A bit of de-cluttering. Now and then

keepcalm, yes definitely bookworms. They have devoured the shreds already

I do have one antique, I was drawn to a special spinning wheel in 2014. Very expensive for what it was but heyho, a hospice shop at a distance from here. I got the vives from the previous owner and this wheel taught me to spin

I don`t use that one now as I have three others but am so reluctant to let it go, it has a home with me here, where it is loved and polished

Tiley, I have always avoided antiques, ever since we got a parcel from a bil in s africa. It contained something like carved heads. The vibes to me were awful and they went straight into the bin. I am very sensitive to vibes in houses and old furniture

I have re-surfaced a very old and consistent interest of mine, would be wasteful to neglect the knowledge. It has involved lots of postal deliveries. Less said is more but suffice it to say that most has now been stored away. I re-purposed sturdy cardboard boxes and cut the flaps off. They all fit very tidily into a large ottoman in my bedroom

It does not matter where they are stored but now I will be able to find anything relating to this topic. Any that needed double packing, they have been gone into zip lock bags

Obviously I have not made more space, apart from throwing some containers out. I suppose a shopping bag full, for the recycling box counts

Me and my husband have so much stuff, we just love stuff. We have moved many times to different parts of the UK and each time say right let's declutter but we just love our things especially furniture most of it has been bought from auction houses over the years and neither of us can part with it. The last house had stables ( we had no horses) and managed to fill them with stuff which we'd say well it'll come in handy one day. We were in our element when we had old cottages which were heavily beamed, inglenook fireplaces etc it was like walking into an antique shop. To this day we are just as bad. We try not to go to antique/bric brac shops but somehow we are drawn in. Good job we are all different as many of our friends go for the mimalistic look which gives me the shivers

I did remove nine thick books last week, dismantling some, when the paper is appropriate, my compost worms need feeding and they are happy with paper shreds amongst the green stuff

Are they bookworms by any chance Karmalady?

My big bin is collected every four weeks and consciously I do look for an item or two that I can de-clutter. That is my progress rate just now, very slow but not stop. Obviously if an item is good enough for the cs, then it would go there but sometimes into the bin

I did remove nine thick books last week, dismantling some, when the paper is appropriate, my compost worms need feeding and they are happy with paper shreds amongst the green stuff

The upside has to be that I am hardly buying any non-consumables

I need to do more in my wardrobe, reminding myself that several of the items that I made were toiles, ie using a cheaper fabric as a first make. I use indie patterns so every make is special and now it is hard to let go of those toiles, some of which are colours that do not suit me. Marie Kondo here I come, again

Casdon, the speed mop went. I already have a similar mophead hanging on a hook at the back of thr utility room door and I have several microfibre replacement cloths. They still have that mop in lakeland. Definitely one that will last me forever

The wardrobe, urgh that is always a tricky job so I can only tackle that in stages, bearing in mind to not cast a clout yet

I’ve got another program I’m obsessed with Filthy House SOS on Ch5. I didn’t realise how many programmes like this there are: all with the same format as the old programmes with Aggie and Kim. I find it so reassuring that so many people are worse hoarders than me and also that there’s usually an emotional reason for it. I also find it reassuring that at least my house is clean ( in fact I’m as obsessive about cleaning as I am about hoarding stuff). I just need to put some of the things inaction that they suggest in these programmes. Eg bedding: I’ve got far too much of it.

When I downsized I promised myself I would not let my pristine new place become cluttered. Now I have far too many books, a drawer full of CDs I never use and 2 wardrobes full of clothes. I want to get rid of all of it but feel a bit overwhelmed when I look at how much there is.

Today I have tackled under our bed. ? An ottoman bed.
Have thrown away quite a lot and hoovered it.
Found two old white linen curtains that I plan to make into ? Skirt ?dress or at least 2 table cloths.
Yes, I need to be ruthless.

I've just bought a new microfibre mop and found my old squeezy bucket in the back of a cupboard in the utility room! 😁

I wouldn’t have got rid of the speed mop itself karmalady, as I think the design is brilliant. I’ve cut up some microfibre cloths to the same size as the pads and I use a few of those, wet with water with washing up liquid in to do my floor. It’s just so much quicker than a traditional mop and bucket, you can whizz round in a couple of minutes with it. In fact it’s so good that I’ve put my ordinary mop and bucket in the garage because I never use it.

