2024 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Hello

@wishus - so sorry to hear about your friend.
@dND - exciting news about your house move at last
Mrs S_D - thank you so much for my first medal of the year Hope you are feeling a bit better today and that DSis continues to improve.

I haven't achieved much out the house but have a bag full of stuff for the CS, will try to drop it off this week. I've been decluttering tasks - continued upcycling the ottoman (started last year oops), started tidying my bedroom (big task!!) and have been piling stuff up the garden to take to the tip - need assistance with this as I've got an old table top that is too heavy for me to lift into the car.

Love to all
Deni x

Muddy_Walker

Nothing much to report here except I now have a cold. That’s the trouble with An Illness and going into the office once a week - you never quite know how clean things are………will be taking my own mug and drink container from now on I think. 😊
I had plans today too as it’s sunny…..never mind. Rest first - have a good day all. Xx

daisy_1571

sorry to hear about your friend wishus
Lovely bag vulpix

Daisy xx

QueenJess

Did a tiny bit of tidying today and decluttered as I tidied.  Also boxed up charity stuff for DH to take in the week.  Utterly fed up of continually dealing with stuff all the time and having to do it all on my own.  DH doesn't get it, but then he also thinks the house is perfectly tidy when clearly it is not (stuff on all surfaces, floors etc).  The decluttering takes so much processing time, then it takes just as long to actually get rid of the stuff as well.

Digital:
25 - emails deleted from permanent folders
1 - online accounts deleted

Physical:
1 - packaging reused
1 - completed puzzle book recycled
1 - duplicate puzzle book (charity box)
3 - DS paperwork recycled
1 - DD puzzle (charity box)
2 - DD books (charity box)
10 - kitchen bag clips (too many, Buy Nothing)
1 - DS tat binned
2 - packaging reused
1 - bookmark (charity box)
2 - my books (charity box)
112 - magnetic tiles things not used (Buy Nothing)
New total = 3,897

Pennypincin

Sorry I've been missing in action, I've also lost count of what's gone out too.
I've had a few things come in, but am filling up another bag for the charity shop.

Siebrie

We’ve had a leaflet that our village will have a garage sale day on 14 April, and I have registered us We will sell as much as possible, and any leftovers (still in good condition) will be sent to relatives in Africa. We’re only allowed to sell ‘own’ stuff, nothing bought or made for the day, or shop stock and such. Which is fine, we won’t, but husband’s 7 Targus copilot bags (retailing at €140; from colleagues who left the company and were told to hand their stuff in and then husband was asked to throw stuff away but he took it home, with permission) are a grey area, so we will have just one out at a time.

I have emptied two large plastic boxes of temporary clothes storage. It is now all in the new wardrobe, or in the newly dedicated ‘garage sale’ box.

daisy_1571

Queen jess, its great to try to pass stuff on, recycle, charity shop,  sell etc but sometimes when I get overwhelmed trying to think what is the best place for this i've been known to think 'this is mine, I bought it, I can do what I want with it.'  And it goes in the bucket or broken down into constituent parts and into relevant recycling.   

I feel its delaying it by passing on which is great but eventually everything will get recycled or chucked.  If you are stopping extraneous stuff coming in then you are doing what you can.  You seem to spend such a lot of time feeling like there's too much stuff in your house, maybe a concentrated weekend of simply chucking stuff out will let you feel better? 

Kids will play with the toys they have,  they'll get more at birthday and xmas.  They'll be fine.  If they later look back when they are adults they'll likely miss something you don't even remember and not the thing you are worried they will miss lol.  

Just a thought,  if it frees up your mind to enjoy your life and stops you feeling like you are constantly moving things around- its a home, not a warehouse and you live there, you're not a warehouse supervisor with a computer record and a team of workers lol.  No need to respond and offered without judgement,  just mega sympathy. 

Daisy xxx

QueenJess

daisy_1571 said:

Queen jess, its great to try to pass stuff on, recycle, charity shop,  sell etc but sometimes when I get overwhelmed trying to think what is the best place for this i've been known to think 'this is mine, I bought it, I can do what I want with it.'  And it goes in the bucket or broken down into constituent parts and into relevant recycling.   

