De-cluttering, still at it, still no end

I’ve lost weight recently and have started wearing jeans again after living in leggings for years. It has meant that a lot of clothes I also haven’t worn for a long time have now made it back into my what I wear now wardrobe. And that includes shoes that I nearly sent to a charity shop recently as shoes don’t really go with leggings. I’ve often found ( as a yo yo dieter) an ancient forgotten garment in my wardrobe and started wearing it again. I’m afraid it isn’t helping my decluttering effort. And there are some beautiful glass tea light holders in a nearby shop that I think I have to buy even though I’ve nowhere to put them; I keep looking at them and love them so much. The shop owner even restocked them after I asked about them so I feel obliged to buy them ( that’s my excuse anyway…). This is why I’m in such a mess; I’m a yo yo dieting magpie.

Our car boot the other day got rid of some ‘stuff’.

I took a load of plant pots, marked ‘free’, and they all went!

One lady insisted on giving me some money for them, I was just glad they were of use to someone.

A dress and a pair of trousers went, I asked my DH why more didn’t go, as several people looked at them. He said ‘They are too small for most folk’ which is a shame.

We didn’t make a lot of cash, but the car was much less full coming home.

😃

I didn`t put anything in my loft Fancythat learnt a lesson from the family home. Same as you, everything had to come out and the children just did not want much. That stuff was skipped and an awful lot disappeared from the skip overnight

I am in a nice stage today, day by day am wearing wearable toiles (a sewing term, practice garment from not so-favourite fabrics) I always make them well and have handed several on already to salvation army. One blouse worn yesterday, was fab and felt lovely so that is going to be re-produced in a few weeks, meantime I will wash it and pass it on. Different top today and similar result

Some waisted dresses need to go, sigh, my waist has vanished. I class that in slow and steady, not sure yet

I won`t rest, conscious of my age and I am certainly not leaving my stuff for AC to sort. I have weaving stuff to go, some brand new. I`ll keep my eyes open for a worthy cause, I look upon giving away as charitable donations. Did it with good stuff from my late husband, now benefitting the community and raising funds

Kitchen stuff was easiest

fancythat

I am finally clearing my loft!

As it happened, I am moving stuff from around the hatch first.
So it already looks quite improved.

And clearing out my childrens' stuff.
There is a substantial amount of it.
10% of stuff in loft? Plus some stuff elsewhere.

Another child[well in 30s] has got own home now.
Good timing for me.
His stuff is going to be given back to him!

I have to be careful not to bring too much down.
And then it hangs around in a bedroom until he next visits.

I am done for the day, taken out around 4 big bags of clothes, sorted all my clothes and nightwear. New snag leggings are going out as are warm tunics and unworn sweater dresses.

I am having an apple and water break and will get these clothes bagged up before lunch. The best quality will go to the salvation army, the rest into a normal clothes bank

It`s a shattering process

Its a perfect time to be cracking on with clothes de-cluttering, this time of year when I will swap summer for winter

I have to separate heart from head, I know immediately if an item does not spark joy but I am trying to be ruthless, it is a tough call

I did 6 items the other day, to the salvation army bank, they will put them up for sale. I will go and make my bed now and make a tentative start. I need luck and enthusiasm

Gwyllt - fully sympathise with you and a friend's partner is a serial hoarder who even keeps post of any sort going back years. I had a declutter when moving but have gradually been finding stuff hidden in the shed which I thought had been taken to the tip. The latest find is a bag of rock hard cement. Why, just why would you even keep that nevermind bring it from one house to another?! Goodness knows what the removal firm thought. Absolutely no idea behind the latest one - he's started storing empty pill bottles which are everywhere in the shed.

I do get the butterflies sometimes, when I think about my age (78) and my still full home but then I shake myself out of it and just carry on plodding

Yesterday, two good child stools, No-one needs them so I took the ash legs off for the fire next winter and the heavy painted mdf tops went to the skip. My small air fryer, used 3 times, that went onto the re-use table at the tip

A couple of tubes from my bedroom, almost empty but that will do. Soon it will be my old large, tabletop bp monitor which I am replacing with a small neat monitor

I am very grateful that I can still unearth things to go and that I have been able to de-clutter far more than I have brought in.

Clothes next, I am finding that particularly difficult but again, one item at a time. I just need to be aware of that sensation when I put it on. That vibe tells me but I need to listen

We hope to do a car boot sale in a couple of weeks time, weather permitting.

Not expecting to make a fortune, but aim to clear a bit more ‘stuff’.

Karma lady. You make it sound so easy A short time ago we had a skip Son and I did do some clearing of sheds. Genuinely it was building rubbish and tools to rusty or broken nature. Himself went skip diving , he played merry hell and sulked for ages.

