De-cluttering, the never-ending process

We had a new bedroom carpet a few months ago and I thought I'd had a good sort out then but that was before summer clothes needed swapping for winter clothes.

I've just cleared a spare room wardrobe, drawers and underbed drawers of stuff ready for the first visitor 🙂

Congratulations to the bargain-baggers

My decorator is here, and the fun has begun. She is working in the third bedroom, which is empty (who would have thought it when I started this?) and will start on the main bedroom on Friday, by which time all the wardrobes will have to be moved to the middle of the room and the bed upended or moved. I plan to finish the sorting of the second bedroom over the weekend so she can do that next, and the little room which is going to be my study will be last. It is now full of overspill from the third bedroom, which should be able to be put back by then.

We chose a carpet today, and the fitter is coming to measure on Friday. We can order it when they've sorted a price and should be able to get it fitted in the third bedroom early next week, and fit the others as they become empty. I have no idea how they will manage the main bedroom, as the wardrobes are solid and very heavy, but I'll discuss that on Friday. I will order furniture to arrive ASAP after each room gets its new carpet - I need two new beds and bedside tables, a desk and bookcase for the study, and possibly a new wardrobe if the one that Mr Dog broke can't be fixed. I have everything chosen and bookmarked, but am nervous about ordering in case something goes wrong with the decorating/carpet fitting and I have to put it somewhere. Phew! I know that some people could have done this standing on their heads, but for me it has been a massive project. It really seemed that it would be impossible to get all four bedrooms sorted to the point where I could have them redone, but we are getting there!

The kitchen starts in a couple of weeks, but I'm not thinking about that yet. . . .

If building is not even starting until next Spring, perhaps she is afraid starting too early will hex her move!
It also sounds way too early to put the house on the market.
Do they have a projected completion date for the retirement flat?

Perhaps she'll get a house clearance firm in and even buy new furniture too, more suited to a retirement apartment.

I met a lovely lady yesterday, widowed a few months ago, her dd does not live nearby. She is downsizing to a retired living apartment, paid the deposit and they are starting building on that site early spring. Her house is not yet up for sale and she is going on holiday for several weeks, has not started clearing

It is like she has not really grasped the urgency of getting this started. She is fit and well. I have dropped a couple of pointers but need to keep my mouth zipped. I did not tell her that I was de-cluttering for three years and even then I brought too much. She thinks she will be able to take most of her stuff but honestly the reality is so very different.

No-one really knows how hard it is, until it happens. I did cardboard cutouts for the house and that helped somewhat but I never did the cutouts for my old garage plus big outbuilding and I wish I had

Happy to bag a lovely Seasalt coat today, the lady in the charity shop told me "November is a great month for bargains as everyone is decluttering their wardrobe" .Yay!
What goes around comes around (in a nice way for once).

Clothes, a few books and puzzles and a few toys went to the charity shop today.
🙂

I bought two new jumpers

Yes, the less we see of Ruth the better

😂😂😂

I've enlisted a daughter to help. Any younger person will do as long as they're not called Ruth.

Oh, I have procrastinated researched the topic by reading all the theories .

There is the 'move it once' method, where you only touch and item to put it away or bin it. No moving to a 'decide later' pile. there is the 'timer' method, where you do as much as you can in X minutes. There is the 'asinine' method, where you tip everything onto the bed, lose the will to live and sleep in the spare room for 6 months. And that's just for starters.

AreWeThereYet

Had to laugh this morning when I was reading about a decluttering method called 'room quieting'. Basically you declutter the room of everything you don't want in it. I've done that a number of times. The clutter just moves from room to room - I guess in the end you just get fed up with moving it around and chuck it out.

Oh, is that what it's called!
I'm always doing that.

Had to laugh this morning when I was reading about a decluttering method called 'room quieting'. Basically you declutter the room of everything you don't want in it. I've done that a number of times. The clutter just moves from room to room - I guess in the end you just get fed up with moving it around and chuck it out.

😁

I'll buy a fascinator.

Depends on how much you fancy a garden party at the palace . I'd go for getting rid, but each to her own.

I do not need a wedding hat from nearly 20 years ago.
Repeat
But what if you get invited to a garden party at The Palace?
That is only likely to happen if you get rid of the hat.
Ok
Keep it or not then?

As detailed on another thread, we have now moved the wardrobe in the spare room, and despite my hard work sorting it out, the clothes are now on the stairs, with half of them off their hangers😢. I am about to go up and put them back, as Mr Dog has taken the carpet to the tip. I am not amused, as it took ages to sort them in the first place. Also, this is bedroom one of four, and probably the easiest to make ready.

🎼 There may be trouble ahead. . .

I will probably have to replace the wardrobe too, as it was difficult to move, and one of the doors has come off. It could probably be repaired, but I'm not sure it's worth it, really.

I can be less ruthless

I need to be more ruthless but that reminds me of Swallows and Amazons. Wasn't one of the girls called Ruth but changed her name to Nancy because pirates are supposed to be ruthless?
Then I began to think about the children's books still in the attic ....