I feel its delaying it by passing on which is great but eventually everything will get recycled or chucked.  If you are stopping extraneous stuff coming in then you are doing what you can.  You seem to spend such a lot of time feeling like there's too much stuff in your house, maybe a concentrated weekend of simply chucking stuff out will let you feel better? 

Kids will play with the toys they have,  they'll get more at birthday and xmas.  They'll be fine.  If they later look back when they are adults they'll likely miss something you don't even remember and not the thing you are worried they will miss lol.  

Just a thought,  if it frees up your mind to enjoy your life and stops you feeling like you are constantly moving things around- its a home, not a warehouse and you live there, you're not a warehouse supervisor with a computer record and a team of workers lol.  No need to respond and offered without judgement,  just mega sympathy. 

Daisy xxx

Thank you for taking the time to reply   I know I'm very up and down mood wise (drives my husband crazy).  I've been thinking about it a bit and we have honestly downsized a huge amount over the past 5 years or so, although personally I still feel like we have a bit too much stuff for me (but less than the average I'm sure).  This is because I detest tidying up and resent any time I have to do this.  Therefore, my response to that is to declutter so much that it takes no time at all to tidy up.  On top of that we both work not 9-5 jobs and have no near family help, so time really is at a premium.

We don't buy the kids any toys etc outside of birthdays and Xmas with the exception of craft stuff if they've run out, a few second hand books to keep them as book lovers/help with school term projects and clothes/shoes only if there is a real need.  I do also pick up free puzzles, although usually for myself and I do rotate them back out the door again if they don't fit in the space.  So the issue isn't being driven by us.

However, I am one of two children (as is my husband) and we are the only ones with kids and who will ever have kids.  My parents kept everything from our childhood and have been emptying it into our house which basically means I am decluttering my own house plus the whole of my parents loft (which is absolutely huge).  Even now I am dealing with stuff assimilated into our house (loft, around the house etc) which is from my parents.  On top of that, every time my parents and sister visit they bring something for the kids.  As the kids are the only grandchildren, they also get a fair few gifts for birthday/xmas.  DS also seems to love "stuff" and spends his pocket money on things.  He seems to be a magnet for stuff, but I think that's just a child thing and I am fairly relaxed (or try to be) as long as everything fits in his room in the designated storage spots.  I don't want to force him to be as minimalist as I'd like him to be.

I have tried so many times to talk to my parents, but it's so hard to get through to them (they get very excited).  I do appreciate some of the things (my old complete set of Secret Seven books - I loved those and it was nice to give them to DS who also loves them!), but lots of it I just have no need to have that much stuff.  Effectively I have 3 kids worth of things for each child to offload (mine and my sister's stuff plus the actual new stuff DS has for example).  I do try to stop things before they come to my house, but often my parents bring more than they said they were bringing and so I end up dealing with it.  Unhelpfully the kids then see it and so it sometimes has to hang around before I can move it on.

My mum also buys most the kids clothes, which is fab as it saves me so much time and money (she also cleans and irons them before she brings them into the house).  She was too excited and bought way too much when DS was younger and I've still got it boxed up in the loft for when DD is older (will sort it out as she goes up a size and then the stuff she grows out of goes straight out the house).  I keep trying to limit clothes and next time they come my mum has promised to review wardrobes and I will say exactly how much I need of the next size for each child so she doesn't overbuy.  It's a work in progress and I don't know if I am winning or not (although my parents tell me that there is little in their loft at the moment, however, I think they have lots of "girls" toys which I fear is coming DD's way).  I'm not a fan of "girls" and "boys" toys labels personally, but my parents don't seem to have quite grasped the modern era.  That'll be another one to try and head off early as DD grows up.  Apparently they have a whole box of My Little Pony's and I know for sure DD will hate those, but apparently I have to wait until the appropriate age before I can tell them to offload that stuff.  It's exhausting.  I have a small amount of hope as I have been told their loft has no clothes in it, no puzzles, no games and no books, so I must have dealt with a huge amount already.

