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House and home

More decluttering

(121 Posts)
MissAdventure Sun 28-Jun-20 13:56:48

There was quite a good thread just before Christmas, which came to a halt as we began filling our homes again.

Then there was the lockdown.

So, I'm starting a new thread in the hope that some like minded people will join in.

MissAdventure Fri 24-Jul-20 19:08:09

My kitchen trolley has just sold on Ebay smile

Not much, but all the little bits add up, and I have made around £60 now.

Elrel Fri 24-Jul-20 19:49:22

Opened the shed, found a forgotten hamster cage, quickly went via Freegle.
I’m taking books to neighbours who are missing library services. Good to take a short walk and have a chat too. I still have too many books!

MerylStreep Fri 24-Jul-20 21:10:08

We have so many bags of clothes coming into our charity shop that they are going straight in to the rag bags
I do open the bags and a quick glance will tell you whether they are worth sorting for the shop.
As someone said: we have become a dumping ground.

MissAdventure Fri 24-Jul-20 21:13:25

I'm going to psych myself up, and then throw away the couple of bags of clothes I've amassed.
Our charity shops have signs on asking that nobody donates any more as they're inundated.
Cash for clothes are full to the door, with a chair blocking entry.

mrsmopp Fri 24-Jul-20 23:25:01

Charity shops near me all have a sign in the windows saying no donations wanted at all. So now I’m stuck with bags of stuff nobody wants. I’ve never sold online as I feel a bit nervous about it.
If anyone has any tips on selling online I would be grateful !

MissAdventure Sat 25-Jul-20 19:34:54

mrsmopp,
I'm no expert, but happy to help.
I use Ebay to sell, because it tells you what to do, step by step.

I'm always scrupulously honest, take a few (bad, usually) photos, and do a lengthy description.

I've now listed 10 floor tiles, but have no idea if they'll sell.

I'll be happy for someone to just take them out of the way.

craftyone Sun 02-Aug-20 10:00:16

I am still de-cluttering 15 months after moving house by myself. I did a good de-clutter during the 2 years before I moved but it is hard for the brain to accept that almost 100% of the time, it will only be me in my house.

I didn`t de-clutter much after I moved,not for 13 months, as you can imagine, things went into any space,just so I could have a sense of comfort and normality. 2 months ago I decided to start work on those hidden spaces and now it is little and often with a more realistic mind and is very satisfying, once done

De-cluttering carving woodd was/is the hardest, I have also taken up wood carving and added to my husbands pile of wood, every time I went to a carving show. I only got rid of some of my husbands wood this morning, it was a toughie, more of his soul in the pile and easier than his clothes, which I did quickly. I think I removed 1/4 today and will tackle some more in a few weeks, at least re-cycled wood goes back to the ground and once it went I drew a line across

craftyone Sun 02-Aug-20 10:01:14

not easier but harder than clothes

Jane43 Sun 02-Aug-20 14:43:40

We use Our local FreeCycle Site a lot. To be honest people will take anything and it saves a trip to the charity shop. One man even took two under the bed plastic storage boxes which were only very cheap when we bought them.

Jane43 Sun 02-Aug-20 14:50:40

Mrsmopp we have been successful selling some items on GumTree although we often have to reduce the price. We include a brief description, a picture and dimensions if applicable, people will email you if they want further information. We sold a fire surround and an electric fire yesterday and had two people wanting it. It was the second time we listed it as nobody was interested the first time. It is best to delete the advertisement if it doesn’t sell soon after advertising it as you drop down the list.

BlueSky Fri 07-Aug-20 09:09:04

We've started to declutter re possible downsizing, most will be charity shops/recycling textile bin/Gumtree. We sold a couple of items on Gumtree, but we had to be quick to accept whichever offer as they were the only genuine ones. Good idea to be ready to move if and when there was a possible options. Like a lot of people of our generation, we were brought up to feel guilty about waste of any sort, so find it hard to dispose of good stuff, but as others said, it's got to be done!

MissAdventure Sun 09-Aug-20 13:55:37

I'm still decluttering, slowly.
Have sold my ten floor tiles for £3. The main thing is just to get them gone, because they're too heavy to lift.

Just listed my Henry vacuum, because I've bought a smaller, lighter one.

It's too hot though, for all this.

JackyB Sun 09-Aug-20 16:02:10

I was determined that we were going to declutter and tidy the garage, shed, and bicycle shed this summer. DH is in agreement on principle, but says that whilst they are empty, he wants to repaint the walls and resurface the floors, thus making it a bigger job than necessary.

Maybe I should just get on with it and tell him he can paint the walls another year.