In other news, I have decided to convert a spare bedroom to a study, and have found a desk and tall bookcase to order when it’s painted and the new carpet’s down. This means that I can be less ruthless (more ruthful?) with the remaining books. The cookbooks are still doomed, but I will reshuffle the rest, and can keep more than I’d planned. It’s maddening that I got rid of so many in the last tranche, but I won’t have so many difficult decisions to make.

Craft groups is a good idea, or a care home might be glad of them. Again, I have lots, but they go out of fashion, and it’s a lot easier to print off a pattern from Ravelry and not need to cart a book around with your knitting.

Knitting patterns anyone? Even a knitted swimsuit pattern 😃

This afternoon I am tackling my own books, such a lot of hobby books but I cba selling them, even on ravelry. I will take what I want out of them and get rid

Local craft groups (U3A etc) might appreciate your craft books if they are still intact, karmalady.
Someone from a group might collect them.

I'm pleased you're feeling better, kl.

Books are difficult, aren't they? I got rid of lots of them, but have lots more to go. I think they are best done in waves - some of them are obviously not 'keepers', but others have that 'might want to read it/consult it' some day air about them. I tend to put them to one side on the first 'round' and when I go back to them and see them next to the other ones I wasn't sure about they look less appealing, and I am more keen to let them go.

Realistically, even an expensive book is not going to cost more than £30 or so to replace if you really need it later, and the odds are that you can get any information it holds online anyway, (and it will be more up to date). If someone offered to pay me £30 to store yards of books I'd laugh at them.

They are heavy, so I tend to use Anglo Doorstep Collections to collect them. I've mentioned them before, but they come to the doorstep, as the name suggests, so you don't even have to put them at the bottom of the garden. If you call them the day before they will give you an idea of where you are on the schedule, so you aren't tied up all day. You choose which charity will get the benefit of your donations - I've picked a DV one this time. I doubt they'll get more than a small percentage, but as many charity shops don't take books, and even if you find one it is difficult to get them there in bulk because of their weight, I'm happy with that.

I've just booked a collection for the middle of November, which is an incentive to thin out my massive collection of cookbooks in time.

Keep on keeping on, fellow declutterers - we are on the countdown to Christmas, and we'll have lots more room for Christmas tat tasteful decorations when we've cleared the space! It will all be worth it in the end.

I am still at it today and feel better now that I am rid of the magazines etc. I am thinking that I am going to be leaving the carving tools for a bit longer, I have enough to do right now with clearing my own bookshelves. Lots of heavy books and just now I do have the right mindset to get on with it. I spent money, that money is gone, done and dusted

No point fretting over the big stuff like the scrollsaw and everything else

This afternoon I am tackling my own books, such a lot of hobby books but I cba selling them, even on ravelry. I will take what I want out of them and get rid

We cross posted, Cabbie. I think an auction is a great idea, as you can let a lot of things go at once, and not have all the bagging and posting to deal with.

I hope it goes well.

I know what you mean about FB/eBay, karmalady. I'm not sure that selling works for major decluttering. My daughter keeps saying that I should sell my dresses on Vinted as they are 'good brands', but (for me) it is too much effort - it's hard enough sorting things out, but bagging them, listing them, dealing with buyers and taking the items to the PO is really not worth it to me. Once I have decided they are going I just want them gone. Maybe later I will be able to face the hassle, when I'm looking at an item at a time, and when that item has breathing space in the wardrobe, rather than needing to hang around until the listing is over. For now though, Mr Dog is taking the bags away almost as soon as I put them downstairs.

Yesterday I got rid of 5 bags, and there is one more to go after I've bubble wrapped some fragile things. I have a parcel of three cashmere jumpers to go to Turtle Doves in exchange for fingerless gloves, and a bag of old undies and socks/tights to go to the tip.

It really is a mindset thing. It took me a while to accept that it doesn't matter what an item cost when I bought it, it is worthless now if I can't wear it because it doesn't fit, because I'm 'too old' or because my lifestyle is different now. Now that penny has dropped though, it is much easier to be ruthless.

It's irritating that I can't really see a difference despite the huge number of bags that have gone out in this year's 'ridout', as the clutter was largely in wardrobes, and because the bedrooms are in disarray ahead of the decorator coming, but when everything is put back and life goes back to normal (fingers crossed by the end of the month) I should see the benefit. I really hope so.

Last year I decluttered downstairs, this year it's been upstairs, and next time I have the bathroom and a boot room to do. The bathroom will be easy enough, but the boot room needs thought, as it is full of things like vacuum cleaner, ironing board and other essential items that need to go somewhere. It's been all too convenient to put them in there, but I really need storage solutions. There are a couple of cupboards in there that need a thorough sorting (one is full of cookbooks that I probably don't need) which will be a big help.

But sufficient unto the day is the sorting thereof . I need to crack on with the bedrooms for now. I have a Teams meeting this morning, but hope to make some progress this afternoon.