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2020 - banish the clutter

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  • ailz95
    ailz95 Posts: 380 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Photogenic Debt-free and Proud!
    Not much done here - again. I went through my threads looking for the next one I'll be doing and had to order some. I have so many threads etc. I'm going to take some to a charity shop - just hard to part with them, but realistically I'm 65, how many more am I going to do. I took a lot of bead weaving stuff to a charity shop last year as there was no way I could get needles through holes any more. Plus I prefer cross stitch.

    I'm going to get DH to take everything out from under the bed and I'll sort it out and get rid of stuff.

    Our next door neighbour has a flock of sheep in one of their fields and will wnt to transfer them to another one in the next couple of weeks. Our gate fell off just before Christmas, which means that when being moved the sheep will veer off into our garden, so we had to buy a gate and new gateposts yesterday - more money decluttered - and hopefully it'll be being put on today.

    Hugs to those in need and cheers to the rest for work well done.
    Clutter free wannabee 2021 /52 bags to cs. /2021 'stuff' out of the place

    YOU CANNOT BE ALL THE GOOD THAT THE WORLD NEEDS, BUT THE WORLD NEEDS ALL THE GOOD YOU CAN BE
    taken from Shelbizleee on YouTube - her copyright
  • Willowtree222
    Willowtree222 Posts: 8,224 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I carried on back through the bookshelves as I felt motivated and wanted to keep progressing with this. I haven't done it all, but did another 40 books and one broken DVD player that both went to the tip this morning. I found another 10 books that the selling website was willing to take so that will be another 10 leaving the house when I finish posting them. I also listed another 4 items on ebay.

    Decluttering total so far is 225 items. Mostly books. I still have a lot of items to go through though. I am starting to see empty cupboards and empty shelves too, which is a nice feeling to have.

    Happy Saturday everyone. x
    September 2017 Debt = £25330

    Starting afresh.

    You can do anything if you put your mind to it. x
  • Been lurking for a few days as I am struggling with the sheer volume of stuff that two people can acquire!
    A moment of clumsiness just before Christmas resulted in an injury to my right arm forcing me to be a spectator rather than the principle player in the Christmas festivities although they were still at my house. This drew the amount of clutter into sharp focus as ‘others’ were using my cupboards and witnessing the horror!!
    Now Christmas is over I am determined never to be ashamed of the clutter again! Yesterday DH took a large but very rarely used dinner service to the CS - 79 pieces in all!
    I’m setting myself the target of 500 items. I’m hoping fir more but have taken advice from this site and setting a target that I know I can achieve and will set a new one once I’ve reached it.
    Already feeling pleased with the cupboard space 😀😀

    Repentant Hoarder :o
  • A bit more success today. Christmas decorations neatly put away in a sensible place, so that next year I'll actually use the prettiest ones rather than find them on the 4th January :o . Also, more :o, delved into the cupboard under the stairs to find 15 (!!!!) rolls of wrapping paper. It was behind a big box, that's why I didn't see it before. It is now upstairs, in the 'wrapping paper' area, ready for a starring role next year!!!

    One shelf tidied.
  • Organza_Lace, a very elegant solution :T & a halo 😇 is coming to you :) You can bask in the knowledge that your son was actually trying hard to make you happy. Maybe this year you can make a list of things you won’t buy for yourself & much later in the year start dropping hints :rotfl: Shame about the restrictive diet but herbs & spices can make a difference & quite a few vegetables can be parboiled then roasted (apologies if that sounds like grandma & eggs :rotfl:). Well Done on persuading your DH to relocate his tools :T Hopefully clearing under your bed will not be as bad as you fear ;)

    A great result retiredinfrance :T stopping clutter coming in is a huge win :D

    IrishRose12, Another one who has joined the ‘Do NOT let the clutter in’ group :T It helps if you really dislike shopping :rotfl: It is one of the pleasures of life watching children be creative :T even if it takes ages to clear up the mess :rotfl:

    Brilliant work Nicnak :T Tackling books keeps a lot us awake at night :rotfl: so any dent you can make is to be applauded :T Another win for all of us is realising our weaknesses when it comes to actually getting the clutter out of the house :T As long as you wash out the bottle thoroughly then yes it does count ;) Empty spaces - be they cupboards or shelves are such a joy :D & are evidence of your successes :T

    Halo 😇 to you short_bird :T

    Welcome back tboo :D Lovely to see you & an excellent start to your 2020 Decluttering Campaign :T You are also the recipient of a halo 😇 :) I think I might have to actually fully read a copy of the Marie Kondo book rather than just on-line snippets ;)

    Gem-gem, I rather like your target of 20 per month :T It seems to be an ‘encouraging’ target :T

