2014 decluttering thread (part 3)

MummyEm

Hi all

I used to post on here a long time ago, but just haven't had the time to keep up with it. I've been reading for the last couple of weeks so thought I'd share my efforts.

-Last weekend I got rid of a huge box of kids bits at a local nearly new sale. Also had a kids bike collected that I'd ebayed.
-Posted two ebay items yesterday
-Dropped off carrier bag of bits to CS yesterday on way to post parcels
-Two carrier bags full to local pre-school 'cash for clothes' bin

I have also amassed a huge pile of bits to put on ebay over the last week so that's a bit a of job for me there

Today so far-

Have decluttered the washing pile (on third wash now). Including DS' coat (just bought new one so old one straight in wash then to ebay).
Off to clean upstairs now. Have put new beds in for both the children and been moving furniture around so upstairs is all out of sorts. We have some friends staying this weekend so need to get it tidied up.

Waiting on collection of two parcels (Amazon sent wrong items) and a delivery.

I have had a boden delivery with some much needed new clothes for me. If I get upstairs tidied and cleaned, my reward will be to be able to try on my new clothes this evening after a soak in the bath :j I will also be sticking to my one in - two out rule so will have to make some room for whatever fits!

sillyme673

Hi you are all do so well. I have took so much stuff to Cs think will tell me not to come back. Not having much luck with my gumtree stuff but plenty of people want the free stuff.
Does anyone know if CS take old mags, have lots of scfi one that cost nearly £5 and home mags feel guilty putting in recycling bin.
Been decuttering the car and found cappuccino style uht drink , best before 19th dec.yuk:eek:
Note to self must tidy car more often.

Willowpop

Well.. I had big plans for today decluttering wise…and then sliced my thumb open this morning, so I am now feeling sorry for myself trying not to bleed everywhere. However, I have put a pair of snow boots and a horseriding bundle on a few local facebook selling pages, though I have never had much luck with the groups before. Fingers crossed. A cup of tea and then onto the decluttering trail!

rosieben

sillyme673 wrote: »

... Does anyone know if CS take old mags, have lots of scfi one that cost nearly £5 and home mags feel guilty putting in recycling bin. ...

Last year our local charity shop took a big pile of sewing mags from me so its worth a try if they're in good condition

mothernerd

I think I need to join this thread please, but I can't understand why I still have clutter. I have been recycling since the days when you had to take bottles etc to the local council depot (picking 4 children up in turn to deposit bottles), I don't do stuffed toys or kitchen gadgets and most of my food stocks are in date (did find a packet of walnuts that were slightly ood but I think I had bought them for waldorf salad and then when I was diagnosed with diabetes (Dec 2012) I couldn't work out whether I was allowed them or not (cut out fat, sugar and salt as far as possible but different books - even the diabetic ones - had different lists of banned foods. The first one I read said NO potatoes and only green bananas).

I always have a charity shop bag on the go - the local library now has a cs bin and a food bank box so I try to take something every time I visit.
DS2 and a friend moved into my old house 2 years ago and I equipped them more or less single-handedly (pots pans, bedding , beds). Then DS3 moved down from the attic into the largest bedroom (attic has largest floor area but only middle part is stand-upable). He left most of his stuff in the attic. Every 2 weeks I would go up and move a little more across the floor, binning rubbish and putting the rest in boxes. I did get him to part with some of his old art books (self-taught, he was filling a book a week at one point) one Christmas but then it snowed and the blue bin wasn't emptied for four weeks.

Currently trying to declutter and sort the house for downsizing as only me and DS3 (23, finishing university this year) left at home.

In October I had a damp-proof course installed followed by a couple of minor disasters and lived without a kitchen for over 3 months and spent about 8 weeks prior to Christmas re-painting downstairs with special new plaster paint. At the same time all DS1's belongings came back (he downsized from a house to a bedsit then to a house-share which gave him access to a kitchen but the bedroom was even tinier. His stuff is currently taking up 2 bedrooms, half the kitchen cupboards and he has a freecycle fridge/freezer in the shed.(Oh and the fridge is full of his stuff so my dairy/fresh food has been living in the vestibule for months). I got bumped up to the attic along with most of the living room and dining room contents.