DS2 was here last week and did a fantastic job bringing everything down from the loft over the porch where we kept the camping equipment. I said they could take any camp beds, lilos, tents that they liked, and we had a good laugh at the 70s-style orange flowery patterns on sunshades and curtains. He pumped all the inflatables up to see what was still intact and spent an afternoon with the rubber dinghy on the local gravel pit with the DGS. Then he cleaned out the loft and put back a few things that we shall be keeping.

Tomorrow I shall be taking a carload of old tents and camping equipment to the tip.

infoman Wed 12-Aug-20 07:10:12

If any one has any football video tapes they want to get rid of,
I can find a good home for them.

ladymuck Wed 12-Aug-20 07:12:49

I've had a cull of my books and now have several bags waiting to go to a charity shop. Sadly, they are not accepting them at the moment.

TrendyNannie6 Wed 12-Aug-20 12:38:28

Well I’ve actually started properly today,, one room at a time, upstairs with a litre of water in my hand, one pile keep and I grabbed two dustbin bags to fill for charity, so far I’ve got half charity bag but since only started few mins ago I’m doing ok, right only a little break and back to it.....

MissAdventure Wed 12-Aug-20 12:43:12

My kitchen trolley that went had a small drawer where I keep my medication bits and bobs.

I've had to buy a huge Tupperware container to put them all in now!
Indigestion pills (fast acting) indigestion pills (slow acting) wind-eeze, settlers, then there's ibropofen, paracetamol, hayfever relief...

mrsmopp Sun 16-Aug-20 17:13:38

I’m a terrible hoarder and I keep everything., it’s a good job we have the space! My mum was the complete opposite - if I finished reading a book, out it went!! Her house was always immaculate and mine is a tip!
I haven’t tried selling online yet. Remember when we used to put a postcard in the newsagents window? That usually worked. Must try harder.....

MissAdventure Sun 16-Aug-20 17:34:41

I sold a few packs of stick on tiles for a couple of pounds.
It's a long and unnecessary story, but I'm out of pocket.
Oh well..
I've been almost at a standstill because of the heat, but still doing bits and bobs.

Kate54 Sun 16-Aug-20 19:47:06

Can I recommend Facebook Marketplace for getting rid of things. It’s all local and very easy. You have to be on Fa ebook first, of course, and I know not everyone is keen on it. It’s also great for acquiring items for visiting grandchildren - stairgates, cots etc. Saves a fortune.

rafichagran Sun 16-Aug-20 20:00:33

I went past a charity shop on the way to the supermarket today. I had a sigh No more Donations, but people seemed to ignore that and a huge bags of stuff was left outside.

FlexibleFriend Mon 17-Aug-20 19:16:34

Well I resisted having a clear out throughout lockdown but this week while it's been much cooler and chucking it down my son and I have been trying to sort the loft. Our loft is quite well organised with different areas for each person stuff. Anyway, first day a car (4x4) load of my stuff went to the tip. Second day a car(4x4) load of general household stuff went to the tip. Today yet again the same car took a full load of my ex's stuff to the tip and I have quite a pile of stuff to go to him for him to decide what to do with it. We're maybe a third of the way through the loft, then we need to start on the garage, a lot of the stuff in there isn't mine so others need to be involved to some degree but I'm no longer holding onto stuff for people who don't live here. It has to be done as I'm converting part of the garage and having a roll up door fitted and they need space to work so there's a time limit on that. I had a massive clear out about 5 years ago so apart from the ex's stuff none of it is that old. I did however find 26 quid in £2 pound coins, no clue who's that was but I'm claiming it as my reward for getting in the loft when I'm disabled and my legs are buggered.

Lucca Mon 17-Aug-20 19:20:19

mrsmopp

I’m a terrible hoarder and I keep everything., it’s a good job we have the space! My mum was the complete opposite - if I finished reading a book, out it went!! Her house was always immaculate and mine is a tip!
I haven’t tried selling online yet. Remember when we used to put a postcard in the newsagents window? That usually worked. Must try harder.....

Hopefully you don’t have any children who would have to deal with this when you’ve gone ?!

MissAdventure Thu 20-Aug-20 14:27:13

I'm still doing a little bit, here and there.
My PayPal balance is almost £150 now, but it's hard keeping motivated.

All of my books are under the bed.
Why, I'm not sure, as I haven't looked at any of them for years.

I'm going to have to grit my teeth and fling them.

Callistemon Thu 20-Aug-20 14:34:45

I started before lockdown and was doing very well, even getting rid of some furniture.
However, when lockdown started I lost any impetus and acquired a mañana mindset.

The house is quite tidy but we have a lot of cupboards and an attic.

I'm no longer holding onto stuff for people who don't live here
I need to be tougher.