In terms of actually getting rid of the stuff, I think I have a good working system that I don't believe will save much time if I just binned it all (plus I honestly don't think I could live with the environmental guilt).  Most goes on Buy Nothing which really doesn't take me much time (they pick up from my doorstep and I work from home, so any time works), rest goes to charity which I box up and throw at DH to deliver or to recycling/bin.  Sometimes I pick some nice things out for DD's nursery and get DH to deliver it direct to them if they want it.  DH said I could just bin everything, but I think he's missing the point... I don't think binning everything to save me a tiny bit of time is the answer here - I was after DH's help/support to deal with all the stuff.

Actually, if it helps anyone considering keeping stuff for grandchildren, I've learnt so much from getting my parents stuff.  Clothes don't last (tend to fall apart) and are outdated anyway.  Books are mixed.. there are some which are always classics (e.g. Very Hungry Caterpillar), but lots of others also date and don't mean much to kids.  Plus each child is completely different and likes totally different things.  Plastic toys do not last - they go brittle and fall apart easily.  Other toys might be ok, but again get dated and sometimes through safety rules.  For my kids I've decided to keep a very few books that are classics and they absolutely loved as kids (currently in their memory boxes) and I might keep the odd wooden toy if it means something to pass it on (not had anything I've felt that attached to yet).  All other toys and books will go, as will all clothes (I kept their first shoes for the memory boxes).

Sorry too much information there... my brain is going to explode!

Edit: I don't really have time for a concentrated chuck out session over a weekend and I just don't think I can deal with that amount of decision making.  I no longer am at the stage where I can tip out a drawer, get rid of loads of stuff and put it back.  The extra stuff is now hidden in dribs and drabs around the house and is very much more difficult to find.  I need for my own sanity to get the levels down a bit more than they are (probably quite minimalist to some people), but it's often a case of considering what is causing me stress and dealing with that individual bit and then working out the next one.  Therefore, I tend to do a bit everyday with the aim of winning/getting the stage I feel we are sorted (with maintenance decluttering of course as the kids will grow out of things etc), but I never seem to arrive there.  It seems that the level of stuff I want is less than I originally thought.  Maybe that plus just having had Xmas and DS's birthday it seems worse than usual?  I would love to count how much stuff comes into the house to finally figure this out, but I fear that would be an administrative nightmare and cause me more stress.  Therefore, my only attack at the moment is to continue reducing the stuff until I feel comfortable with what is left.

Brie

@QueenJess
can you sneak into the loft when they're away on holiday and get rid of some stuff then?  I know it's you still doing the work but at least you don't have to store it or try to explain when DD hates something grandparents have lovingly given.  

and someone here abouts had said something about having different storage boxes for different ages of clothing - would that work for saving DS's stuff for DD?  

As for books that don't age well....I've got a copy somewhere of Little Black Sambo.  Doubt I could give it away now let alone sell it.  Unless someone wanted to burn it of course.  

QueenJess

Brie said:

@QueenJess
can you sneak into the loft when they're away on holiday and get rid of some stuff then?  I know it's you still doing the work but at least you don't have to store it or try to explain when DD hates something grandparents have lovingly given.  

and someone here abouts had said something about having different storage boxes for different ages of clothing - would that work for saving DS's stuff for DD?  

As for books that don't age well....I've got a copy somewhere of Little Black Sambo.  Doubt I could give it away now let alone sell it.  Unless someone wanted to burn it of course.  

They only come to me and I don't visit them as it's easier.  It's almost 2 hours drive away and they never go on holiday.  They wouldn't appreciate it and apparently they do sometimes take stuff straight to charity and don't even give it to me!  Just need to question them closely every time they are planning to visit and try to reduce the stuff.  If I keep saying we don't want it (even if they've brought it), then I hope they will get the message and bring less stuff.

I do already have clothes in boxes for DD which are labelled by size (although it's ridiculous since my kids are small and the size of trousers are frankly madness... kids would have to be giants!).  I still dread the changeover for DD as there is so much stuff for age 3-4 (next size up) and I need to get rid of some of it Who needs 20+ t-shirts?!

Oh - and for books... my parents have the full collection of Noddy books from when I was a child and younger.  They have no idea what to do with them.