2025 DECLUTTERING CAMPAIGN MrsSD - The Joy of Decluttering

vulpix

Oceanspirit, Mr V has the same shed system as your OH! Mind at the moment our sheds are full to the brim of furniture and packed boxes.

Brie, I read the article. Interesting. Not my method but interesting. I would think I have already decluttered 70% of my belongings.I imagine that I don't actually need 70% of my remaining stuff but I like it and use it sometimes. I couldn't have a basket to shove stuff in and sort once a week, that would do my head in. My mantra is, don't put it down, put it away. Why double handle something. I do agree with redistributing sentimental stuff whilst it will be of use to someone. The woman's house did look very clinical.

 Liverpool Anne, what a circus with OH's car. A PITA for everyone.

 Clothes do seem to re occur for us declutterers. I have got 2 items that I just don't seem to let go. A shawl from about 1977 and a dress from about 1985. I like them and if the occasion arose, I would wear them again. DD1 has worn the dress, as a Halloween costume!  What is everyone's oldest piece of clothing?

No decluttering or packing yesterday. I am pleased that toiletries and food items are being used up though. All less to take with us.

Today 3 large parcels will leave the house, ( using up wrapping paper stash) for DGS's Birthday on Friday. Also to go, a dinosaur rucsack I got from the charity shop and a bag of books that DS lent me.
 We are having a picnic lunch then going to see my friends 2 ancient Shetland ponies. A grand day out.

 Laters Vx

Liverpool_Anne

Hi all, busy day yesterday and I actually managed to get some things out of the house 😁. The bathroom and bedroom bin were emptied. The kitchen was sorted and tidied first and then I had a bit of a tidy in the conservatory, the towels that had been folded from the line were starting to form a pile so they were taken upstairs and put away, though the airing cupboard is rather full despite many towels being donated to the homeless centre so I will have to have another sort out there. 3 loads of washing put on the line but they are still there as it was a bit of a grey day and very little wind so didn't feel dry by tea time. I hadn't managed to get the hoovering in the lr done on Monday so I decided to tackle that and clear under OH's couch. In true days of Christmas style a selection of what I found 😁. 7 plastic bottles, 6 socks, 5 shoes, 4 rolls of cellotape, 3 pairs of glasses, 2 crutches and an earing 😂. There was lots of other bits of paper and rubble that was binned / recycled but anything that looked important was put in a small pile for OH to look at. To be fair OH was sorting one of the bags of gubbins in the bedroom at the time and a bag of recycling was the result there and did sort out the small pile of stuff I had put aside straight away 😁. So the lr bin and recycling were emptied. The only thing put back were the crutches that OH refuses to let me return in case they are ever needed again 🙄. 
After that all I did was sort out some money stuff 😁 and we had coffee over the fence with ln. 
Just remembered while dniece was here I passed on a big bottle of hand and body lotion which I couldn't get on with, lovely smell but felt a bit too greasy for me. Dniece has very dry skin and loved it so a win win 😁. Also gave her a bottle of Liverpool gin and a bottle of her DH's favourite whisky which we had found earlier in the year on special offer 😁. 
Today I am heading into town for a birthday present for Dnephew. I could have got everything online but I decided not to, one thing is a book and I know I will be devastated if the bookshop closes so as they say use it or lose it 😁

Re the glitterball hook, I have a similar thing in my porch, no idea what it was originally for but I have a lovely bamboo wind chime that is shaped like a dragon bought by a friend's son for my birthday years ago 😁

Right time to get weaving or the day will be gone 😁

Hugs to everyone who would like one

1152 hand and body lotion
1153 & 1154 gun and whisky
1155 bathroom bin
1156 bedroom bin
1157 towels put away
1158 - 1164 plastic bottles recycled
1165 lr bin
1166 lr recycling
1167 bag of gubbins from bedroom sorted by OH but I am claiming as I have bagged 😂
Take care everyone
1167/2025

GrannyKate

Afternoon all.  Staying in today and trying to eat frogs.  The personal ones done so on to volunteer type things next.  I need to say something difficult to one group so considering my wording carefully.  I did treat myself to a small dish for my bedside table to put rings and hearing aid on.  Only £2.50 but fits my colour scheme and I worry about losing the small battery in hearing aid on the carpet as dangerous to pets and children.  DS2 just popped in to eat his lunch as in the area. Plasterer has said he could come over weekend on 5 September - let's hope he does.  Someone mentioned using up a notebook - I remember we had a discussion a couple of years ago about using up all the ones we had (several of us have a stationery issue - ie we like buying it) - I actually have only 6 pages left in the last one from my stash so I bought a new very cheap one.  Yesterday was busy with hair cut, swimming, booking and ordering things etc.  Sox is giving me a lot of fuss and attention probably to ensure I am not leaving him again.  He gets well looked after and accosted DS2 when he arrived a little while ago leading him carefully to the treat cupboard.  

740 Plastics to SM
741 School shop visit for jumpers and tie - queue was out the door
742 Thank you flowers sent to DD from children 
743 Picked up a few more birthday cards so I now have enough for October 
744 Cleaned out tumble dryer filters etc
745 Banking done
746 Holiday details printed out for my non IT friend and posted to her.  Payment made and record sheet set up. 
747 1p saver up to date now - more than half way to total amount to cover Christmas money gifts for children and GCs.

I need to put things in dishwasher, tidy up, eat frogs etc. 

suzeesu2000

Decluttered some braising steak from freezer for todays dinner.