    Good work villagelife :T

    Very impressed that you have started on the Study of Doom elsien :T

    :j:j You have finished your cross stitch ailz95 - you must be chuffed :D Good luck with the under bed clearance :D

    Now, now StinkingBishop :naughty: You do NOT have my permission to be cross with yourself :p - look at it as recharging your decluttering batteries ;)

    Stellata - I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS :p - shredding is so lovely & final :T

    Brilliant numbers greent :T I especially liked the very MSE tablecloth :D

    Welcome aboard Michelleh :hello: Excellent plan re the books - as I have mentioned before many of us do struggle with books :o Re the items at your parents - perhaps a sub total - just to encourage yourself ;)

    Just popping out so will return later to resume cheerleading ;)

    MrsSD
    1/2020
    Be Kind. Stay Safe. Break the Chain. Save Lives. ⭐️

    2025 Savings Pot Challenge: As a monthly amount, running total = £379.00
    Jan £5.00 Feb £12.74 Mch £23.26 Apr £32 May £43 Jun £50 July £62 Aug £71 Sep £80 Oct  Nov  Dec  Grand Total £
  • jacwins
    jacwins Posts: 551 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    edited 4 January 2020 at 3:11PM
    1 drawer sorted in daughter's room
    16-20 - pjs too small for daughter in bag for my cousin
    21-22 - long sleeved tops too small for daughter in bag for my cousin
    23 - 1 pair of shoes in boot of car for textile bank

    Ideas - put hoodies on selling site, put a n other toy on selling site, do a bag full of shredding, spend 10 mins going through my letters etc in the kitchen (school newsletters etc), sell / CS baby cooking books, making jam tarts with jams in fridge that don't get used (batch 1 made, no jam finished yet)
    Listed - children's hangers x16 free

    Current totals 23/2020 4/52
    Decluttering target:
    Beauty product - 11/52, last item - bubble bath used while I shaved legs, 2 conditioners sachets from used hair dye boxes
    Play room - 41/52, last item -
    Clothes - 23/52, last item -
    Food - 13/52, last item -
  • bexster1975
    bexster1975 Posts: 1,576 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Bake Off Boss!
    So, all the Christmas decorations are down, and put away in their correct homes. I threw out a few tatty decorations at the start of the season, so no more to go. The lounge I see clean and hoovered, and now looks a little bare :o

    I have made good headway in the office/spare room, and have seen a chair/bed I think I'd like to replace the single bed in there. It's not cheap, and out of stock until the end of January. So the challenge is to clear under the spare bed so there is nothing needing storing there anymore. If I can do that, I can buy the chair/bed. Simples! :D

    Good to see everyone doing well, and Mrs SD cheering everyone on.

    Bexster :)
  • nannywindow
    nannywindow Posts: 3,687 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    All xmas decs down and boxed up ready to go back in a built in cupboard. Before they go back I want to take everything out and sort it. There is so much in there I can't remember what's what :o. ( that's where I found my old books and the board games ).
    Today I have thrown out a chipped mug and 2 more chocy boxes..... I'm doing my best to finish the chocs asap, just so that I can recycle the boxes. That's commitment for you :rotfl:. Also emptied a bag full of recycling from the shed into the correct recycling boxes/bags. There is still a very large box left which needs cutting up on the patio, but it's raining and I'm not going out in it........ I might melt :eek:. I have also decluttered all the dust from downstairs and hoovered up the glittery stuff, always a plus after taking the decs down !

    Happy decluttering all
    nan
    Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, but this time more intelligently
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 36,189 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Slightly random question, but I find I can only bring myself to properly clean and declutter during daylight hours. My head tells me hoovering can't be done under artificial light for reasons that rationally probably don't make a huge amount of sense
    Which means that when I'm at work most jobs get "saved" for the weekend during the shorter days, then I begrudge the use of my time when I could be doing things I enjoy. So nothing gets done at all. Hence the decluttering frenzy before I start back on Monday.

    Wondering if it's just me, or if anyone can suggest anything to break the habit - getting up earlier not an option. :)
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • Afternoon All
    Well, I haven't gotten very far with taking Christmas decs down, but I have had a good sort through my clothes and filled two carrier bags. I walked straight down the road with them to the charity clothes bank thingy as I'm not going into town today where the charity shops are and am operating a quickest route exit policy for decluttered items :D.
    I have done a tour of duty into DS's room and gathered various detritus that has been recycled or binned. He has brought down anything he wants washing before he goes back to Uni tomorrow, so I'm just sorting that. Another cuppa I think and I might at least take the baubles off the Christmas tree and put them away nicely as they have their own box.
    Oh, and I have decluttered the bit of weight I put back on over Christmas, hurray!
    Guineapigsqueaks x


    Keep Smiling :)
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