2020 - banish the clutter

notmy1sttime

IrishRose - what terrible news. Thinking of you and all in your community. I think you are right, technology is taking over our lives and can be a contributing factor, especially social media.

[Deleted User]

Got round to auctioning some items and some have already sold. I'd say a bag full of stuff has been put on site and already due at least £25. Happy days! 12/365

Foofoopuppy

Finally got round to having a bit of a sort over the Christmas holidays, tossed some raggedy clothes, a broken computer chair and we are also making our way through our dried/tinned foods as I'd like to have it so we aren't transporting too much food when we move. Also making a list of everything that will need replacing once we move!

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

IrishRose12 wrote: »

Afternoon everyone.
I've made a big decluttering decision within the last hour. That is that I'll be de-cluttering the amount of time I spend on technology/internet/social media etc.

I have just gotten the news of a 3rd suicide in my community since Thursday:( The youngest was 11 years old, the oldest this morning was 21 years old.
I have said for a long time now, that technology is a major contributing factor to the state of mental health these days, especially for the younger generation. Now baring in mind I'm only in my early 30's so I'm not talking about big age gaps here, I'm even talking about my own generation.

After hearing this news this afternoon, I've decided that us adults need to lead by example, we need to make a stand. If children watch us constantly on mobiles, tablets etc they think its normal and OK. It's not. And I'm not even talking about our own children, I'm talking about people - children AND adults watching us on buses, taxis, trains, in shops......... you name it, we're all guilty of it.
I don't want the children and adults in my own family, the children or adults I work with, or anyone in fact seeing me using any sort of technology all the time and thinking this is the norm.
They already know that I don't use cards in stores to pay for stuff, I insist on using cash. I hate that the world is forcing us into depending on technology be it to pay for things, even going to see a doctor, or using the phone to contact a company we're forced to speak to automated robots instead of human beings.

What sort of example is that showing to children?

So this will be my final post - for now. I may pop in once a week, once a month, once every few months I don't know, I'll see how it goes.
But after the news I've had this afternoon I feel that I need to show more appreciation on this thread also.

I want to thank you Mrs Salad Dodger. For the help, support, guidance, encouragement and laughter you have shown me this past couple of years, as well as to many others. You have no idea just how much you have helped me, by setting up these threads.
You need and are worth far far more than a gold star!! If I could, you'd be getting a bunch of flowers, with chocolates - the whole works.

I will be going now to look at the bits of technology I have around this house. If it's not important, it's going out.
And as for all the junk I'm keeping "just in case"??? -- It's going too. If I need it again in the future, I'll buy it again.

But here in this house....... we're going back to basics. We're going back to how it was 10/15/20 years ago when more than half of this junk wasn't here, and certainly wasn't needed. When the children come in here, there'll be no clutter, there will be games, lego, books etc for them and there will be absolutely no technology. And they'll not be on a phone or a tablet or laptop.

Sorry to see you go IrishRose12 but you have my utmost admiration for the decision you have reached and am very saddened as to why you have reached this decision. I am definitely guilty of too much time on my iPad but not as brave as you
I think you might be going back more than 20 years but your home will be reminiscent of gentler times. I remember evenings of playing board games & card games with not a phone, iPad etc in sight I am the only person in our household who doesn’t have a mobile phone :T & relies on the landline I am also a proponent of using cash but admit to having one CC which I use once a month or for major purchases & always pay off in full :money:

I wish you every success & hopefully family, friends & colleagues will follow your example even it is only to reduce their exposure

MrsSD

short_bird

33-36: another 3 inches of paperwork, some from 2005!
37-38: 2 vinyl records that are beyond redemption even if I take them to be professionally cleaned.
39-40: 2 jam jars to the "things to go to work" heap: I'll leave them for the beehive owner and the jam maker to fight over!
41: additional bag of rubbish containing all the odd bits that can't be recycled.
42: 3 life maintenance emails, 2 to sort things out for later in the month.

IrishRose12 good on ya. Excellent decision for the saddest of reasons.

winspiration

I was away for the New Year for a couple of days with my SIL - her house is extremely decluttered and stylish - always underlines how cluttered mine is in comparison!



I have done quite a bit of sorting in my craft room, all of my clear stamps and embossing folders have now been sorted and found permanent, organised homes - I found a couple of duplicates which will find their way onto ebay at some point. Outer packaging has been disposed of, and I've almost filled the recycling wheelie bin, which will be collected tomorrow.



The other night I cleared some digital clutter and got rid of over 2,000 emails from my inbox which has made a bit of a dent, although still many more to go. Also had a bit of a tidy up within Evernote, which I started using mainly to keep an inventory of my craft stuff, but is also handy for scanning in lots of other paperwork too, and even better, clipping information from the web instead of printing it out.



I have a stock clearance sale running this month so have been busy packing orders, ebay has been quite busy too over the weekend. I posted over 6 kilos of business stock on Friday, and will probably have at least twice that to go tomorrow - all quite light stuff individually, so stuff is going in the right direction, i.e. out!

Gem-gem

Recycled:
Heart tin
Food packaging
Dead flowers
Wooden sticks
Uu Mayo jar

Uu card stock
Uu double sided sticky tape
Uu glue dots

Sorted the Xmas cards (removed the backs the other day), ones that will be made into cards. Others have been made into tags. Made as many cards as I could using up old Card stock. All ready for 2020 and 2021.

Now up to 32

Willowtree222

Carried on for the rets of the day.
10 items of little ones that needed to go out. I stopped her from rescuing them or coming up with some extreme reason as to why she needed to keep it.
4 yankee jars that are going to work tomorrow to see if anyone wants them for bits of storage. They will not be coming home.
1 box of numbers of letters to give to a colleagues little girl.
1 out of date poppets box
3 out of date vitamins from 2017 stuck at the back of a cupboard.
2 old hates belonging to little one again for a colleagues little girl.

Another 21 items makes my total 264 items.

I am back in work tomorrow so my posts and decluttering will drastically slow down. I need to do my laptop bag, but will do that tomorrow in work.

keepcalmandcraft

I've had a really good couple of days decluttering. The bathroom clearout produced 12 items to bin, 8 to CS and 12 to DD1. Then today I sorted out my clothes and shoes and had the following:
15 hangers
7 shoeboxes
8 knickers binned
5 bras to Charity
18 items of clothing to CS
10 shoes to CS
1 pair of shoes to bin
9 necklaces to CS

also 10 books to village telephone box library.

My total so far is 127/2020.

ailz95

Finally got rid of last year's calendar. I went through one cupboard and have shifted a Britax water filter jug, some sheets for in the bottom of the fridge and a couple of very thin plastic chopping boards.

I've also been sorting out knives and scissors and have about 6 sharp veg knives and bread knives to get rid of, but don't know where to - do charity shops take knives? Does anyone know.