Decluttering challenge

[allaboutthegossip]

In 2023 I set mysef a goal to declutter 2023 things which I met. I am doing 2024 in 2024. I find little and often works best for me with decluttering. Just 5 or 10 minutes here and there fairly adds up. I love counting up all the things and using timers. I love the feeling after a bit of decluttering, a bit lighter and less overwhelmed.

 

[Dragon100]

Reading this today,then went up to the bathroom to declutter the empty bottles got rid of 9!! Washed them out and put into recycling. There were a few bottles with a little bit in that just need watering down to get the last out... Added water to 2 expensive shampoos (so my nezt 2 hairwashes covered) and watered down a really thick shower gel that has loads left but is so impossible to squeeze out anymore in its current state (another 3-4 uses before recycling) and that is just 7 minutes in a room!!

 

[Justherefortittle]

I went to sort some laundry last night , an array of clean washing has been dry and on hangers in the back bedroom for weeks!
And I keep going in there and just grabbing something to wear from the recently laundered stash!

So I immediately went into main bedroom & emptied all my clothes from the walk in wardrobe on top of the bed! And sorted it all into piles based on type.

Removed a batch of work dresses I tend to wear A/W and vaccum packed those away! Then put everything back tidy including the mountain of stuff from spare room.

I also have two jumbo packing boxes of shoes boots & bags in the walk in wardrobe from when I moved house 3 years ago!
So the mission for this weekend is to open those & potentially bring them all to the charity shop as I evidently don’t need them!

With them out of the way I can then look at some more shelving to add to the lower area to make better use of space.

Felt accomplished ….but was also beating myself up a bit as what I done in less than an hour last night could have been done ten times over in recent weeks & months

 

[Trauma Frotters]

I'm just putting a marker here to try and hold myself accountable. My own tiny house is bursting at the seams but I am also now responsible for my parents large, cluttered (some hoarding issues actually) house. So I have a vast amount of decluttering to do. I intend to start with clothes from my parents house, there is a serious excess of special occasion wear or damaged clothes that should be a fairly easy win. Also the last of the expired food items.

My own home will be a bit harder and I don't know where to start. Perhaps some garden chopping, clearing and straightening if the weather allows. Otherwise perhaps a ruthless sort through my pet beds and throws and get rid of the damaged or tattiest ones. I'll report back on Monday!

 

[NowIsGood]

Trying to streamline my CD (and to a lesser extent DVD) collection. I remember as a teen (showing my age!) when albums were so expensive and were almost a reflection of your personality! I have so many memories attached to music, but a lot of my albums only have 1 or 2 songs I like on them and if I'm honest with myself I'm not going to pop a Nelly Furtado album in my car's cd player anytime soon
Have managed to cull about a third

 

[Flowergirl14]

I had a large spare bedroom, which became a dumping ground for mainly clothes.
I am a hoarder for clothes, always thinking I will fit into them again!

In the end, I employed 2 local ladies that I found on FB or IG.

They went through everything. Filled 10 bags for the charity shop, several bags for the dump, a couple of piles for Ebay.
We also found some t-shirts from my late sibling, so they created a memory box to put them in.

They were wonderful. For the 2 of them, they charged £180 for 6 hours work...so only £15 an hour each.

I wrote an amazing review for them afterwards, and they got lots of work and put their rate up to £700!

I now have a beautiful spare bedroom, that friends can stay in when visiting.

 

[Parklady]

Have found the Declutter 5 things a week is working for me, have a basket I put things in during the week & Friday they're binned- no pressure for big Declutter.

Thanks to whoever suggested it on this thread

 

[LifeOfMog]

Joining you lovely lot as I am starting a new job in 3 weeks and desperately need to clear some clutter!

We have new furniture (coffee table, tv unit, desk) which has no drawers - only shelves - giving me a perfect excuse to empty everything and get rid!
Mr Mog has a seriously bad habit of being a hoarder so I am going to trial the 5 items a week with him, but for me if I've not used it in 6 months it's gone

 

[1001 others]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread as it has some great tips for anyone looking to declutter.

We don't have a lot of storage space in our house, so we have to use our space wisely. Although everything is neatly stored in plastic containers (all labelled to state the contents), there are so many of them that it can feel heavy.

