Gransnet forums

House and home

De-cluttering, still at it, still no end

(321 Posts)
karmalady Fri 11-Apr-25 05:24:23

A continuation of the first thread

www.gransnet.com/forums/house_and_home/1322351-De-cluttering-the-never-ending-process?pg=40

Redcar Tue 29-Apr-25 19:50:34

fancythat knowing them it may well be later!! I have the skip for 2 weeks, so they could come the following weekend if absolutely necessary.
I never managed to get the vacuum packs to actually go flat.

Allira Tue 29-Apr-25 19:48:40

I have found that vac packs give up after a while. Perhaps I bought the wrong ones but you can put a duvet in a vac pack away in an under-the-bed drawer then find, when you take it out months later, it's expanded and you're having to haul it out of the drawer using muscles you never knew you had.

fancythat Tue 29-Apr-25 19:32:39

Vac packs dont work that well for cotton bedding

Thanks for the tip.

Allira - oh no!

karmalady Tue 29-Apr-25 15:26:46

I keep thinking the same when I cannot find something Allira

Vac packs dont work that well for cotton bedding, I used to put the bedding into a pillowcase for each bed. Vac packs worked really well to keep wool of any sort safe from moths and duvets compressed

I did get the oomph thank goodness and have a black bag full of new, wishful thinking, leggings and trousers. If they were ever going to fit, it would be now but they don`t and they are going

I did find my warm leisure outfits but it wasn`t cold enough this year. They are nice and comfy and are now packed away. I have roughly done round one, only trousers, leggings and skirts though. Layers need to remain, it could still become cold

Allira Tue 29-Apr-25 15:09:18

Well, better than disposing of it like I must have done!

fancythat Tue 29-Apr-25 14:42:40

Eeks!

I have more or less decided I am going to have to use those vacuum packs.
Others around me use them. For some reason I am not at all keen.
But I have now got fed up of at times, having surplus bedding hanging around between visitors.

Allira Tue 29-Apr-25 10:38:58

Well, I'm making up beds for visitors but can't find at least three sets of sheets! Hoping I hadn't decluttered too far when I cleared some bedding out last year. 🤔

fancythat Tue 29-Apr-25 10:38:31

Hope they come earlier than that Redcar.

You are talented karmalady

karmalady Tue 29-Apr-25 10:29:52

I feel as though I have been forced into clothes de-cluttering this morning I needed some cool clothes and could not find anything. I put a skirt on that I enjoyed making and is made well but it does not suit me and neither does the colour, I have no tops to go with it

Maybe later today I will have the impetus to carry on, at least I found the cool slinky slip nightdresses and my cool cotton dressing gown

I make all of my own clothes, properly and well and they were made to fit. One of my hobbies. Every new pattern is made in a toile, as if it were the final garment, very wearable. Then followed up in a very good fabric like linen or a good pima cotton etc. It is the toiles, they need to go if I have followed up

This is hard to face

Redcar Mon 28-Apr-25 16:59:37

My family said they would help clear the garage this coming weekend as I have a skip being delivered. It now seems as though they’ll be with me on Sunday afternoon! No doubt I’ll end up doing most of the clearing myself.
Some years ago we spent many weekends helping a friend declutter her large house prior to putting it on the market. They were both hoarders, we had to climb over piles of stuff to get anywhere. In the end most of it ended up being stored in shipping containers at a storage facility. After she died, her family had to clear it all.

Chocolatelovinggran Mon 28-Apr-25 16:49:33

Oh MayBee , I can relate to your story about your parents. Mine threw everything of my childhood away, including all photos.
My one consolation is that no one can see the dodgy fashion choices I made in my teens.

Astitchintime Mon 28-Apr-25 15:23:04

We sorted through some clothes yesterday………anything not work for two years has gone in the charity bag which was full to capacity when we had finished.

Norah Mon 28-Apr-25 15:13:19

fancythat

Norah

Redcar

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

Good Luck!

As each daughter moved out another moved back. I believe we're almost through -- my husband has their stuff in his buildings now. At least stuff is out of lofts and garages and ready to burn later.

Do his buildings have some sort of heater in them?

Yes, people work in all seasons.

Allira Sun 27-Apr-25 19:08:16

I used to read mine but not for a number of years now.

