De-cluttering, the never-ending process

Talking about mugs. Before I thinned them down we had about 40 and there was only DH and me! Why?

I can’t imagine needing forty, unless you have massive coffee mornings .

I have a lot of plates but they are used for serving as well as eating off, so I don’t want to get rid of them. I’m unlikely to need all the ones I have though. I should really get rid of some when I can start putting my kitchen back to normal.

Cabbie21

Today my grandson went up into the loft to fetch some decorations down for me, but when he told me about all the other stuff up there, I felt quite overwhelmed. Just when I thought I was doing well with dispersing my late husband’s stuff!
Because of the layout of the house, it needs a team of three or four people to fetch the stuff down and transfer it safely to where it can be sorted ready for disposal or auction. Not much will be kept. I don’t know when my family are going to be available to help. I certainly cant do it myself.

You seem to be doing very well.
Dont get disheartened. It is all a process.

I have quite a lot of everyday mugs. But I am a bit butterfingers. So is one of my DDs.
50/50 whether they bounce or break on the floor.

Doodledog. No I never have coffee mornings and hardly ever any visitors. I have sent loads to the charity shops and now have about 10 which is ample.

Don't start me off on white china or bedding and towels!! Have enough for a B&B!!

MayBee70 could you take a good photo of the rocking horse to enlarge and frame and then sell the horse on Ebay. Do the same with the other toys.
Fischer Price toys are worth selling. It is a wrench, but if they arent used let them go.

So many posts make decluttering sound so therapeutic and indeed it should be cathartic. BUT not in this household I have a husband who won’t get rid of stuff and just leaves things where he uses them and I’ve tried to suggest he might find things if he put them away but all to no avail never achieved it
Son and I have been tidying and decluttering recently. Might I say 11 computers and 9 printers
When can’t find things it must be our fault You have guessed it it must have been thrown away which is not case for the usual suspects of chargers etc
Rant over

HelterSkelter1

MayBee70 could you take a good photo of the rocking horse to enlarge and frame and then sell the horse on Ebay. Do the same with the other toys.
Fischer Price toys are worth selling. It is a wrench, but if they arent used let them go.

I might put the rocking horse on market place for a small price but, if I find that the buyer wants it for a child’s Christmas present will let them just have it. Unfortunately I love children’s book, especially Ladybird books, wooden toys and Fisher Price toys and display them everywhere. What I can do is get rid of other stuff that has no history or sentimentality to it. I keep saying I’ll sell it at the village yard sale but each year there seems to be a reason not to. I can’t really afford to give everything to charity shops much as I’d like to.

Gwyllt

So many posts make decluttering sound so therapeutic and indeed it should be cathartic. BUT not in this household I have a husband who won’t get rid of stuff and just leaves things where he uses them and I’ve tried to suggest he might find things if he put them away but all to no avail never achieved it
Son and I have been tidying and decluttering recently. Might I say 11 computers and 9 printers
When can’t find things it must be our fault You have guessed it it must have been thrown away which is not case for the usual suspects of chargers etc
Rant over

You rant away.
That sounds stressful.
Well done for what you are managing to achieve.

My DH is quite good. Maybe better than me.
But he will keep his pile of stuff in his corner[until he compares it to my corner when I have done mine, and then decides perhaps he should have a tidy].

He is bad with electrical wires. They were everywhere.
In the end, if they were not attached to anything at all, I scooped up those, put them all in a large box, and put the box at the bottom of a cupboard he uses occasionally.

It was two weeks before he needed one of those particular wires. I told him what I had done. And said that the box was his "electrical department". He didnt complain.

Hope that helps. I dont know if anyone else has any more ideas for you. Or better ones?

11 computers! Dare I ask if he uses them all?

Small steps today. I defrosted the freezers ready for Christmas, and got rid of a few things. Mostly I organised it though, so I can find things more easily, and there is a free drawer when the Christmas orders arrive - so long as Mr Dog doesn't take the opportunity to fill it up first, that is.

My kitchen renovations are going badly. The job is three weeks over time, and there is no sign of it getting finished, as they keep hitting snags. I am finding it very stressful, as all the kitchen contents are all over the downstairs rooms, so everywhere is a mess, and Christmas is coming thick and fast.

Doodledog ask away you really shouldn’t have. what do you think. NO Why do you think he got new ones. Some he recons can only use various old programs. That I can’t envisage him ever needing And yes I know he is probably finding retirement not so easy but won’t talk about it. I have found a man who hopefully can transfer stuff he recons he needs onto one computer so fingers crossed it might free up some space. I’ll save my rant about compulsive shopping for another occasion

Doodledog

I can’t imagine needing forty, unless you have massive coffee mornings .

I have a lot of plates but they are used for serving as well as eating off, so I don’t want to get rid of them. I’m unlikely to need all the ones I have though. I should really get rid of some when I can start putting my kitchen back to normal.

Is your kitchen still not finished Doodle? Is the sink sorted yet? You must be so fed up with it all!