This weekend, I decided to go through the bins containing tech bits and pieces, and home bits and pieces.

The tech bins had a multitude of charging leads, cables, USB-powered things ... just so much stuff. I made three piles - throw away, donate and keep. In the 'throw away' pile went anything that had seen its best days - frayed, marked, damaged in some way. In the 'donate' pile went anything I don't think we'll use. In the 'keep' pile went things we might need one day - spare laptop and charging cables, extension leads, power strips, etc. I took the time to wrap up what was remaining carefully, using rubber bands so they look far neater, and made up an inventory list which I attached to the (now smaller) plastic bin.

The home bits and pieces bin was a mess ... it contained batteries, light bulbs, picture hooks, etc., all scattered in amongst each other. I sorted the batteries by type, putting them in small plastic containers to then sit within the larger one; and I did the same with lightbulbs and other like-products. The end result was the same volume-wise, but it was far neater. Plus, I made an inventory list and attached that to the front too, so we can see at a glance what we have.

I'm motivated to continue, but I'm planning to focus on just one area every couple of days so I don't lose interest (which I tend to do!). Next up will be my pantry ... I normally keep food in its packets (and fold over the packaging using a peg), but I bought some great container sets on sale the other day which I'll transfer already-open food items into (and label the containers with my Dymo label printer afterwards). I'll also attack my kitchen at some stage later in the week ... I have a heap of old cups and glasses which we don't use (which I'll donate), and which I could really use the room for to store other things.

How's everyone else getting on?

 

[Curiouscupcake]

I haven’t been on here much recently but I think I mentioned I joined a decluttering membership thing. This week I posted in the chat group to give myself accountability and did my son’s bedroom. Bag of stuff for charity, couple of bags for the bin, a bag of bits I’ve listed for sale and I’ve tided/sorted his whole room including the toy cupboard of doom. I do still need to do one more cupboard. I’ve also cleared my desk area (again).

It is a never ending cycle but it must get to a point where the decluttering is minimal and quicker… as long as you work on what’s coming into the house too. I think that’s key… buying less, being more mindful and not just replacing all the stuff you declutter with fresh clutter.

 

[pinkmug]

How do you decide when just having a lot of stuff becomes 'clutter' please?
I have a lot of stuff but then I have a largish house so I have space for it. I do get rid of bits and pieces regularly, especially clothes and shoes, but also go through stages of thinking about getting rid of furniture etc....however I then worry my house will look bare!

I also know a couple of hoarders (one is particularly bad) and this probably skews my perspective because in comparison to how they live with stuff stacked to the ceiling, barely an inch of visible floor space etc my house looks pretty sparse.

Having said that I have to empty my bedroom this weekend (new carpet being fitted) so am going to go through everything as I do and see if there's anything to discard. I'm sure I will easily find 5 items to dispose of!

To me it depends on how your belongings make you feel. I know people who love their big collection of nice knick knacks in a small space and do not feel smothered by it. I also know people who can't stand an extra chair even though their room is huge.

My clutter generally consists of:
- things that I've grown out of, emotionally or physically (clothes, shoes, accessories, decor of a certain style, some books, makeup)
- things that no longer serve a purpose (containers without lids, lids without containers, scratched/chipped and unsafe cookware, expired goods, expired medication, clothing with scratchy or uncomfortable materials, unrealistic exercise gear that I bought on a whim but never use, buttons that don't match anything, gadgets that are broken or never used, dried up shoe wax, leaflets/chargers/parts of machines I no longer own)
- things of which I forget the existence until I go through them once in a blue moon (old souvenirs that no longer remind me of anything, sentimental items that I can no longer attach to a memory or a feeling, old letters and cards and any sentimental item that trigger a bad feeling, Christmas/seasonal ornaments that I no longer like or use)

It's really personal though and if a 15 year old tatty tshirt still makes me feel great anytime I wear it around the house, I keep it. If a brand new pair of shoes have started to pinch my feet and I find myself avoiding them every time, I get rid of it.

 

[Jellycat369]

Finally threw out my Real Techniques brushes. They were the old style ones with rubberised handles and they'd gone all sticky. Nothing I tried helped with the stickiness so I chucked them out. Have made myself a capsule makeup bag to test out my products and figure out what I do and don't like. Have included project pan items too. Hopefully slowly reduce my collection size

 

[Kaydeelaydee]

I have a basket full of herbs and spices, so many of which were bought for recipes made only once. I decided to give it a clear out yesterday. On dear God, the shame. I had fenugreek that was BBE 2003

I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. 11 jars/tubs ditched ranging from BBE 2003 to 2017.

I feel dirty.

 

[cashmoney817]

A few smaller decluttering jobs I've finished. Sorted out my pjs and socks, got rid of anything that was falling apart and no longer of use. Cleared out my hair accessories and earrings. Sorted out my purse, actually found a couple of vouchers so used those for some meal deals! Need to figure out a plan of action for the rest of the house, think I might plan for a job per week starting August. Need to get some extra cash from selling unwanted things, as mat leave money doesn't go very far.

I had a massive clothing/accessories clear out at the start of this week as i wasn't feeling my best in my current clothes. I have started paying more attention to the materials of clothing i buy as it is insane how much i have paid for things that are 100% polyester!!! I was pretty ruthless and set myself some basic rules such as anything i never wore (clothes, bags, shoes and accessories included), anything that no longer fit, anything that wasn't an absolute love, anything that was cropped, and anything that was a pure synthetic fabric. Took a while but i uploaded everything on Vinted and have made £400 this week and still have lots left to sell.

 

[50degreesnorth]

Dropped a binbag at the charity shop on Saturday and ran away. I could see STUFF through the windows but am avoiding the temptation of introducing more.

I do feel I’m getting on top of it. Made a concerted effort to finish a shower gel, so that’s in the recycling.

Found a lovely storage cabinet I will buy next week to help an alcove.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

I've sorted out the cutlery drawer. It's a really easy way to get rid of 5 items, nearly every home has loads of random knives and forks from long-ago cutlery sets, assorted chopsticks, bottle openers, weirdly shaped spoons, pastry brushes with 3 bristles or less, rusty can openers, etc, etc. I treated myself to a new drawer divider, the spare teaspoons have been donated to the work kitchen, everyone's a winner!
Next stop...that kitchen drawer where the string, sellotape, screws, nails and fuses, assorted elastic bands, and those little plastic bits of tat that you get in Christmas crackers, are all kept. Wish me luck, I'm going in!

I actually enjoyed the cutlery drawer. Moved onto crockery and have donated excess to my local church for their kitchen stock.

When you do the kitchen drawer you can use the Ferrero Rocher plastic boxes with the lids. I can get at least 3 in my small drawers to separate out things like batteries.
I also use them in my bedside drawers too.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Decluttering the millions (#exaggerate) of DVD's I've got.
As normal TV is so rubbish now , I've ended up watching quite a few of them.
Politicians Wife was brill, although I'm wondering what my neighbours were thinking was going on in my bedroom with Trevor Eve and Minnie Driver's gasping etc during their phone sex
Tonight's was Monsoon Wedding - just wanted to get up and dance to the music - how could you not to this?:


Obviously going to take ages to declutter my DVD's but I'm enjoying myself!

I would say keep your DVD’s. They’ll be making a comeback as people find it difficult to stream some films due to rights or extra payment

 

[allaboutthegossip]

We definitely need a pre Christmas declutter as I get a bit stressed by how much comes into the house.

 

[adviseplz]

I took a big bag to the charity shop during the week and put some things on vinted yesterday - 4 bits have already sold which I’m chuffed about. My shower caddy also broke, and although this may not be the most sustainable option I chucked it instead of leaving it in the corner, thinking I might fix it one day.

My place is already started to look better, but I’ve mostly be concentrating on the spare room and living room. My wardrobe and the kitchen are next on the list which will be harder I think but I gots to be ruthless!

How did everyone else get on? Ready for another 5 things this week?

 

[Jellycat369]

Have been needing to get out into my garden for ages but what with a difficult pregnancy and newborn and a delightful threenager it hasn't been a top priority. This weekend I managed to clear all the weeds and random plants that had grown within our gravel seating area, empty all the planters and mow the lawn and get it prepped for feed and weed treatment. Was hard getting it done while looking after the baby and toddler but feel so much better about it already. Few jobs left to do and it'll be completely done. Here's hoping it can be done before the sunshine disappears!