Hoarding - Springing Ahead

Saver-upper

Oh,very busy today,and most of the house looks lovely.I got back on the decluttering band-wagon last Thursday,and with decluttering,dusting,vacuuming,by today I was able to start looking around the house and be pleased with how good so much of it looked.(Often what happens is I spend afew days decluttering and tidying Room A,then move onto Room B for afew days,by which stage you would not know Room A has been done :mad:.)

So,looking around the house:

-box room (for 2 younger kids) completely sorted (decluttered,dusted,vacuumed) except for its tiny built-in-cupboard

-older kids room "completely sorted".As mentioned,my son doesn't have alot of "stuff",and I was busy enough with everything else I described on Thursday,I left him alone.But during the hols I will sit with him and sort through some stuff-there must be something in his underbed storage we can get rid of!!Room mostly decluttered, and vacuumed

-today,another[STRIKE]declutter[/STRIKE] tidy-up and clean of kitchen(except floor clean).As previously mentioned,I hate kitchen clutter,and at the moment am keeping ontop of it,which means keeping it clean and tidy is a much shorter job.
I strike out the word "declutter",because,while benches are clear,I keep looking skyward at the tops of cupboards,and think "I wonder what's in those baskets?"It is afew years since I put them up there,and I rarely revisit them (yesterday, to get a vase, was the first time in probably about 12 months).I know I did used to put plastic bags up there "just incase",and spare plastic storage boxes for lunches/food storage etc.I think most of it could go.on the top of the other cupboard is occasionally/rarely used utensils,including chocolate fountain,cupcake cooker,blender/blitzer.(The latter 2 were gifts from mother-in-law,and blender has not even been opened )

-also today,a declutter of mine and partner's room.Alot of it was just putting away stuff,especially clean clothes.I do loathe having clothes lying around the house-just looks sooooo untidy.I always seem to have piles of clean washing ready to fold or put away (I don't do ironing unless absolutely necessary-I can't stand it ).In our room I have a wooden otterman to hide a multitude of sins,but inevitably it gets covered in stuff:clean washing,kids toys,clothes I have been sorting over the last few days.....Polished the mirror-doored wardrobes,vacuumed.Tomorrow will take my collection of books off window-sill and dust/polish.

-a couple of weeks ago decluttered and deep-cleaned the bathroom.Have been keeping ontop of this since.

The plan for tomorrow is to drive at least one car-load of stuff to charity shop.Over the last week we have filled a few bags to donate.Alot of the space I made in the loft afew weeks ago has been filled up with stuff ready to donate when I get the chance.Tomorrow is my chance.
I have also had a disassembled cot standing up in my hallway since THAT tabletop sale about 6 weeks ago.
That cot has been a drain of emotion and time-definitely time for it to go.It was given to me 12 years ago,having already seen 2 babies through it.Then my 4 babies all used it.It is a very good brand,and after all that use,there is still not a mark on it.So I have spent nearly 2 years trying to sell it.TWO YEARS!!!!!:eek:.It has been on every Facebook selling page I can find,online selling sites,mother and baby websites....I have finally decided it is time to just let it go.Abit sad.Yes,it would have been nice to get some money for it,but also it just seems so final.Slowly all the signs that I once had babies are leaving the house,and it is sad.

When I am taking a break from it all,I read this thread.Thank you all for such wonderful motivation :A.

Patchwork_Quilt

Thank you for all your lovely posts. My home is slowly filling up as Emigrating Friend gave me even more bags full of jumpers last week. Also, my birthday brought lots of lovely smellies and I ordered a few books with my birthday money ...

The chocolates have almost gone though.

There is also a lot of beekeeping stuff to come, as I am keeping on the allotment to take on the bees. That will all have to find a home.

I think we're in a decluttering swing back in the opposite direction but it will all go the right way again.

Keep going and keep posting!