I got to the end of a flash speed mop kit and was I glad, the big empty wipes container has gone and so has the mop and that means a nice empty corner in mu utility room

Just a mini brabantia bin from my en suite too, I remember buying that before I moved in. What the heck, very rarely used so that and the bag of liners have gone

Honestly it is only small bits now but definitely worth bothering as they can mount up

My garage is messy, I need to do a deep dive sort but have to be in the mood. It is a great store for my bikes, their maintenance tools, workshop/ handyperson tools of all sorts as well as my long-term dried foods, tins, chocolate, preserves, etc etc I could go through it like a dose of salts if I had to eg if moving but nah, I like what I have in there

I must have another onslaught on the books next. Not that they will make any money .

kkepcalmandcavachon, if everything is on display then you are more likely to use it

Yes JackyB it is definitely liberating

I tried barkeepers friend on my oven doors and had a brilliant and quick result

Cabbie very well done, that was a good amount of £££

some months ago I handed my `new` and unused hohner accordion to my dgs, plus a big box of music and learning books. Dd has been having a de-clutter and has asked if I could take it back, of course I said yes

I am visiting them on monday and plan to offer them the accordian and books to sell, with the money split 3 ways, 2 dgc and parents. To buy premium bonds. I am keeping whisper quiet for now but know that the dgc (14 and 16} will love that idea. I cannot for the life of me sell stuff and they can. I cannot bear the thought of bringing it all back home

Otherwise I am still plodding on, about 1/3 of a bin load is out today as I needed to find a home for some other useful things. I am trying hard to keep to the mantra of one in and one out

Now to read back, to see how you are doing on this never-ending journey

Yesterday I re-de-cluttered my utility room . Made the bold (foolish) move to remove four wall units. I really would like some oak shelving so everything out on display will have to be pretty now! Also replacing the unit doors so that's 4 doors cheaper too. I need to stay strong chums.....

On Friday I loaded the car up with all the stuff that has been accumulating for months - a real eyesore - and took it to the tip.

Such a feeling of liberation. And it only took just over an hour.

When you finally get round to things you do wonder why you hadn't done it ages ago.

MayBee70

Not on the door. I soaked the shelves in a plastic container with dishwasher tablets. It said on one of the programmes I watch that you can buy dishwasher powder.

Oven Pride.
Soak the shelves in the plastic bag provided.

If not, then the dishwasher followed by a scrub with a Brillo pad.

Not on the door. I soaked the shelves in a plastic container with dishwasher tablets. It said on one of the programmes I watch that you can buy dishwasher powder.

MayBee70 have you tried dishwasher tablets on the oven glass door? They're pretty effective.

My newly decorated rooms are looking good. I can’t put anything back in the extension as the floor is being done next week. I have no furniture for it yet anyway.
Still lots of sorting of the contents to be done. My decluttering of the garage( my late husband’s tools and hobby stuff) sold at auction today and raised over £800!! Worth the effort. I hope the thistles on his grave are not a sign of his displeasure, but the stuff had to go. So will the thistles but I had no tools with me.

It was mainly because I read that someone’s mum told them that, to clean the oven shelves, leave them outside on the lawn overnight and I was curious to see if it worked! Not sure if it helped or not but once I’d started I had to finish. Don’t know how the shelves got so bad because I put trays in all of them. The see through door is still opaque, though. I did read that some abrasives can stop them being heat proof and can result in it cracking so I’m a bit wary of cleaning it.

I’ve just spent two days cleaning my cooker!

I had friends coming for a meal before Christmas and was short of time, so I treated myself to a professional oven cleaner.
It only took him an hour, it would have taken me all day and I'd probably have broken most of my nails 😂

There is a fantastic charity called Tools with a Mission who will take all kinds of tools etc, they refurbish them and send out to third world countries. I gave them my granny's hand cranked sewing machine and they were really grateful. They have local collectors whom you can find on their website, which also has lists of what they are looking for. When I was finding it hard to part with things I found the fact that they were going to be of help to others really eased my mind