Calendargirl Sun 27-Apr-25 19:06:13

Allira

Redcar I still have a set of encyclopedias I was given age 11! My mother decluttered toys and clothes but not books.

I also had a set of Books Of Knowledge, filling up shelves on the bookcase.

Bought by my dad when we were children.

They sat there for years, I didn’t want them but felt guilty not keeping them.

Finally took them to a charity shop, they said if they didn’t sell they would go for pulping.

I felt great relief to be rid of them.

karmalady Sun 27-Apr-25 18:33:03

Good luck Redcar

My friend is clearing her mums house, her mum died at age 90+ and had lived in her house for 68 years and never done any de-cluttering. It is a nightmare for my friend

This de-cluttering malarky is not really for us but is to help our loved ones

MayBee70 Sun 27-Apr-25 18:28:22

The joy ( and tears) of receiving a long lost book in the post and remembering every word and every picture. The only things I’ve never found again are some magazines that I had called Mr Tasty Freeze. How or why I had them I have no idea as they were American. And I can still remember on the day we moved out of my first home a box full of old books that were in a cupboard. We didn’t take them with us and I don’t think they belonged to us anyway. I have a terrible memory when it comes to events in my childhood apart from when they were about books.

Whitewavemark2 Sun 27-Apr-25 18:19:10

Oh there are so many books I would love still to own. Like you maybe70 my mum threw them all out😢.

I have a very long list. But I guess my offspring would promptly throw them out at my demise.

MayBee70 Sun 27-Apr-25 18:01:16

My mum threw out all of my toys and books when I left home. It took decades for me to find some of the books on eBay. She even threw away the photo I’d taken of my dolls and teddy bears although I do thankfully have a photo of me and one teddy. I’m sure it’s one reason why I’m now a hoarder.

fancythat Sun 27-Apr-25 16:56:03

Norah

Redcar

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

Good Luck!

As each daughter moved out another moved back. I believe we're almost through -- my husband has their stuff in his buildings now. At least stuff is out of lofts and garages and ready to burn later.

Do his buildings have some sort of heater in them?

Allira Sun 27-Apr-25 16:45:32

Redcar I still have a set of encyclopedias I was given age 11! My mother decluttered toys and clothes but not books.

Allira Sun 27-Apr-25 16:43:52

The other day I sorted out my houseplants (not many now), those I kept 🤞 hoping they might revive and didn't have gone in the garden waste. There is so much to sort indoors but the garden's a mess as we can't tackle it as we used to. I started sorting out my herbaceous border and found three small trees in there (thank you squirrel!).
Perhaps I should stick to decluttering my wardrobe!

Having a cuppa and a break.

Norah Sun 27-Apr-25 16:28:02

Redcar

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

Good Luck!

As each daughter moved out another moved back. I believe we're almost through -- my husband has their stuff in his buildings now. At least stuff is out of lofts and garages and ready to burn later.

Redcar Sun 27-Apr-25 16:17:31

My parents downsized when I was 17, my mum was a bit of a hoarder and we lived the house she moved to when she was 6. It was a big house with plenty of space to keep things. My dad gave a lot of my outgrown clothes and all my toys and books away. He had a bonfire in the garden for weeks, burning old encyclopaedias etc.
I’ve lived in my house for 43 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff in that time. As my daughters have moved out, they’ve left stuff behind. I have a skip coming next week, my daughters and families are coming to help me clear the garage and some of the loft! Wish us luck!

karmalady Sun 27-Apr-25 15:38:09

Allsorts

After a massive matter de clutter I am still cluttered. If I had good homes for loads of stuff I wouldn't miss them, its giving away unused items that hurts to car boots etc where they get next to nothing.

yes Allsorts, I`m similar, much easier to rehome where stuff will be used. It was my ds talked me out of that difficult frame of mind, he said that the money was spent anyway. He was very good, I had that massive feeling of regret but I turned that around thanks to him.

The biggest release for me was letting all that pristine (expensive) workshop equipment go. The happiness came when I heard the men saying how much they appreciated that act of kindness. It was so nice to hear that. My husband would have been very happy with that decision.

I have been eyeing my 2 big planters by my garage door, stuffed full with whirly agapanthus, which need to be contained or they would be rampant. I will let them flower one last season and then I will have the difficult job of emptying the containers and getting rid of everything