De-cluttering, the never-ending process

chuck, not chink🙄

Is that stage of your life over though?
I suspect I may be a few years older than you, or maybe my kids got married earlier.
But they are coming back, with kids in tow.

I too have a large dish problem. But personally, I have had to allocate more space outside of the kitchen areas.
The kids get bigger and have bigger appetites too.

Though I have no wish to derail your de- cluutering.

I’m on a decluttering mission! The dining room has been finished off this morning - 200 greetings cards to bin! Cheap glassware in the recycling and good stuff wrapped up in newspaper to donate. The room just needs a good clean now.
However, I’m not going to sort pots/pans/cookware/crockery or utensils. I’ve nothing of value or sentimental value, so have told the DDs it can all go in a skip unless they want to save an item. Same with my desk - more stationery than WHSmith, but again, it can all be skipped. I have put post-it notes on a couple of ornaments explaining their origin, as I don’t actually collect anything, so none of it is mine.

I've recently turned 65, fancythat. Yes, my children may have children of their own one day (I hope so) but they are still young, and anyway don't live nearby, so won't be popping in often enough for me to need to keep large dishes for years on a 'just in case' basis.

I'm not going to rush into getting rid of dishes, but I do need to start to think about it, I think. It would clear more space in cupboards that are currently more difficult to use than they need to be.

I would be ashamed to tell you how long it is taking for me to sort out my craft/ hobby stash. I have enough knitting needles to supply a small school ( inherited, donated, collected) I am sneaking a few pairs each week into different charity shops. They would turn me away if I came with the lot.
Then, of course, it will be the wool mountain...

I have got sidetracked looking at documents going back four generations. I will hand them into the custody of my stepson tomorrow though I doubt he will want to keep them.

Doodledog

I've recently turned 65, fancythat. Yes, my children may have children of their own one day (I hope so) but they are still young, and anyway don't live nearby, so won't be popping in often enough for me to need to keep large dishes for years on a 'just in case' basis.

I'm not going to rush into getting rid of dishes, but I do need to start to think about it, I think. It would clear more space in cupboards that are currently more difficult to use than they need to be.

They certainly take up a lot of space.

Nowadays, the trend seems to be, "big pan drawers".
Well yes, I would certainly have them, if it wasnt for the fact of being 30 years too late of an idea for me!

* I am sneaking a few pairs each week into different charity shops. They would turn me away if I came with the lot.*

That made me laugh!

I considered big pan drawers when I had my kitchen done, but decided that the sensible thing would be to get rid of some of the big pans .

I can't pare down to the minimum because the family come to stay and then they're needed..

Mind you, DH helped by dropping one large serving dish as he went to put it back on the shelf in the cupboard, it slipped and he smashed it plus about five others 😃

How long do you keep documents, photos, cards, first baby memorabilia, house deeds, major receipts, personal letters?
I have a fair amount of these, though I do prune them from time to time, but I have just gone through four big plastic tubs of this sort of thing from my late mother-in-law. They have been in our loft since she died ten years ago. I have only just discovered them. They go back generations. A fascinating record of social history, but just too much. I have taken a few photos, mainly to try to sort my late husband’s family tree, but photos are no substitute for the real thing.

I wouldn't cut back to the minimum - we had my daughter and her partner for the weekend, and were back to large dishes - but for years I only used the 'serves 4-8' sizes, and I need to stop making giant meals for two people. I had a big sort out when we did the kitchen, but will need to do another one to better represent the way we actually live now, rather than how we used to do all the time but now is an occasional thing rather than every day.

So. That's the wardrobes, the kitchen cupboards and the bathroom that need a second round of decluttering, as well as the cookbooks that I started before Christmas but gave up on. I've had a break from throwing out during January, but will get back onto it soon. Not today though .

No, not today.......

Mañana

Cabbie21

How long do you keep documents, photos, cards, first baby memorabilia, house deeds, major receipts, personal letters?
I have a fair amount of these, though I do prune them from time to time, but I have just gone through four big plastic tubs of this sort of thing from my late mother-in-law. They have been in our loft since she died ten years ago. I have only just discovered them. They go back generations. A fascinating record of social history, but just too much. I have taken a few photos, mainly to try to sort my late husband’s family tree, but photos are no substitute for the real thing.

I got rid of a lot of that in the Grand Declutter of 2022. I have a baby book for each child, the house deeds, and that's about it. I bank online, so don't need receipts. I photograph letters from doctors and file them on the computer. I don't have other letters. Cards were harder to weed out, but I was ruthless when I looked though them and realised that I couldn't remember who half of them were from. I offered the children their old reports and class photos and they didn't hesitate before refusing them. They went out, along with my A level notes and various university essays that had somehow been stored away. I haven't missed them .

It is relatively easy to decide to get rid of one’s own things, but less so the older they are. I treasure items from my parents and grandparents.

I would struggle to get rid of photos, but I don't have other things belonging to anyone else. Not that I can think of, anyway. My mum and MIL are still alive though, so maybe when they go there will be things left behind that will come to me.

Things are slowly moving in the right direction with my in laws house but a long way to go.Some of the grandchildren have asked for furniture and kitchen items.The other siblings told the eldest that she was welcome to pack up everything she wants and take it back to her house.We will go down again in a few weeks to help.I am conscious that we mustn’t rush the eldest sister but also aware that there is pressure on the sibling who is executor.

As for our own house we decluttered during lockdown but are now doing next level decluttering.The garage, shed and loft are on the hit list.I have found homes for a lot of toys and games the children no longer want.Books are next.

I think with modern technology it’s unnecessary to keep lots of documents etc - my FA told me to shred all DH’s financial stuff, as he could access any of it at the touch of a button.
It’s all very well keeping old documents from my grandparents - but they’re unknown to my DDs, in fact DH died before DGS2 was born, so he’ll have no memory of him at all - only what we tell him.
I’ve done a box of DH’s stuff that might interest the DDs and I’ll do the same for me - a few photographs, special cards, etc.
Once appliances are out of guarantee, I get rid of the paperwork/receipts.
We aren’t a photograph taking family, so I’ll be shredding most of them as they’re mainly DH’s parents with people I don’t know. Pictures taken in the past few years are on phones now.

Some of the material I found today has helped me to add to the family tree.

Oh, that's good. I do think that decluttering is about more than just throwing things away. It's more of a recalibration sometimes.

MerylStreep

Not the Salvation Army bins. That goes straight to the recycling companies.

Are you sure, I've donated loads because I thought it was preferable to charity shops.

Oh no.We’ve been putting a lot of things in the Salvation Army bins as like Haydnpat I thought it was preferable to the charity shops.

I will continue to put good clothes into the salvation army bins. They will eventually get to the needy and homeless, I don`t doubt it. There may well be another very warm, almost new easy care coat with a hood destined for my local salvation army this autumn and some decent jumpers, via their clothing bin

Anything raggy would need to be separated as not fit to wear. I wrap my items as they request

Thank you karma.I didn’t know about wrapping items so will continue to use the bins but wrap the items.