2020 - banish the clutter

GreenFairy

Oh can I join please?
We moved into this house 3 years ago with too much stuff, and still have too much stuff, though we've gotten a lot better at bringing new things in, at least.
We've got a 2 year old, who's showered with gifts by grandparents (I'm an only child, and the next oldest grandchild is 12 now, so you can guess how much stuff!). Our hobbies also seem to accumulate stuff - crafting, gaming (so many board games!), reading, painting.

Having lots of clutter is horrendous for my anxiety levels.
We cleared 3 carloads of stuff before Christmas, including an ottoman and a double sofa bed. That was such a relief, but it's hardly put a dent in things - the attic is full of very neatly arranged boxes, and my sons room is now overflowing with toys and things after the holidays.

short_bird

TC77 wrote: »

Have 2 bike locks without keys and about 10 keys that I don;t know what they are for! Do I keep in the hope keys will come up
1 thermos binned - broken vacuum - kept the lid and cups as may fit others - how many spare cups do I need?

What works for me in situations like this is having a container for locks and keys or Thermos bits and making a decision later.

A good idea as you aren't throwing things away that can still be used, in this case, if you still have bikes and thermos flasks then yes, it's worth it. Then you can have a thermos cup and flask "checking day", sort it all in one go and work out how often you need a flask and actually use it.

Not so good if you find you have lots of boxes of deferred decisions :rotfl: so you do have to draw the line somewhere and actually go back and deal with the stuff

Siebrie

GreenFairy, can you discuss with your child that he has 1 cupboard for his toys/games? Anything that doesn't fit, something needs to go. And maybe discuss with the grandparents that they buy him government bonds or contribute to an education fund?

phoebe1989seb

It was due to rain here today so fully intended to carry on decluttering the walk-in cupboard, but instead it's been dry so decided to make the most of the weather and do some work outside (potting up some allium bulbs I'd forgotten about ). DH is cracking on with erecting the stock-proof fencing.

Therefore so far all I've achieved on the decluttering front is a short headcount of pillows/duvets that were removed from the cupboard yesterday - apart from those (8 pillows, 2 duvets) on the beds, somehow we've managed to accumulate a further 10 pillows and 5 duvets. We don't do winter/summer weights as we use sheets/cotton bedspreads when it's hot, and we did used to have a six bedroom house (although never had more than four beds), so not really sure how we ended up with so many!

When the rain arrives and I'm forced to give up the gardening for today I'll be going through those in an effort to *lose* the excess. We're creating a third bedroom and will expect the occasional extra guest or three but can't see any further use for all those pillows - except using them as padding in removal boxes for particularly fragile items which is what we did last time we moved, lol!!!

Wednesday2000

I have been decluttering like crazy the last few days. I can't even remember everything I got rid of!

I tackled my kitchen today. I took everything out of the cupboards and rearranged everything so it is a lot more ordered.

I have a bag for the charity shop of kitchen things I never use! A wok, four bowls, three plates, a serving dish and a lasagne dish. I also put in a hand mirror that I thought I had already donated.

I bought some new PJ bottoms in a sale so I'm going to look through our bed clothes and our wardrobes again and either donate clothing to a charity shop or to textile recycling.

:T

jak

1 more bag gone! I’m focusing on paperwork to get rid of atm as I found school letters from 3 years ago for my son! Omg! The hall and landing have been done and I’ve made a start on the kitchen cupboard of doom. Today I’m going to do my bedside cabinets. 6 draws stuffed with crap! Wish me luck and well done everyone so far. So inspired by all the de-clutter bugs here xx

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

1. DO NOT PUT OFF TO TOMORROW WHAT CAN/SHOULD BE DONE TODAY
2. WRITE AND USE “TO DO LISTS”
3. LEAVE A ROOM TIDIER THAN WHEN I ENTERED
4. KITCHEN WILL BE LEFT CLEAN & TIDY EVERY NIGHT
5. WHEN DEALING WITH CLUTTER I WILL USE ‘Daisy1571’s idea of ‘WHAT WOULD I DO WITH THIS ITEM IF IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE’S ?’

Thursday has started dry & sunny. Poor start to the day as got up very late : DSis has gone to Lewisham to try & top up her holiday wardrobe : She was rather distressed yesterday that she has put on so much weight but she does eat a lot of crisps :eek: & really doesn’t move much so what does she expect sorry for being a bit sarcastic but I do try to encourage better habits & am completely ignored :mad: Rant over :rotfl: I have sorted out the newly cut keys - made up spare sets on new key rings & replaced DH’s bent garage key The wm is on & then DH & I are off to get me a swimming cossie or two & a bit of veg for tomorrow’s dinner. Post sorted - there wasn’t any :rotfl:

Cheerleading starts here

I am trying to do that too villagelife :T hence my numbers being so low You are only 300% ahead of me :rotfl: MUST TRY HARDER

Good work Makethedayscount :T Who knows what ‘treasures’ you will find in the loft - I am quite excited for you :j Hopefully you can make loads of money & treat yourself to something nice

You & me both lindens I don’t even have the ‘problem’ of working for a living By the way I would have counted the cardboard box as a separate item :rotfl:

Absolutely you can join us aboard the Decluttering Bandwagon, GreenFairy :hello: I think Siebrie :money: is absolutely correct that you should gently broach the subject of fewer toys & more looking to secure the little one’s financial future :T Now you have found us, just dive in I do know how difficult it is to start but my 1st bit of ‘unsolicited advice’ is to create a haven for yourself a place where you can relax & not think about the clutter There are various ways you can start but you are now in the mindset to declutter & once you have begun & are starting to see a difference you will notice a drop in anxiety levels So have at it GreenFairy :T We are here to encourage & offer ‘virtual’ help

Great suggestion from short_bird :T I do like the mention of ‘deferred decisions’ sounds so calm :rotfl:

You should make hay while the sun shines phoebe1989seb :rotfl: or at least work in the garden :rotfl: Maybe at one point in your life you were attracted to nice bedding

Excellent work Wednesday2000 :T especially on sorting all your kitchen cupboards :T

See you all later today

MrsSD
18/2020

Gem-gem

Continuing the decluttering:

Recycled
Two small boxes
Two pieces of paper shredded
Dvd case and sleeve
Old, empty seed packets
Folder full of A4 paper

Binned:
DVD

Boot fair
Jewellery box
Two dining room chairs ?May be binned???
Two folders
Plastic wallets -bundle

Upcycle
Biscuit tin ( that hubby and I got for Christmas) has become the new seeds tin.

Wednesday2000

Mrs_Salad_Dodger wrote: »

DSis has gone to Lewisham to try & top up her holiday wardrobe

Lewisham in south London?:)

never_too_old

Afternoon all

Few more items listed and have been collected on Olio so my cupboard is a little emptier :)Few electrical items bagged up for the tip.My actifryer and one cup kettle have both died in the last few weeks.I have replaced the kettle but not going to replace actifryer.
I am rather enjoying decluttering my life and have even started on the emails. unsubscribing and then deleting only 500k to go :eek: