What have you found in your lockdown clearouts ?

Lizbethann55, what a treasure trove of family memorabilia, bet it is really interesting when you finally get it all out and are able to digest all the things in there. When my dad died I was so pleased to get his mum and dads wedding certificate along with his birth certificate and his and mums wedding certificate. No where near your treasure trove but a brilliant treasure trove for me!!

Jaylucy, wonderful find! yes ladies,i miss a mooch round BHS too! There might be a few more stores closing down too with things how they have been.Debenhams has been on 'the string of their teeth' before this even, as have John Lewis.All the good old british standby stores are becoming scarce.(remember C&A?)

Yes i cleared out food cupboards,got rid of some from 2016/17! Also found out where id hid my special fortnum&mason biccies from the hamper i treated myself to back in december... (they're not as nice as i thought they would be tbh)

And annodomini- i agree,its what you DONT find thats annoying!- i had some of my late mums old stuff in a suitcase- missing- plus some old records and ive only found a handful of those- its very odd!

Lizbethann55, how lovely!

I did find some other 'treasures' though, family photos, &cards & things my kids had made me over the yrs, as i searched 3days for my divorce papers (son needed them for university student finance & a copy from gov't would have been over £100 as id no case number!) I did find them in the end.plus stuff i needed for other sons child trust fund! So a good fruitful 3 day search

I found lots of things stored away because "they might come in useful one day". They haven't and they are now ready to be dumped.

@fiorentina51 I have two full sets of Roman armour in my loft! Togas, sandals, armour, helmets with crests, swords, spears and shields.!

My husband and son were Scout leaders and they recreated the Roman Legion for our local Carnival parade ( now, sadly, defunct) They also made a chariot and a ballister, and they won first prize.

It took six months of hard work to make enough uniforms for all the boys and leaders, the house stunk of fibreglass for months, and we came close to the divorce court at times!
I don’t quite know what to do with it all, but I could never throw it out. I’m just glad that the chariot and ballister aren’t up there too!

One persons junk is another persons treasure. Seems a shame not to be able to find someone who is desperate for Roman armour etc. . Maybe try Gumtree or a local FB site to offer your unwanted finds, when lockdown is lifted.

I loved BHS and even further back, C & A. Wish I could go back and buy more.

I found a huge collection of my brothers comics from the 1960's. I've contemplated selling them on Ebay but with two little grandsons I think I'll keep them in the hope they take an interest when they are older.

Embarrassed to find an unopened jar of mincemeat dated 1998 in the darkest part of a kitchen corner cupboard! Should I use it?

Re the mincemeat, that is a bit old but probably OK. I might try a tiny taste. Then if a bit dry, add some sherry or brandy, and later some chopped apple. And don't tell people till after they've eaten and enjoyed the mince pies.

Letters we wrote to each other when my boyfriend, later husband was at university for 4 years. We are re reading a couple a day .

Oh I miss BHS too!

I'm not a hoarder but my Mum is!

She moved to a sheltered flat eighteen months ago so I have a spare bedroom full of "things she might need" but doesn't have room for.

A very large punchbowl, complete with hanging cups and serving ladle.

A bag of handbags, sandals, shoes & hats - at least five of each. We threw out dozens more before she left!

A wardrobe full of clothing "that she might slim into"

A footspa - unused but "too good to throw out"

Three plastic storage boxes full of miscellaneous 'stuff'

Good job I don't need to use that bedroom!

What lockdown clearout? Why did nobody tell me about this??!

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I found a tatty old box in the loft which I made into a games box. I added green felt inside top and bottom with a pocket in lid for Canasta rule and Yahtzee scorecards. I put felt on the base as it has no feet, so it won't scratch anything I put it on and I made and stained some dividers and glued them in and then polished up the whole thing with Brasso. Still need to stick down the bit of brass trim on the lid but need some superglue for that so it might have to wait a bit.

A tapestry kit which my husband bought me 40 years ago for our first wedding anniversary, and for which I have procrastinated about doing it ever since so never started it. It was still in it's packaging and it's moved house with us 15 times. However, I'm a third of the way through now, I am really enjoying doing it and feeling as if I am achieving something. It has 1000's of stitches so hopefully I'll get through it and finish it.

I'm with you buttonjugs.

My parents both died within the last 3 years, I decided to make a scrap book of things I had found. Driving licence of my dad. A first birthday card sent to my sister who is now 70. Lots of old mother’s Day cards, birthday cards, receipts from furniture my parents had bought some 60 years ago, old rent books from their first house which cost 5 shillings a week. I didn’t want to throw them away so instead I bought some stencils ,butterfly, hearts etc. I am spending ages cutting them out. My scrapbooks are looking really nice. I now don’t feel guilty letting them go as I am keeping a part of them.

Old slides in reels from 45 years ago, what a laugh looking at them and such awful colours in the 60's and 70's. All brown and orange wallpaper - yuk! Oh the fashions, what a hoot, better than the telly. How were we all so slim in those days?

Isn’t it always the way that when you give up on finding something and order a new one, ( in my case my box of watercolour paints that I thought I might use during lockdown) , the original ‘lost’ item always turns up. (In a drawer whose bottom had collapsed and I decided to sort out today.

I found a tablecloth I started to embroider in my teens!
We cleared out the cupboard under the stairs and found a parasol that comes apart and fits into a small bag. It has been very useful in the garden this week. We also found a new, sealed roll of flowered wallpaper that we have never had anywhere in our house! It looks familiar but we can't think whose home we saw it in.

I'm another larder and freezer clearer. Huge success. When the date is insane, I revert to the touch and smell test. So far so good!

The griddle off an old cooker turned up this morning in the summerhouse - my husband has been looking for it for weeks to BBQ on. Another recycling bin full of 20 odd years old business papers cleared out as well.