After looking at them EVERY time I went in downstairs loo, have finally put about 35 plastic hangers in recycling - our CS doesnt need or want them.

Meant I could repurpose 2 nice bags for life to go with others that I use for unbagged home delivery shopping. 

Friend is supposed to be coming to collect garden things today....whether he does or not remains to be seen!

Nice and cool again today. Hope everyone is good xx

TC77

On the notebook front managed to resist 50% off in WH*  but did give in a few months to some chunky oness I have a stash of notebooks and working through dd2's exercises books from secondary school - some with only a few pages which I've torn out.

I have a little hardback one for some key notes and it seems to last for ever (over 2 years) as I write small and neatly which is unusual for me.

Realise now I would love someone to just stand over me and make meget things out rather than the umming and ahhing and returning to them week/month/year after each other.

Decided for some vintage stuff to offer for sale as bundles v cheap and they may go... not holding my breath ! WIll have to do at the weekend but putting like with like.

On oldest clothes apart from dresses from my mum's and one of my grandmothers' I kept an age 13 ladybird blue with small yellow stripes t-shirt that I was handed down from my brother until about 8 years ago, as I could fit in it for quite a few decades (think ladybird was quite generous and it may have stretched) but decided had to go as not really wearable and not sure I wanted that to be my main achievement!

Dizzycap

Good afternoon all  WOW look at all your wonderful decluttering efforts folks!  AWESOME & an inspiraton to us all 

Mrs_Salad_Dodger - Thank you for my lovely medal which has come at a fab time when I feel as though I've gone through the hedge backwards on several ocassions!  Another semi-busy morning with sorting out the girls & both are full of it this morning   along with 2 piles of washing and a whilrwind clean up through the house. I've finally managed to sit down with a mug of coffee after watering the front garden. It keeps threatening to rain but nothing for 2 days, so I gave in waiting and got on with it whilst having a clean up in the porch and washing the front door. Just had a decluttering sale so off to packge that up & take Missy for a potter sniff to the RM posting locker. Hope everyone has a fabulous decluttering day - take care all & ta-ta for now xxxxxxx   

daisy_1571

Rather than employing someone 

(job advert for your window: Person required to stand watching me sort my house and MAKE me make decisions.  Must be fit (job involves standing), firm in a kind way and decisive.  Hours required: 24/7 as I sometimes think of things in the middle of the night. Apply within with CV plus clear photos of your wardrobe, understair cupboard and pantry ) 

how about flipping a coin - as soon as you realise 'this is an item I've pondered over before' get a coin out, heads it goes, tails it stays.  If your heart sinks when you get the answer from the ether, then you'll know if you really do want to keep it or you really wanted the coin to tell you to release it. 

Or:  If you have a dice handy attribute values - 1 or 2 try selling, 3 or 4 it goes out the house, 5 or 6 keep it.  

You get the idea, some way of taking the decision away from 'you' but not to the detriment of all your decision making of course, you can overrule anything the dice tells you to do.

Thats reminded me- does anyone remember a programme called the diceman or something similar?   He got people to give him suggestions and attributed them to a dice, letting it choose where he went next, odds this park, evens that Castle,  or 6 individual ideas if he was able to talk to enough people to get 6 ideas.  I'm sure he started in uk but I think he also went abroad for a series.  Long time ago, maybe early 90s?

Dxxx

Willowtree222

I have some clothes from when I was 18 that I am pretty confident I wouldn't be wearing now. I do need to let them go.

I have lost something, I need it for Friday so it has turned into a whole house upside down turn and a shed load of decluttering as I am doing it. The cupboard of doom,  under he bed and two craft drawers have been emptied and put back together a hell of a lot lighter than when I opened them. Not through choice, and I still haven't found the thing either. I have no idea where else it could be, so having a bit of a stress. 

Also decluttered DD for two days kn a school trip. This never happens as DD has autism and so will occasionally (maybe once a year) have a night away, but not two nights together. 

This enabled me to declutter more as she gets very attached to items, Including pens and small things so it has been much easier. Although, I wasn't planning on spending the day literally decluttering everything. I guess it is done now, though. 

Hope everyone is having a lovely week. X

YBR

Dizzycap said:

Good afternoon all  WOW look at all your wonderful decluttering efforts folks!  AWESOME & an inspiraton to us all 

^this!

Today DD1 has incited me to some more gardening with prejudice!
It seems that a previous occupant liked invasive, vigorous plants: buddleia, snowberry and ivy, but behind that buddleia and swamped with ivy is a pear tree 🥳  

That's DD1 in the shrubbery ... which became:

and 

In the background you can see the washing line!

@Mrs_SD There a 5 trugs which, with a lot of stamping down took about 3/4 of the first bush pruning effort, plus there was 2 large cardboard boxes of ivy, all decluttered to the tip. 

And the wardrobe was chipboard from a flat-pack and we'd already accepted it might not survive the move.

@vulpix a larger glitter-ball would be knocked when going up and down stairs - yours looks to be in a less awkward position - so we'll be MSE and use the one we've got (now with a fresh battery in).

The oldest clothing I have are hereditary antique christening robes, used for myself, my brother and both my DDs, not that they fit anyone at the moment but keeping them for the next generation. 

TC77

@daisy_1571   I love the job advert!!
Trying to think if I can summon up my very hidden inner near minimalist and imagine asking them and then setting aside some.pennies each time I make a quick decision and can spend it on doing something 
 Especially as I often  post things and within 24 hours decide should go to cs after all that taking photos and listing which takes time..