Saver-upper

Oooohhh,feeling soooo much lighter today.
This morning I started gathering up the bundles/bags/boxes of stuff I have been saving for my charity shop delivery:stuff from the loft that I have cleared from around the house over the last 4-5 weeks,stuff from our decluttering efforts this week,kids clothes that have been sorted over the last few weeks,that darn cot...
Had to agree to pay my 10yo son £3 before he would agree to come with me to help me unload at the charity shop :eek:.
So,it has all gone.And it really does feel good.I told my partner I feel so much better having got rid of that cot.Told him that I feel emotionally lighter.I know he thought I had lost it.........
It is funny:my youngest "baby" has been out of that cot for 3 years,I have been trying to sell it for 2.All that time and energy spent relisting it for sale (every evening for about the last 2 months in the case of Facebook listings),fielding enquiries which lead to nothing,holding onto it,dragging it along to tabletop sales and back home again,feeling sad to be letting it go.Now it is finally gone,and I don't feel regret,but relief.So much lighter.Isn't it funny?

Tomorrow partner is out with the kids,so will get a chance to go all around the house and catch up on my "to do" list,eg kitchen is fantastic except for THOSE wicker baskets on the top of cupboards,smaller kids room is fantastic (*),will just vacuum and polish.mine and partner's room is great except for dusting that windowsill with books on.Sorting out the lounge room will be my biggie:there is still papers lying on floor,in piles,ready to be filed in my new expanding file,there are a few clothes lying around to be kept for my kids to grow into,abit of kid mess on the floor.
* when son and I went to charity shop,7yo daughter was insisting I give her something to do (she would have come with us but there was no room for her in the car!).So I left her with their 2 dressing up boxes to sort.By the time I got back,she he had done a wonderful job of bagging together different outfits which had become seperated since I last sorted through them(about 2 years).By doing that she effectively sorted out her built-in robe I had been going to do today :A.

ginnyknit

Im in transition at the moment, lots of things on their way out asap - listing lawn mower ( LL paved over front garden for us to make a driveway :j and I only have 3 foot by 2 foot grass at the back) spare strimmer as we bought a fab petrol one off a friend. Dgs grown out of a big toy we keep here and a box of crafty stuff to go on freecycle. All this will free up space so I can move things around a bit. Its all a bit messy but I can see the wisdom of my choices. 2 more parcels to go tomorrow too.

Saver upper :T:T:T amazing job, you must be so pleased to have given yourself a boost and well done with the cot, hard choices but seem to have done you good.

Have decided to cull my collection of cardigans that I wear around the house - who needs 8!

whitewing

I love reading about the successes and stoppages of others on here. The sun is bright here at the moment. I can feel change in the air - some parts will be good and some not so good, but I will focus on the bits that I can make brilliant.

I feel inspired to see if we can do a declutter of DS' room for an hour or so today. He may resist though. He is making some hard decisions lately and a room declutter may inspire him but equally may take away his source of comfort. He's having a lie in so we will see.

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Was very busy yesterday and out of the flat from 9.30 am until 4 pm. Went to the dump on foot with the two pieces of 'wood'. Could have cycled one-handed with them but didn't think it prudent in heavy traffic as I would have been definately in the wrong if anything had happened.

Then walked from the dump to the lottie and decluttered some seeds into the ground and decluttered some weeds from the soil. Overdid it somewhat but am pleased. Looking good up there.

I laundered the bedroom curtains before I went and left them on the clothes rack. They were mostly dry when I came home so ironed them and spent 5 mins repairing the hem which had started to come down. Re-hung about 10 hours after they were removed plus the window frame washed down.

I normally wash my curtains and kitchen blind once a year, in autumn, but things slid last autumn and they didn't get done, so I felt a bit of a mucky mare. And when I re-hung them last time, I saw this little sewing job on the hem and didn't attend to it and it's been annoying me ever since.

BTW, don't mean to imply that annual curtain washing should be the norm but my home is tiny, the bedroom curtains are about 1 foot from my bed, and the living room has the kitchen opening off it, so things get grubbier than they would in a larger home.

My grandmother, who 'did' for other people, always reckoned that large homes were easier to clean than small ones, and I can see her point. I have just as many mess-makers as a big home but the fallout is concentrated in a much smaller area.

Have spent about 1.5 hours today catching up on a very boring admin-type task, which I have been dreading, but it's done now. I have decided I'm too tired to garden again today, plus the weather is iffy, so will have a bobbling around at home day. I also fancy mooching around to where there are a lot of cherry trees to savour the blossoms. It's such a pretty time of the year, isn't it?

