2016 - No Clutter To Be Seen

DuranGirl

1 - One old video game sold on ebay and posted today (a few quid for the decorating fund!)
2 - One magazine read - CS

FoxFace

Wow. A massive decluttering day here today! The kids went back to school and DH and I have taken the week off work to get the house ship shape.

I couldn't possibly list all of the things we have decluttered today! Two trips to the CS with loads of stuff and 5 heavy duty bin bags of !!!! FULL ready to go the tip! Anything we could recycle has gone into the correct bins too

Am going to call it 7 declutters... one for each bin bag and one for each CS trip

Very pleased with today... pleased but exhausted!

EDIT: We also packed away Christmas... going to call it 8

Smoosh

I read this thread a bit last year and think I should join in this year. We're planning on moving in the summer when I graduate, so the more clutter I can get rid of now the better.

I only got back from my parents (long Christmas visit) on Saturday and only really started unpacking/sorting out yesterday. Needless to say, bags and bags of packaging, bags & boxes have gone in the bin! Also started a bag for the charity shop, which is almost full I haven't been keeping track of each thing I've got rid of though!

Dizzy_Imp

FoxFace wrote: »

Not sure if most people would call this a declutter, but I just sorted out Sky HD box recordings... we had 3 full pages of stuff recorded that we have never (and probably will never) watch, along with a ton of series auto records for stuff we haven't watched in ages.... deleted! 89% of the hard drive down to 16%.

Yup! I would definitely count that. Is that classed as virtual decluttering? A bit like deleting unwanted emails?

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Feeling a bit overwhelmed today.

I have loads of paperwork in various drawers and cupboards, and am trying to sort it all out.

What system do people use for storing all of their paperwork?

I have a small filing cabinet and about half a dozen lever arch files. I use the cabinet for filing paperwork not used so regularly and the lever arch files for day-to-day stuff. Nicki's system where new goes at the front works for me too

donnajt wrote: »

Ooh can I join, house is fairly clutter free but I've suffered with depression over last couple of years, I get a new interest .... get all the stuff I need ... then lose interest .... ie New paint bought in October for kitchen is hidden under my desk, my beautiful new blind fabric arrived today so...

Welcome :wave:

Just three things for me today...

6-8 Burst dog bags (and about a million "lighter-than-air" :mad: polystyrene balls) flung into a skip at the tip with glee!

Skintmama

7. Christmas cards – recycling

8. Citrus attachment for juicer that we no longerhave – bin

9. Christmas tree – recycling

10. Empty shampoo bottles – recycling

11. Sun lotion - bin

A slow start for me as I still seem to be battling a virus.

Smoosh

A couple things I'm not sure what to do with...

1) An unopened bottle of limoncello. It was a gift, but neither me or OH want it. Is there anywhere we can give it to? It seems a waste to just throw it away

2) A cat stocking (one of the ones you get from supermarkets etc. that has a little toy & treats in it). I ripped the cardboard off the top before realising there was no point in opening it as the cat won't like anything inside it, but you can tell it hasn't been opened as the staples are still attached to the mesh part. Can this go to a CS, or better idea?

Any ideas very welcome

Skintmama

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Feeling a bit overwhelmed today.

I have loads of paperwork in various drawers and cupboards, and am trying to sort it all out.

What system do people use for storing all of their paperwork? I have spilt it up into categories (Sons appointments/medical info and DLA benefits, household bills, tax credit info) but no idea what to do with it. Any suggestions of cheap and easy ways to do this would be great.

I have 1 bin bag of rubbish so far today.

I use a lever arch file for each year (labelled)and fill it with the clear plastic page pockets. These are both cheap.
One plastic pocket will generally take a year's worth of bank statements or credit card bills etc.
Everything that comes in just gets put into the relevant pocket with the newest item on top.
It is easy to flip through for what I want when needed.
At the end of the year anything obsolete can be shredded.
I remove the whole pocket for anything bank or tax related, put a date label on it and place it into a separate file. After seven years it gets shredded.

I have a box file in which I put all manuals and receipts for household appliances and other electricals.

The cars also have a separate folder as I find this helps me to keep track of things like MOTs and tax. Also useful when it comes to selling a vehicle as all the receipts are there for work done.

A metal file box contains more permanent things like personal insurance policies, certificates etc.

What actually happens is that I don't get around to emptying each file every year! Not quite organised enough for that It doesn't matter though, as everything is neatly stored and easily retrievable.

What I love about this system is that there is never a need to have odd piles of paper that I don't know what to do with.

Hope this helps as I understand what it is like to feel overwhelmed by paper! Also it does mean that you can start straightaway with a new file for this year's paper and deal with the backlog gradually.

Serendipitious

Smoosh wrote: »

A couple things I'm not sure what to do with...

1) An unopened bottle of limoncello. It was a gift, but neither me or OH want it. Is there anywhere we can give it to? It seems a waste to just throw it away

2) A cat stocking (one of the ones you get from supermarkets etc. that has a little toy & treats in it). I ripped the cardboard off the top before realising there was no point in opening it as the cat won't like anything inside it, but you can tell it hasn't been opened as the staples are still attached to the mesh part. Can this go to a CS, or better idea?

Any ideas very welcome

For the bottle, the only thing I can think of is to wait till the local spring and summer fayres start, then you can donate it to the bottle stall. I have a similar problem, as a friend cleared out her drinks cupboard as part of her NY resolutions and gave the lot to me, but I probably won't drink any of it so have to find somewhere to offload it.

Cat stocking - have a look in supermarkets, they sometimes have pet food donation boxes, I have seen these in Tesco, Sainsbury and Co-op in the past.

whiteguineapig

my booths supermarket also has a donation bin for pet food if that helps

Larumbelle

Smoosh wrote: »

A couple things I'm not sure what to do with...

1) An unopened bottle of limoncello. It was a gift, but neither me or OH want it. Is there anywhere we can give it to? It seems a waste to just throw it away

2) A cat stocking (one of the ones you get from supermarkets etc. that has a little toy & treats in it). I ripped the cardboard off the top before realising there was no point in opening it as the cat won't like anything inside it, but you can tell it hasn't been opened as the staples are still attached to the mesh part. Can this go to a CS, or better idea?

Any ideas very welcome

The cat stocking, I would give to a cat rescue - as Serendipitious said, there are often collection points at supermarkets etc. If not, if you ask at your local vets I bet they could put you in touch with an organisation that would be grateful for it. Incidentally the one near me is always in need of old towels, blankets and duvets, just in case that nudges anyone who has these to unclutter?!

The Limoncello, I read somewhere about a hospice that has a drinks trolley for patients to have a wee tipple, the bottles all being donated. May be worth contacting your local hospice to see if they do anything similar?