with it as even with my specs on threading the needle was a nightmare. I really ought to drag it out and have another look. Other than that put it on freecycle just to get rid.

djbd1973

The problem I've found with throwing stuff out is that what might be junk to me might mean something to my better half and vice versa.

We've just created a 'quarantine zone' where things are being stored for checking before either decluttering or putting back in the drawers.

System

djbd1973 wrote: »

The problem I've found with throwing stuff out is that what might be junk to me might mean something to my better half and vice versa.

I know what you mean, we have a large amount of dvds. Hubby bought them, watched them once and never watched them again. They take up valuable storage space and the odds are they will never be watched again but he would have a hissy fit if i found another home for any of them. Until then, i am waiting for the bottems of the drawers, cupboards to fall out before he even thinks about getting rid of any of them.