Tackled the alcohol cupboard and discarded a few bottles that have seen better days and discovered the bottle of lime flavoured vodka my mate made me with vodka and lime sherbets...it's disgusting..was in the process of tipping it down the kitchen sink when I gave the sink a wipe and found that it came up like new, done the hob, the bathroom sink and the shower screen..this is one blinking good cleaning product!!! It now has pride of place in the cupboard under the sink!!!
Decluttering!
- Thread starter merryone
- Start date
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Finally I have gone through and emptied all my handbags, throwing away the majority of what was left inside them....half eaten packet of cheesestrings anyone?!!! now I can put smaller bags inside larger ones, so rack doesn't look cluttered anymore. I think I can honestly say I'm pretty much done. Got a bit more paperwork to shred, gonna have a cull of my cleaning products and try to blinking well keep up with it from this day onwards. Said that before haven't I?! I'm sure there's still a lot of my clothes I can get rid of from the upstairs bedroom but at least now they're all hung up and folded away even though the drawers and rails could do with a bit more "breathing space" but in my own time! Feel so pleased, it's been bloody hard work but so worth it. I'm off out today and it's going to be so nice knowing I won't be returning to a pigsty! Anyway folks please continue your decluttering progress/challenges here and if you need any tips..please ask. Phew, yay and double yay!!!
The last of the bric a brac bags have left the building!!! Got another charity bag a couple of days ago from a charity who'll take "stuff" as well as clothing. This exercise has really shown me that I must consider, then double consider anything I buy in the future, even when it comes down to the food shopping - Do I need that multibuy? Have I actually run out of this? So long as I keep on top of the laundry, tidy up and clean as I go I should be able to maintain this! Like I've said before, the place is never gonna be ideal home unless I come into an awful lot of money to be able to completely redecorate and get some really lovely furniture. The furniture's ok don't get me wrong but it's all a bit of a mish mash of shades and styles. However, everybody wants what they can't have, so in the meantime I'll try and keep what I've got looking clean and tidy. The main thing is now I feel I've got a pretty decent "living space" instead of a random collection of stuff that I have to try and live around.
stratobuddy
Registered Shopper
My problem with even starting to declutter is that all my clutter is valuable (but outdated) electronic stuff.
For example, electronic keyboards, hi-fi, minidisk players, record decks, cassette recorders, tablets, computers, printers, VHS recorders, TVs, radios, games consoles, tape recorders, ipods, etc etc.
I am an early adopter of new technology, and this stuff cost many £1000's new. I'm sure it has a value to others, but too bulky to try and sell on ebay.
So I am at a loss what to do with it. I am not cluttered with ordinary junk such as old newpapers etc, just the superseded electronics.
But too good to just give away or dump (everything still works)
For example, electronic keyboards, hi-fi, minidisk players, record decks, cassette recorders, tablets, computers, printers, VHS recorders, TVs, radios, games consoles, tape recorders, ipods, etc etc.
I am an early adopter of new technology, and this stuff cost many £1000's new. I'm sure it has a value to others, but too bulky to try and sell on ebay.
So I am at a loss what to do with it. I am not cluttered with ordinary junk such as old newpapers etc, just the superseded electronics.
But too good to just give away or dump (everything still works)
I wish I had some good ideas, I've got some ideas but whether they're good or not I don't know...you can list things on Ebay as "collection only" but that is obviously very limiting and would mean people having to come to your house, wouldn't be keen on the idea myself. Again advertise in Friday Ad or something like that, but of course this would amount to the same thing. I guess it depends how much this "clutter" is getting you down...you may have to think, yes I'd be a fool to part with these things without making money from any of it, but would you feel "richer" from having a less cluttered home? You've also got to remember that it's not making you any money just sitting there gathering dust either. Car boot sale maybe? Could anyone help you with this, or maybe you don't need any help anyway..might be worth a shot. Are there any house clearance companies who will pay for valuable items, again maybe an avenue worth exploring. Maybe you could get rid of some of it and keep some of it - But most of all put yourself first and consider how this stuff is making you feel. Good luck!
Would you believe - I've managed to fill another 3 large bags with unwanted clothing and bric a brac? So again another wait for the bags to come through...good thing is that now the attic bedroom is now starting to look like a bedroom as opposed to dumping ground with a bed stuck in the middle of it..I've got shot of loads of stuff from the cupboards up there and have been able to store the spare dining room chairs up there which has helped the living room look less cluttered. Unfortunately the place is always gonna look a little bit cluttered as it's quite small ...but on the whole it feels so much nicer and nobody would come away from my place thinking bloody hell what a fecking state! My plan is to keep up the good work, and keep watching those tv shows cause they really keep me on my toes!