DS1 and his gf are moving into a rented house on Saturday:j:j:j and then I need to tackle the upstairs of the house in a systematic fashion ie the ceiling in the second largest bedroom needs painting before anything goes back in there. Recently spent 2 hours in the smallest bedroom. Old kitchen cupboard are inside the fitted wardobe and relocated DS1's mountaineering, larping and excess books inside + all the towels and contents of the floor to ceiling bathroom cupboard (no shelves and the boiler takes up most of the space) as I am sanding that down (and didn't want to spend another six weeks getting bits of paint out of the towels), so that I could tackle the curtains and bedding on top of the single bed. Have a full rag bag, any navy bedding has been added to DS1's pile + a cream pair of curtains and one linen sheet is going to be a top for me for summer.

Also spent 5 hours on DS3's room (he hadn't been out of there since before Christmas, except for food and going in the bath). He's a student. They had 3 weeks holiday, followed by 2 weeks exams (none for him this time) and now the tutors are on strike (selective 2 hours on certain days, supposedly but facebook reports classes cancelled and tutors not turning up the rest of the time). Luckily the day he went in, he met a friend and went to the pictures so I managed to clear the floor, wedge yet another ex-kitchen cupboard into one of the wardrobes (managed to get most of his clothes hung up in the wardrobe when he stayed with a friend before Christmas - he actually thanked me) to subdivide the space and everything is in the wardrobes, the bed drawers or the 2 filing cabinets acting as bedside tables - wouldn't touch one of them (pulled the whole thing out and anti-moulded the wall) as the pile of stuff on top of it was frightening. Next day managed to get him to go through 2 of the boxes in the bed-drawers and got rid of more things.

Spent yesterday clearing and cleaning a couch and set of shelves that DS1 is taking with him and clearing the hall (including a box full of kitchen doors which he promised to bring up to the attic). I can push the box across the floor downstairs and up here but not carry it upstairs. I know what I want to do with them but other tasks have priority. Currently hiding in the attic, as my couch (the one he is not taking) has now been pushed into the bay window. Front room, hall and 'the middle of the kitchen' are designated for putting all his stuff in, lined up ready for the van. Brought food , water, laptop, reading material and other essentials to bed with me last night and am at mum's tomorrow, as am very close to snapping.

Just keep smiling, hang on till Sunday (if van man, gf's uncle and cousin are all available and everything goes) and regroup next week.:T:T:T

Chris25

mothernerd, I know exactly what you mean - I can't help thinking that sometimes the de-cluttering helps to create clutter My hall is always full of boxes for re-cycling, charity shops, food bank, soup run, stuff to pass on to friends etc. Sometimes I can see why other friends just bin stuff. It can become overwhelming when it takes so long!

sillyme673

Thanks we take to CS with rest of stufff and quickly leave:j
Can now see corner of living room and only have 2 boxes of youngest DD toys in living room now:j
Need to sort out craft and colouring in stuff now. Carry bag of crayons anyone::)
When look at it almost lose will to live:p

Uniscots97

33) another item from the toiletries stash used


still not heard anything from the job interview. :-(

LeaLea89

Hi all,
spoke to our local dog re homing centre today as they have a good few charity shops in the area and asked if they would like my old stock from when i had a market stall (home furnishings) and they were delighted, i had to warn them that it may take me a few trips to get it in the shop in my village but the gent i spoke to said he would meet me and help out and then distribute the items to all the shops that means that my mums spare room will now be clear happy Lea, happy mum!

I'm decluttering wallpaper off my wall in the living room tonight with a friend helping me (shes getting paid with local ice cream delivery!) so tonight should be fun!!

Right, off home to walk the dog and get ready for tackling the wall paper! oh joy! xx:T

cat04

Thank you for the birthday wishes

OH back to work and DD's last day at school today before half term so I fitted in a cuppa and natter with a friend then cracked on! We have a basket on one kitchen worktop with all sorts of bits and it started to overflow over the Xmas hols, with bits of paper stuffed behind it etc and I've left it and left it so that was my main job today.

I've recorded receipts then recycled; recycled 2 filled notebooks saving a couple of pages from each; recycled leaflets/brochures etc; binned a few odds and ends; filed paperwork that needed keeping. It took quite a while to sort it all and I filled a carrier bag with recycling. I gave that corner of the kitchen a good scrub before putting the basket back - so much more space there now!

After school DD1 sorted out her school pencil case sharpening all the blunt ones and chucking out a few useless pencils before restocking from her vast 'home' collection.

Finished the rest of my small birthday cake this evening so the packaging for that in now in the recycling bin