Unfortunately I love children’s book, especially Ladybird books, wooden toys and Fisher Price toys and display them everywhere
most Fisher Price toys have gone, Maybee, except for the FP Olympic figures as I can't bear to get rid of Tom Daley, Rebecca Adlington, Chris Hoy et al 😁

Is your kitchen still not finished Doodle? Is the sink sorted yet? You must be so fed up with it all!
I am very stressed! The sink and tap are finally sorted but there have been many other issues, and it’s not remotely finished. I can’t see it being decorated before Christmas now. I’ll be lucky to get all the contents put back when they finally fit the cabinets, as everything is covered in dust, as is the rest of the house.

Doodledog

*Is your kitchen still not finished Doodle? Is the sink sorted yet? You must be so fed up with it all!*
I am very stressed! The sink and tap are finally sorted but there have been many other issues, and it’s not remotely finished. I can’t see it being decorated before Christmas now. I’ll be lucky to get all the contents put back when they finally fit the cabinets, as everything is covered in dust, as is the rest of the house.

So you'll have to put everything back, and then move it all again for decorating?
That's really messing up your Christmas... no wonder you're stressed. I feel for you. What a nightmare.
I know about the dust - it gets everywhere and you have to examine everything before you use it. I'm stressing for you just thinking about it...
Maybe you can de-clutter a bit when you start to put things back again - but there won't be much time I suppose..
Hang in there, as they say. Not that you have much choice!

Gwyllt, I know just what you mean about computers, cables etc. DH had 3 laptops, two iPads, 2 iPhones in regular use plus goodness knows how many defunct ones around. In the garage were seven tubs of cables etc relating to electrical, electronics, phones, microphones etc. and now there are more old bits of electrical equipment in the loft. My son popped in yesterday and didn’t seem very impressed at the thought of clearing the loft. If it’s not done now he’ll have to do it when I die or move house.

Cabbie21. I didn’t include iPad old phones and all the rest you mentioned
I have been known to call all the junk their inheritance.
Haven’t started on old drills and other unused tools lawn mowers
It’s making me exhausted just thinking about it
We have a skip but he goes skip diving
BUT I am trying and son very good

The old adage junk expands to fill the space available

Doodledog I feel for you too.

Thanks for the support. I am beyond fed up, and wish I hadn't started it now. I was really looking forward to it when I decided to go for a new kitchen instead of a respray, and this year both of my children (and partners) are visiting, so I can't even hide all the mess in a spare bedroom. I thought the house would be lovely, with less stress because everything would be clean and new, but it's turned into a nightmare.

Oh doodledog I feel that pain, it took 6 months over last christmas, I was sitting amongst depressing piles of stuff but one day it stops and the magic happens

I have quietly done a kitchen drawer, the one with foil, rolling pin, all sorts of sieves, labels etc It started because I got a large box of foil squares down from over the oven and there was not enough room in the drawer.

A bit of shuffling and 5 small items are binned and a lakeland storage basket moved elsewhere. Not getting rid of that basket, they are brilliant as they stack easily and fit under folding shelves. They have a corner handle and I have a few lids,
somewhere. They have enabled neatness under sinks and in a cupboard. I use the lakeland shelves with legs that fold out as the cupboard areas are too tall otherwise. Baskets on top and also below

www.lakeland.co.uk/24415/caddy-stack-storage-caddy

6 months! I would be in an asylum by then.

Those baskets and shelves look useful, thanks. I will think about getting some after Christmas, when all this is over.

It was terrible doodledog, The decorator came when he could, he was so good that he had people clamouring for him and I was grateful. The upside was that I had enough time to clear one room at a time.

I had moved the tall fridge into the hall and the tall freezer into my living room. That was christmas, surrounded by `things`, I never knew when he would ring and say he would be coming so I was always ready. I moved all the big stuff myself, the fridge and freezer rolled easily and all the furniture got felt pads via a prise bar to help lift. The upside to that is that everything will slide easily now

I think time went by in a blur, I don`t remember too much detail now. It was worth doing and using a very good paint was part of that. It will pass doodledog, everything passes

Doodledog

Thanks for the support. I am beyond fed up, and wish I hadn't started it now. I was really looking forward to it when I decided to go for a new kitchen instead of a respray, and this year both of my children (and partners) are visiting, so I can't even hide all the mess in a spare bedroom. I thought the house would be lovely, with less stress because everything would be clean and new, but it's turned into a nightmare.

Oh dear, I do feel for you.
Our semi-planned new kitchen got postponed because of Covid then I decided I want a complete refurbishment, a wall knocked down, a new doorway etc then decided I couldn't face it all.
Now we're too old!

So it's been shelved pro tem while I we have another re-think.

They look useful karmalady 🙂

I have items such as plastic boxes, baking tins in separate big plastic boxes in cupboards. The tinfoil, baking paper etc wouldn't fit in the silly-sized drawers so they're in metal magazine/file holders in the cupboard