30 bags in 30 days decluttering method

Bin bag, not beanbag. Honestly, autocorrect should learn to check for sense.

Today was obviously 'undies day' I went through knickers, bras, socks and tights. Knickers that were too big went (might be because they've stretched rather than weightloss ), along with too small bras and thick tights from when I was definitely two sizes smaller. If I should decrease size then I'll have pleasure buying new replacements. Socks that either had lost their partner or were almost see through at the heel joined the ragging bag too. My underwear drawers are now beautifully tidy and are going to stay that way!

If I should decrease size then I'll have pleasure buying new replacements
Unfortunately M&S no longer stock the ones I like for everyday wear so the nearly new size smaller have gone back in the drawer.

I haven’t posted much recently, mainly because I’ve been having problems logging in. Ok now though.

Well, I’m still plodding on and happy to say my house is looking tidier. I’m sure I’m breathing more easily too, having got rid of so much suffocating clutter. Today, I’ve made up a bundle of clothes to put in a charity bag ready to be collected tomorrow morning.

Guess what I did yesterday, though? Had a browse in a lovely new charity shop in town . . . . and came out with a coat and a necklace . Gah! I’ll never learn . . .

I’m going to put more stuff from my freezer into the brown bin tomorrow. I found some roast potatoes with a use by date of 2015 yesterday . I’m throwing out some chicken stock that I didn’t date. I’m decluttering every day but don’t feel that I’m progressing. There really is so much stuff!

I don't usually throw out much from the freezer but I did throw out what looked like a crustless quiche today - I had no idea when I made it, froze it or in fact what it was, as the label had disappeared.

I haven't had a chance to do anything much but I made 2 stupid purchases. A pair of slippers which I now don't like and a mini handbag which I don't like either. Unfortunately I've ripped off the tags so that will be CS.
I think I need a minder

We are all only human, and daft (or serendipitous purchases are just fine! I am concentrating on rubbish these days rather than donations. I’m doing quite well, but infuriatingly the bin men didn’t come this week for some reason, and I had two extra bags for the paper recycling 😡. It’s as though they knew!

Callistemon21

I don't usually throw out much from the freezer but I did throw out what looked like a crustless quiche today - I had no idea when I made it, froze it or in fact what it was, as the label had disappeared.

Just before the pandemic I sorted out my spice cupboard and ever since then I’ve written the best before date on things I buy but fir some reason didn’t do so with things I made and put in the freezer. Then I kept stuff anyway because it’s better for it to be packed full of stuff than partly empty! Is it ok to use eg frozen vegetables that are past their best before date eg mixed veg to put in a soup? I’d assume it’s just the vitamin content that has deteriorated.

I'd use them although I did throw out some home-frozen runner beans from 2021 that were lurking at the back.

I think frozen vegetables seem to dry out a bit even if they're sealed.
HoweverI made cauliflower and Stilton soup with cauliflower I'd frozen some time ago and it tasted fine and we were fine after eating it!

I’m now going to put lots of glass jars in recycling kept in case I needed to decant some paint etc. What do I do about the lids. Can they go in the recycling bin? I do bemoan the fact that Coffee Mate now comes in cardboard containers because I store lots of things in old Coffee Mate containers! They sit alongside the good old Roses tins in the garage which contain no end of weird and wonderful things. Oh joy. Someone has asked if anyone would be interested in our village doing a yard sale. That would give me something to aim for. And Victorian Plumbing have phoned to say they have arranged to collect the bathroom cabinet I bought from them that wasn’t how it had been described. Very good service from them: I was fretting about how to arrange collection.

I've culled so many half filled pots and bottles of creams and lotions which I buy and then never use regularly. Some were so old I don't even remember buying them. I've emptied the contents and cleaned all containers which are now in the recycling bin waiting to be collected tomorrow. Definitely a small carrier bag full so mission completed for today

Yay ! I've tackled the airing cupboard....but , sadly, I've been let loose in M&S unsupervised so have bought a duvet set ...oops. In my defence, there is room for my new purchase.

I got up at 6 this morning to put the cardboard out for recycling. It didn’t fit in the green bin and I couldn’t leave it out in case it rained. I painted a grubby looking wall in the hall and decanted the paint into a jar for future use. I’m amazed that the paint was ok as the tin was less than half full and the hall was painted years and years ago (certainly over ten). Having said that, when I stirred it I punctured a hole in the bottom of the tin which, thankfully, wasn’t on the carpet at the time. I’ve got several jars that I decanted paint into years ago: not sure if they can go into recycling? Someone I know has just had a baby girl. I may ask him if he wants the rocking horse. I’m nowhere near finished and I still have the garage, computer room and loft to go through.