I've just gone through a whole bunch of storage boxes under the bed upstairs and realised that about 80% of the stuff I was storing was stuff I don't use, will never use and quite frankly don't want so I got rid of it. This left me with 2 empty ones. Downstairs I grabbed a large somewhat dusty storage box from the top of the wardrobe to find it full of onesies and stuffed toys. I've now thinned my onesie collection right down and the remaining ones have gone into one of the now empty underbed boxes....the stuffed toys? Couldn't do it, so they went into the other one...Yeah ok..it's their faces..they get me every time..but at least now they're tucked away safe out of sight and the big dusty box has gone. Storage boxes, don't get me wrong can be very useful if used to store necessities, but the amount I've bought in the past to store stuff I've otherwise not known what to do with is nobody's business and they can make a place look cluttered in themselves. Lesson learnt...If I see something I want in the future and I've got no room for it other than storing it in a box, then I'll shall think twice about buying it
Pick-a-Lily
was that summer?
Playing Devil’s advocate...
Surely a person only needs one ‘onesie’? Ok, maybe two, if you wear one every day. How many have you got?
And stuffed toys, can you donate them to a young person? No adult needs a box of stuffed toys under their bed!
Well done on progress so far!
Surely a person only needs one ‘onesie’? Ok, maybe two, if you wear one every day. How many have you got?
And stuffed toys, can you donate them to a young person? No adult needs a box of stuffed toys under their bed!
Well done on progress so far!
Onesies? I did have a collection of about 9, I'm now down to 3. A few years ago when they first started appearing in the shops I saw them and thought wow, that'll be cosy to wear around the house especially on a cold winter's night, so I bought myself one and indeed it was everything I hoped it would be...hubby saw me in it, promptly fell about laughing and said I've never seen anything so ridiculous - This onesie was pale blue with pink stars on it, so when they started bringing out ones with animal hoods, ears and tails etc I thought I'll show him "ridiculous" and bought myself one that made me look like a giant mouse and of course that made him laugh even harder, this came out in conversation with friends and family and from there on I received a plethora of onesies as xmas and birthday presents from various quarters. I go to a festival once a year and take a couple along to that, but the ones with hoods and appendages take up a lot of storage space since the big clear up I realise that there's only one or two I regularly wear, so I was ruthless and got rid. As for the stuffed toys, there's not that many about 6....pretty much all presents and a couple are quite old and have sentimental value. No adult needs soft toys - this much is true and I do intend to donate some at some point but I'd rather have them in a box under my bed than cluttering up the bed, the floor, shelves and gathering dust!
Now we have less clothes, I've got a better laundry system...gone is the big plastic basket inside the bath full of ironing, I now have a large-ish bag to put the ironing in and it's now tucked away neatly in one of the kitchen cupboards..It'll mean that I'll have to keep on top of the ironing a bit more as to prevent the bag overflowing, but it's lovely having a bath that now looks like a bath instead of a dumping ground! Unfortunately a workmate decided to offload a massive bag full of coloured card on me as she was having a clear out, guess she didn't know that I gave up crafting many years ago, so I bunged it all in the recycling bin on the way home. Next job is to root through all my perfumes on the shelf and get shot of the ones I don't like, haven't been worn for years and have probably "turned"...so I should have a nice and neat dressing table by the end of the night!
Having achieved so much in the last few weeks I am starting to see more clearly and the biggest thing is that if you live in a small place like mine, just a few items out of place makes the place look untidy. Combine that with an past (definitely past) shopping telly habit and a sizeable lazy streak then a chaotic, cluttered looking living space is what you get. I'm finding that tidying/cleaning up after myself is hard work but if I don't do it straight away then it mounts up very quickly. There's still a tiny amount of decluttering I can do but the stuff in question is all hidden in cupboards so not obvious to a house guest, however I'll carry on because it does make life so much easier - Today I'm going to cull my collection of glassware..I've already put loads of glasses away but I still have far too many and the cupboard's full to bursting. Yesterday, once again my work mate off loaded another large bag full of paper and card for crafting onto me, again I said thanks when really I wanted to say " Thanks for the thought...but I don't do crafting any more, I'm in the process of decluttering my home (which she knows anyway) so please no more stuff....wouldn't be so bad if she asked me first whether I wanted it. However same as the day before I offloaded it into the recycling station on the way home! Like I've said before I realise that I am totally "going on" about this subject, but it is almost as therapeutic as the job in hand documenting it, and it's been helpful reading back on the original posts for inspiration and tips. Hope I'm inspiring others as well as boring them lol!