Keep on keeping on, my lovelies. GQ xx

whitewing

I saw a doormat yesterday that I nearly bought that had cherry blossom on it. Perhaps I will get it after all. I almost like blossom more than flowers, maybe because I don't think about blossom until it is happening, so it seems unexpectedly joyful.

Your comment about annual curtain washing chimed with some thoughts I've been having recently about how often one should do things. I have absolutely no idea on things like repainting walls etc. This kind of thing was a monumental job growing up. My dad had the skills for the practical tasks but the hoarding side of him put paid to anywhere looking good.

GreyQueen

whitewing wrote: »

I saw a doormat yesterday that I nearly bought that had cherry blossom on it. Perhaps I will get it after all. I almost like blossom more than flowers, maybe because I don't think about blossom until it is happening, so it seems unexpectedly joyful.

Your comment about annual curtain washing chimed with some thoughts I've been having recently about how often one should do things. I have absolutely no idea on things like repainting walls etc. This kind of thing was a monumental job growing up. My dad had the skills for the practical tasks but the hoarding side of him put paid to anywhere looking good.

What a lovely description; unexpectedly joyful. That's exactly how I feel about it. You don't see it arriving and then, pow! the tree is in blossom and the perfume of it wafts on the air. And because you know it will be a short-lived thing, and gone for another year, you savour it.

I think that it's no bad thing that 'spring cleaning' is a thing of the past. After all, few of us have coal fires with their attendant dirt, and few of us are housewives. Cleaning is something which we do around life, not a big annual job for which we disarrange the entire household.

But that does beg the question of those occasional tasks, doesn't it? After all, debris and filth do manage to make their way under appliances such as washers, cookers and fridges. Do you decide that out of sight is out of mind, and never go after it, or wait until you buy a new appliance/ move house?

And what about whatever window-coverings you use? They accrue grime slowly, in most cases, so you hardly notice. And dirt is actually damaging to fibres, as well as harbouring debris which might make the textiles attractive to pests. And if you leave it too long, you might end up with unwashable grunge.

Regarding redecoration, a lot of it can be avoided by using a good quality washable paint and washing the walls down every few years with a sugar-soap solution. I would encourage anyone to hang fire on buying paint until they have done this. You need to wash before painting anyway, and the paint often only looks as if it needs a repaint because of surface grubbiness.

Of course, you may just fancy a change of colour, and more power to your elbow if you do.

Regarding intermittant cleaning, I have a list in the back of my diary, which is things like cleaning under the appliances, washing the curtains, washing the kitchen blind, stuff like that. I aim to do these things once a year if possible. Some things get done more frequently, like vacuuming under the bed, as it's a very active storage area.

It wouldn't be too slummy if things went to a second year, but I wouldn't like to let things go too far as the cleaning back to an acceptable standard can be very tiresome. And, when I had to get a w.m. mechanic out at short notice, I had no blushes as he dragged the machine out as I'd done the floor underneath it a couple of weeks prior to his visit.

I have ME so can't do a lot of anything at one time, so even if I had time to devote a whole day to cleaning, I wouldn't do it because the energy wouldn't be there. One appliance every few days is plenty.

In fact, I am getting itchy fingers and am wondering about hoiking the washer forwards............:rotfl:

Gingernutty

I've done it, but it took the better part of five months to get an electric heater out of the house after it's been sitting in a corner for months, in its box, ready to go.

Shift patterns, procrastination and poor organisation meant that I hadn't got around to it before this month.

I switched it on twice but the plug and cable heated up to such an extent that I was too scared to use it any more.

In December, I asked about exchanging it on the Consumer Rights sub-forum beforehand.

After I admitted bringing it back months after I first asked about returning it, I was accused of using it all winter before taking it back for a refund.

They don't understand us, do they?

ginnyknit

No people certainly dont understand how we get through the day Ginger and people are quick assume things. I think a lot of us on here totally empathise with you.

Unexpected trip to the tip :j car full of junk from the back garden gone so its now junk free and I ran up stairs and grabbed a bin bag of stuff to add to it - feeling a sense of acheivement today, the bedroom is much better now and am only 2 small boxes away from being able to use the wardrobe properly.

Went to visit Mum and as per usual came back with a bag of magazines but I now read and re-cycle instead of holding onto them for the odd recipe. I have a notebook next to the bed so just jot down any recipes as I see them.