That sounds like great progress, MayBee. I've had my son and DIL here for a couple of days, but they've gone now, so I can get back to decluttering. When I was getting a room ready for them I got rid of a surprising amount of 'stuff' for a spare room, which is good. I have filled another Doombag though.

What do you all do with miscellaneous items that you want to have close at hand but not on display? The sort of thing that you know you'll use at least once a day and don't want to get our of an upstairs room each time, or that you don't use often that don't have a home. Foot cream, face oils, a bag of emery boards, pen refills - that sort of thing*. I end up using them, putting them on the coffee table, then needing to tidy up, so grabbing a bag and putting them in there 'to put away later'. When I next need them I can't find them, so either get another one, or have to go through three Doombags to find an emery board.

I have a busy couple of days coming up but am determined to find time to fill some bags with clothes. I've been promising myself that I'll do this for months, but keep procrastinating as I hate doing it so much.

*I'm not talking about anything in particular here, and realise that I could just carry an emery board in my handbag. I couldn't carry all the Doombag things in my handbag at once though, and nor do I want to - I'm talking much more generally.

I'm allowing myself one small basket in the sideboard/cupboard for miscellaneous items. If it gets too full then priorities will be exercised. A friend was telling me about the "container idea". You select your container, it will only hold so much, you cannot overfill it so must exercise judgement on what merits a place. It's worked on the stationery supplies. I do not need two dozen HB pencils, 8 highlighter pens, 3 identical staplers, 2 pots of paper clips etc and why oh why does Mr Rosie keep buying those plastic 'balls' containing a 'ball' of tightly packed rubber bands! We have 3!! How often do I actually need a rubber band? I haven't binned the embarrassingly large collection of various 'sellotape' rolls because they will be used eventually, and there's a huge range of types....... You've probably realised I moved onto another 'area of doom' this evening

That's the trouble. The items just get moved about, and I can never remember where they are.

Only managed a small bag of clothes for the charity shop this week. Will focus on the filing cabinet next, and recycle the paper.

Having sold my clay mixer successfully I am now about to sell a couple of potters wheels. I never use them and they get used as shelf space.
I took my car full of waste stuff from DMiL house to the recycle/tip today.
There's more to go before the house is put on the market.
I have quite a CS collection now.

It has been difficult to find unwanted things lately but I have decided that I need to go through all my preserving equipment. Not yet, it needs to be warmer out as the garage is cold.

I will keep anything to do with jam, jellies, marmalade, bottling, kefir, yoghurt and sourdough, including my collapsible proofer, la cloche and bannetons. I wil be sure to find things to do with pickling and other fermentations, including lids with one way valves and dark jars and they will be duly packed and labelled for the cs

In a way, this thread has made me more forward-thinking. I can see me doing the final downsize in 5-7 years as I would be following my dd who will move when their youngest departs for uni. I am hoping it is back to s wales one day. When that happens I will be 80+ and will then get rid of all the nice useful things that I now have, such as the preserving stuff listed above

I went through all my paint today. I stupidly put cling film over the top of some tins as the metal tops tend to go rusty and are difficult to remove but it hasn’t worked and a lot of it has dried out. So I need to dispose of it. Thankfully the chalk paint which has gone solid isn’t toxic like some paint so I can put it in the bin. I’ve tidied the garage, although there’s still a lot of rubbish in there.

The final clearance of the house going to be sold was the garage. Grandpa's toolbox was rather sad.
I suggested some things could be left for the next owners but apparently Estate agents say no. I loved finding old quirky things in the garage or attic of a house.
Nowadays they make a walk through video for prospective buyers.

Yet another unused, would never be used, item. I have had it long enough but there it stands, a large puzzle board, against the garage wall. It is going and while I am at it, I feel quite capable of finding and packing up, my unwanted pickling equipment. Mission accomplished for this weekend

Well done Karmalady
I took a shopping trolley to the CS today. It's the place you have to phone first to donate. I always get the crotchety woman who almost shouts at me for coming in but today she saw me, shouted to the manager saying " there's a woman here you know!" That made me chuckle.
They always go through everything you donate. Some of mine had to go straight in the rag bag.
But they loved my leather shoe cleaning kit- hardly used. never will be
Gettin' there as they say in these parts .

I failed bigtime grammaretto. The puzzle board stayed in the hall overnight and my downfall was to admire the workmanship and precision cutting of the parts. I fished its cover out of my bin and made a new space under a bed. It is fine there, another year in which I will see if I ever get around to doing one of my several jigsaws

In process I fished out some big folded cardboard that I was keeping, in case I had to return a big item. That will almost fill my boot today. I kind of feel disappointed that I discovered feelings for my puzzle board

Upside is that I see small spaces appearing in my garage.