Yup still doing well, even managed to go away on holiday and didn't buy myself any new clothes before or whilst I was there. Hubby bought a few more t shirts, but allowed me to chuck away some of his old, more scruffy ones. Did buy a small tasteful ornament whilst I was there and it enhances rather than clutters, and a towel (I always do, but as I recently culled my towel collection that was ok). However, as I said before, if I'm gonna get the place looking wonderful it's gonna have to be the big and expensive stuff..Keeping on top of the housework at the moment which is good, but still getting decluttering withdrawal symptoms. Anyone else still going?
stratobuddy
Registered Shopper
Next door but one has just been sold, for about £400K.
The new owner has taken decluttering to the next level!
There was nothing wrong with the house, but it has been stripped back to a shell.
So that's 3 bathrooms removed, 2 kitchens (it has a granny annexe), 4 toilets, every tile off the wall, all carpets etc etc etc.
As the bathroom and kitchen were the same colour as mine, I've salvaged some items which are very difficult tp replace in those colours eg a toilet seat, bath panel, and even a bathroom cabinet which was in perfect condition but destined for the dump (as I don't even have one)
The new owner has taken decluttering to the next level!
There was nothing wrong with the house, but it has been stripped back to a shell.
So that's 3 bathrooms removed, 2 kitchens (it has a granny annexe), 4 toilets, every tile off the wall, all carpets etc etc etc.
As the bathroom and kitchen were the same colour as mine, I've salvaged some items which are very difficult tp replace in those colours eg a toilet seat, bath panel, and even a bathroom cabinet which was in perfect condition but destined for the dump (as I don't even have one)
maymorganlondon
Registered Shopper
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2015
- Messages
- 10,406
Rebooted.
Currently trying flylady to get back into cleaning and decluttering, as things have gone to put the tflu, work and general apathy.
Only 3 days in. It's a car cry from a Marks Kondo, but at present doing something rather than nothing is what I need.
maymorganlondon
Registered Shopper
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2015
- Messages
- 10,406
Result! Better in your home than landfill.
Pick-a-Lily
was that summer?
Yes, still going, albeit slowly!
10 perfect, but rejected - for various reasons - wigs, sent off to the local wig bank, which provides low cost reconditioned wigs to medical and necessity wearers on a low income.
3 carrier bags of now too big (Yay!) clothes ready to donate.
Yesterday the old fibre-optic xmas tree, which has been on the dining room table since December, finally went tata's in the rubbish collection.
Not buying any new clothes until I get to my goal weight (another 30lbs to go).
10 perfect, but rejected - for various reasons - wigs, sent off to the local wig bank, which provides low cost reconditioned wigs to medical and necessity wearers on a low income.
3 carrier bags of now too big (Yay!) clothes ready to donate.
Yesterday the old fibre-optic xmas tree, which has been on the dining room table since December, finally went tata's in the rubbish collection.
Not buying any new clothes until I get to my goal weight (another 30lbs to go).
maymorganlondon
Registered Shopper
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2015
- Messages
- 10,406
I hate predictive text!!!!
That's "things have gone to pot"
" it's a far cry from a Marie Kondo"
Hope the original post still made some sense!!!!
Glad everybody's not given up...It's just soooo worth it, and I have to say enjoyable the sense of satisfaction of letting go of "stuff" that's just cluttering up your life..Trouble is now is what I'm left with is cleaning cleaning cleaning, and that my friends as we all know comes back, not like all the clutter you've tossed out, yes it can come back if you're not careful, but if you are, then it won't. Dirt, dust and grime comes back no matter what and unless you spend most of your waking hours with a duster, cloth or vacuum cleaner in your hands, then it's always a chore. I'm trying to clean up after myself as best as I can...dealing with post immediately, putting things away after use, cleaning the table down etc etc etc but still it's jolly hard work...Like my old nan would say it's like trying to mop the sea up with a sponge. Still I'm pleased to say if someone were to drop by right now I wouldn't be too embarrassed!