Allsorts is right, Humbertbear. Ercol furniture is very collectable. One DD has an Ercol dining table and chairs, which she loves.

Allsorts

I have tried and took three bags of clothes to a charity shop, I should never need to buy any more. I have about 20 handbags, none of them big enough to get all my stuff in, so virtually unused, why did I get them.
It's what to do with my Ercol furniture, it's in mint condition and I love it. I won't be taking it though. Also boxes of ornaments , not to my taste, Lladro etc. And copper, kettles etc all presents. Too good to just throw but I couldn't sell on line as get in a muddle buying on line.
Going to get ruthless now with my cooking utensils and gadgets

Ercol furniture is highly sort after. contact an auction house or join the Ercol FB group.

I am finally clearing my loft!

As it happened, I am moving stuff from around the hatch first.
So it already looks quite improved.

Gwyllt that sounds impossible, you are going to have to keep your head down and maybe secretly do item at a time. Harmony at home has to come first

Busy day working on the allotment yesterday, I am pottering today and am finding that pottering enables me to have a good think about various items

Cut up for bike-cleaning rags today, a washed out cotton top

I got rid of 4 unopened packs of matcha, it has always been an effort to drink bitter matcha tea. They are binned and so is the matcha paraphernalia like the whisk and measure

The last pan with non-stick coating has gone, not before I tested its replacement though. A uk made cast iron skillet

Dd would like my alessi storage jars and she is welcome, it is nice to see them all using glass rather than plastic. I am happy enough with my kilner jars

I am beginning to see what you mean.

You have your work well and truly cut out for you.

FANCYTHAT. If only it was so easy let me explain we have a good sized Victorian house. With four cellar rooms two he occupies with office stuff including about 9 or 10 old computers and probably about 7or 8 printers he claime they are all wanted as they have different programs on them.He flows into the third given half a chance. He retired during covid Desks pilled high with stuff and it is all over the floor The last time I did a bit of tidying / sorting while he was away life was not worth living for quite a while. The shed idea. Oh dear our house had previously been riding stables so there is a stable block with 16 stables. Need I go on. I would not mind if he could find anything. Or if he kept them tidy

If you were to bag up a bin bag's worth of stuff, and put it by a shed, and say he can either throw or keep[in the shed] what was in the bag, what would he do?

Oh.

Any chance he would let other things go in a shed?

So at least they would be out of the house?

Just a suggestion.

I’ve given up trying to declutter. With husband like mine impossible. He proudly said to someone the other day I have thrown very little away since we got married. The other day I replaced a toaster that moved with us at least ten years ago and it was far from new then. One had to stand and hold the handle down for it to slowly toast. It was put to go to tip / recycling. It was rescued and I found it just chucked in a shed.

Looking through my collection of vases, some for actual flowers and some as ornaments, I am going to sort a few for our next car boot.

Also had some old demijohns in the garage. We use a couple for sloe gin, but we don’t need so many.

Have soaked them with dishwasher tablets, they have come up sparkling.

I have looked up prices on E Bay, and will take a spare one or two to the CB. Not going to give them away, however, as they look quite ‘sellable’.

We’ll see.

I get this, decluttering really does feel never-ending.

One thing I realized is the hardest part is stuff that still has value. You don’t want to throw it, but also don’t know where to sell it.

What helped me a bit was not trying to sell everything in one place. Different resellers give better prices for different things. If you go to just one, they usually lowball because they treat everything the same.

It’s still a slow process, but this made it a little easier for me. I went through something similar when my grandmother passed. We had things like a working stairlift and medical equipment—stuff that still had value, but I also wanted it to go to the right person who actually needed it.

Thank you.

I was determined. Absolutely determined.

It was a case of, if I dont start now[this was 6 years ago], other commitments, or bad health may have stopped me further on.
Thankfully, neither has happened so far.
I did think though, it would take 1 year, 2 at most!

Fancythat I like the way you quietly plod on with the task. Well done you

The change of seasons is being helpful, I was wanting to wear layers today and 2 of my tops are just too tight, they are leaving my wardrobe. I cannot be doing with being uncomfortable in clothes and I am definitely not putting them back

It was washing that did it tbh, some fabrics shrink on more than one wash plus I was optimistic when I made them

I should perhaps repeat I am 6 years into my declutter[dont things at my own pace].

I have basically one bedroom left to do.
About 3 boxes of who knows what in corners of room.
Still some paperwork.
And as much as loft as I can bother to do.[some of it kids'stuff[some of which should be given back very shortly].