De-cluttering, the never-ending process

Yes, it was counter-intuitive for me to get rid of reference books, as they are no longer necessary. I’d always seen them as things that would last forever, but the Internet can provide more up to date and relevant information these days, so I got rid of a lot.

My decluttering is as never ending as my diet. It dawned on me the other day that most of the stuff I don’t need any more is stuff that I now have on my iPad or tv. Many of the books on my bookshelf, necessary as they were at the time, are obsolete now.

My kitchen is finally finished, which is good news, but decluttering is now on hold until after Christmas. We did thin out a lot of things from the cupboards as we put them back, though. When the family leave I will start again with wardrobes, and aim for a bag a week to go out.
Are we all in for 2014?

I put a lot of things in a dustbin that I intended going through to put as much stuff as possible in the brown bin but I’ve just put it all in the black bin. I’m quite chuffed with myself albeit still feeling guilty. I put very little in my black bin compared to most of my neighbours. I hope I can now do everything possible to go back to my zero waste policy and learn from the mistake I made with the flour.

The kitchen people are still here. I am really fed up with it all, and starting to get very stressed about Christmas.

Th decorator is doing her best to work around them, but it's not going well, and the cleaner is coming tomorrow, supposedly to help put the contents of the cupboards back, but obviously that can't happen.

I've just opened the new fridge, to find that it has an ice box, which I expressly said I didn't want, as I have a full-size upright freezer and a small one in the boot room, so it is fridge space I need, not a bloody ice box. I've emailed the project manager, but she won't be able to get a replacement fitted before Christmas, and obviously I need a fridge, so I don't know what will happen.

Not all mine, I’m afraid! It has gone into the estate account which will eventually be split three ways. I feel like taking my cut for all my hard work but it doesn’t work that way. There will be at least three more auctions to come so it will take a while.

All round to Cabbie’s for mince pies and ginger wine!

That was certainly worth the effort Cabbie21!

Cabbie21 That's brilliant 🥳🥳🥳 What on earth did you send to auction ??? Does that make you feel a bit better about doing all the work? It would me 😁

Yay! That's excellent, specially so close to Christmas.

I will have to forget about it until I get some family to help as I certainly cannot do it by myself. I am hoping to get anything saleable to go with the rest of the stuff which is waiting in the garage to be collected for general auction, but I won’t wait indefinitely. When I have got help they might as well bring down as much as possible. Meanwhile I need to sort out my own stuff to make a bit of space.
Just had some good news that the most recent auction sale raised around £2200 !

Cabbie21 I feel for you. If I were you I would forget about the loft until you feel you have done as much as you can elsewhere. Then get one box at a time brought down and deal with it. when we emptied the loft we filled the garage with it all. Half of it is still in the garage, housing the local mouse population. every now and again I bring a box in and go through it. Most of it goes in the bin, but every now and again we find something we want.

Ours is a good kitchen, ergonomically well designed, partly upgraded but dated and deep drawers would be so much easier now.

I only ever had the desired kitchen once, in my last house, then 3 years later I moved. I had lots of drawers and some shallow cupboards, so there was still work surface in front of them. The best and most expensive kitchen ever, in the whole of my life

I am making do now,as I know I will not be staying more than another 6 years. I am adding nothing else to this house. I already had wardrobes and cupboards built upstairs and plantation wooden shutters. All in all, it cost me £30k, to make this house my own.

Next house will be my last and then is when I will, maybe, splash the cash. In the meantime I have just given my 3 AC some cash to help pay down mortgages a bit. Better that (for me) than paying for a new kitchen. So I am coping with what was not built to be a cooks kitchen. I had to buy a freestanding large edington butchers block to give me more storage and a better work surface. That was a deliberate buy because I can take it with me or give it to an AC

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Doodledog I feel for you too.

The old adage junk expands to fill the space available

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

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.

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!